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1 GNU Emacs NEWS -- history of user-visible changes. 2000-08-14
2 Copyright (C) 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 See the end for copying conditions.
4
5 Please send Emacs bug reports to bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org.
6 For older news, see the file ONEWS
7
8 \f
9 * Installation Changes in Emacs 21.1
10
11 ** Support for GNU/Linux on IA64 machines has been added.
12
13 ** Support for LynxOS has been added.
14
15 ** `movemail' defaults to supporting POP. You can turn this off using
16 the --without-pop configure option, should that be necessary.
17
18 ** There are new configure options associated with the support for
19 images and toolkit scrollbars. Use the --help option in `configure'
20 to list them.
21
22 ** There is a new configure option `--without-xim' that instructs
23 Emacs to not use X Input Methods (XIM), if these are available.
24
25 ** There is a new configure option `--disable-largefile' to omit
26 Unix-98-style support for large files if that is available.
27
28 ** You can build a 64-bit Emacs for SPARC/Solaris systems which
29 support 64-bit executables. See etc/MACHINES for instructions.
30
31 \f
32 * Changes in Emacs 21.1
33
34 +++
35 * New command M-x describe-character-set reads a character set name
36 and displayes information about that.
37
38 * When an error is signaled during the loading of the user's init
39 file, Emacs now pops up the *Messages* buffer.
40
41 ** Polish and German translations of Emacs' reference card have been
42 added. They are named `pl-refcard.tex' and `de-refcard.tex'.
43 Postscript files are included.
44
45 ** A reference card for Dired has been added. Its name is
46 `dired-ref.tex'.
47
48 ** The new variable `auto-mode-interpreter-regexp' contains a regular
49 expression matching interpreters, for file mode determination.
50
51 This regular expression is matched against the first line of a file to
52 determine the file's mode in `set-auto-mode' when Emacs can't deduce a
53 mode from the file's name. If it matches, the file is assumed to be
54 interpreted by the interpreter matched by the second group of the
55 regular expression. The mode is then determined as the mode
56 associated with that interpreter in `interpreter-mode-alist'.
57
58 +++
59 ** C-down-mouse-3 is bound differently. Now if the menu bar is not
60 displayed it pops up a menu containing the items which would be on the
61 menu bar. If the menu bar is displayed, it pops up the major mode
62 menu or the Edit menu if there is no major mode menu.
63
64 ** Variable `load-path' is no longer customizable because it contains
65 a version-dependent component.
66
67 ** The <delete> function key is now bound to `delete-char' by default.
68 Note that this takes effect only on window systems. On TTYs, Emacs
69 will receive ASCII 127 when the DEL key is pressed. This
70 character is still bound as before.
71
72 ** Item Save Options on the Options menu allows saving options set
73 using that menu.
74
75 ** New function executable-make-buffer-file-executable-if-script-p is
76 suitable as an after-save-hook as an alternative to `executable-chmod'.
77
78 +++
79 ** The most preferred coding-system is now used to save a buffer if
80 buffer-file-coding-system is `undecided' and it is safe for the buffer
81 contents. (The most preferred is set by set-language-environment or
82 by M-x prefer-coding-system.) Thus if you visit an ASCII file and
83 insert a non-ASCII character from your current language environment,
84 the file will be saved silently with the appropriate coding.
85 Previously you would be prompted for a safe coding system.
86
87 +++
88 ** New variable `inhibit-iso-escape-detection' determines if Emacs'
89 coding system detection algorithm should pay attention to ISO2022's
90 escape sequences. If this variable is non-nil, the algorithm ignores
91 such escape sequences. The default value is nil, and it is
92 recommended not to change it except for the special case that you
93 always want to read any escape code verbatim. If you just want to
94 read a specific file without decoding escape codes, use C-x RET c
95 (`universal-coding-system-argument'). For instance, C-x RET c latin-1
96 RET C-x C-f filename RET.
97
98 ** Variable `default-korean-keyboard' is initialized properly from the
99 environment variable `HANGUL_KEYBOARD_TYPE'.
100
101 +++
102 ** C-u C-x = provides detailed information about the character at
103 point in a pop-up window.
104
105 +++
106 ** New command M-x list-charset-chars reads a character set name and
107 displays all characters in that character set.
108
109 ** M-x set-terminal-coding-system (C-x RET t) now allows CCL-based
110 coding systems such as cpXXX and cyrillic-koi8.
111
112 +++
113 ** M-; now calls comment-dwim which tries to do something clever based
114 on the context. M-x kill-comment is now an alias to comment-kill,
115 defined on newcomment.el.
116
117 +++
118 ** The function `getenv' is now callable interactively.
119
120 ** The many obsolete language `setup-...-environment' commands have
121 been removed -- use `set-language-environment'.
122
123 +++
124 ** New user options `display-time-mail-face' and
125 `display-time-use-mail-icon' control the appearance of mode-line mail
126 indicator used by the display-time package. On a suitable display the
127 indicator can be an icon and is mouse-sensitive.
128
129 +++
130 ** Emacs' auto-save list files are now by default stored in a
131 sub-directory `.emacs.d/auto-save-list/' of the user's home directory.
132 (On MS-DOS, this subdirectory's name is `_emacs.d/auto-save.list/'.)
133 You can customize `auto-save-list-prefix' to change this location.
134
135 +++
136 ** On window-systems, additional space can be put between text lines
137 on the display using several methods
138
139 +++
140 - By setting frame parameter `line-spacing' to PIXELS. PIXELS must be
141 a positive integer, and specifies that PIXELS number of pixels should
142 be put below text lines on the affected frame or frames.
143
144 +++
145 - By setting X resource `lineSpacing', class `LineSpacing'. This is
146 equivalent ot specifying the frame parameter.
147
148 - By specifying `--line-spacing=N' or `-lsp N' on the command line.
149
150 - By setting buffer-local variable `line-spacing'. The meaning is
151 the same, but applies to the a particular buffer only.
152
153 +++
154 ** The new command `clone-indirect-buffer' can be used to create
155 an indirect buffer that is a twin copy of the current buffer. The
156 command `clone-indirect-buffer-other-window', bound to C-x 4 c,
157 does the same but displays the indirect buffer in another window.
158
159 +++
160 ** New user options `backup-directory-alist' and
161 `make-backup-file-name-function' control the placement of backups,
162 typically in a single directory or in an invisible sub-directory.
163
164 ** New commands iso-iso2sgml and iso-sgml2iso convert between Latin-1
165 characters and the corresponding SGML (HTML) entities.
166
167 +++
168 ** Emacs now refuses to load compiled Lisp files which weren't
169 compiled with Emacs. Set `load-dangerous-libraries' to t to change
170 this behavior.
171
172 The reason for this change is an incompatible change in XEmacs' byte
173 compiler. Files compiled with XEmacs can contain byte codes that let
174 Emacs dump core.
175
176 +++
177 ** New X resources recognized
178
179 *** The X resource `synchronous', class `Synchronous', specifies
180 whether Emacs should run in synchronous mode. Synchronous mode
181 is useful for debugging X problems.
182
183 Example:
184
185 emacs.synchronous: true
186
187 *** The X resource `visualClass, class `VisualClass', specifies the
188 visual Emacs should use. The resource's value should be a string of
189 the form `CLASS-DEPTH', where CLASS is the name of the visual class,
190 and DEPTH is the requested color depth as a decimal number. Valid
191 visual class names are
192
193 TrueColor
194 PseudoColor
195 DirectColor
196 StaticColor
197 GrayScale
198 StaticGray
199
200 Visual class names specified as X resource are case-insensitive, i.e.
201 `pseudocolor', `Pseudocolor' and `PseudoColor' all have the same
202 meaning.
203
204 The program `xdpyinfo' can be used to list the visual classes
205 supported on your display, and which depths they have. If
206 `visualClass' is not specified, Emacs uses the display's default
207 visual.
208
209 Example:
210
211 emacs.visualClass: TrueColor-8
212
213 *** The X resource `privateColormap', class `PrivateColormap',
214 specifies that Emacs should use a private colormap if it is using the
215 default visual, and that visual is of class PseudoColor. Recognized
216 resource values are `true' or `on'.
217
218 Example:
219
220 emacs.privateColormap: true
221
222 ** The menu bar configuration has changed. The new configuration is
223 more CUA-compliant. The most significant change is that Options is
224 now a separate menu-bar item, with Mule and Customize as its submenus.
225
226 ** User-option `show-cursor-in-non-selected-windows' controls how to
227 display the cursor in non-selected windows. If nil, no cursor is
228 shown, if non-nil a hollow box cursor is shown. This option can
229 be customized.
230
231 +++
232 ** The variable `echo-keystrokes' may now have a floating point value.
233
234 +++
235 ** C-x 5 1 runs the new command delete-other-frames which deletes
236 all frames except the selected one.
237
238 ** If your init file is compiled (.emacs.elc), `user-init-file' is set
239 to the source name (.emacs.el), if that exists, after loading it.
240
241 ** The help string specified for a menu-item whose definition contains
242 the property `:help HELP' is now displayed under X, on MS-Windows, and
243 MS-DOS, either in the echo area or with tooltips. Many standard menus
244 displayed by Emacs now have help strings.
245
246 +++
247 ** Highlighting of mouse-sensitive regions is now supported in the
248 MS-DOS version of Emacs.
249
250 ** New user option `read-mail-command' specifies a command to use to
251 read mail from the menu etc.
252
253 +++
254 ** Hexl contains a new command `hexl-insert-hex-string' which inserts
255 a string of hexadecimal numbers read from the mini-buffer.
256
257 ** Changes in Texinfo mode.
258
259 ** A couple of new key bindings have been added for inserting Texinfo
260 macros
261
262 Key binding Macro
263 -------------------------
264 C-c C-c C-s @strong
265 C-c C-c C-e @emph
266 C-c C-c u @url
267 C-c C-c q @quotation
268 C-c C-c m @email
269
270 ** Changes in Outline mode.
271
272 There is now support for Imenu to index headings. A new command
273 `outline-headers-as-kill' copies the visible headings in the region to
274 the kill ring, e.g. to produce a table of contents.
275
276 ** Changes to Emacs Server
277
278 +++
279 *** The new option `server-kill-new-buffers' specifies what to do
280 with buffers when done with them. If non-nil, the default, buffers
281 are killed, unless they were already present before visiting them with
282 Emacs Server. If nil, `server-temp-file-regexp' specifies which
283 buffers to kill, as before.
284
285 Please note that only buffers are killed that still have a client,
286 i.e. buffers visited with `emacsclient --no-wait' are never killed in
287 this way.
288
289 ** Changes to Show Paren mode.
290
291 *** Overlays used by Show Paren mode now use a priority property.
292 The new user option show-paren-priority specifies the priority to
293 use. Default is 1000.
294
295 +++
296 ** New command M-x check-parens can be used to find unbalanced paren
297 groups and strings in buffers in Lisp mode (or other modes).
298
299 +++
300 ** You can now easily create new *Info* buffers using either
301 M-x clone-buffer, C-u m <entry> RET or C-u g <entry> RET.
302 M-x clone-buffer can also be used on *Help* and several other special
303 buffers.
304
305 +++
306 ** Emacs can now support 'wheeled' mice (such as the MS IntelliMouse)
307 under XFree86. To enable this, simply put (mwheel-install) in your
308 .emacs file.
309
310 The variables `mwheel-follow-mouse' and `mwheel-scroll-amount'
311 determine where and by how much buffers are scrolled.
312
313 ** Listing buffers with M-x list-buffers (C-x C-b) now shows
314 abbreviated file names. Abbreviations can be customized by changing
315 `directory-abbrev-alist'.
316
317 ** Faces and frame parameters.
318
319 There are four new faces `scroll-bar', `border', `cursor' and `mouse'.
320 Setting the frame parameters `scroll-bar-foreground' and
321 `scroll-bar-background' sets foreground and background color of face
322 `scroll-bar' and vice versa. Setting frame parameter `border-color'
323 sets the background color of face `border' and vice versa. Likewise
324 for frame parameters `cursor-color' and face `cursor', and frame
325 parameter `mouse-color' and face `mouse'.
326
327 Changing frame parameter `font' sets font-related attributes of the
328 `default' face and vice versa. Setting frame parameters
329 `foreground-color' or `background-color' sets the colors of the
330 `default' face and vice versa.
331
332 +++
333 ** New face `menu'.
334
335 The face `menu' can be used to change colors and font of Emacs' menus.
336 Setting the font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not supported;
337 attempts to set the font are ignored in this case.
338
339 +++
340 ** New frame parameter `screen-gamma' for gamma correction.
341
342 The new frame parameter `screen-gamma' specifies gamma-correction for
343 colors. Its value may be nil, the default, in which case no gamma
344 correction occurs, or a number > 0, usually a float, that specifies
345 the screen gamma of a frame's display.
346
347 PC monitors usually have a screen gamma of 2.2. smaller values result
348 in darker colors. You might want to try a screen gamma of 1.5 for LCD
349 color displays. The viewing gamma Emacs uses is 0.4545. (1/2.2).
350
351 The X resource name of this parameter is `screenGamma', class
352 `ScreenGamma'.
353
354 ** Emacs has a new redisplay engine.
355
356 The new redisplay handles characters of variable width and height.
357 Italic text can be used without redisplay problems. Fonts containing
358 oversized characters, i.e. characters larger than the logical height
359 of a font can be used. Images of various formats can be displayed in
360 the text.
361
362 ** Emacs has a new face implementation.
363
364 The new faces no longer fundamentally use X font names to specify the
365 font. Instead, each face has several independent attributes--family,
366 height, width, weight and slant--that it may or may not specify.
367 These attributes can be merged from various faces, and then together
368 specify a font.
369
370 Faces are supported on terminals that can display color or fonts.
371 These terminal capabilities are auto-detected. Details can be found
372 under Lisp changes, below.
373
374 ** New default font is Courier 12pt.
375
376 +++
377 ** When using a windowing terminal, each Emacs window now has a cursor
378 of its own. When the window is selected, the cursor is solid;
379 otherwise, it is hollow.
380
381 ** Bitmap areas to the left and right of windows are used to display
382 truncation marks, continuation marks, overlay arrows and alike. The
383 foreground, background, and stipple of these areas can be changed by
384 customizing face `fringe'.
385
386 ** The mode line under X is now drawn with shadows by default. You
387 can change its appearance by modifying the face `modeline'.
388
389 ** LessTif support.
390
391 Emacs now runs with the LessTif toolkit (see <http://www.lesstif.org>).
392 You will need a version 0.88.1 or later.
393
394 ** Toolkit scroll bars.
395
396 Emacs now uses toolkit scrollbars if available. When configured for
397 LessTif/Motif, it will use that toolkit's scrollbar. Otherwise, when
398 configured for Lucid and Athena widgets, it will use the Xaw3d scroll
399 bar if Xaw3d is available. You can turn off the use of toolkit scroll
400 bars by specifying `--with-toolkit-scroll-bars=no' when configuring
401 Emacs.
402
403 When you encounter problems with the Xaw3d scroll bar, watch out how
404 Xaw3d is compiled on your system. If the Makefile generated from
405 Xaw3d's Imakefile contains a `-DNARROWPROTO' compiler option, and your
406 Emacs system configuration file `s/your-system.h' does not contain a
407 define for NARROWPROTO, you might consider adding it. Take
408 `s/freebsd.h' as an example.
409
410 Alternatively, if you don't have access to the Xaw3d source code, take
411 a look at your system's imake configuration file, for example in the
412 directory `/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/config' (paths are different on
413 different systems). You will find files `*.cf' there. If your
414 system's cf-file contains a line like `#define NeedWidePrototypes NO',
415 add a `#define NARROWPROTO' to your Emacs system configuration file.
416
417 The reason for this is that one Xaw3d function uses `double' or
418 `float' function parameters depending on the setting of NARROWPROTO.
419 This is not a problem when Imakefiles are used because each system's
420 image configuration file contains the necessary information. Since
421 Emacs doesn't use imake, this has do be done manually.
422
423 ** Toggle buttons and radio buttons in menus.
424
425 When compiled with LessTif (or Motif) support, Emacs uses toolkit
426 widgets for radio and toggle buttons in menus. When configured for
427 Lucid, Emacs draws radio buttons and toggle buttons similar to Motif.
428
429 +++
430 ** Highlighting of trailing whitespace.
431
432 When `show-trailing-whitespace' is non-nil, Emacs displays trailing
433 whitespace in the face `trailing-whitespace'. Trailing whitespace is
434 defined as spaces or tabs at the end of a line. To avoid busy
435 highlighting when entering new text, trailing whitespace is not
436 displayed if point is at the end of the line containing the
437 whitespace.
438
439 +++
440 ** Busy-cursor.
441
442 Emacs can optionally display a busy-cursor under X. You can turn the
443 display on or off by customizing group `cursor'.
444
445 +++
446 ** Blinking cursor
447
448 M-x blink-cursor-mode toggles a blinking cursor under X and on
449 terminals having terminal capabilities `vi', `vs', and `ve'. Blinking
450 and related parameters like frequency and delay can be customized in
451 the group `cursor'.
452
453 ** New font-lock support mode `jit-lock-mode'.
454
455 This support mode is roughly equivalent to `lazy-lock' but is
456 generally faster. It supports stealth and deferred fontification.
457 See the documentation of the function `jit-lock-mode' for more
458 details.
459
460 Font-lock uses jit-lock-mode as default support mode, so you don't
461 have to do anything to activate it.
462
463 ** Tabs and variable-width text.
464
465 Tabs are now displayed with stretch properties; the width of a tab is
466 defined as a multiple of the normal character width of a frame, and is
467 independent of the fonts used in the text where the tab appears.
468 Thus, tabs can be used to line up text in different fonts.
469
470 ** Enhancements of the Lucid menu bar
471
472 +++
473 *** The Lucid menu bar now supports the resource "margin".
474
475 emacs.pane.menubar.margin: 5
476
477 The default margin is 4 which makes the menu bar appear like the
478 LessTif/Motif one.
479
480 *** Arrows that indicate sub-menus are now drawn with shadows, as in
481 LessTif and Motif.
482
483 +++
484 ** Hscrolling in C code.
485
486 Horizontal scrolling now happens automatically if
487 `automatic-hscrolling' is set (the default). This setting can be
488 customized.
489
490 ** Tool bar support.
491
492 Emacs supports a tool bar at the top of a frame under X. For details
493 how to define a tool bar, see the page describing Lisp-level changes.
494
495 +++
496 ** Mouse-sensitive mode line.
497
498 Different parts of the mode line under X have been made
499 mouse-sensitive. Moving the mouse to a mouse-sensitive part in the mode
500 line changes the appearance of the mouse pointer to an arrow, and help
501 about available mouse actions is displayed either in the echo area, or
502 in the tooltip window if you have enabled one.
503
504 Currently, the following actions have been defined:
505
506 - Mouse-1 on the buffer name in the mode line switches between two
507 buffers.
508
509 - Mouse-2 on the buffer-name switches to the next buffer, and
510 M-mouse-2 switches to the previous buffer in the buffer list.
511
512 - Mouse-3 on the buffer-name displays a buffer menu.
513
514 - Mouse-2 on the read-only or modified status in the mode line (`%' or
515 `*') toggles the status.
516
517 - Mouse-3 on the mode name display a minor-mode menu.
518
519 ** LessTif/Motif file selection dialog.
520
521 When Emacs is configured to use LessTif or Motif, reading a file name
522 from a menu will pop up a file selection dialog if `use-dialog-box' is
523 non-nil.
524
525 ** Emacs can display faces on TTY frames.
526
527 Emacs automatically detects terminals that are able to display colors.
528 Faces with a weight greater than normal are displayed extra-bright, if
529 the terminal supports it. Faces with a weight less than normal and
530 italic faces are displayed dimmed, if the terminal supports it.
531 Underlined faces are displayed underlined if possible. Other face
532 attributes such as `overline', `strike-through', and `box' are ignored
533 on terminals.
534
535 ** Sound support
536
537 Emacs supports playing sound files on GNU/Linux and FreeBSD (Voxware
538 driver and native BSD driver, a.k.a. Luigi's driver). Currently
539 supported file formats are RIFF-WAVE (*.wav) and Sun Audio (*.au).
540
541 +++
542 ** A new variable, backup-by-copying-when-privileged-mismatch, gives
543 the highest file uid for which backup-by-copying-when-mismatch will be
544 forced on. The assumption is that uids less than or equal to this
545 value are special uids (root, bin, daemon, etc.--not real system
546 users) and that files owned by these users should not change ownership,
547 even if your system policy allows users other than root to edit them.
548
549 The default is 200; set the variable to nil to disable the feature.
550
551 +++
552 ** A block cursor can be drawn as wide as the glyph under it under X.
553
554 As an example: if a block cursor is over a tab character, it will be
555 drawn as wide as that tab on the display. To do this, set
556 `x-stretch-cursor' to a non-nil value.
557
558 +++
559 ** Empty display lines at the end of a buffer may be marked with a
560 bitmap (this is similar to the tilde displayed by vi).
561
562 This behavior is activated by setting the buffer-local variable
563 `indicate-empty-lines' to a non-nil value. The default value of this
564 variable is found in `default-indicate-empty-lines'.
565
566 +++
567 ** There is a new "aggressive" scrolling method.
568
569 When scrolling up because point is above the window start, if the
570 value of the buffer-local variable `scroll-up-aggessively' is a
571 number, Emacs chooses a new window start so that point ends up that
572 fraction of the window's height from the top of the window.
573
574 When scrolling down because point is below the window end, if the
575 value of the buffer-local variable `scroll-down-aggessively' is a
576 number, Emacs chooses a new window start so that point ends up that
577 fraction of the window's height from the bottom of the window.
578
579 ** The rectangle commands now avoid inserting undesirable spaces,
580 notably at the end of lines.
581
582 All these functions have been rewritten to avoid inserting unwanted
583 spaces, and an optional prefix now allows them to behave the old way.
584
585 +++
586 There is a new command M-x replace-rectangle.
587
588 ** The new command M-x query-replace-regexp-eval acts like
589 query-replace-regexp, but takes a Lisp expression which is evaluated
590 after each match to get the replacement text.
591
592 +++
593 ** M-x query-replace recognizes a new command `e' (or `E') that lets
594 you edit the replacement string.
595
596 ** The new command mail-abbrev-complete-alias, bound to `M-TAB', lets
597 you complete mail aliases in the text, analogous to
598 lisp-complete-symbol.
599
600 +++
601 ** Emacs now resizes mini-windows if appropriate.
602
603 If a message is longer than one line, or minibuffer contents are
604 longer than one line, Emacs now resizes the minibuffer window unless
605 it is on a frame of its own. You can control the maximum minibuffer
606 window size by setting the following variable:
607
608 - User option: max-mini-window-height
609
610 Maximum height for resizing mini-windows. If a float, it specifies a
611 fraction of the mini-window frame's height. If an integer, it
612 specifies a number of lines. If nil, don't resize.
613
614 Default is 0.25.
615
616 ** The command `Info-search' now uses a search history.
617
618 ** Changes to hideshow.el
619
620 Hideshow is now at version 5.x. It uses a new algorithms for block
621 selection and traversal and includes more isearch support.
622
623 *** Generalized block selection and traversal
624
625 A block is now recognized by three things: its start and end regexps
626 (both strings), and a match-data selector (an integer) specifying
627 which sub-expression in the start regexp serves as the place where a
628 `forward-sexp'-like function can operate. Hideshow always adjusts
629 point to this sub-expression before calling `hs-forward-sexp-func'
630 (which for most modes evaluates to `forward-sexp').
631
632 If the match-data selector is not specified, it defaults to zero,
633 i.e., the entire start regexp is valid, w/ no prefix. This is
634 backwards compatible with previous versions of hideshow. Please see
635 the docstring for variable `hs-special-modes-alist' for details.
636
637 *** Isearch support for updating mode line
638
639 During incremental search, if Hideshow minor mode is active, hidden
640 blocks are temporarily shown. The variable `hs-headline' records the
641 line at the beginning of the opened block (preceding the hidden
642 portion of the buffer), and the mode line is refreshed. When a block
643 is re-hidden, the variable is set to nil.
644
645 To show `hs-headline' in the mode line, you may wish to include
646 something like this in your .emacs.
647
648 (add-hook 'hs-minor-mode-hook
649 (lambda ()
650 (add-to-list 'mode-line-format 'hs-headline)))
651
652 ** Changes to Change Log mode and Add-Log functions
653
654 +++
655 If you invoke `add-change-log-entry' from a backup file, it makes an
656 entry appropriate for the file's parent. This is useful for making
657 log entries by comparing a version with deleted functions.
658
659 +++
660 New command M-x change-log-merge merges another log into the current
661 buffer.
662
663 +++
664 New command M-x change-log-redate fixes any old-style date entries in
665 a log file.
666
667 +++
668 Change Log mode now adds a file's version number to change log entries
669 if user-option `change-log-version-info-enabled' is non-nil.
670
671 +++
672 Unless the file is under version control the search for a file's
673 version number is performed based on regular expressions from
674 `change-log-version-number-regexp-list' which can be cutomized.
675 Version numbers are only found in the first 10 percent of a file.
676
677 ** Changes in Font Lock
678
679 *** The new function `font-lock-remove-keywords' can be used to remove
680 font-lock keywords from the current buffer or from a specific major
681 mode.
682
683 ** Comint (subshell) changes
684
685 By default, comint no longer uses the variable `comint-prompt-regexp' to
686 distiguish prompts from user-input. Instead, it notices which parts of
687 the text were output by the process, and which entered by the user, and
688 attaches `field' properties to allow emacs commands to use this information.
689 Common movement commands, notably beginning-of-line, respect field
690 boundaries in a fairly natural manner.
691 To disable this feature, and use the old behavior, set the variable
692 `comint-use-prompt-regexp-instead-of-fields' to a non-nil value.
693
694 Comint now includes new features to send commands to running processes
695 and redirect the output to a designated buffer or buffers.
696
697 The command M-x comint-redirect-send-command reads a command and
698 buffer name from the mini-buffer. The command is sent to the current
699 buffer's process, and its output is inserted into the specified buffer.
700
701 The command M-x comint-redirect-send-command-to-process acts like
702 M-x comint-redirect-send-command but additionally reads the name of
703 the buffer whose process should be used from the mini-buffer.
704
705 Packages based on comint.el like shell-mode, and scheme-interaction-mode
706 now highlight user input and program prompts, and support choosing
707 previous input with mouse-2. To control these feature, see the
708 user-options `comint-highlight-input' and `comint-highlight-prompt'.
709
710 ** Changes to Rmail mode
711
712 *** The new user-option rmail-rmail-user-mail-address-regexp can be
713 set to fine tune the identification of of the correspondent when
714 receiving new mail. If it matches the address of the sender, the
715 recipient is taken as correspondent of a mail. If nil, the default,
716 `user-login-name' and `user-mail-address' are used to exclude yourself
717 as correspondent.
718
719 Usually you don't have to set this variable, except if you collect
720 mails sent by you under different user names. Then it should be a
721 regexp matching your mail addresses.
722
723 *** The new user-option rmail-confirm-expunge controls whether and how
724 to ask for confirmation before expunging deleted messages from an
725 Rmail file. You can choose between no confirmation, confirmation
726 with y-or-n-p, or confirmation with yes-or-no-p. Default is to ask
727 for confirmation with yes-or-no-p.
728
729 *** RET is now bound in the Rmail summary to rmail-summary-goto-msg,
730 like `j'.
731
732 *** There is a new user option `rmail-digest-end-regexps' that
733 specifies the regular expressions to detect the line that ends a
734 digest message.
735
736 *** The new user option `rmail-automatic-folder-directives' specifies
737 in which folder to put messages automatically.
738
739 ** Changes to TeX mode
740
741 The default mode has been changed from `plain-tex-mode' to
742 `latex-mode'.
743
744 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
745
746 *** RefTeX has new support for index generation. Index entries can be
747 created with `C-c <', with completion available on index keys.
748 Pressing `C-c /' indexes the word at the cursor with a default
749 macro. `C-c >' compiles all index entries into an alphabetically
750 sorted *Index* buffer which looks like the final index. Entries
751 can be edited from that buffer.
752
753 *** Label and citation key selection now allow to select several
754 items and reference them together (use `m' to mark items, `a' or
755 `A' to use all marked entries).
756
757 *** reftex.el has been split into a number of smaller files to reduce
758 memory use when only a part of RefTeX is being used.
759
760 *** a new command `reftex-view-crossref-from-bibtex' (bound to `C-c &'
761 in BibTeX-mode) can be called in a BibTeX database buffer in order
762 to show locations in LaTeX documents where a particular entry has
763 been cited.
764
765 ** Emacs Lisp mode now allows multiple levels of outline headings.
766 The level of a heading is determined from the number of leading
767 semicolons in a heading line. Toplevel forms starting with a `('
768 in column 1 are always made leaves.
769
770 ** The M-x time-stamp command (most commonly used on write-file-hooks)
771 has the following new features:
772
773 *** The patterns for finding the time stamp and for updating a pattern
774 may match text spanning multiple lines. For example, some people like
775 to have the filename and date on separate lines. The new variable
776 time-stamp-inserts-lines controls the matching for multi-line patterns.
777
778 *** More than one time stamp can be updated in the same file. This
779 feature is useful if you need separate time stamps in a program source
780 file to both include in formatted documentation and insert in the
781 compiled binary. The same time-stamp will be written at each matching
782 pattern. The variable time-stamp-count enables this new feature; it
783 defaults to 1.
784
785 ** Partial Completion mode now completes environment variables in
786 file names.
787
788 +++
789 ** Tooltips.
790
791 Tooltips are small X windows displaying a help string at the current
792 mouse position. To use them, use the Lisp package `tooltip' which you
793 can access via the user option `tooltip-mode'.
794
795 Tooltips also provides support for GUD debugging. If activated,
796 variable values can be displayed in tooltips by pointing at them with
797 the mouse in source buffers. You can customize various aspects of the
798 tooltip display in the group `tooltip'.
799
800 +++
801 ** Customize changes
802
803 *** Customize now supports comments about customized items. Use the
804 `State' menu to add comments. Note that customization comments will
805 cause the customizations to fail in earlier versions of Emacs.
806
807 *** The new option `custom-buffer-done-function' says whether to kill
808 Custom buffers when you've done with them or just bury them (the
809 default).
810
811 *** The keyword :set-after in defcustom allows to specify dependencies
812 between custom options. Example:
813
814 (defcustom default-input-method nil
815 "*Default input method for multilingual text (a string).
816 This is the input method activated automatically by the command
817 `toggle-input-method' (\\[toggle-input-method])."
818 :group 'mule
819 :type '(choice (const nil) string)
820 :set-after '(current-language-environment))
821
822 This specifies that default-input-method should be set after
823 current-language-environment even if default-input-method appears
824 first in a custom-set-variables statement.
825
826 ** New features in evaluation commands
827
828 *** The commands to evaluate Lisp expressions, such as C-M-x in Lisp
829 modes, C-j in Lisp Interaction mode, and M-:, now bind the variables
830 print-level, print-length, and debug-on-error based on the
831 customizable variables eval-expression-print-level,
832 eval-expression-print-length, and eval-expression-debug-on-error.
833
834 *** The function `eval-defun' (M-C-x) now loads Edebug and instruments
835 code when called with a prefix argument.
836
837 ** Ispell changes
838
839 +++
840 *** The command `ispell' now spell-checks a region if
841 transient-mark-mode is on, and the mark is active. Otherwise it
842 spell-checks the current buffer.
843
844 +++
845 *** Support for synchronous subprocesses - DOS/Windoze - has been
846 added.
847
848 *** An "alignment error" bug was fixed when a manual spelling
849 correction is made and re-checked.
850
851 *** An Italian and a Portuguese dictionary definition has been added.
852
853 *** Region skipping performance has been vastly improved in some
854 cases.
855
856 *** Spell checking HTML buffers has been improved and isn't so strict
857 on syntax errors.
858
859 *** The buffer-local words are now always placed on a new line at the
860 end of the buffer.
861
862 ** Dired changes
863
864 *** New variable `dired-recursive-deletes' determines if the delete
865 command will delete non-empty directories recursively. The default
866 is, delete only empty directories.
867
868 *** New variable `dired-recursive-copies' determines if the copy
869 command will copy directories recursively. The default is, do not
870 copy directories recursively.
871
872 *** In command `dired-do-shell-command' (usually bound to `!') a `?'
873 in the shell command has a special meaning similar to `*', but with
874 the difference that the command will be run on each file individually.
875
876 *** The new command `dired-find-alternate-file' (usually bound to `a')
877 replaces the Dired buffer with the buffer for an alternate file or
878 directory.
879
880 *** The new command `dired-show-file-type' (usually bound to `w') shows
881 a message in the echo area describing what type of file the point is on.
882 This command invokes the external program `file' do its work, and so
883 will only work on systems with that program, and will be only as
884 accurate or inaccurate as it is.
885
886 *** Dired now properly handles undo changes of adding/removing `-R'
887 from ls switches.
888
889 ** The variable mail-specify-envelope-from controls whether to
890 use the -f option when sending mail.
891
892 ** CC mode changes.
893
894 Note: This release contains changes that might not be compatible with
895 current user setups (although it's believed that these
896 incompatibilities will only show in very uncommon circumstances).
897 However, since the impact is uncertain, these changes may be rolled
898 back depending on user feedback. Therefore there's no forward
899 compatibility guarantee wrt the new features introduced in this
900 release.
901
902 *** c-style-variables-are-local-p now defaults to t.
903 This is an incompatible change that has been made to make the behavior
904 of the style system wrt global variable settings less confusing for
905 non-advanced users. If you know what this variable does you might
906 want to set it to nil in your .emacs, otherwise you probably don't
907 have to bother.
908
909 Defaulting c-style-variables-are-local-p to t avoids the confusing
910 situation that occurs when a user sets some style variables globally
911 and edits both a Java and a non-Java file in the same Emacs session.
912 If the style variables aren't buffer local in this case, loading of
913 the second file will cause the default style (either "gnu" or "java"
914 by default) to override the global settings made by the user.
915
916 *** New initialization procedure for the style system.
917 When the initial style for a buffer is determined by CC Mode (from the
918 variable c-default-style), the global values of style variables now
919 take precedence over the values specified by the chosen style. This
920 is different than the old behavior: previously, the style-specific
921 settings would override the global settings. This change makes it
922 possible to do simple configuration in the intuitive way with
923 Customize or with setq lines in one's .emacs file.
924
925 By default, the global value of every style variable is the new
926 special symbol set-from-style, which causes the value to be taken from
927 the style system. This means that in effect, only an explicit setting
928 of a style variable will cause the "overriding" behavior described
929 above.
930
931 Also note that global settings override style-specific settings *only*
932 when the initial style of a buffer is chosen by a CC Mode major mode
933 function. When a style is chosen in other ways --- for example, by a
934 call like (c-set-style "gnu") in a hook, or via M-x c-set-style ---
935 then the style-specific values take precedence over any global style
936 values. In Lisp terms, global values override style-specific values
937 only when the new second argument to c-set-style is non-nil; see the
938 function documentation for more info.
939
940 The purpose of these changes is to make it easier for users,
941 especially novice users, to do simple customizations with Customize or
942 with setq in their .emacs files. On the other hand, the new system is
943 intended to be compatible with advanced users' customizations as well,
944 such as those that choose styles in hooks or whatnot. This new system
945 is believed to be almost entirely compatible with current
946 configurations, in spite of the changed precedence between style and
947 global variable settings when a buffer's default style is set.
948
949 (Thanks to Eric Eide for clarifying this explanation a bit.)
950
951 **** c-offsets-alist is now a customizable variable.
952 This became possible as a result of the new initialization behavior.
953
954 This variable is treated slightly differently from the other style
955 variables; instead of using the symbol set-from-style, it will be
956 completed with the syntactic symbols it doesn't already contain when
957 the style is first initialized. This means it now defaults to the
958 empty list to make all syntactic elements get their values from the
959 style system.
960
961 **** Compatibility variable to restore the old behavior.
962 In case your configuration doesn't work with this change, you can set
963 c-old-style-variable-behavior to non-nil to get the old behavior back
964 as far as possible.
965
966 *** Improvements to line breaking and text filling.
967 CC Mode now handles this more intelligently and seamlessly wrt the
968 surrounding code, especially inside comments. For details see the new
969 chapter about this in the manual.
970
971 **** New variable to recognize comment line prefix decorations.
972 The variable c-comment-prefix-regexp has been added to properly
973 recognize the line prefix in both block and line comments. It's
974 primarily used to initialize the various paragraph recognition and
975 adaptive filling variables that the text handling functions uses.
976
977 **** New variable c-block-comment-prefix.
978 This is a generalization of the now obsolete variable
979 c-comment-continuation-stars to handle arbitrary strings.
980
981 **** CC Mode now uses adaptive fill mode.
982 This to make it adapt better to the paragraph style inside comments.
983
984 It's also possible to use other adaptive filling packages inside CC
985 Mode, notably Kyle E. Jones' Filladapt mode (http://wonderworks.com/).
986 A new convenience function c-setup-filladapt sets up Filladapt for use
987 inside CC Mode.
988
989 Note though that the 2.12 version of Filladapt lacks a feature that
990 causes it to work suboptimally when c-comment-prefix-regexp can match
991 the empty string (which it commonly does). A patch for that is
992 available from the CC Mode web site (http://www.python.org/emacs/
993 cc-mode/).
994
995 **** It's now possible to selectively turn off auto filling.
996 The variable c-ignore-auto-fill is used to ignore auto fill mode in
997 specific contexts, e.g. in preprocessor directives and in string
998 literals.
999
1000 **** New context sensitive line break function c-context-line-break.
1001 It works like newline-and-indent in normal code, and adapts the line
1002 prefix according to the comment style when used inside comments. If
1003 you're normally using newline-and-indent, you might want to switch to
1004 this function.
1005
1006 *** Fixes to IDL mode.
1007 It now does a better job in recognizing only the constructs relevant
1008 to IDL. E.g. it no longer matches "class" as the beginning of a
1009 struct block, but it does match the CORBA 2.3 "valuetype" keyword.
1010 Thanks to Eric Eide.
1011
1012 *** Improvements to the Whitesmith style.
1013 It now keeps the style consistently on all levels and both when
1014 opening braces hangs and when they don't.
1015
1016 **** New lineup function c-lineup-whitesmith-in-block.
1017
1018 *** New lineup functions c-lineup-template-args and c-indent-multi-line-block.
1019 See their docstrings for details. c-lineup-template-args does a
1020 better job of tracking the brackets used as parens in C++ templates,
1021 and is used by default to line up continued template arguments.
1022
1023 *** c-lineup-comment now preserves alignment with a comment on the
1024 previous line. It used to instead preserve comments that started in
1025 the column specified by comment-column.
1026
1027 *** c-lineup-C-comments handles "free form" text comments.
1028 In comments with a long delimiter line at the start, the indentation
1029 is kept unchanged for lines that start with an empty comment line
1030 prefix. This is intended for the type of large block comments that
1031 contain documentation with its own formatting. In these you normally
1032 don't want CC Mode to change the indentation.
1033
1034 *** The `c' syntactic symbol is now relative to the comment start
1035 instead of the previous line, to make integers usable as lineup
1036 arguments.
1037
1038 *** All lineup functions have gotten docstrings.
1039
1040 *** More preprocessor directive movement functions.
1041 c-down-conditional does the reverse of c-up-conditional.
1042 c-up-conditional-with-else and c-down-conditional-with-else are
1043 variants of these that also stops at "#else" lines (suggested by Don
1044 Provan).
1045
1046 *** Minor improvements to many movement functions in tricky situations.
1047
1048 ** Makefile mode changes
1049
1050 *** The mode now uses the abbrev table `makefile-mode-abbrev-table'.
1051
1052 *** Conditionals and include statements are now highlighted when
1053 Fontlock mode is active.
1054
1055 ** Isearch changes
1056
1057 *** Isearch now puts a call to `isearch-resume' in the command history,
1058 so that searches can be resumed.
1059
1060 *** In Isearch mode, M-C-s and M-C-r are now bound like C-s and C-r,
1061 respectively, i.e. you can repeat a regexp isearch with the same keys
1062 that started the search.
1063
1064 *** In Isearch mode, mouse-2 in the echo area now yanks the current
1065 selection into the search string rather than giving an error.
1066
1067 +++
1068 *** There is a new lazy highlighting feature in incremental search.
1069
1070 Lazy highlighting is switched on/off by customizing variable
1071 `isearch-lazy-highlight'. When active, all matches for the current
1072 search string are highlighted. The current match is highlighted as
1073 before using face `isearch' or `region'. All other matches are
1074 highlighted using face `isearch-lazy-highlight-face' which defaults to
1075 `secondary-selection'.
1076
1077 The extra highlighting makes it easier to anticipate where the cursor
1078 will end up each time you press C-s or C-r to repeat a pending search.
1079 Highlighting of these additional matches happens in a deferred fashion
1080 using "idle timers," so the cycles needed do not rob isearch of its
1081 usual snappy response.
1082
1083 If `isearch-lazy-highlight-cleanup' is set to t, highlights for
1084 matches are automatically cleared when you end the search. If it is
1085 set to nil, you can remove the highlights manually with `M-x
1086 isearch-lazy-highlight-cleanup'.
1087
1088 +++
1089 ** Changes in sort.el
1090
1091 The function sort-numeric-fields interprets numbers starting with `0'
1092 as octal and numbers starting with `0x' or `0X' as hexadecimal. The
1093 new user-option sort-numeric-base can be used to specify a default
1094 numeric base.
1095
1096 ** Changes to Ange-ftp
1097
1098 +++
1099 *** Ange-ftp allows you to specify of a port number in remote file
1100 names cleanly. It is appended to the host name, separated by a hash
1101 sign, e.g. `/foo@bar.org#666:mumble'. (This syntax comes from EFS.)
1102
1103 *** If the new user-option `ange-ftp-try-passive-mode' is set, passive
1104 ftp mode will be used if the ftp client supports that.
1105
1106 *** Ange-ftp handles the output of the w32-style clients which
1107 output ^M at the end of lines.
1108
1109 ** Shell script mode changes.
1110
1111 Shell script mode (sh-script) can now indent scripts for shells
1112 derived from sh and rc. The indentation style is customizeable, and
1113 sh-script can attempt to "learn" the current buffer's style.
1114
1115 ** Etags changes.
1116
1117 *** In DOS, etags looks for file.cgz if it cannot find file.c.
1118
1119 *** New option --ignore-case-regex is an alternative to --regex. It is now
1120 possible to bind a regexp to a language, by prepending the regexp with
1121 {lang}, where lang is one of the languages that `etags --help' prints out.
1122 This feature is useful especially for regex files, where each line contains
1123 a regular expression. The manual contains details.
1124
1125 *** In C and derived languages, etags creates tags for function
1126 declarations when given the --declarations option.
1127
1128 *** In C++, tags are created for "operator". The tags have the form
1129 "operator+", without spaces between the keyword and the operator.
1130
1131 *** New language Ada: tags are functions, procedures, packages, tasks, and
1132 types.
1133
1134 *** In Fortran, `procedure' is not tagged.
1135
1136 *** In Java, tags are created for "interface".
1137
1138 *** In Lisp, "(defstruct (foo", "(defun (operator" and similar constructs
1139 are now tagged.
1140
1141 *** In Perl, the --globals option tags global variables. my and local
1142 variables are tagged.
1143
1144 *** New language Python: def and class at the beginning of a line are tags.
1145
1146 *** .ss files are Scheme files, .pdb is Postscript with C syntax, .psw is
1147 for PSWrap.
1148
1149 +++
1150 ** Changes in etags.el
1151
1152 *** The new user-option tags-case-fold-search can be used to make
1153 tags operations case-sensitive or case-insensitive. The default
1154 is to use the same setting as case-fold-search.
1155
1156 *** You can display additional output with M-x tags-apropos by setting
1157 the new variable tags-apropos-additional-actions.
1158
1159 If non-nil, the variable's value should be a list of triples (TITLE
1160 FUNCTION TO-SEARCH). For each triple, M-x tags-apropos processes
1161 TO-SEARCH and lists tags from it. TO-SEARCH should be an alist,
1162 obarray, or symbol. If it is a symbol, the symbol's value is used.
1163
1164 TITLE is a string to use to label the list of tags from TO-SEARCH.
1165
1166 FUNCTION is a function to call when an entry is selected in the Tags
1167 List buffer. It is called with one argument, the selected symbol.
1168
1169 A useful example value for this variable might be something like:
1170
1171 '(("Emacs Lisp" Info-goto-emacs-command-node obarray)
1172 ("Common Lisp" common-lisp-hyperspec common-lisp-hyperspec-obarray)
1173 ("SCWM" scwm-documentation scwm-obarray))
1174
1175 *** The face tags-tag-face can be used to customize the appearance
1176 of tags in the output of M-x tags-apropos.
1177
1178 *** Setting tags-apropos-verbose to a non-nil value displays the
1179 names of tags files in the *Tags List* buffer.
1180
1181 +++
1182 ** Emacs now attempts to determine the initial language environment
1183 and preferred and locale coding systems systematically from the
1184 LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, and LANG environment variables during startup.
1185
1186 +++
1187 ** New language environments `Polish', `Latin-8' and `Latin-9'.
1188 Latin-8 and Latin-9 correspond respectively to the ISO character sets
1189 8859-14 (Celtic) and 8859-15 (updated Latin-1, with the Euro sign).
1190 GNU Intlfonts doesn't support these yet; there are basic 8859-14 and
1191 8859-15 fonts at <URL:http://czyborra.com/charsets/> and recent X
1192 releases have 8859-15. There are new Latin-8 and Latin-9 prefix
1193 (only) and Polish slash input methods in Leim.
1194
1195 +++
1196 ** Fortran mode has a new command `fortran-strip-sequence-nos' to
1197 remove text past column 72. The syntax class of `\' in Fortran is now
1198 appropriate for C-style escape sequences in strings.
1199
1200 ** SGML mode's default `sgml-validate-command' is now `nsgmls'.
1201
1202 +++
1203 ** A new command `view-emacs-problems' (C-h P) displays the PROBLEMS file.
1204
1205 +++
1206 ** The Dabbrev package has a new user-option `dabbrev-ignored-regexps'
1207 containing a list of regular expressions. Buffers matching a regular
1208 expression from that list, are not checked.
1209
1210 ** Emacs can now figure out modification times of remote files.
1211 When you do C-x C-f /user@host:/path/file RET and edit the file,
1212 and someone else modifies the file, you will be prompted to revert
1213 the buffer, just like for the local files.
1214
1215 ** The buffer menu (C-x C-b) no longer lists the *Buffer List* buffer.
1216
1217 ** When invoked with a prefix argument, the command `list-abbrevs' now
1218 displays local abbrevs, only.
1219
1220 ** New modes and packages
1221
1222 +++
1223 *** The new package timeclock.el is a mode is for keeping track of time
1224 intervals. You can use it for whatever purpose you like, but the
1225 typical scenario is to keep track of how much time you spend working
1226 on certain projects.
1227
1228 +++
1229 *** The new package hi-lock.el, text matching interactively entered
1230 regexp's can be highlighted. For example,
1231
1232 M-x highlight-regexp RET clearly RET RET
1233
1234 will highlight all occurrences of `clearly' using a yellow background
1235 face. New occurrences of `clearly' will be highlighted as they are
1236 typed. `M-x unhighlight-regexp RET' will remove the highlighting.
1237 Any existing face can be used for highlighting and a set of
1238 appropriate faces is provided. The regexps can be written into the
1239 current buffer in a form that will be recognized the next time the
1240 corresponding file is read.
1241
1242 +++
1243 *** The new package zone.el plays games with Emacs' display when
1244 Emacs is idle.
1245
1246 *** The new package xml.el provides a simple but generic XML
1247 parser. It doesn't parse the DTDs however.
1248
1249 *** The comment operations are now provided by the newcomment.el
1250 package which allows different styles of comment-region and should
1251 be more robust while offering the same functionality.
1252
1253 +++
1254 *** The Ebrowse package implements a C++ class browser and tags
1255 facilities tailored for use with C++. It is documented in a
1256 separate Texinfo file.
1257
1258 +++
1259 *** The PCL-CVS package available by either running M-x cvs-examine or
1260 by visiting a CVS administrative directory (with a prefix argument)
1261 provides an alternative interface to VC-dired for CVS. It comes with
1262 `log-view-mode' to view RCS and SCCS logs and `log-edit-mode' used to
1263 enter checkin log messages.
1264
1265 +++
1266 *** The new package called `woman' allows to browse Unix man pages
1267 without invoking external programs.
1268
1269 The command `M-x woman' formats manual pages entirely in Emacs Lisp
1270 and then displays them, like `M-x manual-entry' does. Unlike
1271 `manual-entry', `woman' does not invoke any external programs, so it
1272 is useful on systems such as MS-DOS/MS-Windows where the `man' and
1273 Groff or `troff' commands are not readily available.
1274
1275 The command `M-x woman-find-file' asks for the file name of a man
1276 page, then formats and displays it like `M-x woman' does.
1277
1278 +++
1279 *** The new command M-x re-builder offers a convenient interface for
1280 authoring regular expressions with immediate visual feedback.
1281
1282 The buffer from which the command was called becomes the target for
1283 the regexp editor popping up in a separate window. Matching text in
1284 the target buffer is immediately color marked during the editing.
1285 Each sub-expression of the regexp will show up in a different face so
1286 even complex regexps can be edited and verified on target data in a
1287 single step.
1288
1289 On displays not supporting faces the matches instead blink like
1290 matching parens to make them stand out. On such a setup you will
1291 probably also want to use the sub-expression mode when the regexp
1292 contains such to get feedback about their respective limits.
1293
1294 +++
1295 *** glasses-mode is a minor mode that makes
1296 unreadableIdentifiersLikeThis readable. It works as glasses, without
1297 actually modifying content of a buffer.
1298
1299 *** The package ebnf2ps translates an EBNF to a syntactic chart in
1300 PostScript.
1301
1302 Currently accepts ad-hoc EBNF, ISO EBNF and Bison/Yacc.
1303
1304 The ad-hoc default EBNF syntax has the following elements:
1305
1306 ; comment (until end of line)
1307 A non-terminal
1308 "C" terminal
1309 ?C? special
1310 $A default non-terminal
1311 $"C" default terminal
1312 $?C? default special
1313 A = B. production (A is the header and B the body)
1314 C D sequence (C occurs before D)
1315 C | D alternative (C or D occurs)
1316 A - B exception (A excluding B, B without any non-terminal)
1317 n * A repetition (A repeats n (integer) times)
1318 (C) group (expression C is grouped together)
1319 [C] optional (C may or not occurs)
1320 C+ one or more occurrences of C
1321 {C}+ one or more occurrences of C
1322 {C}* zero or more occurrences of C
1323 {C} zero or more occurrences of C
1324 C / D equivalent to: C {D C}*
1325 {C || D}+ equivalent to: C {D C}*
1326 {C || D}* equivalent to: [C {D C}*]
1327 {C || D} equivalent to: [C {D C}*]
1328
1329 Please, see ebnf2ps documentation for EBNF syntax and how to use it.
1330
1331 *** The package align.el will align columns within a region, using M-x
1332 align. Its mode-specific rules, based on regular expressions,
1333 determine where the columns should be split. In C and C++, for
1334 example, it will align variable names in declaration lists, or the
1335 equal signs of assignments.
1336
1337 +++
1338 *** `paragraph-indent-minor-mode' is a new minor mode supporting
1339 paragraphs in the same style as `paragraph-indent-text-mode'.
1340
1341 +++
1342 *** bs.el is a new package for buffer selection similar to
1343 list-buffers or electric-buffer-list. Use M-x bs-show to display a
1344 buffer menu with this package. You can use M-x bs-customize to
1345 customize the package.
1346
1347 *** find-lisp.el is a package emulating the Unix find command in Lisp.
1348
1349 *** calculator.el is a small calculator package that is intended to
1350 replace desktop calculators such as xcalc and calc.exe. Actually, it
1351 is not too small - it has more features than most desktop calculators,
1352 and can be customized easily to get many more functions. It should
1353 not be confused with "calc" which is a much bigger mathematical tool
1354 which answers different needs.
1355
1356 +++
1357 *** The minor modes cwarn-mode and global-cwarn-mode highlights
1358 suspicious C and C++ constructions. Currently, assignments inside
1359 expressions, semicolon following `if', `for' and `while' (except, of
1360 course, after a `do .. while' statement), and C++ functions with
1361 reference parameters are recognized. The modes require font-lock mode
1362 to be enabled.
1363
1364 +++
1365 *** smerge-mode.el provides `smerge-mode', a simple minor-mode for files
1366 containing diff3-style conflict markers, such as generated by RCS.
1367
1368 +++
1369 *** 5x5.el is a simple puzzle game.
1370
1371 +++
1372 *** hl-line.el provides a minor mode to highlight the current line.
1373
1374 *** ansi-color.el translates ANSI terminal escapes into text-properties.
1375
1376 *** delphi.el provides a major mode for editing the Delphi (Object
1377 Pascal) language.
1378
1379 +++
1380 *** quickurl.el provides a simple method of inserting a URL based on
1381 the text at point.
1382
1383 *** sql.el provides an interface to SQL data bases.
1384
1385 +++
1386 *** fortune.el uses the fortune program to create mail/news signatures.
1387
1388 *** whitespace.el ???
1389
1390 *** PostScript mode (ps-mode) is a new major mode for editing PostScript
1391 files. It offers: interaction with a PostScript interpreter, including
1392 (very basic) error handling; fontification, easily customizable for
1393 interpreter messages; auto-indentation; insertion of EPSF templates and
1394 often used code snippets; viewing of BoundingBox; commenting out /
1395 uncommenting regions; conversion of 8bit characters to PostScript octal
1396 codes. All functionality is accessible through a menu.
1397
1398 *** delim-col helps to prettify columns in a text region or rectangle.
1399
1400 Here is an example of columns:
1401
1402 horse apple bus
1403 dog pineapple car EXTRA
1404 porcupine strawberry airplane
1405
1406 Doing the following settings:
1407
1408 (setq delimit-columns-str-before "[ ")
1409 (setq delimit-columns-str-after " ]")
1410 (setq delimit-columns-str-separator ", ")
1411 (setq delimit-columns-separator "\t")
1412
1413
1414 Selecting the lines above and typing:
1415
1416 M-x delimit-columns-region
1417
1418 It results:
1419
1420 [ horse , apple , bus , ]
1421 [ dog , pineapple , car , EXTRA ]
1422 [ porcupine, strawberry, airplane, ]
1423
1424 delim-col has the following options:
1425
1426 delimit-columns-str-before Specify a string to be inserted
1427 before all columns.
1428
1429 delimit-columns-str-separator Specify a string to be inserted
1430 between each column.
1431
1432 delimit-columns-str-after Specify a string to be inserted
1433 after all columns.
1434
1435 delimit-columns-separator Specify a regexp which separates
1436 each column.
1437
1438 delim-col has the following commands:
1439
1440 delimit-columns-region Prettify all columns in a text region.
1441 delimit-columns-rectangle Prettify all columns in a text rectangle.
1442
1443 +++
1444 *** The package recentf.el maintains a menu for visiting files that
1445 were operated on recently.
1446
1447 M-x recentf-mode RET toggles recentf mode.
1448
1449 M-x customize-variable RET recentf-mode RET can be used to enable
1450 recentf at Emacs startup.
1451
1452 M-x customize-variable RET recentf-menu-filter RET to specify a menu
1453 filter function to change the menu appearance. For example, the recent
1454 file list can be displayed:
1455
1456 - organized by major modes, directories or user defined rules.
1457 - sorted by file pathes, file names, ascending or descending.
1458 - showing pathes relative to the current default-directory
1459
1460 The `recentf-filter-changer' menu filter function allows to
1461 dynamically change the menu appearance.
1462
1463 *** elide-head.el provides a mechanism for eliding boilerplate header
1464 text.
1465
1466 +++
1467 *** footnote.el provides `footnote-mode', a minor mode supporting use
1468 of footnotes. It is intended for use with Message mode, but isn't
1469 specific to Message mode.
1470
1471 +++
1472 *** diff-mode.el provides `diff-mode', a major mode for
1473 viewing/editing context diffs (patches). It is selected for files
1474 with extension `.diff', `.diffs', `.patch' and `.rej'.
1475
1476 +++
1477 *** EUDC, the Emacs Unified Directory Client, provides a common user
1478 interface to access directory servers using different directory
1479 protocols. It has a separate manual.
1480
1481 *** autoconf.el provides a major mode for editing configure.in files
1482 for Autoconf, selected automatically.
1483
1484 +++
1485 *** windmove.el provides moving between windows.
1486
1487 *** crm.el provides a facility to read multiple strings from the
1488 minibuffer with completion.
1489
1490 *** todo-mode.el provides management of TODO lists and integration
1491 with the diary features.
1492
1493 *** autoarg.el provides a feature reported from Twenex Emacs whereby
1494 numeric keys supply prefix args rather than self inserting.
1495
1496 *** The function `turn-off-auto-fill' unconditionally turns off Auto
1497 Fill mode.
1498
1499 ** Withdrawn packages
1500
1501 *** mldrag.el has been removed. mouse.el provides the same
1502 functionality with aliases for the mldrag functions.
1503
1504 *** eval-reg.el has been obsoleted by changes to edebug.el and removed.
1505
1506 *** ph.el has been obsoleted by EUDC and removed.
1507
1508 \f
1509 * Lisp changes made after edition 2.6 of the Emacs Lisp Manual,
1510 (Display-related features are described in a page of their own below.)
1511
1512 +++
1513 ** Reading from the mini-buffer now reads from standard input if Emacs
1514 is running in batch mode. For example,
1515
1516 (message "%s" (read t))
1517
1518 will read a Lisp expression from standard input and print the result
1519 to standard output.
1520
1521 +++
1522 ** The argument of `down-list', `backward-up-list', `up-list',
1523 `kill-sexp', `backward-kill-sexp' and `mark-sexp' is now optional.
1524
1525 ** If `display-buffer-reuse-frames' is set, function `display-buffer'
1526 will raise frames displaying a buffer, instead of creating a new
1527 frame or window.
1528
1529 +++
1530 ** Two new functions for removing elements from lists/sequences
1531 were added
1532
1533 - Function: remove ELT SEQ
1534
1535 Return a copy of SEQ with all occurences of ELT removed. SEQ must be
1536 a list, vector, or string. The comparison is done with `equal'.
1537
1538 - Function: remq ELT LIST
1539
1540 Return a copy of LIST with all occurences of ELT removed. The
1541 comparison is done with `eq'.
1542
1543 ** The function `delete' now also works with vectors and strings.
1544
1545 ** The meaning of the `:weakness WEAK' argument of make-hash-table
1546 has been changed.
1547
1548 +++
1549 ** Function `aset' stores any multibyte character in any string
1550 without signaling "Attempt to change char length of a string". It may
1551 convert a unibyte string to multibyte if necessary.
1552
1553 ** The value of the `help-echo' text property is called as a function
1554 or evaluated, if it is not a string already, to obtain a help string.
1555
1556 ** Function `make-obsolete' now has an optional arg to say when the
1557 function was declared obsolete.
1558
1559 ** Function `plist-member' is renamed from `widget-plist-member' (which is
1560 retained as an alias).
1561
1562 ** Easy-menu's :filter now works as in XEmacs.
1563 It takes the unconverted (i.e. XEmacs) form of the menu and the result
1564 is automatically converted to Emacs' form.
1565
1566 ** The new function `window-list' has been defined
1567
1568 - Function: window-list &optional WINDOW MINIBUF ALL-FRAMES
1569
1570 Return a list of windows in canonical order. The parameters WINDOW,
1571 MINIBUF and ALL-FRAMES are defined like for `next-window'.
1572
1573 ** There's a new function `some-window' defined as follows
1574
1575 - Function: some-window PREDICATE &optional MINIBUF ALL-FRAMES DEFAULT
1576
1577 Return a window satisfying PREDICATE.
1578
1579 This function cycles through all visible windows using `walk-windows',
1580 calling PREDICATE on each one. PREDICATE is called with a window as
1581 argument. The first window for which PREDICATE returns a non-nil
1582 value is returned. If no window satisfies PREDICATE, DEFAULT is
1583 returned.
1584
1585 Optional second arg MINIBUF t means count the minibuffer window even
1586 if not active. MINIBUF nil or omitted means count the minibuffer iff
1587 it is active. MINIBUF neither t nor nil means not to count the
1588 minibuffer even if it is active.
1589
1590 Several frames may share a single minibuffer; if the minibuffer
1591 counts, all windows on all frames that share that minibuffer count
1592 too. Therefore, if you are using a separate minibuffer frame
1593 and the minibuffer is active and MINIBUF says it counts,
1594 `walk-windows' includes the windows in the frame from which you
1595 entered the minibuffer, as well as the minibuffer window.
1596
1597 ALL-FRAMES is the optional third argument.
1598 ALL-FRAMES nil or omitted means cycle within the frames as specified above.
1599 ALL-FRAMES = `visible' means include windows on all visible frames.
1600 ALL-FRAMES = 0 means include windows on all visible and iconified frames.
1601 ALL-FRAMES = t means include windows on all frames including invisible frames.
1602 If ALL-FRAMES is a frame, it means include windows on that frame.
1603 Anything else means restrict to the selected frame.
1604
1605 ** The function `single-key-description' now encloses function key and
1606 event names in angle brackets. When called with a second optional
1607 argument non-nil, angle brackets won't be printed.
1608
1609 ** If the variable `message-truncate-lines' is bound to t around a
1610 call to `message', the echo area will not be resized to display that
1611 message; it will be truncated instead, as it was done in 20.x.
1612 Default value is nil.
1613
1614 ** The user option `line-number-display-limit' can now be set to nil,
1615 meaning no limit.
1616
1617 ** `select-safe-coding-system' now also checks the most preferred
1618 coding-system if buffer-file-coding-system is `undecided' and
1619 DEFAULT-CODING-SYSTEM is not specified,
1620
1621 ** The function `subr-arity' provides information on the argument list
1622 of a primitive.
1623
1624 ** The text property `keymap' specifies a key map which overrides the
1625 buffer's local map and the map specified by the `local-map' property.
1626 This is probably what most current uses of `local-map' want, rather
1627 than replacing the local map.
1628
1629 ** The obsolete variables before-change-function and
1630 after-change-function are no longer acted upon and have been removed.
1631
1632 ** The function `apropos-mode' runs the hook `apropos-mode-hook'.
1633
1634 +++
1635 ** `concat' no longer accepts individual integer arguments, as
1636 promised long ago.
1637
1638 ** The new function `float-time' returns the current time as a float.
1639 \f
1640 * Lisp changes in Emacs 21.1 (see following page for display-related features)
1641
1642 Note that +++ before an item means the Lisp manual has been updated.
1643 --- means that I have decided it does not need to be in the Lisp manual.
1644 When you add a new item, please add it without either +++ or ---
1645 so I will know I still need to look at it -- rms.
1646
1647 *** The special form `save-restriction' now works correctly even if the
1648 buffer is widened inside the save-restriction and changes made outside
1649 the original restriction. Previously, doing this would cause the saved
1650 restriction to be restored incorrectly.
1651
1652 *** The functions `find-charset-region' and `find-charset-string' include
1653 `eight-bit-control' and/or `eight-bit-graphic' in the returned list
1654 when it finds 8-bit characters. Previously, it included `ascii' in a
1655 multibyte buffer and `unknown' in a unibyte buffer.
1656
1657 *** The functions `set-buffer-modified', `string-as-multibyte' and
1658 `string-as-unibyte' change the byte sequence of a buffer if it
1659 contains a character from the `eight-bit-control' character set.
1660
1661 *** The handling of multibyte sequences in a multibyte buffer is
1662 changed. Previously, a byte sequence matching the pattern
1663 [\200-\237][\240-\377]+ was interpreted as a single character
1664 regardless of the length of the trailing bytes [\240-\377]+. Thus, if
1665 the sequence was longer than what the leading byte indicated, the
1666 extra trailing bytes were ignored by Lisp functions. Now such extra
1667 bytes are independent 8-bit characters belonging to the charset
1668 eight-bit-graphic.
1669
1670 ** Fontsets are now implemented using char-tables.
1671
1672 A fontset can now be specified for for each independent character, for
1673 a group of characters or for a character set rather than just for a
1674 character set as previously.
1675
1676 *** The arguments of the function `set-fontset-font' are changed.
1677 They are NAME, CHARACTER, FONTNAME, and optional FRAME. The function
1678 modifies fontset NAME to use FONTNAME for CHARACTER.
1679
1680 CHARACTER may be a cons (FROM . TO), where FROM and TO are non-generic
1681 characters. In that case FONTNAME is used for all characters in the
1682 range FROM and TO (inclusive). CHARACTER may be a charset. In that
1683 case FONTNAME is used for all character in the charset.
1684
1685 FONTNAME may be a cons (FAMILY . REGISTRY), where FAMILY is the family
1686 name of a font and REGSITRY is a registry name of a font.
1687
1688 *** Variable x-charset-registry has been deleted. The default charset
1689 registries of character sets are set in the default fontset
1690 "fontset-default".
1691
1692 *** The function `create-fontset-from-fontset-spec' ignores the second
1693 argument STYLE-VARIANT. It never creates style-variant fontsets.
1694
1695 ** The method of composing characters is changed. Now character
1696 composition is done by a special text property `composition' in
1697 buffers and strings.
1698
1699 *** Charset composition is deleted. Emacs never creates a `composite
1700 character' which is an independent character with a unique character
1701 code. Thus the following functions handling `composite characters'
1702 have been deleted: composite-char-component,
1703 composite-char-component-count, composite-char-composition-rule,
1704 composite-char-composition-rule and decompose-composite-char delete.
1705 The variables leading-code-composition and min-composite-char have
1706 also been deleted.
1707
1708 *** Three more glyph reference points are added. They can be used to
1709 specify a composition rule. See the documentation of the variable
1710 `reference-point-alist' for more detail.
1711
1712 *** The function `compose-region' takes new arguments COMPONENTS and
1713 MODIFICATION-FUNC. With COMPONENTS, you can specify not only a
1714 composition rule but also characters to be composed. Such characters
1715 may differ between buffer and string text.
1716
1717 *** The function `compose-string' takes new arguments START, END,
1718 COMPONENTS, and MODIFICATION-FUNC.
1719
1720 *** The function `compose-string' puts text property `composition'
1721 directly on the argument STRING instead of returning a new string.
1722 Likewise, the function `decompose-string' just removes text property
1723 `composition' from STRING.
1724
1725 *** The new function `find-composition' returns information about
1726 a composition at a specified position in a buffer or a string.
1727
1728 *** The function `decompose-composite-char' is now labeled as
1729 obsolete.
1730
1731 ** The new character set `mule-unicode-0100-24ff' is introduced for
1732 Unicode characters of the range U+0100..U+24FF. Currently, this
1733 character set is not used.
1734
1735 ** The new character sets `japanese-jisx0213-1' and
1736 `japanese-jisx0213-2' are introduced for the new Japanese standard JIS
1737 X 0213 Plane 1 and Plane 2.
1738
1739 +++
1740 ** The new character sets `eight-bit-control' and `eight-bit-graphic'
1741 are introduced for 8-bit characters in the ranges 0x80..0x9F and
1742 0xA0..0xFF respectively.
1743
1744 +++
1745 ** If the APPEND argument of `write-region' is an integer, it seeks to
1746 that offset in the file before writing.
1747
1748 ** The function `add-minor-mode' has been added for convenience and
1749 compatibility with XEmacs (and is used internally by define-minor-mode).
1750
1751 ** The function `shell-command' now sets the default directory of the
1752 `*Shell Command Output*' buffer to the default directory of the buffer
1753 from which the command was issued.
1754
1755 ** The functions `query-replace', `query-replace-regexp',
1756 `query-replace-regexp-eval' `map-query-replace-regexp',
1757 `replace-string', `replace-regexp', and `perform-replace' take two
1758 additional optional arguments START and END that specify the region to
1759 operate on.
1760
1761 ** The new function `count-screen-lines' is a more flexible alternative
1762 to `window-buffer-height'.
1763
1764 - Function: count-screen-lines &optional BEG END COUNT-FINAL-NEWLINE WINDOW
1765
1766 Return the number of screen lines in the region between BEG and END.
1767 The number of screen lines may be different from the number of actual
1768 lines, due to line breaking, display table, etc.
1769
1770 Optional arguments BEG and END default to `point-min' and `point-max'
1771 respectively.
1772
1773 If region ends with a newline, ignore it unless optinal third argument
1774 COUNT-FINAL-NEWLINE is non-nil.
1775
1776 The optional fourth argument WINDOW specifies the window used for
1777 obtaining parameters such as width, horizontal scrolling, and so
1778 on. The default is to use the selected window's parameters.
1779
1780 Like `vertical-motion', `count-screen-lines' always uses the current
1781 buffer, regardless of which buffer is displayed in WINDOW. This makes
1782 possible to use `count-screen-lines' in any buffer, whether or not it
1783 is currently displayed in some window.
1784
1785 ** The new function `mapc' is like `mapcar' but doesn't collect the
1786 argument function's results.
1787
1788 ** The functions base64-decode-region and base64-decode-string now
1789 signal an error instead of returning nil if decoding fails.
1790
1791 ** The function sendmail-user-agent-compose now recognizes a `body'
1792 header is the list of headers passed to it.
1793
1794 ** The new function member-ignore-case works like `member', but
1795 ignores differences in case and text representation.
1796
1797 ** The buffer-local variable cursor-type can be used to specify the
1798 cursor to use in windows displaying a buffer. Values are interpreted
1799 as follows:
1800
1801 t use the cursor specified for the frame (default)
1802 nil don't display a cursor
1803 `bar' display a bar cursor with default width
1804 (bar . WIDTH) display a bar cursor with width WIDTH
1805 others display a box cursor.
1806
1807 ** The variable open-paren-in-column-0-is-defun-start controls whether
1808 an open parenthesis in column 0 is considered to be the start of a
1809 defun. If set, the default, it is considered a defun start. If not
1810 set, an open parenthesis in column 0 has no special meaning.
1811
1812 ** The new function `string-to-syntax' can be used to translate syntax
1813 specifications in string form as accepted by `modify-syntax-entry' to
1814 the cons-cell form that is used for the values of the `syntax-table'
1815 text property, and in `font-lock-syntactic-keywords'.
1816
1817 Example:
1818
1819 (string-to-syntax "()")
1820 => (4 . 41)
1821
1822 ** Emacs' reader supports CL read syntax for integers in bases
1823 other than 10.
1824
1825 *** `#BINTEGER' or `#bINTEGER' reads INTEGER in binary (radix 2).
1826 INTEGER optionally contains a sign.
1827
1828 #b1111
1829 => 15
1830 #b-1111
1831 => -15
1832
1833 *** `#OINTEGER' or `#oINTEGER' reads INTEGER in octal (radix 8).
1834
1835 #o666
1836 => 438
1837
1838 *** `#XINTEGER' or `#xINTEGER' reads INTEGER in hexadecimal (radix 16).
1839
1840 #xbeef
1841 => 48815
1842
1843 *** `#RADIXrINTEGER' reads INTEGER in radix RADIX, 2 <= RADIX <= 36.
1844
1845 #2R-111
1846 => -7
1847 #25rah
1848 => 267
1849
1850 ** The function `documentation-property' now evaluates the value of
1851 the given property to obtain a string if it doesn't refer to etc/DOC
1852 and isn't a string.
1853
1854 ** If called for a symbol, the function `documentation' now looks for
1855 a `function-documentation' property of that symbol. If it has a non-nil
1856 value, the documentation is taken from that value. If the value is
1857 not a string, it is evaluated to obtain a string.
1858
1859 +++
1860 ** The last argument of `define-key-after' defaults to t for convenience.
1861
1862 ** The new function `replace-regexp-in-string' replaces all matches
1863 for a regexp in a string.
1864
1865 ** `mouse-position' now runs the abnormal hook
1866 `mouse-position-function'.
1867
1868 ** The function string-to-number now returns a float for numbers
1869 that don't fit into a Lisp integer.
1870
1871 ** The variable keyword-symbols-constants-flag has been removed.
1872 Keywords are now always considered constants.
1873
1874 +++
1875 ** The new function `delete-and-extract-region' deletes text and
1876 returns it.
1877
1878 ** The function `clear-this-command-keys' now also clears the vector
1879 returned by function `recent-keys'.
1880
1881 +++
1882 ** Variables `beginning-of-defun-function' and `end-of-defun-function'
1883 can be used to define handlers for the functions that find defuns.
1884 Major modes can define these locally instead of rebinding M-C-a
1885 etc. if the normal conventions for defuns are not appropriate for the
1886 mode.
1887
1888 +++
1889 ** easy-mmode-define-minor-mode now takes an additional BODY argument
1890 and is renamed `define-minor-mode'.
1891
1892 +++
1893 ** If an abbrev has a hook function which is a symbol, and that symbol
1894 has a non-nil `no-self-insert' property, the return value of the hook
1895 function specifies whether an expansion has been done or not. If it
1896 returns nil, abbrev-expand also returns nil, meaning "no expansion has
1897 been performed."
1898
1899 When abbrev expansion is done by typing a self-inserting character,
1900 and the abbrev has a hook with the `no-self-insert' property, and the
1901 hook function returns non-nil meaning expansion has been done,
1902 then the self-inserting character is not inserted.
1903
1904 +++
1905 ** The function `intern-soft' now accepts a symbol as first argument.
1906 In this case, that exact symbol is looked up in the specified obarray,
1907 and the function's value is nil if it is not found.
1908
1909 +++
1910 ** The new macro `with-syntax-table' can be used to evaluate forms
1911 with the syntax table of the current buffer temporarily set to a
1912 specified table.
1913
1914 (with-syntax-table TABLE &rest BODY)
1915
1916 Evaluate BODY with syntax table of current buffer set to a copy of
1917 TABLE. The current syntax table is saved, BODY is evaluated, and the
1918 saved table is restored, even in case of an abnormal exit. Value is
1919 what BODY returns.
1920
1921 +++
1922 ** Regular expressions now support intervals \{n,m\} as well as
1923 Perl's shy-groups \(?:...\) and non-greedy *? +? and ?? operators.
1924
1925 +++
1926 ** The optional argument BUFFER of function file-local-copy has been
1927 removed since it wasn't used by anything.
1928
1929 +++
1930 ** The file name argument of function `file-locked-p' is now required
1931 instead of being optional.
1932
1933 +++
1934 ** The new built-in error `text-read-only' is signaled when trying to
1935 modify read-only text.
1936
1937 +++
1938 ** New functions and variables for locales.
1939
1940 The new variable `locale-coding-system' specifies how to encode and
1941 decode strings passed to low-level message functions like strerror and
1942 time functions like strftime. The new variables
1943 `system-messages-locale' and `system-time-locale' give the system
1944 locales to be used when invoking these two types of functions.
1945
1946 The new function `set-locale-environment' sets the language
1947 environment, preferred coding system, and locale coding system from
1948 the system locale as specified by the LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, and LANG
1949 environment variables. Normally, it is invoked during startup and need
1950 not be invoked thereafter. It uses the new variables
1951 `locale-language-names', `locale-charset-language-names', and
1952 `locale-preferred-coding-systems' to make its decisions.
1953
1954 +++
1955 ** syntax tables now understand nested comments.
1956 To declare a comment syntax as allowing nesting, just add an `n'
1957 modifier to either of the characters of the comment end and the comment
1958 start sequences.
1959
1960 +++
1961 ** The function `pixmap-spec-p' has been renamed `bitmap-spec-p'
1962 because `bitmap' is more in line with the usual X terminology.
1963
1964 +++
1965 ** New function `propertize'
1966
1967 The new function `propertize' can be used to conveniently construct
1968 strings with text properties.
1969
1970 - Function: propertize STRING &rest PROPERTIES
1971
1972 Value is a copy of STRING with text properties assigned as specified
1973 by PROPERTIES. PROPERTIES is a sequence of pairs PROPERTY VALUE, with
1974 PROPERTY being the name of a text property and VALUE being the
1975 specified value of that property. Example:
1976
1977 (propertize "foo" 'face 'bold 'read-only t)
1978
1979 +++
1980 ** push and pop macros.
1981
1982 Simple versions of the push and pop macros of Common Lisp
1983 are now defined in Emacs Lisp. These macros allow only symbols
1984 as the place that holds the list to be changed.
1985
1986 (push NEWELT LISTNAME) add NEWELT to the front of LISTNAME's value.
1987 (pop LISTNAME) return first elt of LISTNAME, and remove it
1988 (thus altering the value of LISTNAME).
1989
1990 ** New dolist and dotimes macros.
1991
1992 Simple versions of the dolist and dotimes macros of Common Lisp
1993 are now defined in Emacs Lisp.
1994
1995 (dolist (VAR LIST [RESULT]) BODY...)
1996 Execute body once for each element of LIST,
1997 using the variable VAR to hold the current element.
1998 Then return the value of RESULT, or nil if RESULT is omitted.
1999
2000 (dotimes (VAR COUNT [RESULT]) BODY...)
2001 Execute BODY with VAR bound to successive integers running from 0,
2002 inclusive, to COUNT, exclusive.
2003 Then return the value of RESULT, or nil if RESULT is omitted.
2004
2005 +++
2006 ** Regular expressions now support Posix character classes such
2007 as [:alpha:], [:space:] and so on.
2008
2009 [:digit:] matches 0 through 9
2010 [:cntrl:] matches ASCII control characters
2011 [:xdigit:] matches 0 through 9, a through f and A through F.
2012 [:blank:] matches space and tab only
2013 [:graph:] matches graphic characters--everything except ASCII control chars,
2014 space, and DEL.
2015 [:print:] matches printing characters--everything except ASCII control chars
2016 and DEL.
2017 [:alnum:] matches letters and digits.
2018 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2019 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
2020 [:alpha:] matches letters.
2021 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2022 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
2023 [:ascii:] matches ASCII (unibyte) characters.
2024 [:nonascii:] matches non-ASCII (multibyte) characters.
2025 [:lower:] matches anything lower-case.
2026 [:punct:] matches punctuation.
2027 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2028 it matches anything that has non-word syntax.)
2029 [:space:] matches anything that has whitespace syntax.
2030 [:upper:] matches anything upper-case.
2031 [:word:] matches anything that has word syntax.
2032
2033 +++
2034 ** Emacs now has built-in hash tables.
2035
2036 The following functions are defined for hash tables:
2037
2038 - Function: make-hash-table ARGS
2039
2040 The argument list ARGS consists of keyword/argument pairs. All arguments
2041 are optional. The following arguments are defined:
2042
2043 :test TEST
2044
2045 TEST must be a symbol specifying how to compare keys. Default is `eql'.
2046 Predefined are `eq', `eql' and `equal'. If TEST is not predefined,
2047 it must have been defined with `define-hash-table-test'.
2048
2049 :size SIZE
2050
2051 SIZE must be an integer > 0 giving a hint to the implementation how
2052 many elements will be put in the hash table. Default size is 65.
2053
2054 :rehash-size REHASH-SIZE
2055
2056 REHASH-SIZE specifies by how much to grow a hash table once it becomes
2057 full. If REHASH-SIZE is an integer, add that to the hash table's old
2058 size to get the new size. Otherwise, REHASH-SIZE must be a float >
2059 1.0, and the new size is computed by multiplying REHASH-SIZE with the
2060 old size. Default rehash size is 1.5.
2061
2062 :rehash-threshold THRESHOLD
2063
2064 THRESHOLD must be a float > 0 and <= 1.0 specifying when to resize the
2065 hash table. It is resized when the ratio of (number of entries) /
2066 (size of hash table) is >= THRESHOLD. Default threshold is 0.8.
2067
2068 :weakness WEAK
2069
2070 WEAK must be either nil, one of the symbols `key, `value',
2071 `key-or-value', `key-and-value', or t, meaning the same as
2072 `key-and-value'. Entries are removed from weak tables during garbage
2073 collection if their key and/or value are not referenced elsewhere
2074 outside of the hash table. Default are non-weak hash tables.
2075
2076 - Function: makehash &optional TEST
2077
2078 Similar to make-hash-table, but only TEST can be specified.
2079
2080 - Function: hash-table-p TABLE
2081
2082 Returns non-nil if TABLE is a hash table object.
2083
2084 - Function: copy-hash-table TABLE
2085
2086 Returns a copy of TABLE. Only the table itself is copied, keys and
2087 values are shared.
2088
2089 - Function: hash-table-count TABLE
2090
2091 Returns the number of entries in TABLE.
2092
2093 - Function: hash-table-rehash-size TABLE
2094
2095 Returns the rehash size of TABLE.
2096
2097 - Function: hash-table-rehash-threshold TABLE
2098
2099 Returns the rehash threshold of TABLE.
2100
2101 - Function: hash-table-rehash-size TABLE
2102
2103 Returns the size of TABLE.
2104
2105 - Function: hash-table-test TABLE
2106
2107 Returns the test TABLE uses to compare keys.
2108
2109 - Function: hash-table-weakness TABLE
2110
2111 Returns the weakness specified for TABLE.
2112
2113 - Function: clrhash TABLE
2114
2115 Clear TABLE.
2116
2117 - Function: gethash KEY TABLE &optional DEFAULT
2118
2119 Look up KEY in TABLE and return its associated VALUE or DEFAULT if
2120 not found.
2121
2122 - Function: puthash KEY VALUE TABLE
2123
2124 Associate KEY with VALUE in TABLE. If KEY is already associated with
2125 another value, replace the old value with VALUE.
2126
2127 - Function: remhash KEY TABLE
2128
2129 Remove KEY from TABLE if it is there.
2130
2131 - Function: maphash FUNCTION TABLE
2132
2133 Call FUNCTION for all elements in TABLE. FUNCTION must take two
2134 arguments KEY and VALUE.
2135
2136 - Function: sxhash OBJ
2137
2138 Return a hash code for Lisp object OBJ.
2139
2140 - Function: define-hash-table-test NAME TEST-FN HASH-FN
2141
2142 Define a new hash table test named NAME. If NAME is specified as
2143 a test in `make-hash-table', the table created will use TEST-FN for
2144 comparing keys, and HASH-FN to compute hash codes for keys. Test
2145 and hash function are stored as symbol property `hash-table-test'
2146 of NAME with a value of (TEST-FN HASH-FN).
2147
2148 TEST-FN must take two arguments and return non-nil if they are the same.
2149
2150 HASH-FN must take one argument and return an integer that is the hash
2151 code of the argument. The function should use the whole range of
2152 integer values for hash code computation, including negative integers.
2153
2154 Example: The following creates a hash table whose keys are supposed to
2155 be strings that are compared case-insensitively.
2156
2157 (defun case-fold-string= (a b)
2158 (compare-strings a nil nil b nil nil t))
2159
2160 (defun case-fold-string-hash (a)
2161 (sxhash (upcase a)))
2162
2163 (define-hash-table-test 'case-fold 'case-fold-string=
2164 'case-fold-string-hash))
2165
2166 (make-hash-table :test 'case-fold)
2167
2168 +++
2169 ** The Lisp reader handles circular structure.
2170
2171 It now works to use the #N= and #N# constructs to represent
2172 circular structures. For example, #1=(a . #1#) represents
2173 a cons cell which is its own cdr.
2174
2175 +++
2176 ** The Lisp printer handles circular structure.
2177
2178 If you bind print-circle to a non-nil value, the Lisp printer outputs
2179 #N= and #N# constructs to represent circular and shared structure.
2180
2181 +++
2182 ** If the second argument to `move-to-column' is anything but nil or
2183 t, that means replace a tab with spaces if necessary to reach the
2184 specified column, but do not add spaces at the end of the line if it
2185 is too short to reach that column.
2186
2187 +++
2188 ** perform-replace has a new feature: the REPLACEMENTS argument may
2189 now be a cons cell (FUNCTION . DATA). This means to call FUNCTION
2190 after each match to get the replacement text. FUNCTION is called with
2191 two arguments: DATA, and the number of replacements already made.
2192
2193 If the FROM-STRING contains any upper-case letters,
2194 perform-replace also turns off `case-fold-search' temporarily
2195 and inserts the replacement text without altering case in it.
2196
2197 +++
2198 ** The function buffer-size now accepts an optional argument
2199 to specify which buffer to return the size of.
2200
2201 +++
2202 ** The calendar motion commands now run the normal hook
2203 calendar-move-hook after moving point.
2204
2205 +++
2206 ** The new variable small-temporary-file-directory specifies a
2207 directory to use for creating temporary files that are likely to be
2208 small. (Certain Emacs features use this directory.) If
2209 small-temporary-file-directory is nil, they use
2210 temporary-file-directory instead.
2211
2212 +++
2213 ** The variable `inhibit-modification-hooks', if non-nil, inhibits all
2214 the hooks that track changes in the buffer. This affects
2215 `before-change-functions' and `after-change-functions', as well as
2216 hooks attached to text properties and overlay properties.
2217
2218 +++
2219 ** assoc-delete-all is a new function that deletes all the
2220 elements of an alist which have a particular value as the car.
2221
2222 +++
2223 ** make-temp-file provides a more reliable way to create a temporary file.
2224
2225 make-temp-file is used like make-temp-name, except that it actually
2226 creates the file before it returns. This prevents a timing error,
2227 ensuring that no other job can use the same name for a temporary file.
2228
2229 +++
2230 ** New exclusive-open feature in `write-region'
2231
2232 The optional seventh arg is now called MUSTBENEW. If non-nil, it insists
2233 on a check for an existing file with the same name. If MUSTBENEW
2234 is `excl', that means to get an error if the file already exists;
2235 never overwrite. If MUSTBENEW is neither nil nor `excl', that means
2236 ask for confirmation before overwriting, but do go ahead and
2237 overwrite the file if the user gives confirmation.
2238
2239 If the MUSTBENEW argument in `write-region' is `excl',
2240 that means to use a special feature in the `open' system call
2241 to get an error if the file exists at that time.
2242 The error reported is `file-already-exists'.
2243
2244 +++
2245 ** Function `format' now handles text properties.
2246
2247 Text properties of the format string are applied to the result string.
2248 If the result string is longer than the format string, text properties
2249 ending at the end of the format string are extended to the end of the
2250 result string.
2251
2252 Text properties from string arguments are applied to the result
2253 string where arguments appear in the result string.
2254
2255 Example:
2256
2257 (let ((s1 "hello, %s")
2258 (s2 "world"))
2259 (put-text-property 0 (length s1) 'face 'bold s1)
2260 (put-text-property 0 (length s2) 'face 'italic s2)
2261 (format s1 s2))
2262
2263 results in a bold-face string with an italic `world' at the end.
2264
2265 +++
2266 ** Messages can now be displayed with text properties.
2267
2268 Text properties are handled as described above for function `format'.
2269 The following example displays a bold-face message with an italic
2270 argument in it.
2271
2272 (let ((msg "hello, %s!")
2273 (arg "world"))
2274 (put-text-property 0 (length msg) 'face 'bold msg)
2275 (put-text-property 0 (length arg) 'face 'italic arg)
2276 (message msg arg))
2277
2278 +++
2279 ** Sound support
2280
2281 Emacs supports playing sound files on GNU/Linux and the free BSDs
2282 (Voxware driver and native BSD driver, aka as Luigi's driver).
2283
2284 Currently supported file formats are RIFF-WAVE (*.wav) and Sun Audio
2285 (*.au). You must configure Emacs with the option `--with-sound=yes'
2286 to enable sound support.
2287
2288 Sound files can be played by calling (play-sound SOUND). SOUND is a
2289 list of the form `(sound PROPERTY...)'. The function is only defined
2290 when sound support is present for the system on which Emacs runs. The
2291 functions runs `play-sound-functions' with one argument which is the
2292 sound to play, before playing the sound.
2293
2294 The following sound properties are supported:
2295
2296 - `:file FILE'
2297
2298 FILE is a file name. If FILE isn't an absolute name, it will be
2299 searched relative to `data-directory'.
2300
2301 - `:data DATA'
2302
2303 DATA is a string containing sound data. Either :file or :data
2304 may be present, but not both.
2305
2306 - `:volume VOLUME'
2307
2308 VOLUME must be an integer in the range 0..100 or a float in the range
2309 0..1. This property is optional.
2310
2311 Other properties are ignored.
2312
2313 ** `multimedia' is a new Finder keyword and Custom group.
2314
2315 ** keywordp is a new predicate to test efficiently for an object being
2316 a keyword symbol.
2317
2318 ** Changes to garbage collection
2319
2320 *** The function garbage-collect now additionally returns the number
2321 of live and free strings.
2322
2323 *** There is a new variable `strings-consed' holding the number of
2324 strings that have been consed so far.
2325
2326 \f
2327 * Lisp-level Display features added after release 2.6 of the Emacs
2328 Lisp Manual
2329
2330 *** On window systems, `glyph-table' is no longer used.
2331
2332 +++
2333 ** Help strings in menu items are now used to provide `help-echo' text.
2334
2335 ** The function `image-size' can be used to determine the size of an
2336 image.
2337
2338 - Function: image-size SPEC &optional PIXELS FRAME
2339
2340 Return the size of an image as a pair (WIDTH . HEIGHT).
2341
2342 SPEC is an image specification. PIXELS non-nil means return sizes
2343 measured in pixels, otherwise return sizes measured in canonical
2344 character units (fractions of the width/height of the frame's default
2345 font). FRAME is the frame on which the image will be displayed.
2346 FRAME nil or omitted means use the selected frame.
2347
2348 +++
2349 ** The function `find-image' can be used to find a usable image
2350 satisfying one of a list of specifications.
2351
2352 +++
2353 ** The STRING argument of `put-image' and `insert-image' is now
2354 optional.
2355
2356 +++
2357 ** Image specifications may contain the property `:ascent center' (see
2358 below).
2359
2360 \f
2361 * New Lisp-level Display features in Emacs 21.1
2362
2363 Note that +++ before an item means the Lisp manual has been updated.
2364 --- means that I have decided it does not need to be in the Lisp manual.
2365 When you add a new item, please add it without either +++ or ---
2366 so I will know I still need to look at it -- rms.
2367
2368 ** The function tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors can be used
2369 to make Emacs avoid displaying text with bold black foreground on TTYs.
2370
2371 Some terminals, notably PC consoles, emulate bold text by displaying
2372 text in brighter colors. On such a console, a bold black foreground
2373 is displayed in a gray color. If this turns out to be hard to read on
2374 your monitor---the problem occurred with the mode line on
2375 laptops---you can instruct Emacs to ignore the text's boldness, and to
2376 just display it black instead.
2377
2378 This situation can't be detected automatically. You will have to put
2379 a line like
2380
2381 (tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors t)
2382
2383 in your `.emacs'.
2384
2385 ** New face implementation.
2386
2387 Emacs faces have been reimplemented from scratch. They don't use XLFD
2388 font names anymore and face merging now works as expected.
2389
2390 +++
2391 *** New faces.
2392
2393 Each face can specify the following display attributes:
2394
2395 1. Font family or fontset alias name.
2396
2397 2. Relative proportionate width, aka character set width or set
2398 width (swidth), e.g. `semi-compressed'.
2399
2400 3. Font height in 1/10pt
2401
2402 4. Font weight, e.g. `bold'.
2403
2404 5. Font slant, e.g. `italic'.
2405
2406 6. Foreground color.
2407
2408 7. Background color.
2409
2410 8. Whether or not characters should be underlined, and in what color.
2411
2412 9. Whether or not characters should be displayed in inverse video.
2413
2414 10. A background stipple, a bitmap.
2415
2416 11. Whether or not characters should be overlined, and in what color.
2417
2418 12. Whether or not characters should be strike-through, and in what
2419 color.
2420
2421 13. Whether or not a box should be drawn around characters, its
2422 color, the width of the box lines, and 3D appearance.
2423
2424 Faces are frame-local by nature because Emacs allows to define the
2425 same named face (face names are symbols) differently for different
2426 frames. Each frame has an alist of face definitions for all named
2427 faces. The value of a named face in such an alist is a Lisp vector
2428 with the symbol `face' in slot 0, and a slot for each each of the face
2429 attributes mentioned above.
2430
2431 There is also a global face alist `face-new-frame-defaults'. Face
2432 definitions from this list are used to initialize faces of newly
2433 created frames.
2434
2435 A face doesn't have to specify all attributes. Those not specified
2436 have a nil value. Faces specifying all attributes are called
2437 `fully-specified'.
2438
2439 +++
2440 *** Face merging.
2441
2442 The display style of a given character in the text is determined by
2443 combining several faces. This process is called `face merging'. Any
2444 aspect of the display style that isn't specified by overlays or text
2445 properties is taken from the `default' face. Since it is made sure
2446 that the default face is always fully-specified, face merging always
2447 results in a fully-specified face.
2448
2449 +++
2450 *** Face realization.
2451
2452 After all face attributes for a character have been determined by
2453 merging faces of that character, that face is `realized'. The
2454 realization process maps face attributes to what is physically
2455 available on the system where Emacs runs. The result is a `realized
2456 face' in form of an internal structure which is stored in the face
2457 cache of the frame on which it was realized.
2458
2459 Face realization is done in the context of the charset of the
2460 character to display because different fonts and encodings are used
2461 for different charsets. In other words, for characters of different
2462 charsets, different realized faces are needed to display them.
2463
2464 Except for composite characters, faces are always realized for a
2465 specific character set and contain a specific font, even if the face
2466 being realized specifies a fontset. The reason is that the result of
2467 the new font selection stage is better than what can be done with
2468 statically defined font name patterns in fontsets.
2469
2470 In unibyte text, Emacs' charsets aren't applicable; function
2471 `char-charset' reports ASCII for all characters, including those >
2472 0x7f. The X registry and encoding of fonts to use is determined from
2473 the variable `face-default-registry' in this case. The variable is
2474 initialized at Emacs startup time from the font the user specified for
2475 Emacs.
2476
2477 Currently all unibyte text, i.e. all buffers with
2478 `enable-multibyte-characters' nil are displayed with fonts of the same
2479 registry and encoding `face-default-registry'. This is consistent
2480 with the fact that languages can also be set globally, only.
2481
2482 ++++
2483 **** Clearing face caches.
2484
2485 The Lisp function `clear-face-cache' can be called to clear face caches
2486 on all frames. If called with a non-nil argument, it will also unload
2487 unused fonts.
2488
2489 +++
2490 *** Font selection.
2491
2492 Font selection tries to find the best available matching font for a
2493 given (charset, face) combination. This is done slightly differently
2494 for faces specifying a fontset, or a font family name.
2495
2496 If the face specifies a fontset name, that fontset determines a
2497 pattern for fonts of the given charset. If the face specifies a font
2498 family, a font pattern is constructed. Charset symbols have a
2499 property `x-charset-registry' for that purpose that maps a charset to
2500 an XLFD registry and encoding in the font pattern constructed.
2501
2502 Available fonts on the system on which Emacs runs are then matched
2503 against the font pattern. The result of font selection is the best
2504 match for the given face attributes in this font list.
2505
2506 Font selection can be influenced by the user.
2507
2508 The user can specify the relative importance he gives the face
2509 attributes width, height, weight, and slant by setting
2510 face-font-selection-order (faces.el) to a list of face attribute
2511 names. The default is (:width :height :weight :slant), and means
2512 that font selection first tries to find a good match for the font
2513 width specified by a face, then---within fonts with that width---tries
2514 to find a best match for the specified font height, etc.
2515
2516 Setting `face-alternative-font-family-alist' allows the user to
2517 specify alternative font families to try if a family specified by a
2518 face doesn't exist.
2519
2520 +++
2521 **** Scalable fonts
2522
2523 Emacs can make use of scalable fonts but doesn't do so by default,
2524 since the use of too many or too big scalable fonts may crash XFree86
2525 servers.
2526
2527 To enable scalable font use, set the variable
2528 `scalable-fonts-allowed'. A value of nil, the default, means never use
2529 scalable fonts. A value of t means any scalable font may be used.
2530 Otherwise, the value must be a list of regular expressions. A
2531 scalable font may then be used if it matches a regular expression from
2532 that list. Example:
2533
2534 (setq scalable-fonts-allowed '("muleindian-2$"))
2535
2536 allows the use of scalable fonts with registry `muleindian-2'.
2537
2538 +++
2539 *** Functions and variables related to font selection.
2540
2541 - Function: x-family-fonts &optional FAMILY FRAME
2542
2543 Return a list of available fonts of family FAMILY on FRAME. If FAMILY
2544 is omitted or nil, list all families. Otherwise, FAMILY must be a
2545 string, possibly containing wildcards `?' and `*'.
2546
2547 If FRAME is omitted or nil, use the selected frame. Each element of
2548 the result is a vector [FAMILY WIDTH POINT-SIZE WEIGHT SLANT FIXED-P
2549 FULL REGISTRY-AND-ENCODING]. FAMILY is the font family name.
2550 POINT-SIZE is the size of the font in 1/10 pt. WIDTH, WEIGHT, and
2551 SLANT are symbols describing the width, weight and slant of the font.
2552 These symbols are the same as for face attributes. FIXED-P is non-nil
2553 if the font is fixed-pitch. FULL is the full name of the font, and
2554 REGISTRY-AND-ENCODING is a string giving the registry and encoding of
2555 the font. The result list is sorted according to the current setting
2556 of the face font sort order.
2557
2558 - Function: x-font-family-list
2559
2560 Return a list of available font families on FRAME. If FRAME is
2561 omitted or nil, use the selected frame. Value is a list of conses
2562 (FAMILY . FIXED-P) where FAMILY is a font family, and FIXED-P is
2563 non-nil if fonts of that family are fixed-pitch.
2564
2565 - Variable: font-list-limit
2566
2567 Limit for font matching. If an integer > 0, font matching functions
2568 won't load more than that number of fonts when searching for a
2569 matching font. The default is currently 100.
2570
2571 +++
2572 *** Setting face attributes.
2573
2574 For the most part, the new face implementation is interface-compatible
2575 with the old one. Old face attribute related functions are now
2576 implemented in terms of the new functions `set-face-attribute' and
2577 `face-attribute'.
2578
2579 Face attributes are identified by their names which are keyword
2580 symbols. All attributes can be set to `unspecified'.
2581
2582 The following attributes are recognized:
2583
2584 `:family'
2585
2586 VALUE must be a string specifying the font family, e.g. ``courier'',
2587 or a fontset alias name. If a font family is specified, wild-cards `*'
2588 and `?' are allowed.
2589
2590 `:width'
2591
2592 VALUE specifies the relative proportionate width of the font to use.
2593 It must be one of the symbols `ultra-condensed', `extra-condensed',
2594 `condensed', `semi-condensed', `normal', `semi-expanded', `expanded',
2595 `extra-expanded', or `ultra-expanded'.
2596
2597 `:height'
2598
2599 VALUE must be either an integer specifying the height of the font to use
2600 in 1/10 pt, a floating point number specifying the amount by which to
2601 scale any underlying face, or a function, which is called with the old
2602 height (from the underlying face), and should return the new height.
2603
2604 `:weight'
2605
2606 VALUE specifies the weight of the font to use. It must be one of the
2607 symbols `ultra-bold', `extra-bold', `bold', `semi-bold', `normal',
2608 `semi-light', `light', `extra-light', `ultra-light'.
2609
2610 `:slant'
2611
2612 VALUE specifies the slant of the font to use. It must be one of the
2613 symbols `italic', `oblique', `normal', `reverse-italic', or
2614 `reverse-oblique'.
2615
2616 `:foreground', `:background'
2617
2618 VALUE must be a color name, a string.
2619
2620 `:underline'
2621
2622 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be underlined. If
2623 VALUE is t, underline with foreground color of the face. If VALUE is
2624 a string, underline with that color. If VALUE is nil, explicitly
2625 don't underline.
2626
2627 `:overline'
2628
2629 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be overlined. If
2630 VALUE is t, overline with foreground color of the face. If VALUE is a
2631 string, overline with that color. If VALUE is nil, explicitly don't
2632 overline.
2633
2634 `:strike-through'
2635
2636 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be drawn with a line
2637 striking through them. If VALUE is t, use the foreground color of the
2638 face. If VALUE is a string, strike-through with that color. If VALUE
2639 is nil, explicitly don't strike through.
2640
2641 `:box'
2642
2643 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should have a box drawn
2644 around them. If VALUE is nil, explicitly don't draw boxes. If
2645 VALUE is t, draw a box with lines of width 1 in the foreground color
2646 of the face. If VALUE is a string, the string must be a color name,
2647 and the box is drawn in that color with a line width of 1. Otherwise,
2648 VALUE must be a property list of the form `(:line-width WIDTH
2649 :color COLOR :style STYLE)'. If a keyword/value pair is missing from
2650 the property list, a default value will be used for the value, as
2651 specified below. WIDTH specifies the width of the lines to draw; it
2652 defaults to 1. COLOR is the name of the color to draw in, default is
2653 the foreground color of the face for simple boxes, and the background
2654 color of the face for 3D boxes. STYLE specifies whether a 3D box
2655 should be draw. If STYLE is `released-button', draw a box looking
2656 like a released 3D button. If STYLE is `pressed-button' draw a box
2657 that appears like a pressed button. If STYLE is nil, the default if
2658 the property list doesn't contain a style specification, draw a 2D
2659 box.
2660
2661 `:inverse-video'
2662
2663 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be displayed in
2664 inverse video. VALUE must be one of t or nil.
2665
2666 `:stipple'
2667
2668 If VALUE is a string, it must be the name of a file of pixmap data.
2669 The directories listed in the `x-bitmap-file-path' variable are
2670 searched. Alternatively, VALUE may be a list of the form (WIDTH
2671 HEIGHT DATA) where WIDTH and HEIGHT are the size in pixels, and DATA
2672 is a string containing the raw bits of the bitmap. VALUE nil means
2673 explicitly don't use a stipple pattern.
2674
2675 For convenience, attributes `:family', `:width', `:height', `:weight',
2676 and `:slant' may also be set in one step from an X font name:
2677
2678 `:font'
2679
2680 Set font-related face attributes from VALUE. VALUE must be a valid
2681 XLFD font name. If it is a font name pattern, the first matching font
2682 is used--this is for compatibility with the behavior of previous
2683 versions of Emacs.
2684
2685 For compatibility with Emacs 20, keywords `:bold' and `:italic' can
2686 be used to specify that a bold or italic font should be used. VALUE
2687 must be t or nil in that case. A value of `unspecified' is not allowed."
2688
2689 Please see also the documentation of `set-face-attribute' and
2690 `defface'.
2691
2692 `:inherit'
2693
2694 VALUE is the name of a face from which to inherit attributes, or a list
2695 of face names. Attributes from inherited faces are merged into the face
2696 like an underlying face would be, with higher priority than underlying faces.
2697
2698 *** Face attributes and X resources
2699
2700 The following X resource names can be used to set face attributes
2701 from X resources:
2702
2703 Face attribute X resource class
2704 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
2705 :family attributeFamily . Face.AttributeFamily
2706 :width attributeWidth Face.AttributeWidth
2707 :height attributeHeight Face.AttributeHeight
2708 :weight attributeWeight Face.AttributeWeight
2709 :slant attributeSlant Face.AttributeSlant
2710 foreground attributeForeground Face.AttributeForeground
2711 :background attributeBackground . Face.AttributeBackground
2712 :overline attributeOverline Face.AttributeOverline
2713 :strike-through attributeStrikeThrough Face.AttributeStrikeThrough
2714 :box attributeBox Face.AttributeBox
2715 :underline attributeUnderline Face.AttributeUnderline
2716 :inverse-video attributeInverse Face.AttributeInverse
2717 :stipple attributeStipple Face.AttributeStipple
2718 or attributeBackgroundPixmap
2719 Face.AttributeBackgroundPixmap
2720 :font attributeFont Face.AttributeFont
2721 :bold attributeBold Face.AttributeBold
2722 :italic attributeItalic . Face.AttributeItalic
2723 :font attributeFont Face.AttributeFont
2724
2725 +++
2726 *** Text property `face'.
2727
2728 The value of the `face' text property can now be a single face
2729 specification or a list of such specifications. Each face
2730 specification can be
2731
2732 1. A symbol or string naming a Lisp face.
2733
2734 2. A property list of the form (KEYWORD VALUE ...) where each
2735 KEYWORD is a face attribute name, and VALUE is an appropriate value
2736 for that attribute. Please see the doc string of `set-face-attribute'
2737 for face attribute names.
2738
2739 3. Conses of the form (FOREGROUND-COLOR . COLOR) or
2740 (BACKGROUND-COLOR . COLOR) where COLOR is a color name. This is
2741 for compatibility with previous Emacs versions.
2742
2743 +++
2744 ** Support functions for colors on text-only terminals.
2745
2746 The function `tty-color-define' can be used to define colors for use
2747 on TTY and MSDOS frames. It maps a color name to a color number on
2748 the terminal. Emacs defines a couple of common color mappings by
2749 default. You can get defined colors with a call to
2750 `defined-colors'. The function `tty-color-clear' can be
2751 used to clear the mapping table.
2752
2753 ** Unified support for colors independent of frame type.
2754
2755 The new functions `defined-colors', `color-defined-p', `color-values',
2756 and `display-color-p' work for any type of frame. On frames whose
2757 type is neither x nor w32, these functions transparently map X-style
2758 color specifications to the closest colors supported by the frame
2759 display. Lisp programs should use these new functions instead of the
2760 old `x-defined-colors', `x-color-defined-p', `x-color-values', and
2761 `x-display-color-p'. (The old function names are still available for
2762 compatibility; they are now aliases of the new names.) Lisp programs
2763 should no more look at the value of the variable window-system to
2764 modify their color-related behavior.
2765
2766 The primitives `color-gray-p' and `color-supported-p' also work for
2767 any frame type.
2768
2769 ** Platform-independent functions to describe display capabilities.
2770
2771 The new functions `display-mouse-p', `display-popup-menus-p',
2772 `display-graphic-p', `display-selections-p', `display-screens',
2773 `display-pixel-width', `display-pixel-height', `display-mm-width',
2774 `display-mm-height', `display-backing-store', `display-save-under',
2775 `display-planes', `display-color-cells', `display-visual-class', and
2776 `display-grayscale-p' describe the basic capabilities of a particular
2777 display. Lisp programs should call these functions instead of testing
2778 the value of the variables `window-system' or `system-type', or calling
2779 platform-specific functions such as `x-display-pixel-width'.
2780
2781 +++
2782 ** The minibuffer prompt is now actually inserted in the minibuffer.
2783
2784 This makes it possible to scroll through the prompt, if you want to.
2785
2786 The function minubuffer-prompt-end returns the current position of the
2787 end of the minibuffer prompt, if the minibuffer is current.
2788 Otherwise, it returns zero.
2789
2790 ** New `field' abstraction in buffers.
2791
2792 There is now code to support an abstraction called `fields' in emacs
2793 buffers. A field is a contiguous region of text with the same `field'
2794 property (which can be a text property or an overlay).
2795
2796 Many emacs functions, such as forward-word, forward-sentence,
2797 forward-paragraph, beginning-of-line, etc., stop moving when they come
2798 to the boundary between fields; beginning-of-line and end-of-line will
2799 not let the point move past the field boundary, but other movement
2800 commands continue into the next field if repeated. Stopping at field
2801 boundaries can be suppressed programmatically by binding
2802 `inhibit-field-text-motion' to a non-nil value around calls to these
2803 functions.
2804
2805 Now that the minibuffer prompt is inserted into the minibuffer, it is in
2806 a separate field from the user-input part of the buffer, so that common
2807 editing commands treat the user's text separately from the prompt.
2808
2809 The following functions are defined for operating on fields:
2810
2811 - Function: constrain-to-field NEW-POS OLD-POS &optional ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE ONLY-IN-LINE INHIBIT-CAPTURE-PROPERTY
2812
2813 Return the position closest to NEW-POS that is in the same field as OLD-POS.
2814
2815 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2816 If NEW-POS is nil, then the current point is used instead, and set to the
2817 constrained position if that is is different.
2818
2819 If OLD-POS is at the boundary of two fields, then the allowable
2820 positions for NEW-POS depends on the value of the optional argument
2821 ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE: If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is nil, then NEW-POS is
2822 constrained to the field that has the same `field' char-property
2823 as any new characters inserted at OLD-POS, whereas if ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
2824 is non-nil, NEW-POS is constrained to the union of the two adjacent
2825 fields. Additionally, if two fields are separated by another field with
2826 the special value `boundary', then any point within this special field is
2827 also considered to be `on the boundary'.
2828
2829 If the optional argument ONLY-IN-LINE is non-nil and constraining
2830 NEW-POS would move it to a different line, NEW-POS is returned
2831 unconstrained. This useful for commands that move by line, like
2832 C-n or C-a, which should generally respect field boundaries
2833 only in the case where they can still move to the right line.
2834
2835 If the optional argument INHIBIT-CAPTURE-PROPERTY is non-nil, and OLD-POS has
2836 a non-nil property of that name, then any field boundaries are ignored.
2837
2838 Field boundaries are not noticed if `inhibit-field-text-motion' is non-nil.
2839
2840 - Function: delete-field &optional POS
2841
2842 Delete the field surrounding POS.
2843 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2844 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2845
2846 - Function: field-beginning &optional POS ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
2847
2848 Return the beginning of the field surrounding POS.
2849 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2850 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2851 If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is non-nil and POS is at the beginning of its
2852 field, then the beginning of the *previous* field is returned.
2853
2854 - Function: field-end &optional POS ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
2855
2856 Return the end of the field surrounding POS.
2857 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2858 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2859 If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is non-nil and POS is at the end of its field,
2860 then the end of the *following* field is returned.
2861
2862 - Function: field-string &optional POS
2863
2864 Return the contents of the field surrounding POS as a string.
2865 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2866 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2867
2868 - Function: field-string-no-properties &optional POS
2869
2870 Return the contents of the field around POS, without text-properties.
2871 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2872 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2873
2874 +++
2875 ** Image support.
2876
2877 Emacs can now display images. Images are inserted into text by giving
2878 strings or buffer text a `display' text property containing one of
2879 (AREA IMAGE) or IMAGE. The display of the `display' property value
2880 replaces the display of the characters having that property.
2881
2882 If the property value has the form (AREA IMAGE), AREA must be one of
2883 `(margin left-margin)', `(margin right-margin)' or `(margin nil)'. If
2884 AREA is `(margin nil)', IMAGE will be displayed in the text area of a
2885 window, otherwise it will be displayed in the left or right marginal
2886 area.
2887
2888 IMAGE is an image specification.
2889
2890 *** Image specifications
2891
2892 Image specifications are lists of the form `(image PROPS)' where PROPS
2893 is a property list whose keys are keyword symbols. Each
2894 specifications must contain a property `:type TYPE' with TYPE being a
2895 symbol specifying the image type, e.g. `xbm'. Properties not
2896 described below are ignored.
2897
2898 The following is a list of properties all image types share.
2899
2900 `:ascent ASCENT'
2901
2902 ASCENT must be a number in the range 0..100, or the symbol `center'.
2903 If it is a number, it specifies the percentage of the image's height
2904 to use for its ascent.
2905
2906 If not specified, ASCENT defaults to the value 50 which means that the
2907 image will be centered with the base line of the row it appears in.
2908
2909 If ASCENT is `center' the image is vertically centered around a
2910 centerline which is the vertical center of text drawn at the position
2911 of the image, in the manner specified by the text properties and
2912 overlays that apply to the image.
2913
2914 `:margin MARGIN'
2915
2916 MARGIN must be a number >= 0 specifying how many pixels to put as
2917 margin around the image. Default is 0.
2918
2919 `:relief RELIEF'
2920
2921 RELIEF is analogous to the `:relief' attribute of faces. Puts a relief
2922 around an image.
2923
2924 `:algorithm ALGO'
2925
2926 Apply an image algorithm to the image before displaying it. ALGO must
2927 be a symbol specifying the algorithm. Currently only `laplace' is
2928 supported which applies a Laplace edge detection algorithm to an image
2929 which is intended to display images "disabled."
2930
2931 `:heuristic-mask BG'
2932
2933 If BG is not nil, build a clipping mask for the image, so that the
2934 background of a frame is visible behind the image. If BG is t,
2935 determine the background color of the image by looking at the 4
2936 corners of the image, assuming the most frequently occuring color from
2937 the corners is the background color of the image. Otherwise, BG must
2938 be a list `(RED GREEN BLUE)' specifying the color to assume for the
2939 background of the image.
2940
2941 `:file FILE'
2942
2943 Load image from FILE. If FILE is not absolute after expanding it,
2944 search for the image in `data-directory'. Some image types support
2945 building images from data. When this is done, no `:file' property
2946 may be present in the image specification.
2947
2948 `:data DATA'
2949
2950 Get image data from DATA. (As of this writing, this is not yet
2951 supported for image type `postscript'). Either :file or :data may be
2952 present in an image specification, but not both. All image types
2953 support strings as DATA, some types allow additional types of DATA.
2954
2955 *** Supported image types
2956
2957 **** XBM, image type `xbm'.
2958
2959 XBM images don't require an external library. Additional image
2960 properties supported are
2961
2962 `:foreground FG'
2963
2964 FG must be a string specifying the image foreground color. Default
2965 is the frame's foreground.
2966
2967 `:background FG'
2968
2969 BG must be a string specifying the image foreground color. Default is
2970 the frame's background color.
2971
2972 XBM images can be constructed from data instead of file. In this
2973 case, the image specification must contain the following properties
2974 instead of a `:file' property.
2975
2976 `:width WIDTH'
2977
2978 WIDTH specifies the width of the image in pixels.
2979
2980 `:height HEIGHT'
2981
2982 HEIGHT specifies the height of the image in pixels.
2983
2984 `:data DATA'
2985
2986 DATA must be either
2987
2988 1. a string large enough to hold the bitmap data, i.e. it must
2989 have a size >= (WIDTH + 7) / 8 * HEIGHT
2990
2991 2. a bool-vector of size >= WIDTH * HEIGHT
2992
2993 3. a vector of strings or bool-vectors, one for each line of the
2994 bitmap.
2995
2996 4. a string that's an in-memory XBM file. Neither width nor
2997 height may be specified in this case because these are defined
2998 in the file.
2999
3000 **** XPM, image type `xpm'
3001
3002 XPM images require the external library `libXpm', package
3003 `xpm-3.4k.tar.gz', version 3.4k or later. Make sure the library is
3004 found when Emacs is configured by supplying appropriate paths via
3005 `--x-includes' and `--x-libraries'.
3006
3007 Additional image properties supported are:
3008
3009 `:color-symbols SYMBOLS'
3010
3011 SYMBOLS must be a list of pairs (NAME . COLOR), with NAME being the
3012 name of color as it appears in an XPM file, and COLOR being an X color
3013 name.
3014
3015 XPM images can be built from memory instead of files. In that case,
3016 add a `:data' property instead of a `:file' property.
3017
3018 The XPM library uses libz in its implementation so that it is able
3019 to display compressed images.
3020
3021 **** PBM, image type `pbm'
3022
3023 PBM images don't require an external library. Color, gray-scale and
3024 mono images are supported. There are no additional image properties
3025 defined.
3026
3027 **** JPEG, image type `jpeg'
3028
3029 Support for JPEG images requires the external library `libjpeg',
3030 package `jpegsrc.v6a.tar.gz', or later. Additional image properties
3031 are:
3032
3033 **** TIFF, image type `tiff'
3034
3035 Support for TIFF images requires the external library `libtiff',
3036 package `tiff-v3.4-tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
3037 properties defined.
3038
3039 **** GIF, image type `gif'
3040
3041 Support for GIF images requires the external library `libungif', package
3042 `libungif-4.1.0', or later.
3043
3044 Additional image properties supported are:
3045
3046 `:index INDEX'
3047
3048 INDEX must be an integer >= 0. Load image number INDEX from a
3049 multi-image GIF file. An error is signalled if INDEX is too large.
3050
3051 This could be used to implement limited support for animated GIFs.
3052 For example, the following function displays a multi-image GIF file
3053 at point-min in the current buffer, switching between sub-images
3054 every 0.1 seconds.
3055
3056 (defun show-anim (file max)
3057 "Display multi-image GIF file FILE which contains MAX subimages."
3058 (display-anim (current-buffer) file 0 max t))
3059
3060 (defun display-anim (buffer file idx max first-time)
3061 (when (= idx max)
3062 (setq idx 0))
3063 (let ((img (create-image file nil nil :index idx)))
3064 (save-excursion
3065 (set-buffer buffer)
3066 (goto-char (point-min))
3067 (unless first-time (delete-char 1))
3068 (insert-image img "x"))
3069 (run-with-timer 0.1 nil 'display-anim buffer file (1+ idx) max nil)))
3070
3071 **** PNG, image type `png'
3072
3073 Support for PNG images requires the external library `libpng',
3074 package `libpng-1.0.2.tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
3075 properties defined.
3076
3077 **** Ghostscript, image type `postscript'.
3078
3079 Additional image properties supported are:
3080
3081 `:pt-width WIDTH'
3082
3083 WIDTH is width of the image in pt (1/72 inch). WIDTH must be an
3084 integer. This is a required property.
3085
3086 `:pt-height HEIGHT'
3087
3088 HEIGHT specifies the height of the image in pt (1/72 inch). HEIGHT
3089 must be a integer. This is an required property.
3090
3091 `:bounding-box BOX'
3092
3093 BOX must be a list or vector of 4 integers giving the bounding box of
3094 the PS image, analogous to the `BoundingBox' comment found in PS
3095 files. This is an required property.
3096
3097 Part of the Ghostscript interface is implemented in Lisp. See
3098 lisp/gs.el.
3099
3100 *** Lisp interface.
3101
3102 The variable `image-types' contains a list of those image types
3103 which are supported in the current configuration.
3104
3105 Images are stored in an image cache and removed from the cache when
3106 they haven't been displayed for `image-cache-eviction-delay seconds.
3107 The function `clear-image-cache' can be used to clear the image cache
3108 manually. Images in the cache are compared with `equal', i.e. all
3109 images with `equal' specifications share the same image.
3110
3111 *** Simplified image API, image.el
3112
3113 The new Lisp package image.el contains functions that simplify image
3114 creation and putting images into text. The function `create-image'
3115 can be used to create images. The macro `defimage' can be used to
3116 define an image based on available image types. The functions
3117 `put-image' and `insert-image' can be used to insert an image into a
3118 buffer.
3119
3120 +++
3121 ** Display margins.
3122
3123 Windows can now have margins which are used for special text
3124 and images.
3125
3126 To give a window margins, either set the buffer-local variables
3127 `left-margin-width' and `right-margin-width', or call
3128 `set-window-margins'. The function `window-margins' can be used to
3129 obtain the current settings. To make `left-margin-width' and
3130 `right-margin-width' take effect, you must set them before displaying
3131 the buffer in a window, or use `set-window-buffer' to force an update
3132 of the display margins.
3133
3134 You can put text in margins by giving it a `display' text property
3135 containing a pair of the form `(LOCATION . VALUE)', where LOCATION is
3136 one of `left-margin' or `right-margin' or nil. VALUE can be either a
3137 string, an image specification or a stretch specification (see later
3138 in this file).
3139
3140 +++
3141 ** Help display
3142
3143 Emacs displays short help messages in the echo area, when the mouse
3144 moves over a tool-bar item or a piece of text that has a text property
3145 `help-echo'. This feature also applies to strings in the mode line
3146 that have a `help-echo' property.
3147
3148 If the value of the `help-echo' property is a function, that function
3149 is called with three arguments WINDOW, OBJECT and POSITION. WINDOW is
3150 the window in which the help was found.
3151
3152 If OBJECT is a buffer, POS is the position in the buffer where the
3153 `help-echo' text property was found.
3154
3155 If OBJECT is an overlay, that overlay has a `help-echo' property, and
3156 POS is the position in the overlay's buffer under the mouse.
3157
3158 If OBJECT is a string (an overlay string or a string displayed with
3159 the `display' property), POS is the position in that string under the
3160 mouse.
3161
3162 If the value of the `help-echo' property is neither a function nor a
3163 string, it is evaluated to obtain a help string.
3164
3165 For tool-bar and menu-bar items, their key definition is used to
3166 determine the help to display. If their definition contains a
3167 property `:help FORM', FORM is evaluated to determine the help string.
3168 For tool-bar items without a help form, the caption of the item is
3169 used as help string.
3170
3171 The hook `show-help-function' can be set to a function that displays
3172 the help string differently. For example, enabling a tooltip window
3173 causes the help display to appear there instead of in the echo area.
3174
3175 +++
3176 ** Vertical fractional scrolling.
3177
3178 The display of text in windows can be scrolled smoothly in pixels.
3179 This is useful, for example, for making parts of large images visible.
3180
3181 The function `window-vscroll' returns the current value of vertical
3182 scrolling, a non-negative fraction of the canonical character height.
3183 The function `set-window-vscroll' can be used to set the vertical
3184 scrolling value. Here is an example of how these function might be
3185 used.
3186
3187 (global-set-key [A-down]
3188 #'(lambda ()
3189 (interactive)
3190 (set-window-vscroll (selected-window)
3191 (+ 0.5 (window-vscroll)))))
3192 (global-set-key [A-up]
3193 #'(lambda ()
3194 (interactive)
3195 (set-window-vscroll (selected-window)
3196 (- (window-vscroll) 0.5)))))
3197
3198 +++
3199 ** New hook `fontification-functions'.
3200
3201 Functions from `fontification-functions' are called from redisplay
3202 when it encounters a region of text that is not yet fontified. This
3203 variable automatically becomes buffer-local when set. Each function
3204 is called with one argument, POS.
3205
3206 At least one of the hook functions should fontify one or more
3207 characters starting at POS in the current buffer. It should mark them
3208 as fontified by giving them a non-nil value of the `fontified' text
3209 property. It may be reasonable for these functions to check for the
3210 `fontified' property and not put it back on, but they do not have to.
3211
3212 +++
3213 ** Tool bar support.
3214
3215 Emacs supports a tool bar at the top of a frame under X. The frame
3216 parameter `tool-bar-lines' (X resource "toolBar", class "ToolBar")
3217 controls how may lines to reserve for the tool bar. A zero value
3218 suppresses the tool bar. If the value is non-zero and
3219 `auto-resize-tool-bars' is non-nil the tool bar's size will be changed
3220 automatically so that all tool bar items are visible.
3221
3222 before this facility can be useful, we need people to donate icons.
3223
3224 *** Tool bar item definitions
3225
3226 Tool bar items are defined using `define-key' with a prefix-key
3227 `tool-bar'. For example `(define-key global-map [tool-bar item1] ITEM)'
3228 where ITEM is a list `(menu-item CAPTION BINDING PROPS...)'.
3229
3230 CAPTION is the caption of the item, If it's not a string, it is
3231 evaluated to get a string. The caption is currently not displayed in
3232 the tool bar, but it is displayed if the item doesn't have a `:help'
3233 property (see below).
3234
3235 BINDING is the tool bar item's binding. Tool bar items with keymaps as
3236 binding are currently ignored.
3237
3238 The following properties are recognized:
3239
3240 `:enable FORM'.
3241
3242 FORM is evaluated and specifies whether the tool bar item is enabled
3243 or disabled.
3244
3245 `:visible FORM'
3246
3247 FORM is evaluated and specifies whether the tool bar item is displayed.
3248
3249 `:filter FUNCTION'
3250
3251 FUNCTION is called with one parameter, the same list BINDING in which
3252 FUNCTION is specified as the filter. The value FUNCTION returns is
3253 used instead of BINDING to display this item.
3254
3255 `:button (TYPE SELECTED)'
3256
3257 TYPE must be one of `:radio' or `:toggle'. SELECTED is evaluated
3258 and specifies whether the button is selected (pressed) or not.
3259
3260 `:image IMAGES'
3261
3262 IMAGES is either a single image specification or a vector of four
3263 image specifications. If it is a vector, this table lists the
3264 meaning of each of the four elements:
3265
3266 Index Use when item is
3267 ----------------------------------------
3268 0 enabled and selected
3269 1 enabled and deselected
3270 2 disabled and selected
3271 3 disabled and deselected
3272
3273 If IMAGE is a single image specification, a Laplace edge-detection
3274 algorithm is used on that image to draw the image in disabled state.
3275
3276 `:help HELP-STRING'.
3277
3278 Gives a help string to display for the tool bar item. This help
3279 is displayed when the mouse is moved over the item.
3280
3281 *** Tool-bar-related variables.
3282
3283 If `auto-resize-tool-bar' is non-nil, the tool bar will automatically
3284 resize to show all defined tool bar items. It will never grow larger
3285 than 1/4 of the frame's size.
3286
3287 If `auto-raise-tool-bar-buttons' is non-nil, tool bar buttons will be
3288 raised when the mouse moves over them.
3289
3290 You can add extra space between tool bar items by setting
3291 `tool-bar-button-margin' to a positive integer specifying a number of
3292 pixels. Default is 1.
3293
3294 You can change the shadow thickness of tool bar buttons by setting
3295 `tool-bar-button-relief' to an integer. Default is 3.
3296
3297 *** Tool-bar clicks with modifiers.
3298
3299 You can bind commands to clicks with control, shift, meta etc. on
3300 a tool bar item. If
3301
3302 (define-key global-map [tool-bar shell]
3303 '(menu-item "Shell" shell
3304 :image (image :type xpm :file "shell.xpm")))
3305
3306 is the original tool bar item definition, then
3307
3308 (define-key global-map [tool-bar S-shell] 'some-command)
3309
3310 makes a binding to run `some-command' for a shifted click on the same
3311 item.
3312
3313 ** Mode line changes.
3314
3315 +++
3316 *** Mouse-sensitive mode line.
3317
3318 The mode line can be made mouse-sensitive by displaying strings there
3319 that have a `local-map' text property. There are three ways to display
3320 a string with a `local-map' property in the mode line.
3321
3322 1. The mode line spec contains a variable whose string value has
3323 a `local-map' text property.
3324
3325 2. The mode line spec contains a format specifier (e.g. `%12b'), and
3326 that format specifier has a `local-map' property.
3327
3328 3. The mode line spec contains a list containing `:eval FORM'. FORM
3329 is evaluated. If the result is a string, and that string has a
3330 `local-map' property.
3331
3332 The same mechanism is used to determine the `face' and `help-echo'
3333 properties of strings in the mode line. See `bindings.el' for an
3334 example.
3335
3336 *** If a mode line element has the form `(:eval FORM)', FORM is
3337 evaluated and the result is used as mode line element.
3338
3339 +++
3340 *** You can suppress mode-line display by setting the buffer-local
3341 variable mode-line-format to nil.
3342
3343 +++
3344 *** A headerline can now be displayed at the top of a window.
3345
3346 This mode line's contents are controlled by the new variable
3347 `header-line-format' and `default-header-line-format' which are
3348 completely analogous to `mode-line-format' and
3349 `default-mode-line-format'. A value of nil means don't display a top
3350 line.
3351
3352 The appearance of top mode lines is controlled by the face
3353 `header-line'.
3354
3355 The function `coordinates-in-window-p' returns `header-line' for a
3356 position in the header-line.
3357
3358 +++
3359 ** Text property `display'
3360
3361 The `display' text property is used to insert images into text, and
3362 also control other aspects of how text displays. The value of the
3363 `display' property should be a display specification, as described
3364 below, or a list or vector containing display specifications.
3365
3366 *** Variable width and height spaces
3367
3368 To display a space of fractional width or height, use a display
3369 specification of the form `(LOCATION STRECH)'. If LOCATION is
3370 `(margin left-margin)', the space is displayed in the left marginal
3371 area, if it is `(margin right-margin)', it is displayed in the right
3372 marginal area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' the space is
3373 displayed in the text. In the latter case you can also use the
3374 simpler form STRETCH as property value.
3375
3376 The stretch specification STRETCH itself is a list of the form `(space
3377 PROPS)', where PROPS is a property list which can contain the
3378 properties described below.
3379
3380 The display of the fractional space replaces the display of the
3381 characters having the `display' property.
3382
3383 - :width WIDTH
3384
3385 Specifies that the space width should be WIDTH times the normal
3386 character width. WIDTH can be an integer or floating point number.
3387
3388 - :relative-width FACTOR
3389
3390 Specifies that the width of the stretch should be computed from the
3391 first character in a group of consecutive characters that have the
3392 same `display' property. The computation is done by multiplying the
3393 width of that character by FACTOR.
3394
3395 - :align-to HPOS
3396
3397 Specifies that the space should be wide enough to reach HPOS. The
3398 value HPOS is measured in units of the normal character width.
3399
3400 Exactly one of the above properties should be used.
3401
3402 - :height HEIGHT
3403
3404 Specifies the height of the space, as HEIGHT, measured in terms of the
3405 normal line height.
3406
3407 - :relative-height FACTOR
3408
3409 The height of the space is computed as the product of the height
3410 of the text having the `display' property and FACTOR.
3411
3412 - :ascent ASCENT
3413
3414 Specifies that ASCENT percent of the height of the stretch should be
3415 used for the ascent of the stretch, i.e. for the part above the
3416 baseline. The value of ASCENT must be a non-negative number less or
3417 equal to 100.
3418
3419 You should not use both `:height' and `:relative-height' together.
3420
3421 *** Images
3422
3423 A display specification for an image has the form `(LOCATION
3424 . IMAGE)', where IMAGE is an image specification. The image replaces,
3425 in the display, the characters having this display specification in
3426 their `display' text property. If LOCATION is `(margin left-margin)',
3427 the image will be displayed in the left marginal area, if it is
3428 `(margin right-margin)' it will be displayed in the right marginal
3429 area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' the image will be displayed in
3430 the text. In the latter case you can also use the simpler form IMAGE
3431 as display specification.
3432
3433 *** Other display properties
3434
3435 - :space-width FACTOR
3436
3437 Specifies that space characters in the text having that property
3438 should be displayed FACTOR times as wide as normal; FACTOR must be an
3439 integer or float.
3440
3441 - :height HEIGHT
3442
3443 Display text having this property in a font that is smaller or larger.
3444
3445 If HEIGHT is a list of the form `(+ N)', where N is an integer, that
3446 means to use a font that is N steps larger. If HEIGHT is a list of
3447 the form `(- N)', that means to use a font that is N steps smaller. A
3448 ``step'' is defined by the set of available fonts; each size for which
3449 a font is available counts as a step.
3450
3451 If HEIGHT is a number, that means to use a font that is HEIGHT times
3452 as tall as the frame's default font.
3453
3454 If HEIGHT is a symbol, it is called as a function with the current
3455 height as argument. The function should return the new height to use.
3456
3457 Otherwise, HEIGHT is evaluated to get the new height, with the symbol
3458 `height' bound to the current specified font height.
3459
3460 - :raise FACTOR
3461
3462 FACTOR must be a number, specifying a multiple of the current
3463 font's height. If it is positive, that means to display the characters
3464 raised. If it is negative, that means to display them lower down. The
3465 amount of raising or lowering is computed without taking account of the
3466 `:height' subproperty.
3467
3468 *** Conditional display properties
3469
3470 All display specifications can be conditionalized. If a specification
3471 has the form `(:when CONDITION . SPEC)', the specification SPEC
3472 applies only when CONDITION yields a non-nil value when evaluated.
3473 During evaluattion, point is temporarily set to the end position of
3474 the text having the `display' property.
3475
3476 The normal specification consisting of SPEC only is equivalent to
3477 `(:when t SPEC)'.
3478
3479 +++
3480 ** New menu separator types.
3481
3482 Emacs now supports more than one menu separator type. Menu items with
3483 item names consisting of dashes only (including zero dashes) are
3484 treated like before. In addition, the following item names are used
3485 to specify other menu separator types.
3486
3487 - `--no-line' or `--space', or `--:space', or `--:noLine'
3488
3489 No separator lines are drawn, but a small space is inserted where the
3490 separator occurs.
3491
3492 - `--single-line' or `--:singleLine'
3493
3494 A single line in the menu's foreground color.
3495
3496 - `--double-line' or `--:doubleLine'
3497
3498 A double line in the menu's foreground color.
3499
3500 - `--single-dashed-line' or `--:singleDashedLine'
3501
3502 A single dashed line in the menu's foreground color.
3503
3504 - `--double-dashed-line' or `--:doubleDashedLine'
3505
3506 A double dashed line in the menu's foreground color.
3507
3508 - `--shadow-etched-in' or `--:shadowEtchedIn'
3509
3510 A single line with 3D sunken appearance. This is the the form
3511 displayed for item names consisting of dashes only.
3512
3513 - `--shadow-etched-out' or `--:shadowEtchedOut'
3514
3515 A single line with 3D raised appearance.
3516
3517 - `--shadow-etched-in-dash' or `--:shadowEtchedInDash'
3518
3519 A single dashed line with 3D sunken appearance.
3520
3521 - `--shadow-etched-out-dash' or `--:shadowEtchedOutDash'
3522
3523 A single dashed line with 3D raise appearance.
3524
3525 - `--shadow-double-etched-in' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedIn'
3526
3527 Two lines with 3D sunken appearance.
3528
3529 - `--shadow-double-etched-out' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedOut'
3530
3531 Two lines with 3D raised appearance.
3532
3533 - `--shadow-double-etched-in-dash' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedInDash'
3534
3535 Two dashed lines with 3D sunken appearance.
3536
3537 - `--shadow-double-etched-out-dash' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedOutDash'
3538
3539 Two dashed lines with 3D raised appearance.
3540
3541 Under LessTif/Motif, the last four separator types are displayed like
3542 the corresponding single-line separators.
3543
3544 +++
3545 ** New frame parameters for scroll bar colors.
3546
3547 The new frame parameters `scroll-bar-foreground' and
3548 `scroll-bar-background' can be used to change scroll bar colors.
3549 Their value must be either a color name, a string, or nil to specify
3550 that scroll bars should use a default color. For toolkit scroll bars,
3551 default colors are toolkit specific. For non-toolkit scroll bars, the
3552 default background is the background color of the frame, and the
3553 default foreground is black.
3554
3555 The X resource name of these parameters are `scrollBarForeground'
3556 (class ScrollBarForeground) and `scrollBarBackground' (class
3557 `ScrollBarBackground').
3558
3559 Setting these parameters overrides toolkit specific X resource
3560 settings for scroll bar colors.
3561
3562 +++
3563 ** You can set `redisplay-dont-pause' to a non-nil value to prevent
3564 display updates from being interrupted when input is pending.
3565
3566 ---
3567 ** Changing a window's width may now change its window start if it
3568 starts on a continuation line. The new window start is computed based
3569 on the window's new width, starting from the start of the continued
3570 line as the start of the screen line with the minimum distance from
3571 the original window start.
3572
3573 ---
3574 ** The variable `hscroll-step' and the functions
3575 `hscroll-point-visible' and `hscroll-window-column' have been removed
3576 now that proper horizontal scrolling is implemented.
3577
3578 +++
3579 ** Windows can now be made fixed-width and/or fixed-height.
3580
3581 A window is fixed-size if its buffer has a buffer-local variable
3582 `window-size-fixed' whose value is not nil. A value of `height' makes
3583 windows fixed-height, a value of `width' makes them fixed-width, any
3584 other non-nil value makes them both fixed-width and fixed-height.
3585
3586 The following code makes all windows displaying the current buffer
3587 fixed-width and fixed-height.
3588
3589 (set (make-local-variable 'window-size-fixed) t)
3590
3591 A call to enlarge-window on a window gives an error if that window is
3592 fixed-width and it is tried to change the window's width, or if the
3593 window is fixed-height, and it is tried to change its height. To
3594 change the size of a fixed-size window, bind `window-size-fixed'
3595 temporarily to nil, for example
3596
3597 (let ((window-size-fixed nil))
3598 (enlarge-window 10))
3599
3600 Likewise, an attempt to split a fixed-height window vertically,
3601 or a fixed-width window horizontally results in a error.
3602
3603 ** The cursor-type frame parameter is now supported on MS-DOS
3604 terminals. When Emacs starts, it by default changes the cursor shape
3605 to a solid box, as it does on Unix. The `cursor-type' frame parameter
3606 overrides this as it does on Unix, except that the bar cursor is
3607 horizontal rather than vertical (since the MS-DOS display doesn't
3608 support a vertical-bar cursor).
3609
3610
3611 ^L
3612 * Emacs 20.7 is a bug-fix release with few user-visible changes
3613
3614 ** It is now possible to use CCL-based coding systems for keyboard
3615 input.
3616
3617 ** ange-ftp now handles FTP security extensions, like Kerberos.
3618
3619 ** Rmail has been extended to recognize more forms of digest messages.
3620
3621 ** Now, most coding systems set in keyboard coding system work not
3622 only for character input, but also in incremental search. The
3623 exceptions are such coding systems that handle 2-byte character sets
3624 (e.g euc-kr, euc-jp) and that use ISO's escape sequence
3625 (e.g. iso-2022-jp). They are ignored in incremental search.
3626
3627 ** Support for Macintosh PowerPC-based machines running GNU/Linux has
3628 been added.
3629
3630 ^L
3631 * Emacs 20.6 is a bug-fix release with one user-visible change
3632
3633 ** Support for ARM-based non-RISCiX machines has been added.
3634
3635 ^L
3636 * Emacs 20.5 is a bug-fix release with no user-visible changes.
3637
3638 ** Not new, but not mentioned before:
3639 M-w when Transient Mark mode is enabled disables the mark.
3640 \f
3641 * Changes in Emacs 20.4
3642
3643 ** Init file may be called .emacs.el.
3644
3645 You can now call the Emacs init file `.emacs.el'.
3646 Formerly the name had to be `.emacs'. If you use the name
3647 `.emacs.el', you can byte-compile the file in the usual way.
3648
3649 If both `.emacs' and `.emacs.el' exist, the latter file
3650 is the one that is used.
3651
3652 ** shell-command, and shell-command-on-region, now return
3653 the exit code of the command (unless it is asynchronous).
3654 Also, you can specify a place to put the error output,
3655 separate from the command's regular output.
3656 Interactively, the variable shell-command-default-error-buffer
3657 says where to put error output; set it to a buffer name.
3658 In calls from Lisp, an optional argument ERROR-BUFFER specifies
3659 the buffer name.
3660
3661 When you specify a non-nil error buffer (or buffer name), any error
3662 output is inserted before point in that buffer, with \f\n to separate
3663 it from the previous batch of error output. The error buffer is not
3664 cleared, so error output from successive commands accumulates there.
3665
3666 ** Setting the default value of enable-multibyte-characters to nil in
3667 the .emacs file, either explicitly using setq-default, or via Custom,
3668 is now essentially equivalent to using --unibyte: all buffers
3669 created during startup will be made unibyte after loading .emacs.
3670
3671 ** C-x C-f now handles the wildcards * and ? in file names. For
3672 example, typing C-x C-f c*.c RET visits all the files whose names
3673 match c*.c. To visit a file whose name contains * or ?, add the
3674 quoting sequence /: to the beginning of the file name.
3675
3676 ** The M-x commands keep-lines, flush-lines and count-matches
3677 now have the same feature as occur and query-replace:
3678 if the pattern contains any upper case letters, then
3679 they never ignore case.
3680
3681 ** The end-of-line format conversion feature previously mentioned
3682 under `* Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows' actually
3683 applies to all operating systems. Emacs recognizes from the contents
3684 of a file what convention it uses to separate lines--newline, CRLF, or
3685 just CR--and automatically converts the contents to the normal Emacs
3686 convention (using newline to separate lines) for editing. This is a
3687 part of the general feature of coding system conversion.
3688
3689 If you subsequently save the buffer, Emacs converts the text back to
3690 the same format that was used in the file before.
3691
3692 You can turn off end-of-line conversion by setting the variable
3693 `inhibit-eol-conversion' to non-nil, e.g. with Custom in the MULE group.
3694
3695 ** The character set property `prefered-coding-system' has been
3696 renamed to `preferred-coding-system', for the sake of correct spelling.
3697 This is a fairly internal feature, so few programs should be affected.
3698
3699 ** Mode-line display of end-of-line format is changed.
3700 The indication of the end-of-line format of the file visited by a
3701 buffer is now more explicit when that format is not the usual one for
3702 your operating system. For example, the DOS-style end-of-line format
3703 is displayed as "(DOS)" on Unix and GNU/Linux systems. The usual
3704 end-of-line format is still displayed as a single character (colon for
3705 Unix, backslash for DOS and Windows, and forward slash for the Mac).
3706
3707 The values of the variables eol-mnemonic-unix, eol-mnemonic-dos,
3708 eol-mnemonic-mac, and eol-mnemonic-undecided, which are strings,
3709 control what is displayed in the mode line for each end-of-line
3710 format. You can now customize these variables.
3711
3712 ** In the previous version of Emacs, tar-mode didn't work well if a
3713 filename contained non-ASCII characters. Now this is fixed. Such a
3714 filename is decoded by file-name-coding-system if the default value of
3715 enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil.
3716
3717 ** The command temp-buffer-resize-mode toggles a minor mode
3718 in which temporary buffers (such as help buffers) are given
3719 windows just big enough to hold the whole contents.
3720
3721 ** If you use completion.el, you must now run the function
3722 dynamic-completion-mode to enable it. Just loading the file
3723 doesn't have any effect.
3724
3725 ** In Flyspell mode, the default is now to make just one Ispell process,
3726 not one per buffer.
3727
3728 ** If you use iswitchb but do not call (iswitchb-default-keybindings) to
3729 use the default keybindings, you will need to add the following line:
3730 (add-hook 'minibuffer-setup-hook 'iswitchb-minibuffer-setup)
3731
3732 ** Auto-show mode is no longer enabled just by loading auto-show.el.
3733 To control it, set `auto-show-mode' via Custom or use the
3734 `auto-show-mode' command.
3735
3736 ** Handling of X fonts' ascent/descent parameters has been changed to
3737 avoid redisplay problems. As a consequence, compared with previous
3738 versions the line spacing and frame size now differ with some font
3739 choices, typically increasing by a pixel per line. This change
3740 occurred in version 20.3 but was not documented then.
3741
3742 ** If you select the bar cursor style, it uses the frame's
3743 cursor-color, rather than the cursor foreground pixel.
3744
3745 ** In multibyte mode, Rmail decodes incoming MIME messages using the
3746 character set specified in the message. If you want to disable this
3747 feature, set the variable rmail-decode-mime-charset to nil.
3748
3749 ** Not new, but not mentioned previously in NEWS: when you use #! at
3750 the beginning of a file to make it executable and specify an
3751 interpreter program, Emacs looks on the second line for the -*- mode
3752 and variable specification, as well as on the first line.
3753
3754 ** Support for IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters.
3755
3756 The new command M-x codepage-setup creates a special coding system
3757 that can be used to convert text between a specific IBM codepage and
3758 one of the character sets built into Emacs which matches that
3759 codepage. For example, codepage 850 corresponds to Latin-1 character
3760 set, codepage 855 corresponds to Cyrillic-ISO character set, etc.
3761
3762 Windows codepages 1250, 1251 and some others, where Windows deviates
3763 from the corresponding ISO character set, are also supported.
3764
3765 IBM box-drawing characters and other glyphs which don't have
3766 equivalents in the corresponding ISO character set, are converted to
3767 a character defined by dos-unsupported-char-glyph on MS-DOS, and to
3768 `?' on other systems.
3769
3770 IBM codepages are widely used on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, so this
3771 feature is most useful on those platforms, but it can also be used on
3772 Unix.
3773
3774 Emacs compiled for MS-DOS automatically loads the support for the
3775 current codepage when it starts.
3776
3777 ** Mail changes
3778
3779 *** When mail is sent using compose-mail (C-x m), and if
3780 `mail-send-nonascii' is set to the new default value `mime',
3781 appropriate MIME headers are added. The headers are added only if
3782 non-ASCII characters are present in the body of the mail, and no other
3783 MIME headers are already present. For example, the following three
3784 headers are added if the coding system used in the *mail* buffer is
3785 latin-1:
3786
3787 MIME-version: 1.0
3788 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
3789 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
3790
3791 *** The new variable default-sendmail-coding-system specifies the
3792 default way to encode outgoing mail. This has higher priority than
3793 default-buffer-file-coding-system but has lower priority than
3794 sendmail-coding-system and the local value of
3795 buffer-file-coding-system.
3796
3797 You should not set this variable manually. Instead, set
3798 sendmail-coding-system to specify a fixed encoding for all outgoing
3799 mail.
3800
3801 *** When you try to send a message that contains non-ASCII characters,
3802 if the coding system specified by those variables doesn't handle them,
3803 Emacs will ask you to select a suitable coding system while showing a
3804 list of possible coding systems.
3805
3806 ** CC Mode changes
3807
3808 *** c-default-style can now take an association list that maps major
3809 modes to style names. When this variable is an alist, Java mode no
3810 longer hardcodes a setting to "java" style. See the variable's
3811 docstring for details.
3812
3813 *** It's now possible to put a list as the offset on a syntactic
3814 symbol. The list is evaluated recursively until a non-nil offset is
3815 found. This is useful to combine several lineup functions to act in a
3816 prioritized order on a single line. However, none of the supplied
3817 lineup functions use this feature currently.
3818
3819 *** New syntactic symbol catch-clause, which is used on the "catch" and
3820 "finally" lines in try-catch constructs in C++ and Java.
3821
3822 *** New cleanup brace-catch-brace on c-cleanup-list, which does for
3823 "catch" lines what brace-elseif-brace does for "else if" lines.
3824
3825 *** The braces of Java anonymous inner classes are treated separately
3826 from the braces of other classes in auto-newline mode. Two new
3827 symbols inexpr-class-open and inexpr-class-close may be used on
3828 c-hanging-braces-alist to control the automatic newlines used for
3829 anonymous classes.
3830
3831 *** Support for the Pike language added, along with new Pike specific
3832 syntactic symbols: inlambda, lambda-intro-cont
3833
3834 *** Support for Java anonymous classes via new syntactic symbol
3835 inexpr-class. New syntactic symbol inexpr-statement for Pike
3836 support and gcc-style statements inside expressions. New lineup
3837 function c-lineup-inexpr-block.
3838
3839 *** New syntactic symbol brace-entry-open which is used in brace lists
3840 (i.e. static initializers) when a list entry starts with an open
3841 brace. These used to be recognized as brace-list-entry's.
3842 c-electric-brace also recognizes brace-entry-open braces
3843 (brace-list-entry's can no longer be electrified).
3844
3845 *** New command c-indent-line-or-region, not bound by default.
3846
3847 *** `#' is only electric when typed in the indentation of a line.
3848
3849 *** Parentheses are now electric (via the new command c-electric-paren)
3850 for auto-reindenting lines when parens are typed.
3851
3852 *** In "gnu" style, inline-open offset is now set to zero.
3853
3854 *** Uniform handling of the inclass syntactic symbol. The indentation
3855 associated with it is now always relative to the class opening brace.
3856 This means that the indentation behavior has changed in some
3857 circumstances, but only if you've put anything besides 0 on the
3858 class-open syntactic symbol (none of the default styles do that).
3859
3860 ** Gnus changes.
3861
3862 *** New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
3863 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See the
3864 Gnus manual for the full story.
3865
3866 *** The nndraft backend has returned, but works differently than
3867 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the nndraft
3868 group, which is created automatically.
3869
3870 *** `gnus-alter-header-function' can now be used to alter header
3871 values.
3872
3873 *** `gnus-summary-goto-article' now accept Message-ID's.
3874
3875 *** A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
3876 outside the region: `C-c C-v'.
3877
3878 *** You can now post to component group in nnvirtual groups with
3879 `C-u C-c C-c'.
3880
3881 *** `nntp-rlogin-program' -- new variable to ease customization.
3882
3883 *** `C-u C-c C-c' in `gnus-article-edit-mode' will now inhibit
3884 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
3885
3886 *** New element in `gnus-boring-article-headers' -- `long-to'.
3887
3888 *** `M-i' symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
3889 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
3890
3891 *** `L' and `I' in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
3892 `a' to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
3893
3894 *** `gnus-simplify-subject-functions' variable to allow greater
3895 control over simplification.
3896
3897 *** `A T' -- new command for fetching the current thread.
3898
3899 *** `/ T' -- new command for including the current thread in the
3900 limit.
3901
3902 *** `M-RET' is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
3903
3904 *** \\1-expressions are now valid in `nnmail-split-methods'.
3905
3906 *** The `custom-face-lookup' function has been removed.
3907 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
3908 rewrite them to use `face-spec-set' instead.
3909
3910 *** Cancelling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
3911 `a' forces normal posting method.
3912
3913 *** New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper text
3914 -- `W d'.
3915
3916 *** For easier debugging of nntp, you can set `nntp-record-commands'
3917 to a non-nil value.
3918
3919 *** nntp now uses ~/.authinfo, a .netrc-like file, for controlling
3920 where and how to send AUTHINFO to NNTP servers.
3921
3922 *** A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
3923 has been added.
3924
3925 *** A history of where mails have been split is available.
3926
3927 *** A new article date command has been added -- `article-date-iso8601'.
3928
3929 *** Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
3930 `gnus-score-thread-simplify'.
3931
3932 *** A new function for citing in Message has been added --
3933 `message-cite-original-without-signature'.
3934
3935 *** `article-strip-all-blank-lines' -- new article command.
3936
3937 *** A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
3938 been added.
3939
3940 *** A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
3941 `gnus-adaptive-word-minimum' variable.
3942
3943 *** The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
3944 updated by the `gnus-start-date-timer' command.
3945
3946 *** Web listserv archives can be read with the nnlistserv backend.
3947
3948 *** Old dejanews archives can now be read by nnweb.
3949
3950 *** `gnus-posting-styles' has been re-activated.
3951
3952 ** Changes to TeX and LaTeX mode
3953
3954 *** The new variable `tex-start-options-string' can be used to give
3955 options for the TeX run. The default value causes TeX to run in
3956 nonstopmode. For an interactive TeX run set it to nil or "".
3957
3958 *** The command `tex-feed-input' sends input to the Tex Shell. In a
3959 TeX buffer it is bound to the keys C-RET, C-c RET, and C-c C-m (some
3960 of these keys may not work on all systems). For instance, if you run
3961 TeX interactively and if the TeX run stops because of an error, you
3962 can continue it without leaving the TeX buffer by typing C-RET.
3963
3964 *** The Tex Shell Buffer is now in `compilation-shell-minor-mode'.
3965 All error-parsing commands of the Compilation major mode are available
3966 but bound to keys that don't collide with the shell. Thus you can use
3967 the Tex Shell for command line executions like a usual shell.
3968
3969 *** The commands `tex-validate-region' and `tex-validate-buffer' check
3970 the matching of braces and $'s. The errors are listed in a *Occur*
3971 buffer and you can use C-c C-c or mouse-2 to go to a particular
3972 mismatch.
3973
3974 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
3975
3976 *** The table of contents buffer can now also display labels and
3977 file boundaries in addition to sections. Use `l', `i', and `c' keys.
3978
3979 *** Labels derived from context (the section heading) are now
3980 lowercase by default. To make the label legal in LaTeX, latin-1
3981 characters will lose their accent. All Mule characters will be
3982 removed from the label.
3983
3984 *** The automatic display of cross reference information can also use
3985 a window instead of the echo area. See variable `reftex-auto-view-crossref'.
3986
3987 *** kpsewhich can be used by RefTeX to find TeX and BibTeX files. See the
3988 customization group `reftex-finding-files'.
3989
3990 *** The option `reftex-bibfile-ignore-list' has been renamed to
3991 `reftex-bibfile-ignore-regexps' and indeed can be fed with regular
3992 expressions.
3993
3994 *** Multiple Selection buffers are now hidden buffers.
3995
3996 ** New/deleted modes and packages
3997
3998 *** The package snmp-mode.el provides major modes for editing SNMP and
3999 SNMPv2 MIBs. It has entries on `auto-mode-alist'.
4000
4001 *** The package sql.el provides a major mode, M-x sql-mode, for
4002 editing SQL files, and M-x sql-interactive-mode for interacting with
4003 SQL interpreters. It has an entry on `auto-mode-alist'.
4004
4005 *** M-x highlight-changes-mode provides a minor mode displaying buffer
4006 changes with a special face.
4007
4008 *** ispell4.el has been deleted. It got in the way of ispell.el and
4009 this was hard to fix reliably. It has long been obsolete -- use
4010 Ispell 3.1 and ispell.el.
4011 \f
4012 * MS-DOS changes in Emacs 20.4
4013
4014 ** Emacs compiled for MS-DOS now supports MULE features better.
4015 This includes support for display of all ISO 8859-N character sets,
4016 conversion to and from IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters,
4017 and automatic setup of the MULE environment at startup. For details,
4018 check out the section `MS-DOS and MULE' in the manual.
4019
4020 The MS-DOS installation procedure automatically configures and builds
4021 Emacs with input method support if it finds an unpacked Leim
4022 distribution when the config.bat script is run.
4023
4024 ** Formerly, the value of lpr-command did not affect printing on
4025 MS-DOS unless print-region-function was set to nil, but now it
4026 controls whether an external program is invoked or output is written
4027 directly to a printer port. Similarly, in the previous version of
4028 Emacs, the value of ps-lpr-command did not affect PostScript printing
4029 on MS-DOS unless ps-printer-name was set to something other than a
4030 string (eg. t or `pipe'), but now it controls whether an external
4031 program is used. (These changes were made so that configuration of
4032 printing variables would be almost identical across all platforms.)
4033
4034 ** In the previous version of Emacs, PostScript and non-PostScript
4035 output was piped to external programs, but because most print programs
4036 available for MS-DOS and MS-Windows cannot read data from their standard
4037 input, on those systems the data to be output is now written to a
4038 temporary file whose name is passed as the last argument to the external
4039 program.
4040
4041 An exception is made for `print', a standard program on Windows NT,
4042 and `nprint', a standard program on Novell Netware. For both of these
4043 programs, the command line is constructed in the appropriate syntax
4044 automatically, using only the value of printer-name or ps-printer-name
4045 as appropriate--the value of the relevant `-switches' variable is
4046 ignored, as both programs have no useful switches.
4047
4048 ** The value of the variable dos-printer (cf. dos-ps-printer), if it has
4049 a value, overrides the value of printer-name (cf. ps-printer-name), on
4050 MS-DOS and MS-Windows only. This has been true since version 20.3, but
4051 was not documented clearly before.
4052
4053 ** All the Emacs games now work on MS-DOS terminals.
4054 This includes Tetris and Snake.
4055 \f
4056 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.4
4057
4058 ** New functions line-beginning-position and line-end-position
4059 return the position of the beginning or end of the current line.
4060 They both accept an optional argument, which has the same
4061 meaning as the argument to beginning-of-line or end-of-line.
4062
4063 ** find-file and allied functions now have an optional argument
4064 WILDCARD. If this is non-nil, they do wildcard processing,
4065 and visit all files that match the wildcard pattern.
4066
4067 ** Changes in the file-attributes function.
4068
4069 *** The file size returned by file-attributes may be an integer or a float.
4070 It is an integer if the size fits in a Lisp integer, float otherwise.
4071
4072 *** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
4073 the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a cons cell containing two
4074 integers.
4075
4076 ** The new function directory-files-and-attributes returns a list of
4077 files in a directory and their attributes. It accepts the same
4078 arguments as directory-files and has similar semantics, except that
4079 file names and attributes are returned.
4080
4081 ** The new function file-attributes-lessp is a helper function for
4082 sorting the list generated by directory-files-and-attributes. It
4083 accepts two arguments, each a list of a file name and its atttributes.
4084 It compares the file names of each according to string-lessp and
4085 returns the result.
4086
4087 ** The new function file-expand-wildcards expands a wildcard-pattern
4088 to produce a list of existing files that match the pattern.
4089
4090 ** New functions for base64 conversion:
4091
4092 The function base64-encode-region converts a part of the buffer
4093 into the base64 code used in MIME. base64-decode-region
4094 performs the opposite conversion. Line-breaking is supported
4095 optionally.
4096
4097 Functions base64-encode-string and base64-decode-string do a similar
4098 job on the text in a string. They return the value as a new string.
4099
4100 **
4101 The new function process-running-child-p
4102 will tell you if a subprocess has given control of its
4103 terminal to its own child process.
4104
4105 ** interrupt-process and such functions have a new feature:
4106 when the second argument is `lambda', they send a signal
4107 to the running child of the subshell, if any, but if the shell
4108 itself owns its terminal, no signal is sent.
4109
4110 ** There are new widget types `plist' and `alist' which can
4111 be used for customizing variables whose values are plists or alists.
4112
4113 ** easymenu.el Now understands `:key-sequence' and `:style button'.
4114 :included is an alias for :visible.
4115
4116 easy-menu-add-item now understands the values returned by
4117 easy-menu-remove-item and easy-menu-item-present-p. This can be used
4118 to move or copy menu entries.
4119
4120 ** Multibyte editing changes
4121
4122 *** The definitions of sref and char-bytes are changed. Now, sref is
4123 an alias of aref and char-bytes always returns 1. This change is to
4124 make some Emacs Lisp code which works on 20.2 and earlier also
4125 work on the latest Emacs. Such code uses a combination of sref and
4126 char-bytes in a loop typically as below:
4127 (setq char (sref str idx)
4128 idx (+ idx (char-bytes idx)))
4129 The byte-compiler now warns that this is obsolete.
4130
4131 If you want to know how many bytes a specific multibyte character
4132 (say, CH) occupies in a multibyte buffer, use this code:
4133 (charset-bytes (char-charset ch))
4134
4135 *** In multibyte mode, when you narrow a buffer to some region, and the
4136 region is preceded or followed by non-ASCII codes, inserting or
4137 deleting at the head or the end of the region may signal this error:
4138
4139 Byte combining across boundary of accessible buffer text inhibitted
4140
4141 This is to avoid some bytes being combined together into a character
4142 across the boundary.
4143
4144 *** The functions find-charset-region and find-charset-string include
4145 `unknown' in the returned list in the following cases:
4146 o The current buffer or the target string is unibyte and
4147 contains 8-bit characters.
4148 o The current buffer or the target string is multibyte and
4149 contains invalid characters.
4150
4151 *** The functions decode-coding-region and encode-coding-region remove
4152 text properties of the target region. Ideally, they should correctly
4153 preserve text properties, but for the moment, it's hard. Removing
4154 text properties is better than preserving them in a less-than-correct
4155 way.
4156
4157 *** prefer-coding-system sets EOL conversion of default coding systems.
4158 If the argument to prefer-coding-system specifies a certain type of
4159 end of line conversion, the default coding systems set by
4160 prefer-coding-system will specify that conversion type for end of line.
4161
4162 *** The new function thai-compose-string can be used to properly
4163 compose Thai characters in a string.
4164
4165 ** The primitive `define-prefix-command' now takes an optional third
4166 argument NAME, which should be a string. It supplies the menu name
4167 for the created keymap. Keymaps created in order to be displayed as
4168 menus should always use the third argument.
4169
4170 ** The meanings of optional second arguments for read-char,
4171 read-event, and read-char-exclusive are flipped. Now the second
4172 arguments are INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. These functions use the current
4173 input method (if any) if and only if INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD is non-nil.
4174
4175 ** The new function clear-this-command-keys empties out the contents
4176 of the vector that (this-command-keys) returns. This is useful in
4177 programs that read passwords, to prevent the passwords from echoing
4178 inadvertently as part of the next command in certain cases.
4179
4180 ** The new macro `with-temp-message' displays a temporary message in
4181 the echo area, while executing some Lisp code. Like `progn', it
4182 returns the value of the last form, but it also restores the previous
4183 echo area contents.
4184
4185 (with-temp-message MESSAGE &rest BODY)
4186
4187 ** The function `require' now takes an optional third argument
4188 NOERROR. If it is non-nil, then there is no error if the
4189 requested feature cannot be loaded.
4190
4191 ** In the function modify-face, an argument of (nil) for the
4192 foreground color, background color or stipple pattern
4193 means to clear out that attribute.
4194
4195 ** The `outer-window-id' frame property of an X frame
4196 gives the window number of the outermost X window for the frame.
4197
4198 ** Temporary buffers made with with-output-to-temp-buffer are now
4199 read-only by default, and normally use the major mode Help mode
4200 unless you put them in some other non-Fundamental mode before the
4201 end of with-output-to-temp-buffer.
4202
4203 ** The new functions gap-position and gap-size return information on
4204 the gap of the current buffer.
4205
4206 ** The new functions position-bytes and byte-to-position provide a way
4207 to convert between character positions and byte positions in the
4208 current buffer.
4209
4210 ** vc.el defines two new macros, `edit-vc-file' and `with-vc-file', to
4211 facilitate working with version-controlled files from Lisp programs.
4212 These macros check out a given file automatically if needed, and check
4213 it back in after any modifications have been made.
4214 \f
4215 * Installation Changes in Emacs 20.3
4216
4217 ** The default value of load-path now includes most subdirectories of
4218 the site-specific directories /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp and
4219 /usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp, in addition to those
4220 directories themselves. Both immediate subdirectories and
4221 subdirectories multiple levels down are added to load-path.
4222
4223 Not all subdirectories are included, though. Subdirectories whose
4224 names do not start with a letter or digit are excluded.
4225 Subdirectories named RCS or CVS are excluded. Also, a subdirectory
4226 which contains a file named `.nosearch' is excluded. You can use
4227 these methods to prevent certain subdirectories from being searched.
4228
4229 Emacs finds these subdirectories and adds them to load-path when it
4230 starts up. While it would be cleaner to find the subdirectories each
4231 time Emacs loads a file, that would be much slower.
4232
4233 This feature is an incompatible change. If you have stored some Emacs
4234 Lisp files in a subdirectory of the site-lisp directory specifically
4235 to prevent them from being used, you will need to rename the
4236 subdirectory to start with a non-alphanumeric character, or create a
4237 `.nosearch' file in it, in order to continue to achieve the desired
4238 results.
4239
4240 ** Emacs no longer includes an old version of the C preprocessor from
4241 GCC. This was formerly used to help compile Emacs with C compilers
4242 that had limits on the significant length of an identifier, but in
4243 fact we stopped supporting such compilers some time ago.
4244 \f
4245 * Changes in Emacs 20.3
4246
4247 ** The new command C-x z (repeat) repeats the previous command
4248 including its argument. If you repeat the z afterward,
4249 it repeats the command additional times; thus, you can
4250 perform many repetitions with one keystroke per repetition.
4251
4252 ** Emacs now supports "selective undo" which undoes only within a
4253 specified region. To do this, set point and mark around the desired
4254 region and type C-u C-x u (or C-u C-_). You can then continue undoing
4255 further, within the same region, by repeating the ordinary undo
4256 command C-x u or C-_. This will keep undoing changes that were made
4257 within the region you originally specified, until either all of them
4258 are undone, or it encounters a change which crosses the edge of that
4259 region.
4260
4261 In Transient Mark mode, undoing when a region is active requests
4262 selective undo.
4263
4264 ** If you specify --unibyte when starting Emacs, then all buffers are
4265 unibyte, except when a Lisp program specifically creates a multibyte
4266 buffer. Setting the environment variable EMACS_UNIBYTE has the same
4267 effect. The --no-unibyte option overrides EMACS_UNIBYTE and directs
4268 Emacs to run normally in multibyte mode.
4269
4270 The option --unibyte does not affect the reading of Emacs Lisp files,
4271 though. If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode, use
4272 -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line. That will force Emacs to
4273 load that file in unibyte mode, regardless of how Emacs was started.
4274
4275 ** toggle-enable-multibyte-characters no longer has a key binding and
4276 no longer appears in the menu bar. We've realized that changing the
4277 enable-multibyte-characters variable in an existing buffer is
4278 something that most users not do.
4279
4280 ** You can specify a coding system to use for the next cut or paste
4281 operations through the window system with the command C-x RET X.
4282 The coding system can make a difference for communication with other
4283 applications.
4284
4285 C-x RET x specifies a coding system for all subsequent cutting and
4286 pasting operations.
4287
4288 ** You can specify the printer to use for commands that do printing by
4289 setting the variable `printer-name'. Just what a printer name looks
4290 like depends on your operating system. You can specify a different
4291 printer for the Postscript printing commands by setting
4292 `ps-printer-name'.
4293
4294 ** Emacs now supports on-the-fly spell checking by the means of a
4295 minor mode. It is called M-x flyspell-mode. You don't have to remember
4296 any other special commands to use it, and you will hardly notice it
4297 except when you make a spelling error. Flyspell works by highlighting
4298 incorrect words as soon as they are completed or as soon as the cursor
4299 hits a new word.
4300
4301 Flyspell mode works with whichever dictionary you have selected for
4302 Ispell in Emacs. In TeX mode, it understands TeX syntax so as not
4303 to be confused by TeX commands.
4304
4305 You can correct a misspelled word by editing it into something
4306 correct. You can also correct it, or accept it as correct, by
4307 clicking on the word with Mouse-2; that gives you a pop-up menu
4308 of various alternative replacements and actions.
4309
4310 Flyspell mode also proposes "automatic" corrections. M-TAB replaces
4311 the current misspelled word with a possible correction. If several
4312 corrections are made possible, M-TAB cycles through them in
4313 alphabetical order, or in order of decreasing likelihood if
4314 flyspell-sort-corrections is nil.
4315
4316 Flyspell mode also flags an error when a word is repeated, if
4317 flyspell-mark-duplications-flag is non-nil.
4318
4319 ** Changes in input method usage.
4320
4321 Now you can use arrow keys (right, left, down, up) for selecting among
4322 the alternatives just the same way as you do by C-f, C-b, C-n, and C-p
4323 respectively.
4324
4325 You can use the ENTER key to accept the current conversion.
4326
4327 If you type TAB to display a list of alternatives, you can select one
4328 of the alternatives with Mouse-2.
4329
4330 The meaning of the variable `input-method-verbose-flag' is changed so
4331 that you can set it to t, nil, `default', or `complex-only'.
4332
4333 If the value is nil, extra guidance is never given.
4334
4335 If the value is t, extra guidance is always given.
4336
4337 If the value is `complex-only', extra guidance is always given only
4338 when you are using complex input methods such as chinese-py.
4339
4340 If the value is `default' (this is the default), extra guidance is
4341 given in the following case:
4342 o When you are using a complex input method.
4343 o When you are using a simple input method but not in the minibuffer.
4344
4345 If you are using Emacs through a very slow line, setting
4346 input-method-verbose-flag to nil or to complex-only is a good choice,
4347 and if you are using an input method you are not familiar with,
4348 setting it to t is helpful.
4349
4350 The old command select-input-method is now called set-input-method.
4351
4352 In the language environment "Korean", you can use the following
4353 keys:
4354 Shift-SPC toggle-korean-input-method
4355 C-F9 quail-hangul-switch-symbol-ksc
4356 F9 quail-hangul-switch-hanja
4357 These key bindings are canceled when you switch to another language
4358 environment.
4359
4360 ** The minibuffer history of file names now records the specified file
4361 names, not the entire minibuffer input. For example, if the
4362 minibuffer starts out with /usr/foo/, you might type in /etc/passwd to
4363 get
4364
4365 /usr/foo//etc/passwd
4366
4367 which stands for the file /etc/passwd.
4368
4369 Formerly, this used to put /usr/foo//etc/passwd in the history list.
4370 Now this puts just /etc/passwd in the history list.
4371
4372 ** If you are root, Emacs sets backup-by-copying-when-mismatch to t
4373 at startup, so that saving a file will be sure to preserve
4374 its owner and group.
4375
4376 ** find-func.el can now also find the place of definition of Emacs
4377 Lisp variables in user-loaded libraries.
4378
4379 ** C-x r t (string-rectangle) now deletes the existing rectangle
4380 contents before inserting the specified string on each line.
4381
4382 ** There is a new command delete-whitespace-rectangle
4383 which deletes whitespace starting from a particular column
4384 in all the lines on a rectangle. The column is specified
4385 by the left edge of the rectangle.
4386
4387 ** You can now store a number into a register with C-u NUMBER C-x r n REG,
4388 increment it by INC with C-u INC C-x r + REG (to increment by one, omit
4389 C-u INC), and insert it in the buffer with C-x r g REG. This is useful
4390 for writing keyboard macros.
4391
4392 ** The new command M-x speedbar displays a frame in which directories,
4393 files, and tags can be displayed, manipulated, and jumped to. The
4394 frame defaults to 20 characters in width, and is the same height as
4395 the frame that it was started from. Some major modes define
4396 additional commands for the speedbar, including Rmail, GUD/GDB, and
4397 info.
4398
4399 ** query-replace-regexp is now bound to C-M-%.
4400
4401 ** In Transient Mark mode, when the region is active, M-x
4402 query-replace and the other replace commands now operate on the region
4403 contents only.
4404
4405 ** M-x write-region, when used interactively, now asks for
4406 confirmation before overwriting an existing file. When you call
4407 the function from a Lisp program, a new optional argument CONFIRM
4408 says whether to ask for confirmation in this case.
4409
4410 ** If you use find-file-literally and the file is already visited
4411 non-literally, the command asks you whether to revisit the file
4412 literally. If you say no, it signals an error.
4413
4414 ** Major modes defined with the "derived mode" feature
4415 now use the proper name for the mode hook: WHATEVER-mode-hook.
4416 Formerly they used the name WHATEVER-mode-hooks, but that is
4417 inconsistent with Emacs conventions.
4418
4419 ** shell-command-on-region (and shell-command) reports success or
4420 failure if the command produces no output.
4421
4422 ** Set focus-follows-mouse to nil if your window system or window
4423 manager does not transfer focus to another window when you just move
4424 the mouse.
4425
4426 ** mouse-menu-buffer-maxlen has been renamed to
4427 mouse-buffer-menu-maxlen to be consistent with the other related
4428 function and variable names.
4429
4430 ** The new variable auto-coding-alist specifies coding systems for
4431 reading specific files. This has higher priority than
4432 file-coding-system-alist.
4433
4434 ** If you set the variable unibyte-display-via-language-environment to
4435 t, then Emacs displays non-ASCII characters are displayed by
4436 converting them to the equivalent multibyte characters according to
4437 the current language environment. As a result, they are displayed
4438 according to the current fontset.
4439
4440 ** C-q's handling of codes in the range 0200 through 0377 is changed.
4441
4442 The codes in the range 0200 through 0237 are inserted as one byte of
4443 that code regardless of the values of nonascii-translation-table and
4444 nonascii-insert-offset.
4445
4446 For the codes in the range 0240 through 0377, if
4447 enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil and nonascii-translation-table
4448 nor nonascii-insert-offset can't convert them to valid multibyte
4449 characters, they are converted to Latin-1 characters.
4450
4451 ** If you try to find a file that is not read-accessible, you now get
4452 an error, rather than an empty buffer and a warning.
4453
4454 ** In the minibuffer history commands M-r and M-s, an upper case
4455 letter in the regular expression forces case-sensitive search.
4456
4457 ** In the *Help* buffer, cross-references to commands and variables
4458 are inferred and hyperlinked. Use C-h m in Help mode for the relevant
4459 command keys.
4460
4461 ** M-x apropos-command, with a prefix argument, no longer looks for
4462 user option variables--instead it looks for noninteractive functions.
4463
4464 Meanwhile, the command apropos-variable normally searches for
4465 user option variables; with a prefix argument, it looks at
4466 all variables that have documentation.
4467
4468 ** When you type a long line in the minibuffer, and the minibuffer
4469 shows just one line, automatically scrolling works in a special way
4470 that shows you overlap with the previous line of text. The variable
4471 minibuffer-scroll-overlap controls how many characters of overlap
4472 it should show; the default is 20.
4473
4474 Meanwhile, Resize Minibuffer mode is still available; in that mode,
4475 the minibuffer grows taller (up to a point) as needed to show the whole
4476 of your input.
4477
4478 ** The new command M-x customize-changed-options lets you customize
4479 all the options whose meanings or default values have changed in
4480 recent Emacs versions. You specify a previous Emacs version number as
4481 argument, and the command creates a customization buffer showing all
4482 the customizable options which were changed since that version.
4483 Newly added options are included as well.
4484
4485 If you don't specify a particular version number argument,
4486 then the customization buffer shows all the customizable options
4487 for which Emacs versions of changes are recorded.
4488
4489 This function is also bound to the Changed Options entry in the
4490 Customize menu.
4491
4492 ** When you run M-x grep with a prefix argument, it figures out
4493 the tag around point and puts that into the default grep command.
4494
4495 ** The new command M-* (pop-tag-mark) pops back through a history of
4496 buffer positions from which M-. or other tag-finding commands were
4497 invoked.
4498
4499 ** The new variable comment-padding specifies the number of spaces
4500 that `comment-region' will insert before the actual text of the comment.
4501 The default is 1.
4502
4503 ** In Fortran mode the characters `.', `_' and `$' now have symbol
4504 syntax, not word syntax. Fortran mode now supports `imenu' and has
4505 new commands fortran-join-line (M-^) and fortran-narrow-to-subprogram
4506 (C-x n d). M-q can be used to fill a statement or comment block
4507 sensibly.
4508
4509 ** GUD now supports jdb, the Java debugger, and pdb, the Python debugger.
4510
4511 ** If you set the variable add-log-keep-changes-together to a non-nil
4512 value, the command `C-x 4 a' will automatically notice when you make
4513 two entries in one day for one file, and combine them.
4514
4515 ** You can use the command M-x diary-mail-entries to mail yourself a
4516 reminder about upcoming diary entries. See the documentation string
4517 for a sample shell script for calling this function automatically
4518 every night.
4519
4520 ** Desktop changes
4521
4522 *** All you need to do to enable use of the Desktop package, is to set
4523 the variable desktop-enable to t with Custom.
4524
4525 *** Minor modes are now restored. Which minor modes are restored
4526 and how modes are restored is controlled by `desktop-minor-mode-table'.
4527
4528 ** There is no need to do anything special, now, to enable Gnus to
4529 read and post multi-lingual articles.
4530
4531 ** Outline mode has now support for showing hidden outlines when
4532 doing an isearch. In order for this to happen search-invisible should
4533 be set to open (the default). If an isearch match is inside a hidden
4534 outline the outline is made visible. If you continue pressing C-s and
4535 the match moves outside the formerly invisible outline, the outline is
4536 made invisible again.
4537
4538 ** Mail reading and sending changes
4539
4540 *** The Rmail e command now switches to displaying the whole header of
4541 the message before it lets you edit the message. This is so that any
4542 changes you make in the header will not be lost if you subsequently
4543 toggle.
4544
4545 *** The w command in Rmail, which writes the message body into a file,
4546 now works in the summary buffer as well. (The command to delete the
4547 summary buffer is now Q.) The default file name for the w command, if
4548 the message has no subject, is stored in the variable
4549 rmail-default-body-file.
4550
4551 *** Most of the commands and modes that operate on mail and netnews no
4552 longer depend on the value of mail-header-separator. Instead, they
4553 handle whatever separator the buffer happens to use.
4554
4555 *** If you set mail-signature to a value which is not t, nil, or a string,
4556 it should be an expression. When you send a message, this expression
4557 is evaluated to insert the signature.
4558
4559 *** The new Lisp library feedmail.el (version 8) enhances processing of
4560 outbound email messages. It works in coordination with other email
4561 handling packages (e.g., rmail, VM, gnus) and is responsible for
4562 putting final touches on messages and actually submitting them for
4563 transmission. Users of the emacs program "fakemail" might be
4564 especially interested in trying feedmail.
4565
4566 feedmail is not enabled by default. See comments at the top of
4567 feedmail.el for set-up instructions. Among the bigger features
4568 provided by feedmail are:
4569
4570 **** you can park outgoing messages into a disk-based queue and
4571 stimulate sending some or all of them later (handy for laptop users);
4572 there is also a queue for draft messages
4573
4574 **** you can get one last look at the prepped outbound message and
4575 be prompted for confirmation
4576
4577 **** does smart filling of address headers
4578
4579 **** can generate a MESSAGE-ID: line and a DATE: line; the date can be
4580 the time the message was written or the time it is being sent; this
4581 can make FCC copies more closely resemble copies that recipients get
4582
4583 **** you can specify an arbitrary function for actually transmitting
4584 the message; included in feedmail are interfaces for /bin/[r]mail,
4585 /usr/lib/sendmail, and elisp smtpmail; it's easy to write a new
4586 function for something else (10-20 lines of elisp)
4587
4588 ** Dired changes
4589
4590 *** The Dired function dired-do-toggle, which toggles marked and unmarked
4591 files, is now bound to "t" instead of "T".
4592
4593 *** dired-at-point has been added to ffap.el. It allows one to easily
4594 run Dired on the directory name at point.
4595
4596 *** Dired has a new command: %g. It searches the contents of
4597 files in the directory and marks each file that contains a match
4598 for a specified regexp.
4599
4600 ** VC Changes
4601
4602 *** New option vc-ignore-vc-files lets you turn off version control
4603 conveniently.
4604
4605 *** VC Dired has been completely rewritten. It is now much
4606 faster, especially for CVS, and works very similar to ordinary
4607 Dired.
4608
4609 VC Dired is invoked by typing C-x v d and entering the name of the
4610 directory to display. By default, VC Dired gives you a recursive
4611 listing of all files at or below the given directory which are
4612 currently locked (for CVS, all files not up-to-date are shown).
4613
4614 You can change the listing format by setting vc-dired-recurse to nil,
4615 then it shows only the given directory, and you may also set
4616 vc-dired-terse-display to nil, then it shows all files under version
4617 control plus the names of any subdirectories, so that you can type `i'
4618 on such lines to insert them manually, as in ordinary Dired.
4619
4620 All Dired commands operate normally in VC Dired, except for `v', which
4621 is redefined as the version control prefix. That means you may type
4622 `v l', `v =' etc. to invoke `vc-print-log', `vc-diff' and the like on
4623 the file named in the current Dired buffer line. `v v' invokes
4624 `vc-next-action' on this file, or on all files currently marked.
4625
4626 The new command `v t' (vc-dired-toggle-terse-mode) allows you to
4627 toggle between terse display (only locked files) and full display (all
4628 VC files plus subdirectories). There is also a special command,
4629 `* l', to mark all files currently locked.
4630
4631 Giving a prefix argument to C-x v d now does the same thing as in
4632 ordinary Dired: it allows you to supply additional options for the ls
4633 command in the minibuffer, to fine-tune VC Dired's output.
4634
4635 *** Under CVS, if you merge changes from the repository into a working
4636 file, and CVS detects conflicts, VC now offers to start an ediff
4637 session to resolve them.
4638
4639 Alternatively, you can use the new command `vc-resolve-conflicts' to
4640 resolve conflicts in a file at any time. It works in any buffer that
4641 contains conflict markers as generated by rcsmerge (which is what CVS
4642 uses as well).
4643
4644 *** You can now transfer changes between branches, using the new
4645 command vc-merge (C-x v m). It is implemented for RCS and CVS. When
4646 you invoke it in a buffer under version-control, you can specify
4647 either an entire branch or a pair of versions, and the changes on that
4648 branch or between the two versions are merged into the working file.
4649 If this results in any conflicts, they may be resolved interactively,
4650 using ediff.
4651
4652 ** Changes in Font Lock
4653
4654 *** The face and variable previously known as font-lock-reference-face
4655 are now called font-lock-constant-face to better reflect their typical
4656 use for highlighting constants and labels. (Its face properties are
4657 unchanged.) The variable font-lock-reference-face remains for now for
4658 compatibility reasons, but its value is font-lock-constant-face.
4659
4660 ** Frame name display changes
4661
4662 *** The command set-frame-name lets you set the name of the current
4663 frame. You can use the new command select-frame-by-name to select and
4664 raise a frame; this is mostly useful on character-only terminals, or
4665 when many frames are invisible or iconified.
4666
4667 *** On character-only terminal (not a window system), changing the
4668 frame name is now reflected on the mode line and in the Buffers/Frames
4669 menu.
4670
4671 ** Comint (subshell) changes
4672
4673 *** In Comint modes, the commands to kill, stop or interrupt a
4674 subjob now also kill pending input. This is for compatibility
4675 with ordinary shells, where the signal characters do this.
4676
4677 *** There are new commands in Comint mode.
4678
4679 C-c C-x fetches the "next" line from the input history;
4680 that is, the line after the last line you got.
4681 You can use this command to fetch successive lines, one by one.
4682
4683 C-c SPC accumulates lines of input. More precisely, it arranges to
4684 send the current line together with the following line, when you send
4685 the following line.
4686
4687 C-c C-a if repeated twice consecutively now moves to the process mark,
4688 which separates the pending input from the subprocess output and the
4689 previously sent input.
4690
4691 C-c M-r now runs comint-previous-matching-input-from-input;
4692 it searches for a previous command, using the current pending input
4693 as the search string.
4694
4695 *** New option compilation-scroll-output can be set to scroll
4696 automatically in compilation-mode windows.
4697
4698 ** C mode changes
4699
4700 *** Multiline macros are now handled, both as they affect indentation,
4701 and as recognized syntax. New syntactic symbol cpp-macro-cont is
4702 assigned to second and subsequent lines of a multiline macro
4703 definition.
4704
4705 *** A new style "user" which captures all non-hook-ified
4706 (i.e. top-level) .emacs file variable settings and customizations.
4707 Style "cc-mode" is an alias for "user" and is deprecated. "gnu"
4708 style is still the default however.
4709
4710 *** "java" style now conforms to Sun's JDK coding style.
4711
4712 *** There are new commands c-beginning-of-defun, c-end-of-defun which
4713 are alternatives which you could bind to C-M-a and C-M-e if you prefer
4714 them. They do not have key bindings by default.
4715
4716 *** New and improved implementations of M-a (c-beginning-of-statement)
4717 and M-e (c-end-of-statement).
4718
4719 *** C++ namespace blocks are supported, with new syntactic symbols
4720 namespace-open, namespace-close, and innamespace.
4721
4722 *** File local variable settings of c-file-style and c-file-offsets
4723 makes the style variables local to that buffer only.
4724
4725 *** New indentation functions c-lineup-close-paren,
4726 c-indent-one-line-block, c-lineup-dont-change.
4727
4728 *** Improvements (hopefully!) to the way CC Mode is loaded. You
4729 should now be able to do a (require 'cc-mode) to get the entire
4730 package loaded properly for customization in your .emacs file. A new
4731 variable c-initialize-on-load controls this and is t by default.
4732
4733 ** Changes to hippie-expand.
4734
4735 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-skip-space'. If
4736 non-nil, trailing spaces may be included in the abbreviation to search for,
4737 which then gives the same behavior as the original `dabbrev-expand'.
4738
4739 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-as-symbol'. If
4740 non-nil, characters of syntax '_' is considered part of the word when
4741 expanding dynamically.
4742
4743 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-no-restriction'. If
4744 non-nil, narrowed buffers are widened before they are searched.
4745
4746 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-only-buffers'. If
4747 non-empty, buffers searched are restricted to the types specified in
4748 this list. Useful for example when constructing new special-purpose
4749 expansion functions with `make-hippie-expand-function'.
4750
4751 *** Text properties of the expansion are no longer copied.
4752
4753 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
4754
4755 *** Any titleword matching a regexp in the new variable
4756 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore (case sensitive) is ignored during
4757 automatic key generation. This replaces variable
4758 bibtex-autokey-titleword-first-ignore, which only checked for matches
4759 against the first word in the title.
4760
4761 *** Autokey generation now uses all words from the title, not just
4762 capitalized words. To avoid conflicts with existing customizations,
4763 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore is set up such that words starting with
4764 lowerkey characters will still be ignored. Thus, if you want to use
4765 lowercase words from the title, you will have to overwrite the
4766 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore standard setting.
4767
4768 *** Case conversion of names and title words for automatic key
4769 generation is more flexible. Variable bibtex-autokey-preserve-case is
4770 replaced by bibtex-autokey-titleword-case-convert and
4771 bibtex-autokey-name-case-convert.
4772
4773 ** Changes in vcursor.el.
4774
4775 *** Support for character terminals is available: there is a new keymap
4776 and the vcursor will appear as an arrow between buffer text. A
4777 variable `vcursor-interpret-input' allows input from the vcursor to be
4778 entered exactly as if typed. Numerous functions, including
4779 `vcursor-compare-windows', have been rewritten to improve consistency
4780 in the selection of windows and corresponding keymaps.
4781
4782 *** vcursor options can now be altered with M-x customize under the
4783 Editing group once the package is loaded.
4784
4785 *** Loading vcursor now does not define keys by default, as this is
4786 generally a bad side effect. Use M-x customize to set
4787 vcursor-key-bindings to t to restore the old behaviour.
4788
4789 *** vcursor-auto-disable can be `copy', which turns off copying from the
4790 vcursor, but doesn't disable it, after any non-vcursor command.
4791
4792 ** Ispell changes.
4793
4794 *** You can now spell check comments and strings in the current
4795 buffer with M-x ispell-comments-and-strings. Comments and strings
4796 are identified by syntax tables in effect.
4797
4798 *** Generic region skipping implemented.
4799 A single buffer can be broken into a number of regions where text will
4800 and will not be checked. The definitions of the regions can be user
4801 defined. New applications and improvements made available by this
4802 include:
4803
4804 o URLs are automatically skipped
4805 o EMail message checking is vastly improved.
4806
4807 *** Ispell can highlight the erroneous word even on non-window terminals.
4808
4809 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
4810
4811 RefTeX has been updated in order to make it more usable with very
4812 large projects (like a several volume math book). The parser has been
4813 re-written from scratch. To get maximum speed from RefTeX, check the
4814 section `Optimizations' in the manual.
4815
4816 *** New recursive parser.
4817
4818 The old version of RefTeX created a single large buffer containing the
4819 entire multifile document in order to parse the document. The new
4820 recursive parser scans the individual files.
4821
4822 *** Parsing only part of a document.
4823
4824 Reparsing of changed document parts can now be made faster by enabling
4825 partial scans. To use this feature, read the documentation string of
4826 the variable `reftex-enable-partial-scans' and set the variable to t.
4827
4828 (setq reftex-enable-partial-scans t)
4829
4830 *** Storing parsing information in a file.
4831
4832 This can improve startup times considerably. To turn it on, use
4833
4834 (setq reftex-save-parse-info t)
4835
4836 *** Using multiple selection buffers
4837
4838 If the creation of label selection buffers is too slow (this happens
4839 for large documents), you can reuse these buffers by setting
4840
4841 (setq reftex-use-multiple-selection-buffers t)
4842
4843 *** References to external documents.
4844
4845 The LaTeX package `xr' allows to cross-reference labels in external
4846 documents. RefTeX can provide information about the external
4847 documents as well. To use this feature, set up the \externaldocument
4848 macros required by the `xr' package and rescan the document with
4849 RefTeX. The external labels can then be accessed with the `x' key in
4850 the selection buffer provided by `reftex-reference' (bound to `C-c )').
4851 The `x' key also works in the table of contents buffer.
4852
4853 *** Many more labeled LaTeX environments are recognized by default.
4854
4855 The builtin command list now covers all the standard LaTeX commands,
4856 and all of the major packages included in the LaTeX distribution.
4857
4858 Also, RefTeX now understands the \appendix macro and changes
4859 the enumeration of sections in the *toc* buffer accordingly.
4860
4861 *** Mouse support for selection and *toc* buffers
4862
4863 The mouse can now be used to select items in the selection and *toc*
4864 buffers. See also the new option `reftex-highlight-selection'.
4865
4866 *** New keymaps for selection and table of contents modes.
4867
4868 The selection processes for labels and citation keys, and the table of
4869 contents buffer now have their own keymaps: `reftex-select-label-map',
4870 `reftex-select-bib-map', `reftex-toc-map'. The selection processes
4871 have a number of new keys predefined. In particular, TAB lets you
4872 enter a label with completion. Check the on-the-fly help (press `?'
4873 at the selection prompt) or read the Info documentation to find out
4874 more.
4875
4876 *** Support for the varioref package
4877
4878 The `v' key in the label selection buffer toggles \ref versus \vref.
4879
4880 *** New hooks
4881
4882 Three new hooks can be used to redefine the way labels, references,
4883 and citations are created. These hooks are
4884 `reftex-format-label-function', `reftex-format-ref-function',
4885 `reftex-format-cite-function'.
4886
4887 *** Citations outside LaTeX
4888
4889 The command `reftex-citation' may also be used outside LaTeX (e.g. in
4890 a mail buffer). See the Info documentation for details.
4891
4892 *** Short context is no longer fontified.
4893
4894 The short context in the label menu no longer copies the
4895 fontification from the text in the buffer. If you prefer it to be
4896 fontified, use
4897
4898 (setq reftex-refontify-context t)
4899
4900 ** file-cache-minibuffer-complete now accepts a prefix argument.
4901 With a prefix argument, it does not try to do completion of
4902 the file name within its directory; it only checks for other
4903 directories that contain the same file name.
4904
4905 Thus, given the file name Makefile, and assuming that a file
4906 Makefile.in exists in the same directory, ordinary
4907 file-cache-minibuffer-complete will try to complete Makefile to
4908 Makefile.in and will therefore never look for other directories that
4909 have Makefile. A prefix argument tells it not to look for longer
4910 names such as Makefile.in, so that instead it will look for other
4911 directories--just as if the name were already complete in its present
4912 directory.
4913
4914 ** New modes and packages
4915
4916 *** There is a new alternative major mode for Perl, Cperl mode.
4917 It has many more features than Perl mode, and some people prefer
4918 it, but some do not.
4919
4920 *** There is a new major mode, M-x vhdl-mode, for editing files of VHDL
4921 code.
4922
4923 *** M-x which-function-mode enables a minor mode that displays the
4924 current function name continuously in the mode line, as you move
4925 around in a buffer.
4926
4927 Which Function mode is effective in major modes which support Imenu.
4928
4929 *** Gametree is a major mode for editing game analysis trees. The author
4930 uses it for keeping notes about his postal Chess games, but it should
4931 be helpful for other two-player games as well, as long as they have an
4932 established system of notation similar to Chess.
4933
4934 *** The new minor mode checkdoc-minor-mode provides Emacs Lisp
4935 documentation string checking for style and spelling. The style
4936 guidelines are found in the Emacs Lisp programming manual.
4937
4938 *** The net-utils package makes some common networking features
4939 available in Emacs. Some of these functions are wrappers around
4940 system utilities (ping, nslookup, etc); others are implementations of
4941 simple protocols (finger, whois) in Emacs Lisp. There are also
4942 functions to make simple connections to TCP/IP ports for debugging and
4943 the like.
4944
4945 *** highlight-changes-mode is a minor mode that uses colors to
4946 identify recently changed parts of the buffer text.
4947
4948 *** The new package `midnight' lets you specify things to be done
4949 within Emacs at midnight--by default, kill buffers that you have not
4950 used in a considerable time. To use this feature, customize
4951 the user option `midnight-mode' to t.
4952
4953 *** The file generic-x.el defines a number of simple major modes.
4954
4955 apache-generic-mode: For Apache and NCSA httpd configuration files
4956 samba-generic-mode: Samba configuration files
4957 fvwm-generic-mode: For fvwm initialization files
4958 x-resource-generic-mode: For X resource files
4959 hosts-generic-mode: For hosts files (.rhosts, /etc/hosts, etc)
4960 mailagent-rules-generic-mode: For mailagent .rules files
4961 javascript-generic-mode: For JavaScript files
4962 vrml-generic-mode: For VRML files
4963 java-manifest-generic-mode: For Java MANIFEST files
4964 java-properties-generic-mode: For Java property files
4965 mailrc-generic-mode: For .mailrc files
4966
4967 Platform-specific modes:
4968
4969 prototype-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V prototype files
4970 pkginfo-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V pkginfo files
4971 alias-generic-mode: For C shell alias files
4972 inf-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INF files
4973 ini-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INI files
4974 reg-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Registry files
4975 bat-generic-mode: For MS-Windows BAT scripts
4976 rc-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Resource files
4977 rul-generic-mode: For InstallShield scripts
4978 \f
4979 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 since the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
4980
4981 ** If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode,
4982 use -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line.
4983 That will force Emacs to read that file in unibyte mode.
4984 Otherwise, the file will be loaded and byte-compiled in multibyte mode.
4985
4986 Thus, each lisp file is read in a consistent way regardless of whether
4987 you started Emacs with --unibyte, so that a Lisp program gives
4988 consistent results regardless of how Emacs was started.
4989
4990 ** The new function assoc-default is useful for searching an alist,
4991 and using a default value if the key is not found there. You can
4992 specify a comparison predicate, so this function is useful for
4993 searching comparing a string against an alist of regular expressions.
4994
4995 ** The functions unibyte-char-to-multibyte and
4996 multibyte-char-to-unibyte convert between unibyte and multibyte
4997 character codes, in a way that is appropriate for the current language
4998 environment.
4999
5000 ** The functions read-event, read-char and read-char-exclusive now
5001 take two optional arguments. PROMPT, if non-nil, specifies a prompt
5002 string. SUPPRESS-INPUT-METHOD, if non-nil, says to disable the
5003 current input method for reading this one event.
5004
5005 ** Two new variables print-escape-nonascii and print-escape-multibyte
5006 now control whether to output certain characters as
5007 backslash-sequences. print-escape-nonascii applies to single-byte
5008 non-ASCII characters; print-escape-multibyte applies to multibyte
5009 characters. Both of these variables are used only when printing
5010 in readable fashion (prin1 uses them, princ does not).
5011 \f
5012 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 before the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
5013
5014 ** Compiled Emacs Lisp files made with the modified "MBSK" version
5015 of Emacs 20.2 do not work in Emacs 20.3.
5016
5017 ** Buffer positions are now measured in characters, as they were
5018 in Emacs 19 and before. This means that (forward-char 1)
5019 always increases point by 1.
5020
5021 The function chars-in-region now just subtracts its arguments. It is
5022 considered obsolete. The function char-boundary-p has been deleted.
5023
5024 See below for additional changes relating to multibyte characters.
5025
5026 ** defcustom, defface and defgroup now accept the keyword `:version'.
5027 Use this to specify in which version of Emacs a certain variable's
5028 default value changed. For example,
5029
5030 (defcustom foo-max 34 "*Maximum number of foo's allowed."
5031 :type 'integer
5032 :group 'foo
5033 :version "20.3")
5034
5035 (defgroup foo-group nil "The foo group."
5036 :version "20.3")
5037
5038 If an entire new group is added or the variables in it have the
5039 default values changed, then just add a `:version' to that group. It
5040 is recommended that new packages added to the distribution contain a
5041 `:version' in the top level group.
5042
5043 This information is used to control the customize-changed-options command.
5044
5045 ** It is now an error to change the value of a symbol whose name
5046 starts with a colon--if it is interned in the standard obarray.
5047
5048 However, setting such a symbol to its proper value, which is that
5049 symbol itself, is not an error. This is for the sake of programs that
5050 support previous Emacs versions by explicitly setting these variables
5051 to themselves.
5052
5053 If you set the variable keyword-symbols-constant-flag to nil,
5054 this error is suppressed, and you can set these symbols to any
5055 values whatever.
5056
5057 ** There is a new debugger command, R.
5058 It evaluates an expression like e, but saves the result
5059 in the buffer *Debugger-record*.
5060
5061 ** Frame-local variables.
5062
5063 You can now make a variable local to various frames. To do this, call
5064 the function make-variable-frame-local; this enables frames to have
5065 local bindings for that variable.
5066
5067 These frame-local bindings are actually frame parameters: you create a
5068 frame-local binding in a specific frame by calling
5069 modify-frame-parameters and specifying the variable name as the
5070 parameter name.
5071
5072 Buffer-local bindings take precedence over frame-local bindings.
5073 Thus, if the current buffer has a buffer-local binding, that binding is
5074 active; otherwise, if the selected frame has a frame-local binding,
5075 that binding is active; otherwise, the default binding is active.
5076
5077 It would not be hard to implement window-local bindings, but it is not
5078 clear that this would be very useful; windows tend to come and go in a
5079 very transitory fashion, so that trying to produce any specific effect
5080 through a window-local binding would not be very robust.
5081
5082 ** `sregexq' and `sregex' are two new functions for constructing
5083 "symbolic regular expressions." These are Lisp expressions that, when
5084 evaluated, yield conventional string-based regexps. The symbolic form
5085 makes it easier to construct, read, and maintain complex patterns.
5086 See the documentation in sregex.el.
5087
5088 ** parse-partial-sexp's return value has an additional element which
5089 is used to pass information along if you pass it to another call to
5090 parse-partial-sexp, starting its scan where the first call ended.
5091 The contents of this field are not yet finalized.
5092
5093 ** eval-region now accepts a fourth optional argument READ-FUNCTION.
5094 If it is non-nil, that function is used instead of `read'.
5095
5096 ** unload-feature by default removes the feature's functions from
5097 known hooks to avoid trouble, but a package providing FEATURE can
5098 define a hook FEATURE-unload-hook to be run by unload-feature instead.
5099
5100 ** read-from-minibuffer no longer returns the argument DEFAULT-VALUE
5101 when the user enters empty input. It now returns the null string, as
5102 it did in Emacs 19. The default value is made available in the
5103 history via M-n, but it is not applied here as a default.
5104
5105 The other, more specialized minibuffer-reading functions continue to
5106 return the default value (not the null string) when the user enters
5107 empty input.
5108
5109 ** The new variable read-buffer-function controls which routine to use
5110 for selecting buffers. For example, if you set this variable to
5111 `iswitchb-read-buffer', iswitchb will be used to read buffer names.
5112 Other functions can also be used if they accept the same arguments as
5113 `read-buffer' and return the selected buffer name as a string.
5114
5115 ** The new function read-passwd reads a password from the terminal,
5116 echoing a period for each character typed. It takes three arguments:
5117 a prompt string, a flag which says "read it twice to make sure", and a
5118 default password to use if the user enters nothing.
5119
5120 ** The variable fill-nobreak-predicate gives major modes a way to
5121 specify not to break a line at certain places. Its value is a
5122 function which is called with no arguments, with point located at the
5123 place where a break is being considered. If the function returns
5124 non-nil, then the line won't be broken there.
5125
5126 ** window-end now takes an optional second argument, UPDATE.
5127 If this is non-nil, then the function always returns an accurate
5128 up-to-date value for the buffer position corresponding to the
5129 end of the window, even if this requires computation.
5130
5131 ** other-buffer now takes an optional argument FRAME
5132 which specifies which frame's buffer list to use.
5133 If it is nil, that means use the selected frame's buffer list.
5134
5135 ** The new variable buffer-display-time, always local in every buffer,
5136 holds the value of (current-time) as of the last time that a window
5137 was directed to display this buffer.
5138
5139 ** It is now meaningful to compare two window-configuration objects
5140 with `equal'. Two window-configuration objects are equal if they
5141 describe equivalent arrangements of windows, in the same frame--in
5142 other words, if they would give the same results if passed to
5143 set-window-configuration.
5144
5145 ** compare-window-configurations is a new function that compares two
5146 window configurations loosely. It ignores differences in saved buffer
5147 positions and scrolling, and considers only the structure and sizes of
5148 windows and the choice of buffers to display.
5149
5150 ** The variable minor-mode-overriding-map-alist allows major modes to
5151 override the key bindings of a minor mode. The elements of this alist
5152 look like the elements of minor-mode-map-alist: (VARIABLE . KEYMAP).
5153
5154 If the VARIABLE in an element of minor-mode-overriding-map-alist has a
5155 non-nil value, the paired KEYMAP is active, and totally overrides the
5156 map (if any) specified for the same variable in minor-mode-map-alist.
5157
5158 minor-mode-overriding-map-alist is automatically local in all buffers,
5159 and it is meant to be set by major modes.
5160
5161 ** The function match-string-no-properties is like match-string
5162 except that it discards all text properties from the result.
5163
5164 ** The function load-average now accepts an optional argument
5165 USE-FLOATS. If it is non-nil, the load average values are returned as
5166 floating point numbers, rather than as integers to be divided by 100.
5167
5168 ** The new variable temporary-file-directory specifies the directory
5169 to use for creating temporary files. The default value is determined
5170 in a reasonable way for your operating system; on GNU and Unix systems
5171 it is based on the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables.
5172
5173 ** Menu changes
5174
5175 *** easymenu.el now uses the new menu item format and supports the
5176 keywords :visible and :filter. The existing keyword :keys is now
5177 better supported.
5178
5179 The variable `easy-menu-precalculate-equivalent-keybindings' controls
5180 a new feature which calculates keyboard equivalents for the menu when
5181 you define the menu. The default is t. If you rarely use menus, you
5182 can set the variable to nil to disable this precalculation feature;
5183 then the calculation is done only if you use the menu bar.
5184
5185 *** A new format for menu items is supported.
5186
5187 In a keymap, a key binding that has the format
5188 (STRING . REAL-BINDING) or (STRING HELP-STRING . REAL-BINDING)
5189 defines a menu item. Now a menu item definition may also be a list that
5190 starts with the symbol `menu-item'.
5191
5192 The format is:
5193 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) or
5194 (menu-item ITEM-NAME REAL-BINDING . ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST)
5195 where ITEM-NAME is an expression which evaluates to the menu item
5196 string, and ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST has the form of a property list.
5197 The supported properties include
5198
5199 :enable FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
5200 item is enabled.
5201 :visible FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
5202 item should appear in the menu.
5203 :filter FILTER-FN
5204 FILTER-FN is a function of one argument,
5205 which will be REAL-BINDING.
5206 It should return a binding to use instead.
5207 :keys DESCRIPTION
5208 DESCRIPTION is a string that describes an equivalent keyboard
5209 binding for for REAL-BINDING. DESCRIPTION is expanded with
5210 `substitute-command-keys' before it is used.
5211 :key-sequence KEY-SEQUENCE
5212 KEY-SEQUENCE is a key-sequence for an equivalent
5213 keyboard binding.
5214 :key-sequence nil
5215 This means that the command normally has no
5216 keyboard equivalent.
5217 :help HELP HELP is the extra help string (not currently used).
5218 :button (TYPE . SELECTED)
5219 TYPE is :toggle or :radio.
5220 SELECTED is a form, to be evaluated, and its
5221 value says whether this button is currently selected.
5222
5223 Buttons are at the moment only simulated by prefixes in the menu.
5224 Eventually ordinary X-buttons may be supported.
5225
5226 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) defines unselectable item.
5227
5228 ** New event types
5229
5230 *** The new event type `mouse-wheel' is generated by a wheel on a
5231 mouse (such as the MS Intellimouse). The event contains a delta that
5232 corresponds to the amount and direction that the wheel is rotated,
5233 which is typically used to implement a scroll or zoom. The format is:
5234
5235 (mouse-wheel POSITION DELTA)
5236
5237 where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
5238 same format as a mouse-click event, and DELTA is a signed number
5239 indicating the number of increments by which the wheel was rotated. A
5240 negative DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated backwards, towards
5241 the user, and a positive DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated
5242 forward, away from the user.
5243
5244 As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
5245
5246 *** The new event type `drag-n-drop' is generated when a group of
5247 files is selected in an application outside of Emacs, and then dragged
5248 and dropped onto an Emacs frame. The event contains a list of
5249 filenames that were dragged and dropped, which are then typically
5250 loaded into Emacs. The format is:
5251
5252 (drag-n-drop POSITION FILES)
5253
5254 where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
5255 same format as a mouse-click event, and FILES is the list of filenames
5256 that were dragged and dropped.
5257
5258 As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
5259
5260 ** Changes relating to multibyte characters.
5261
5262 *** The variable enable-multibyte-characters is now read-only;
5263 any attempt to set it directly signals an error. The only way
5264 to change this value in an existing buffer is with set-buffer-multibyte.
5265
5266 *** In a string constant, `\ ' now stands for "nothing at all". You
5267 can use it to terminate a hex escape which is followed by a character
5268 that could otherwise be read as part of the hex escape.
5269
5270 *** String indices are now measured in characters, as they were
5271 in Emacs 19 and before.
5272
5273 The function chars-in-string has been deleted.
5274 The function concat-chars has been renamed to `string'.
5275
5276 *** The function set-buffer-multibyte sets the flag in the current
5277 buffer that says whether the buffer uses multibyte representation or
5278 unibyte representation. If the argument is nil, it selects unibyte
5279 representation. Otherwise it selects multibyte representation.
5280
5281 This function does not change the contents of the buffer, viewed
5282 as a sequence of bytes. However, it does change the contents
5283 viewed as characters; a sequence of two bytes which is treated as
5284 one character when the buffer uses multibyte representation
5285 will count as two characters using unibyte representation.
5286
5287 This function sets enable-multibyte-characters to record which
5288 representation is in use. It also adjusts various data in the buffer
5289 (including its markers, overlays and text properties) so that they are
5290 consistent with the new representation.
5291
5292 *** string-make-multibyte takes a string and converts it to multibyte
5293 representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care
5294 about the representation, because Emacs converts when necessary;
5295 however, it makes a difference when you compare strings.
5296
5297 The conversion of non-ASCII characters works by adding the value of
5298 nonascii-insert-offset to each character, or by translating them
5299 using the table nonascii-translation-table.
5300
5301 *** string-make-unibyte takes a string and converts it to unibyte
5302 representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care about the
5303 representation, but it makes a difference when you compare strings.
5304
5305 The conversion from multibyte to unibyte representation
5306 loses information; the only time Emacs performs it automatically
5307 is when inserting a multibyte string into a unibyte buffer.
5308
5309 *** string-as-multibyte takes a string, and returns another string
5310 which contains the same bytes, but treats them as multibyte.
5311
5312 *** string-as-unibyte takes a string, and returns another string
5313 which contains the same bytes, but treats them as unibyte.
5314
5315 *** The new function compare-strings lets you compare
5316 portions of two strings. Unibyte strings are converted to multibyte,
5317 so that a unibyte string can match a multibyte string.
5318 You can specify whether to ignore case or not.
5319
5320 *** assoc-ignore-case now uses compare-strings so that
5321 it can treat unibyte and multibyte strings as equal.
5322
5323 *** Regular expression operations and buffer string searches now
5324 convert the search pattern to multibyte or unibyte to accord with the
5325 buffer or string being searched.
5326
5327 One consequence is that you cannot always use \200-\377 inside of
5328 [...] to match all non-ASCII characters. This does still work when
5329 searching or matching a unibyte buffer or string, but not when
5330 searching or matching a multibyte string. Unfortunately, there is no
5331 obvious choice of syntax to use within [...] for that job. But, what
5332 you want is just to match all non-ASCII characters, the regular
5333 expression [^\0-\177] works for it.
5334
5335 *** Structure of coding system changed.
5336
5337 All coding systems (including aliases and subsidiaries) are named
5338 by symbols; the symbol's `coding-system' property is a vector
5339 which defines the coding system. Aliases share the same vector
5340 as the principal name, so that altering the contents of this
5341 vector affects the principal name and its aliases. You can define
5342 your own alias name of a coding system by the function
5343 define-coding-system-alias.
5344
5345 The coding system definition includes a property list of its own. Use
5346 the new functions `coding-system-get' and `coding-system-put' to
5347 access such coding system properties as post-read-conversion,
5348 pre-write-conversion, character-translation-table-for-decode,
5349 character-translation-table-for-encode, mime-charset, and
5350 safe-charsets. For instance, (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1
5351 'mime-charset) gives the corresponding MIME-charset parameter
5352 `iso-8859-1'.
5353
5354 Among the coding system properties listed above, safe-charsets is new.
5355 The value of this property is a list of character sets which this
5356 coding system can correctly encode and decode. For instance:
5357 (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1 'safe-charsets) => (ascii latin-iso8859-1)
5358
5359 Here, "correctly encode" means that the encoded character sets can
5360 also be handled safely by systems other than Emacs as far as they
5361 are capable of that coding system. Though, Emacs itself can encode
5362 the other character sets and read it back correctly.
5363
5364 *** The new function select-safe-coding-system can be used to find a
5365 proper coding system for encoding the specified region or string.
5366 This function requires a user interaction.
5367
5368 *** The new functions find-coding-systems-region and
5369 find-coding-systems-string are helper functions used by
5370 select-safe-coding-system. They return a list of all proper coding
5371 systems to encode a text in some region or string. If you don't want
5372 a user interaction, use one of these functions instead of
5373 select-safe-coding-system.
5374
5375 *** The explicit encoding and decoding functions, such as
5376 decode-coding-region and encode-coding-string, now set
5377 last-coding-system-used to reflect the actual way encoding or decoding
5378 was done.
5379
5380 *** The new function detect-coding-with-language-environment can be
5381 used to detect a coding system of text according to priorities of
5382 coding systems used by some specific language environment.
5383
5384 *** The functions detect-coding-region and detect-coding-string always
5385 return a list if the arg HIGHEST is nil. Thus, if only ASCII
5386 characters are found, they now return a list of single element
5387 `undecided' or its subsidiaries.
5388
5389 *** The new functions coding-system-change-eol-conversion and
5390 coding-system-change-text-conversion can be used to get a different
5391 coding system than what specified only in how end-of-line or text is
5392 converted.
5393
5394 *** The new function set-selection-coding-system can be used to set a
5395 coding system for communicating with other X clients.
5396
5397 *** The function `map-char-table' now passes as argument only valid
5398 character codes, plus generic characters that stand for entire
5399 character sets or entire subrows of a character set. In other words,
5400 each time `map-char-table' calls its FUNCTION argument, the key value
5401 either will be a valid individual character code, or will stand for a
5402 range of characters.
5403
5404 *** The new function `char-valid-p' can be used for checking whether a
5405 Lisp object is a valid character code or not.
5406
5407 *** The new function `charset-after' returns a charset of a character
5408 in the current buffer at position POS.
5409
5410 *** Input methods are now implemented using the variable
5411 input-method-function. If this is non-nil, its value should be a
5412 function; then, whenever Emacs reads an input event that is a printing
5413 character with no modifier bits, it calls that function, passing the
5414 event as an argument. Often this function will read more input, first
5415 binding input-method-function to nil.
5416
5417 The return value should be a list of the events resulting from input
5418 method processing. These events will be processed sequentially as
5419 input, before resorting to unread-command-events. Events returned by
5420 the input method function are not passed to the input method function,
5421 not even if they are printing characters with no modifier bits.
5422
5423 The input method function is not called when reading the second and
5424 subsequent events of a key sequence.
5425
5426 *** You can customize any language environment by using
5427 set-language-environment-hook and exit-language-environment-hook.
5428
5429 The hook `exit-language-environment-hook' should be used to undo
5430 customizations that you made with set-language-environment-hook. For
5431 instance, if you set up a special key binding for a specific language
5432 environment by set-language-environment-hook, you should set up
5433 exit-language-environment-hook to restore the normal key binding.
5434 \f
5435 * Changes in Emacs 20.1
5436
5437 ** Emacs has a new facility for customization of its many user
5438 options. It is called M-x customize. With this facility you can look
5439 at the many user options in an organized way; they are grouped into a
5440 tree structure.
5441
5442 M-x customize also knows what sorts of values are legitimate for each
5443 user option and ensures that you don't use invalid values.
5444
5445 With M-x customize, you can set options either for the present Emacs
5446 session or permanently. (Permanent settings are stored automatically
5447 in your .emacs file.)
5448
5449 ** Scroll bars are now on the left side of the window.
5450 You can change this with M-x customize-option scroll-bar-mode.
5451
5452 ** The mode line no longer includes the string `Emacs'.
5453 This makes more space in the mode line for other information.
5454
5455 ** When you select a region with the mouse, it is highlighted
5456 immediately afterward. At that time, if you type the DELETE key, it
5457 kills the region.
5458
5459 The BACKSPACE key, and the ASCII character DEL, do not do this; they
5460 delete the character before point, as usual.
5461
5462 ** In an incremental search the whole current match is highlighted
5463 on terminals which support this. (You can disable this feature
5464 by setting search-highlight to nil.)
5465
5466 ** In the minibuffer, in some cases, you can now use M-n to
5467 insert the default value into the minibuffer as text. In effect,
5468 the default value (if the minibuffer routines know it) is tacked
5469 onto the history "in the future". (The more normal use of the
5470 history list is to use M-p to insert minibuffer input used in the
5471 past.)
5472
5473 ** In Text mode, now only blank lines separate paragraphs.
5474 This makes it possible to get the full benefit of Adaptive Fill mode
5475 in Text mode, and other modes derived from it (such as Mail mode).
5476 TAB in Text mode now runs the command indent-relative; this
5477 makes a practical difference only when you use indented paragraphs.
5478
5479 As a result, the old Indented Text mode is now identical to Text mode,
5480 and is an alias for it.
5481
5482 If you want spaces at the beginning of a line to start a paragraph,
5483 use the new mode, Paragraph Indent Text mode.
5484
5485 ** Scrolling changes
5486
5487 *** Scroll commands to scroll a whole screen now preserve the screen
5488 position of the cursor, if scroll-preserve-screen-position is non-nil.
5489
5490 In this mode, if you scroll several screens back and forth, finishing
5491 on the same screen where you started, the cursor goes back to the line
5492 where it started.
5493
5494 *** If you set scroll-conservatively to a small number, then when you
5495 move point a short distance off the screen, Emacs will scroll the
5496 screen just far enough to bring point back on screen, provided that
5497 does not exceed `scroll-conservatively' lines.
5498
5499 *** The new variable scroll-margin says how close point can come to the
5500 top or bottom of a window. It is a number of screen lines; if point
5501 comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the window, Emacs
5502 recenters the window.
5503
5504 ** International character set support (MULE)
5505
5506 Emacs now supports a wide variety of international character sets,
5507 including European variants of the Latin alphabet, as well as Chinese,
5508 Devanagari (Hindi and Marathi), Ethiopian, Greek, IPA, Japanese,
5509 Korean, Lao, Russian, Thai, Tibetan, and Vietnamese scripts. These
5510 features have been merged from the modified version of Emacs known as
5511 MULE (for "MULti-lingual Enhancement to GNU Emacs")
5512
5513 Users of these scripts have established many more-or-less standard
5514 coding systems for storing files. Emacs uses a single multibyte
5515 character encoding within Emacs buffers; it can translate from a wide
5516 variety of coding systems when reading a file and can translate back
5517 into any of these coding systems when saving a file.
5518
5519 Keyboards, even in the countries where these character sets are used,
5520 generally don't have keys for all the characters in them. So Emacs
5521 supports various "input methods", typically one for each script or
5522 language, to make it possible to type them.
5523
5524 The Emacs internal multibyte encoding represents a non-ASCII
5525 character as a sequence of bytes in the range 0200 through 0377.
5526
5527 The new prefix key C-x RET is used for commands that pertain
5528 to multibyte characters, coding systems, and input methods.
5529
5530 You can disable multibyte character support as follows:
5531
5532 (setq-default enable-multibyte-characters nil)
5533
5534 Calling the function standard-display-european turns off multibyte
5535 characters, unless you specify a non-nil value for the second
5536 argument, AUTO. This provides compatibility for people who are
5537 already using standard-display-european to continue using unibyte
5538 characters for their work until they want to change.
5539
5540 *** Input methods
5541
5542 An input method is a kind of character conversion which is designed
5543 specifically for interactive input. In Emacs, typically each language
5544 has its own input method (though sometimes several languages which use
5545 the same characters can share one input method). Some languages
5546 support several input methods.
5547
5548 The simplest kind of input method works by mapping ASCII letters into
5549 another alphabet. This is how the Greek and Russian input methods
5550 work.
5551
5552 A more powerful technique is composition: converting sequences of
5553 characters into one letter. Many European input methods use
5554 composition to produce a single non-ASCII letter from a sequence which
5555 consists of a letter followed by diacritics. For example, a' is one
5556 sequence of two characters that might be converted into a single
5557 letter.
5558
5559 The input methods for syllabic scripts typically use mapping followed
5560 by conversion. The input methods for Thai and Korean work this way.
5561 First, letters are mapped into symbols for particular sounds or tone
5562 marks; then, sequences of these which make up a whole syllable are
5563 mapped into one syllable sign--most often a "composite character".
5564
5565 None of these methods works very well for Chinese and Japanese, so
5566 they are handled specially. First you input a whole word using
5567 phonetic spelling; then, after the word is in the buffer, Emacs
5568 converts it into one or more characters using a large dictionary.
5569
5570 Since there is more than one way to represent a phonetically spelled
5571 word using Chinese characters, Emacs can only guess which one to use;
5572 typically these input methods give you a way to say "guess again" if
5573 the first guess is wrong.
5574
5575 *** The command C-x RET m (toggle-enable-multibyte-characters)
5576 turns multibyte character support on or off for the current buffer.
5577
5578 If multibyte character support is turned off in a buffer, then each
5579 byte is a single character, even codes 0200 through 0377--exactly as
5580 they did in Emacs 19.34. This includes the features for support for
5581 the European characters, ISO Latin-1 and ISO Latin-2.
5582
5583 However, there is no need to turn off multibyte character support to
5584 use ISO Latin-1 or ISO Latin-2; the Emacs multibyte character set
5585 includes all the characters in these character sets, and Emacs can
5586 translate automatically to and from either one.
5587
5588 *** Visiting a file in unibyte mode.
5589
5590 Turning off multibyte character support in the buffer after visiting a
5591 file with multibyte code conversion will display the multibyte
5592 sequences already in the buffer, byte by byte. This is probably not
5593 what you want.
5594
5595 If you want to edit a file of unibyte characters (Latin-1, for
5596 example), you can do it by specifying `no-conversion' as the coding
5597 system when reading the file. This coding system also turns off
5598 multibyte characters in that buffer.
5599
5600 If you turn off multibyte character support entirely, this turns off
5601 character conversion as well.
5602
5603 *** Displaying international characters on X Windows.
5604
5605 A font for X typically displays just one alphabet or script.
5606 Therefore, displaying the entire range of characters Emacs supports
5607 requires using many fonts.
5608
5609 Therefore, Emacs now supports "fontsets". Each fontset is a
5610 collection of fonts, each assigned to a range of character codes.
5611
5612 A fontset has a name, like a font. Individual fonts are defined by
5613 the X server; fontsets are defined within Emacs itself. But once you
5614 have defined a fontset, you can use it in a face or a frame just as
5615 you would use a font.
5616
5617 If a fontset specifies no font for a certain character, or if it
5618 specifies a font that does not exist on your system, then it cannot
5619 display that character. It will display an empty box instead.
5620
5621 The fontset height and width are determined by the ASCII characters
5622 (that is, by the font in the fontset which is used for ASCII
5623 characters). If another font in the fontset has a different height,
5624 or the wrong width, then characters assigned to that font are clipped,
5625 and displayed within a box if highlight-wrong-size-font is non-nil.
5626
5627 *** Defining fontsets.
5628
5629 Emacs does not use any fontset by default. Its default font is still
5630 chosen as in previous versions. You can tell Emacs to use a fontset
5631 with the `-fn' option or the `Font' X resource.
5632
5633 Emacs creates a standard fontset automatically according to the value
5634 of standard-fontset-spec. This fontset's short name is
5635 `fontset-standard'. Bold, italic, and bold-italic variants of the
5636 standard fontset are created automatically.
5637
5638 If you specify a default ASCII font with the `Font' resource or `-fn'
5639 argument, a fontset is generated from it. This works by replacing the
5640 FOUNDARY, FAMILY, ADD_STYLE, and AVERAGE_WIDTH fields of the font name
5641 with `*' then using this to specify a fontset. This fontset's short
5642 name is `fontset-startup'.
5643
5644 Emacs checks resources of the form Fontset-N where N is 0, 1, 2...
5645 The resource value should have this form:
5646 FONTSET-NAME, [CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME]...
5647 FONTSET-NAME should have the form of a standard X font name, except:
5648 * most fields should be just the wild card "*".
5649 * the CHARSET_REGISTRY field should be "fontset"
5650 * the CHARSET_ENCODING field can be any nickname of the fontset.
5651 The construct CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME can be repeated any number
5652 of times; each time specifies the font for one character set.
5653 CHARSET-NAME should be the name name of a character set, and
5654 FONT-NAME should specify an actual font to use for that character set.
5655
5656 Each of these fontsets has an alias which is made from the
5657 last two font name fields, CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING.
5658 You can refer to the fontset by that alias or by its full name.
5659
5660 For any character sets that you don't mention, Emacs tries to choose a
5661 font by substituting into FONTSET-NAME. For instance, with the
5662 following resource,
5663 Emacs*Fontset-0: -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24
5664 the font for ASCII is generated as below:
5665 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-ISO8859-1
5666 Here is the substitution rule:
5667 Change CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING to that of the charset
5668 defined in the variable x-charset-registries. For instance, ASCII has
5669 the entry (ascii . "ISO8859-1") in this variable. Then, reduce
5670 sequences of wild cards -*-...-*- with a single wildcard -*-.
5671 (This is to prevent use of auto-scaled fonts.)
5672
5673 The function which processes the fontset resource value to create the
5674 fontset is called create-fontset-from-fontset-spec. You can also call
5675 that function explicitly to create a fontset.
5676
5677 With the X resource Emacs.Font, you can specify a fontset name just
5678 like an actual font name. But be careful not to specify a fontset
5679 name in a wildcard resource like Emacs*Font--that tries to specify the
5680 fontset for other purposes including menus, and they cannot handle
5681 fontsets.
5682
5683 *** The command M-x set-language-environment sets certain global Emacs
5684 defaults for a particular choice of language.
5685
5686 Selecting a language environment typically specifies a default input
5687 method and which coding systems to recognize automatically when
5688 visiting files. However, it does not try to reread files you have
5689 already visited; the text in those buffers is not affected. The
5690 language environment may also specify a default choice of coding
5691 system for new files that you create.
5692
5693 It makes no difference which buffer is current when you use
5694 set-language-environment, because these defaults apply globally to the
5695 whole Emacs session.
5696
5697 For example, M-x set-language-environment RET Latin-1 RET
5698 chooses the Latin-1 character set. In the .emacs file, you can do this
5699 with (set-language-environment "Latin-1").
5700
5701 *** The command C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system)
5702 specifies the file coding system for the current buffer. This
5703 specifies what sort of character code translation to do when saving
5704 the file. As an argument, you must specify the name of one of the
5705 coding systems that Emacs supports.
5706
5707 *** The command C-x RET c (universal-coding-system-argument)
5708 lets you specify a coding system when you read or write a file.
5709 This command uses the minibuffer to read a coding system name.
5710 After you exit the minibuffer, the specified coding system
5711 is used for *the immediately following command*.
5712
5713 So if the immediately following command is a command to read or
5714 write a file, it uses the specified coding system for that file.
5715
5716 If the immediately following command does not use the coding system,
5717 then C-x RET c ultimately has no effect.
5718
5719 For example, C-x RET c iso-8859-1 RET C-x C-f temp RET
5720 visits the file `temp' treating it as ISO Latin-1.
5721
5722 *** You can specify the coding system for a file using the -*-
5723 construct. Include `coding: CODINGSYSTEM;' inside the -*-...-*-
5724 to specify use of coding system CODINGSYSTEM. You can also
5725 specify the coding system in a local variable list at the end
5726 of the file.
5727
5728 *** The command C-x RET t (set-terminal-coding-system) specifies
5729 the coding system for terminal output. If you specify a character
5730 code for terminal output, all characters output to the terminal are
5731 translated into that character code.
5732
5733 This feature is useful for certain character-only terminals built in
5734 various countries to support the languages of those countries.
5735
5736 By default, output to the terminal is not translated at all.
5737
5738 *** The command C-x RET k (set-keyboard-coding-system) specifies
5739 the coding system for keyboard input.
5740
5741 Character code translation of keyboard input is useful for terminals
5742 with keys that send non-ASCII graphic characters--for example,
5743 some terminals designed for ISO Latin-1 or subsets of it.
5744
5745 By default, keyboard input is not translated at all.
5746
5747 Character code translation of keyboard input is similar to using an
5748 input method, in that both define sequences of keyboard input that
5749 translate into single characters. However, input methods are designed
5750 to be convenient for interactive use, while the code translations are
5751 designed to work with terminals.
5752
5753 *** The command C-x RET p (set-buffer-process-coding-system)
5754 specifies the coding system for input and output to a subprocess.
5755 This command applies to the current buffer; normally, each subprocess
5756 has its own buffer, and thus you can use this command to specify
5757 translation to and from a particular subprocess by giving the command
5758 in the corresponding buffer.
5759
5760 By default, process input and output are not translated at all.
5761
5762 *** The variable file-name-coding-system specifies the coding system
5763 to use for encoding file names before operating on them.
5764 It is also used for decoding file names obtained from the system.
5765
5766 *** The command C-\ (toggle-input-method) activates or deactivates
5767 an input method. If no input method has been selected before, the
5768 command prompts for you to specify the language and input method you
5769 want to use.
5770
5771 C-u C-\ (select-input-method) lets you switch to a different input
5772 method. C-h C-\ (or C-h I) describes the current input method.
5773
5774 *** Some input methods remap the keyboard to emulate various keyboard
5775 layouts commonly used for particular scripts. How to do this
5776 remapping properly depends on your actual keyboard layout. To specify
5777 which layout your keyboard has, use M-x quail-set-keyboard-layout.
5778
5779 *** The command C-h C (describe-coding-system) displays
5780 the coding systems currently selected for various purposes, plus
5781 related information.
5782
5783 *** The command C-h h (view-hello-file) displays a file called
5784 HELLO, which has examples of text in many languages, using various
5785 scripts.
5786
5787 *** The command C-h L (describe-language-support) displays
5788 information about the support for a particular language.
5789 You specify the language as an argument.
5790
5791 *** The mode line now contains a letter or character that identifies
5792 the coding system used in the visited file. It normally follows the
5793 first dash.
5794
5795 A dash indicates the default state of affairs: no code conversion
5796 (except CRLF => newline if appropriate). `=' means no conversion
5797 whatsoever. The ISO 8859 coding systems are represented by digits
5798 1 through 9. Other coding systems are represented by letters:
5799
5800 A alternativnyj (Russian)
5801 B big5 (Chinese)
5802 C cn-gb-2312 (Chinese)
5803 C iso-2022-cn (Chinese)
5804 D in-is13194-devanagari (Indian languages)
5805 E euc-japan (Japanese)
5806 I iso-2022-cjk or iso-2022-ss2 (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
5807 J junet (iso-2022-7) or old-jis (iso-2022-jp-1978-irv) (Japanese)
5808 K euc-korea (Korean)
5809 R koi8 (Russian)
5810 Q tibetan
5811 S shift_jis (Japanese)
5812 T lao
5813 T tis620 (Thai)
5814 V viscii or vscii (Vietnamese)
5815 i iso-2022-lock (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
5816 k iso-2022-kr (Korean)
5817 v viqr (Vietnamese)
5818 z hz (Chinese)
5819
5820 When you are using a character-only terminal (not a window system),
5821 two additional characters appear in between the dash and the file
5822 coding system. These two characters describe the coding system for
5823 keyboard input, and the coding system for terminal output.
5824
5825 *** The new variable rmail-file-coding-system specifies the code
5826 conversion to use for RMAIL files. The default value is nil.
5827
5828 When you read mail with Rmail, each message is decoded automatically
5829 into Emacs' internal format. This has nothing to do with
5830 rmail-file-coding-system. That variable controls reading and writing
5831 Rmail files themselves.
5832
5833 *** The new variable sendmail-coding-system specifies the code
5834 conversion for outgoing mail. The default value is nil.
5835
5836 Actually, there are three different ways of specifying the coding system
5837 for sending mail:
5838
5839 - If you use C-x RET f in the mail buffer, that takes priority.
5840 - Otherwise, if you set sendmail-coding-system non-nil, that specifies it.
5841 - Otherwise, the default coding system for new files is used,
5842 if that is non-nil. That comes from your language environment.
5843 - Otherwise, Latin-1 is used.
5844
5845 *** The command C-h t (help-with-tutorial) accepts a prefix argument
5846 to specify the language for the tutorial file. Currently, English,
5847 Japanese, Korean and Thai are supported. We welcome additional
5848 translations.
5849
5850 ** An easy new way to visit a file with no code or format conversion
5851 of any kind: Use M-x find-file-literally. There is also a command
5852 insert-file-literally which inserts a file into the current buffer
5853 without any conversion.
5854
5855 ** C-q's handling of octal character codes is changed.
5856 You can now specify any number of octal digits.
5857 RET terminates the digits and is discarded;
5858 any other non-digit terminates the digits and is then used as input.
5859
5860 ** There are new commands for looking up Info documentation for
5861 functions, variables and file names used in your programs.
5862
5863 Type M-x info-lookup-symbol to look up a symbol in the buffer at point.
5864 Type M-x info-lookup-file to look up a file in the buffer at point.
5865
5866 Precisely which Info files are used to look it up depends on the major
5867 mode. For example, in C mode, the GNU libc manual is used.
5868
5869 ** M-TAB in most programming language modes now runs the command
5870 complete-symbol. This command performs completion on the symbol name
5871 in the buffer before point.
5872
5873 With a numeric argument, it performs completion based on the set of
5874 symbols documented in the Info files for the programming language that
5875 you are using.
5876
5877 With no argument, it does completion based on the current tags tables,
5878 just like the old binding of M-TAB (complete-tag).
5879
5880 ** File locking works with NFS now.
5881
5882 The lock file for FILENAME is now a symbolic link named .#FILENAME,
5883 in the same directory as FILENAME.
5884
5885 This means that collision detection between two different machines now
5886 works reasonably well; it also means that no file server or directory
5887 can become a bottleneck.
5888
5889 The new method does have drawbacks. It means that collision detection
5890 does not operate when you edit a file in a directory where you cannot
5891 create new files. Collision detection also doesn't operate when the
5892 file server does not support symbolic links. But these conditions are
5893 rare, and the ability to have collision detection while using NFS is
5894 so useful that the change is worth while.
5895
5896 When Emacs or a system crashes, this may leave behind lock files which
5897 are stale. So you may occasionally get warnings about spurious
5898 collisions. When you determine that the collision is spurious, just
5899 tell Emacs to go ahead anyway.
5900
5901 ** If you wish to use Show Paren mode to display matching parentheses,
5902 it is no longer sufficient to load paren.el. Instead you must call
5903 show-paren-mode.
5904
5905 ** If you wish to use Delete Selection mode to replace a highlighted
5906 selection when you insert new text, it is no longer sufficient to load
5907 delsel.el. Instead you must call the function delete-selection-mode.
5908
5909 ** If you wish to use Partial Completion mode to complete partial words
5910 within symbols or filenames, it is no longer sufficient to load
5911 complete.el. Instead you must call the function partial-completion-mode.
5912
5913 ** If you wish to use uniquify to rename buffers for you,
5914 it is no longer sufficient to load uniquify.el. You must also
5915 set uniquify-buffer-name-style to one of the non-nil legitimate values.
5916
5917 ** Changes in View mode.
5918
5919 *** Several new commands are available in View mode.
5920 Do H in view mode for a list of commands.
5921
5922 *** There are two new commands for entering View mode:
5923 view-file-other-frame and view-buffer-other-frame.
5924
5925 *** Exiting View mode does a better job of restoring windows to their
5926 previous state.
5927
5928 *** New customization variable view-scroll-auto-exit. If non-nil,
5929 scrolling past end of buffer makes view mode exit.
5930
5931 *** New customization variable view-exits-all-viewing-windows. If
5932 non-nil, view-mode will at exit restore all windows viewing buffer,
5933 not just the selected window.
5934
5935 *** New customization variable view-read-only. If non-nil, visiting a
5936 read-only file automatically enters View mode, and toggle-read-only
5937 turns View mode on or off.
5938
5939 *** New customization variable view-remove-frame-by-deleting controls
5940 how to remove a not needed frame at view mode exit. If non-nil,
5941 delete the frame, if nil make an icon of it.
5942
5943 ** C-x v l, the command to print a file's version control log,
5944 now positions point at the entry for the file's current branch version.
5945
5946 ** C-x v =, the command to compare a file with the last checked-in version,
5947 has a new feature. If the file is currently not locked, so that it is
5948 presumably identical to the last checked-in version, the command now asks
5949 which version to compare with.
5950
5951 ** When using hideshow.el, incremental search can temporarily show hidden
5952 blocks if a match is inside the block.
5953
5954 The block is hidden again if the search is continued and the next match
5955 is outside the block. By customizing the variable
5956 isearch-hide-immediately you can choose to hide all the temporarily
5957 shown blocks only when exiting from incremental search.
5958
5959 By customizing the variable hs-isearch-open you can choose what kind
5960 of blocks to temporarily show during isearch: comment blocks, code
5961 blocks, all of them or none.
5962
5963 ** The new command C-x 4 0 (kill-buffer-and-window) kills the
5964 current buffer and deletes the selected window. It asks for
5965 confirmation first.
5966
5967 ** C-x C-w, which saves the buffer into a specified file name,
5968 now changes the major mode according to that file name.
5969 However, the mode will not be changed if
5970 (1) a local variables list or the `-*-' line specifies a major mode, or
5971 (2) the current major mode is a "special" mode,
5972 not suitable for ordinary files, or
5973 (3) the new file name does not particularly specify any mode.
5974
5975 This applies to M-x set-visited-file-name as well.
5976
5977 However, if you set change-major-mode-with-file-name to nil, then
5978 these commands do not change the major mode.
5979
5980 ** M-x occur changes.
5981
5982 *** If the argument to M-x occur contains upper case letters,
5983 it performs a case-sensitive search.
5984
5985 *** In the *Occur* buffer made by M-x occur,
5986 if you type g or M-x revert-buffer, this repeats the search
5987 using the same regular expression and the same buffer as before.
5988
5989 ** In Transient Mark mode, the region in any one buffer is highlighted
5990 in just one window at a time. At first, it is highlighted in the
5991 window where you set the mark. The buffer's highlighting remains in
5992 that window unless you select to another window which shows the same
5993 buffer--then the highlighting moves to that window.
5994
5995 ** The feature to suggest key bindings when you use M-x now operates
5996 after the command finishes. The message suggesting key bindings
5997 appears temporarily in the echo area. The previous echo area contents
5998 come back after a few seconds, in case they contain useful information.
5999
6000 ** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
6001 selected buffers, so that the default for C-x b is now based on the
6002 buffers recently selected in the selected frame.
6003
6004 ** Outline mode changes.
6005
6006 *** Outline mode now uses overlays (this is the former noutline.el).
6007
6008 *** Incremental searches skip over invisible text in Outline mode.
6009
6010 ** When a minibuffer window is active but not the selected window, if
6011 you try to use the minibuffer, you used to get a nested minibuffer.
6012 Now, this not only gives an error, it also cancels the minibuffer that
6013 was already active.
6014
6015 The motive for this change is so that beginning users do not
6016 unknowingly move away from minibuffers, leaving them active, and then
6017 get confused by it.
6018
6019 If you want to be able to have recursive minibuffers, you must
6020 set enable-recursive-minibuffers to non-nil.
6021
6022 ** Changes in dynamic abbrevs.
6023
6024 *** Expanding dynamic abbrevs with M-/ is now smarter about case
6025 conversion. If the expansion has mixed case not counting the first
6026 character, and the abbreviation matches the beginning of the expansion
6027 including case, then the expansion is copied verbatim.
6028
6029 The expansion is also copied verbatim if the abbreviation itself has
6030 mixed case. And using SPC M-/ to copy an additional word always
6031 copies it verbatim except when the previous copied word is all caps.
6032
6033 *** The values of `dabbrev-case-replace' and `dabbrev-case-fold-search'
6034 are no longer Lisp expressions. They have simply three possible
6035 values.
6036
6037 `dabbrev-case-replace' has these three values: nil (don't preserve
6038 case), t (do), or `case-replace' (do like M-x query-replace).
6039 `dabbrev-case-fold-search' has these three values: nil (don't ignore
6040 case), t (do), or `case-fold-search' (do like search).
6041
6042 ** Minibuffer history lists are truncated automatically now to a
6043 certain length. The variable history-length specifies how long they
6044 can be. The default value is 30.
6045
6046 ** Changes in Mail mode.
6047
6048 *** The key C-x m no longer runs the `mail' command directly.
6049 Instead, it runs the command `compose-mail', which invokes the mail
6050 composition mechanism you have selected with the variable
6051 `mail-user-agent'. The default choice of user agent is
6052 `sendmail-user-agent', which gives behavior compatible with the old
6053 behavior.
6054
6055 C-x 4 m now runs compose-mail-other-window, and C-x 5 m runs
6056 compose-mail-other-frame.
6057
6058 *** While composing a reply to a mail message, from Rmail, you can use
6059 the command C-c C-r to cite just the region from the message you are
6060 replying to. This copies the text which is the selected region in the
6061 buffer that shows the original message.
6062
6063 *** The command C-c C-i inserts a file at the end of the message,
6064 with separator lines around the contents.
6065
6066 *** The command M-x expand-mail-aliases expands all mail aliases
6067 in suitable mail headers. Emacs automatically extracts mail alias
6068 definitions from your mail alias file (e.g., ~/.mailrc). You do not
6069 need to expand mail aliases yourself before sending mail.
6070
6071 *** New features in the mail-complete command.
6072
6073 **** The mail-complete command now inserts the user's full name,
6074 for local users or if that is known. The variable mail-complete-style
6075 controls the style to use, and whether to do this at all.
6076 Its values are like those of mail-from-style.
6077
6078 **** The variable mail-passwd-command lets you specify a shell command
6079 to run to fetch a set of password-entries that add to the ones in
6080 /etc/passwd.
6081
6082 **** The variable mail-passwd-file now specifies a list of files to read
6083 to get the list of user ids. By default, one file is used:
6084 /etc/passwd.
6085
6086 ** You can "quote" a file name to inhibit special significance of
6087 special syntax, by adding `/:' to the beginning. Thus, if you have a
6088 directory named `/foo:', you can prevent it from being treated as a
6089 reference to a remote host named `foo' by writing it as `/:/foo:'.
6090
6091 Emacs uses this new construct automatically when necessary, such as
6092 when you start it with a working directory whose name might otherwise
6093 be taken to be magic.
6094
6095 ** There is a new command M-x grep-find which uses find to select
6096 files to search through, and grep to scan them. The output is
6097 available in a Compile mode buffer, as with M-x grep.
6098
6099 M-x grep now uses the -e option if the grep program supports that.
6100 (-e prevents problems if the search pattern starts with a dash.)
6101
6102 ** In Dired, the & command now flags for deletion the files whose names
6103 suggest they are probably not needed in the long run.
6104
6105 In Dired, * is now a prefix key for mark-related commands.
6106
6107 new key dired.el binding old key
6108 ------- ---------------- -------
6109 * c dired-change-marks c
6110 * m dired-mark m
6111 * * dired-mark-executables * (binding deleted)
6112 * / dired-mark-directories / (binding deleted)
6113 * @ dired-mark-symlinks @ (binding deleted)
6114 * u dired-unmark u
6115 * DEL dired-unmark-backward DEL
6116 * ? dired-unmark-all-files M-C-?
6117 * ! dired-unmark-all-marks
6118 * % dired-mark-files-regexp % m
6119 * C-n dired-next-marked-file M-}
6120 * C-p dired-prev-marked-file M-{
6121
6122 ** Rmail changes.
6123
6124 *** When Rmail cannot convert your incoming mail into Babyl format, it
6125 saves the new mail in the file RMAILOSE.n, where n is an integer
6126 chosen to make a unique name. This way, Rmail will not keep crashing
6127 each time you run it.
6128
6129 *** In Rmail, the variable rmail-summary-line-count-flag now controls
6130 whether to include the line count in the summary. Non-nil means yes.
6131
6132 *** In Rmail summary buffers, d and C-d (the commands to delete
6133 messages) now take repeat counts as arguments. A negative argument
6134 means to move in the opposite direction.
6135
6136 *** In Rmail, the t command now takes an optional argument which lets
6137 you specify whether to show the message headers in full or pruned.
6138
6139 *** In Rmail, the new command w (rmail-output-body-to-file) writes
6140 just the body of the current message into a file, without the headers.
6141 It takes the file name from the message subject, by default, but you
6142 can edit that file name in the minibuffer before it is actually used
6143 for output.
6144
6145 ** Gnus changes.
6146
6147 *** nntp.el has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
6148
6149 *** Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
6150 Gnus.
6151
6152 *** Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like
6153 `and', `or', `not', and parent redirection.
6154
6155 *** Article washing status can be displayed in the
6156 article mode line.
6157
6158 *** gnus.el has been split into many smaller files.
6159
6160 *** Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID.
6161
6162 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
6163
6164 *** New variables for specifying what score and adapt files
6165 are to be considered home score and adapt files. See
6166 `gnus-home-score-file' and `gnus-home-adapt-files'.
6167
6168 *** Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics.
6169
6170 *** Article editing has been revamped and is now usable.
6171
6172 *** Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions.
6173 See `gnus-signature-separator' and `gnus-signature-limit'.
6174
6175 *** Summary pick mode has been made to look more nn-like.
6176 Line numbers are displayed and the `.' command can be
6177 used to pick articles.
6178
6179 *** Commands for moving the .newsrc.eld from one server to
6180 another have been added.
6181
6182 `M-x gnus-change-server'
6183
6184 *** A way to specify that "uninteresting" fields be suppressed when
6185 generating lines in buffers.
6186
6187 *** Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with
6188 `M-C-_'.
6189
6190 *** Scoring can be done on words using the new score type `w'.
6191
6192 *** Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis:
6193
6194 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
6195
6196 *** Scores can be decayed.
6197
6198 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
6199
6200 *** Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The
6201 Date is normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first.
6202
6203 *** A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
6204 the native server.
6205
6206 `M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups'
6207
6208 *** A new command for reading collections of documents
6209 (nndoc with nnvirtual on top) has been added -- `M-C-d'.
6210
6211 *** Process mark sets can be pushed and popped.
6212
6213 *** A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post
6214 even when the NNTP server doesn't allow posting.
6215
6216 *** A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
6217 (DejaNews, Alta Vista, InReference) has been added.
6218
6219 Use the `G w' command in the group buffer to create such
6220 a group.
6221
6222 *** Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard
6223 sorting functions, and each topic can be sorted independently.
6224
6225 See the commands under the `T S' submap.
6226
6227 *** Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently.
6228
6229 See the commands under the `G P' submap.
6230
6231 *** Cached articles can be pulled into the groups.
6232
6233 Use the `Y c' command.
6234
6235 *** Score files are now applied in a more reliable order.
6236
6237 *** Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated.
6238
6239 `M-x nnmail-split-history'
6240
6241 *** More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk
6242 from incoming mail before saving the mail.
6243
6244 See `nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook'.
6245
6246 *** The nnml mail backend now understands compressed article files.
6247
6248 *** To enable Gnus to read/post multi-lingual articles, you must execute
6249 the following code, for instance, in your .emacs.
6250
6251 (add-hook 'gnus-startup-hook 'gnus-mule-initialize)
6252
6253 Then, when you start Gnus, it will decode non-ASCII text automatically
6254 and show appropriate characters. (Note: if you are using gnus-mime
6255 from the SEMI package, formerly known as TM, you should NOT add this
6256 hook to gnus-startup-hook; gnus-mime has its own method of handling
6257 this issue.)
6258
6259 Since it is impossible to distinguish all coding systems
6260 automatically, you may need to specify a choice of coding system for a
6261 particular news group. This can be done by:
6262
6263 (gnus-mule-add-group NEWSGROUP 'CODING-SYSTEM)
6264
6265 Here NEWSGROUP should be a string which names a newsgroup or a tree
6266 of newsgroups. If NEWSGROUP is "XXX.YYY", all news groups under
6267 "XXX.YYY" (including "XXX.YYY.ZZZ") will use the specified coding
6268 system. CODING-SYSTEM specifies which coding system to use (for both
6269 for reading and posting).
6270
6271 CODING-SYSTEM can also be a cons cell of the form
6272 (READ-CODING-SYSTEM . POST-CODING-SYSTEM)
6273 Then READ-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you read messages from the
6274 newsgroups, while POST-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you post messages
6275 there.
6276
6277 Emacs knows the right coding systems for certain newsgroups by
6278 default. Here are some of these default settings:
6279
6280 (gnus-mule-add-group "fj" 'iso-2022-7)
6281 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text" 'hz-gb-2312)
6282 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.hk" 'hz-gb-2312)
6283 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text.big5" 'cn-big5)
6284 (gnus-mule-add-group "soc.culture.vietnamese" '(nil . viqr))
6285
6286 When you reply by mail to an article, these settings are ignored;
6287 the mail is encoded according to sendmail-coding-system, as usual.
6288
6289 ** CC mode changes.
6290
6291 *** If you edit primarily one style of C (or C++, Objective-C, Java)
6292 code, you may want to make the CC Mode style variables have global
6293 values so that you can set them directly in your .emacs file. To do
6294 this, set c-style-variables-are-local-p to nil in your .emacs file.
6295 Note that this only takes effect if you do it *before* cc-mode.el is
6296 loaded.
6297
6298 If you typically edit more than one style of C (or C++, Objective-C,
6299 Java) code in a single Emacs session, you may want to make the CC Mode
6300 style variables have buffer local values. By default, all buffers
6301 share the same style variable settings; to make them buffer local, set
6302 c-style-variables-are-local-p to t in your .emacs file. Note that you
6303 must do this *before* CC Mode is loaded.
6304
6305 *** The new variable c-indentation-style holds the C style name
6306 of the current buffer.
6307
6308 *** The variable c-block-comments-indent-p has been deleted, because
6309 it is no longer necessary. C mode now handles all the supported styles
6310 of block comments, with no need to say which one you will use.
6311
6312 *** There is a new indentation style "python", which specifies the C
6313 style that the Python developers like.
6314
6315 *** There is a new c-cleanup-list option: brace-elseif-brace.
6316 This says to put ...} else if (...) {... on one line,
6317 just as brace-else-brace says to put ...} else {... on one line.
6318
6319 ** VC Changes [new]
6320
6321 ** In vc-retrieve-snapshot (C-x v r), if you don't specify a snapshot
6322 name, it retrieves the *latest* versions of all files in the current
6323 directory and its subdirectories (aside from files already locked).
6324
6325 This feature is useful if your RCS directory is a link to a common
6326 master directory, and you want to pick up changes made by other
6327 developers.
6328
6329 You can do the same thing for an individual file by typing C-u C-x C-q
6330 RET in a buffer visiting that file.
6331
6332 *** VC can now handle files under CVS that are being "watched" by
6333 other developers. Such files are made read-only by CVS. To get a
6334 writable copy, type C-x C-q in a buffer visiting such a file. VC then
6335 calls "cvs edit", which notifies the other developers of it.
6336
6337 *** vc-version-diff (C-u C-x v =) now suggests reasonable defaults for
6338 version numbers, based on the current state of the file.
6339
6340 ** Calendar changes.
6341
6342 A new function, list-holidays, allows you list holidays or subclasses
6343 of holidays for ranges of years. Related menu items allow you do this
6344 for the year of the selected date, or the following/previous years.
6345
6346 ** ps-print changes
6347
6348 There are some new user variables for customizing the page layout.
6349
6350 *** Paper size, paper orientation, columns
6351
6352 The variable `ps-paper-type' determines the size of paper ps-print
6353 formats for; it should contain one of the symbols:
6354 `a4' `a3' `letter' `legal' `letter-small' `tabloid'
6355 `ledger' `statement' `executive' `a4small' `b4' `b5'
6356 It defaults to `letter'.
6357 If you need other sizes, see the variable `ps-page-dimensions-database'.
6358
6359 The variable `ps-landscape-mode' determines the orientation
6360 of the printing on the page. nil, the default, means "portrait" mode,
6361 non-nil means "landscape" mode.
6362
6363 The variable `ps-number-of-columns' must be a positive integer.
6364 It determines the number of columns both in landscape and portrait mode.
6365 It defaults to 1.
6366
6367 *** Horizontal layout
6368
6369 The horizontal layout is determined by the variables
6370 `ps-left-margin', `ps-inter-column', and `ps-right-margin'.
6371 All are measured in points.
6372
6373 *** Vertical layout
6374
6375 The vertical layout is determined by the variables
6376 `ps-bottom-margin', `ps-top-margin', and `ps-header-offset'.
6377 All are measured in points.
6378
6379 *** Headers
6380
6381 If the variable `ps-print-header' is nil, no header is printed. Then
6382 `ps-header-offset' is not relevant and `ps-top-margin' represents the
6383 margin above the text.
6384
6385 If the variable `ps-print-header-frame' is non-nil, a gaudy
6386 framing box is printed around the header.
6387
6388 The contents of the header are determined by `ps-header-lines',
6389 `ps-show-n-of-n', `ps-left-header' and `ps-right-header'.
6390
6391 The height of the header is determined by `ps-header-line-pad',
6392 `ps-header-font-family', `ps-header-title-font-size' and
6393 `ps-header-font-size'.
6394
6395 *** Font managing
6396
6397 The variable `ps-font-family' determines which font family is to be
6398 used for ordinary text. Its value must be a key symbol in the alist
6399 `ps-font-info-database'. You can add other font families by adding
6400 elements to this alist.
6401
6402 The variable `ps-font-size' determines the size of the font
6403 for ordinary text. It defaults to 8.5 points.
6404
6405 ** hideshow changes.
6406
6407 *** now supports hiding of blocks of single line comments (like // for
6408 C++, ; for lisp).
6409
6410 *** Support for java-mode added.
6411
6412 *** When doing `hs-hide-all' it is now possible to also hide the comments
6413 in the file if `hs-hide-comments-when-hiding-all' is set.
6414
6415 *** The new function `hs-hide-initial-comment' hides the the comments at
6416 the beginning of the files. Finally those huge RCS logs don't stay in your
6417 way! This is run by default when entering the `hs-minor-mode'.
6418
6419 *** Now uses overlays instead of `selective-display', so is more
6420 robust and a lot faster.
6421
6422 *** A block beginning can span multiple lines.
6423
6424 *** The new variable `hs-show-hidden-short-form' if t, directs hideshow
6425 to show only the beginning of a block when it is hidden. See the
6426 documentation for more details.
6427
6428 ** Changes in Enriched mode.
6429
6430 *** When you visit a file in enriched-mode, Emacs will make sure it is
6431 filled to the current fill-column. This behavior is now independent
6432 of the size of the window. When you save the file, the fill-column in
6433 use is stored as well, so that the whole buffer need not be refilled
6434 the next time unless the fill-column is different.
6435
6436 *** use-hard-newlines is now a minor mode. When it is enabled, Emacs
6437 distinguishes between hard and soft newlines, and treats hard newlines
6438 as paragraph boundaries. Otherwise all newlines inserted are marked
6439 as soft, and paragraph boundaries are determined solely from the text.
6440
6441 ** Font Lock mode
6442
6443 *** Custom support
6444
6445 The variables font-lock-face-attributes, font-lock-display-type and
6446 font-lock-background-mode are now obsolete; the recommended way to specify the
6447 faces to use for Font Lock mode is with M-x customize-group on the new custom
6448 group font-lock-highlighting-faces. If you set font-lock-face-attributes in
6449 your ~/.emacs file, Font Lock mode will respect its value. However, you should
6450 consider converting from setting that variable to using M-x customize.
6451
6452 You can still use X resources to specify Font Lock face appearances.
6453
6454 *** Maximum decoration
6455
6456 Fontification now uses the maximum level of decoration supported by
6457 default. Previously, fontification used a mode-specific default level
6458 of decoration, which is typically the minimum level of decoration
6459 supported. You can set font-lock-maximum-decoration to nil
6460 to get the old behavior.
6461
6462 *** New support
6463
6464 Support is now provided for Java, Objective-C, AWK and SIMULA modes.
6465
6466 Note that Font Lock mode can be turned on without knowing exactly what modes
6467 support Font Lock mode, via the command global-font-lock-mode.
6468
6469 *** Configurable support
6470
6471 Support for C, C++, Objective-C and Java can be more easily configured for
6472 additional types and classes via the new variables c-font-lock-extra-types,
6473 c++-font-lock-extra-types, objc-font-lock-extra-types and, you guessed it,
6474 java-font-lock-extra-types. These value of each of these variables should be a
6475 list of regexps matching the extra type names. For example, the default value
6476 of c-font-lock-extra-types is ("\\sw+_t") which means fontification follows the
6477 convention that C type names end in _t. This results in slower fontification.
6478
6479 Of course, you can change the variables that specify fontification in whatever
6480 way you wish, typically by adding regexps. However, these new variables make
6481 it easier to make specific and common changes for the fontification of types.
6482
6483 *** Adding highlighting patterns to existing support
6484
6485 You can use the new function font-lock-add-keywords to add your own
6486 highlighting patterns, such as for project-local or user-specific constructs,
6487 for any mode.
6488
6489 For example, to highlight `FIXME:' words in C comments, put:
6490
6491 (font-lock-add-keywords 'c-mode '(("\\<FIXME:" 0 font-lock-warning-face t)))
6492
6493 in your ~/.emacs.
6494
6495 *** New faces
6496
6497 Font Lock now defines two new faces, font-lock-builtin-face and
6498 font-lock-warning-face. These are intended to highlight builtin keywords,
6499 distinct from a language's normal keywords, and objects that should be brought
6500 to user attention, respectively. Various modes now use these new faces.
6501
6502 *** Changes to fast-lock support mode
6503
6504 The fast-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now process
6505 cache files silently. You can use the new variable fast-lock-verbose, in the
6506 same way as font-lock-verbose, to control this feature.
6507
6508 *** Changes to lazy-lock support mode
6509
6510 The lazy-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now fontify
6511 according to the true syntactic context relative to other lines. You can use
6512 the new variable lazy-lock-defer-contextually to control this feature. If
6513 non-nil, changes to the buffer will cause subsequent lines in the buffer to be
6514 refontified after lazy-lock-defer-time seconds of idle time. If nil, then only
6515 the modified lines will be refontified; this is the same as the previous Lazy
6516 Lock mode behaviour and the behaviour of Font Lock mode.
6517
6518 This feature is useful in modes where strings or comments can span lines.
6519 For example, if a string or comment terminating character is deleted, then if
6520 this feature is enabled subsequent lines in the buffer will be correctly
6521 refontified to reflect their new syntactic context. Previously, only the line
6522 containing the deleted character would be refontified and you would have to use
6523 the command M-g M-g (font-lock-fontify-block) to refontify some lines.
6524
6525 As a consequence of this new feature, two other variables have changed:
6526
6527 Variable `lazy-lock-defer-driven' is renamed `lazy-lock-defer-on-scrolling'.
6528 Variable `lazy-lock-defer-time' can now only be a time, i.e., a number.
6529 Buffer modes for which on-the-fly deferral applies can be specified via the
6530 new variable `lazy-lock-defer-on-the-fly'.
6531
6532 If you set these variables in your ~/.emacs, then you may have to change those
6533 settings.
6534
6535 ** Ada mode changes.
6536
6537 *** There is now better support for using find-file.el with Ada mode.
6538 If you switch between spec and body, the cursor stays in the same
6539 procedure (modulo overloading). If a spec has no body file yet, but
6540 you try to switch to its body file, Ada mode now generates procedure
6541 stubs.
6542
6543 *** There are two new commands:
6544 - `ada-make-local' : invokes gnatmake on the current buffer
6545 - `ada-check-syntax' : check syntax of current buffer.
6546
6547 The user options `ada-compiler-make', `ada-make-options',
6548 `ada-language-version', `ada-compiler-syntax-check', and
6549 `ada-compile-options' are used within these commands.
6550
6551 *** Ada mode can now work with Outline minor mode. The outline level
6552 is calculated from the indenting, not from syntactic constructs.
6553 Outlining does not work if your code is not correctly indented.
6554
6555 *** The new function `ada-gnat-style' converts the buffer to the style of
6556 formatting used in GNAT. It places two blanks after a comment start,
6557 places one blank between a word end and an opening '(', and puts one
6558 space between a comma and the beginning of a word.
6559
6560 ** Scheme mode changes.
6561
6562 *** Scheme mode indentation now uses many of the facilities of Lisp
6563 mode; therefore, the variables to customize it are the variables used
6564 for Lisp mode which have names starting with `lisp-'. The variables
6565 with names starting with `scheme-' which used to do this no longer
6566 have any effect.
6567
6568 If you want to use different indentation for Scheme and Lisp, this is
6569 still possible, but now you must do it by adding a hook to
6570 scheme-mode-hook, which could work by setting the `lisp-' indentation
6571 variables as buffer-local variables.
6572
6573 *** DSSSL mode is a variant of Scheme mode, for editing DSSSL scripts.
6574 Use M-x dsssl-mode.
6575
6576 ** Changes to the emacsclient program
6577
6578 *** If a socket can't be found, and environment variables LOGNAME or
6579 USER are set, emacsclient now looks for a socket based on the UID
6580 associated with the name. That is an emacsclient running as root
6581 can connect to an Emacs server started by a non-root user.
6582
6583 *** The emacsclient program now accepts an option --no-wait which tells
6584 it to return immediately without waiting for you to "finish" the
6585 buffer in Emacs.
6586
6587 *** The new option --alternate-editor allows to specify an editor to
6588 use if Emacs is not running. The environment variable
6589 ALTERNATE_EDITOR can be used for the same effect; the command line
6590 option takes precedence.
6591
6592 ** M-x eldoc-mode enables a minor mode in which the echo area
6593 constantly shows the parameter list for function being called at point
6594 (in Emacs Lisp and Lisp Interaction modes only).
6595
6596 ** C-x n d now runs the new command narrow-to-defun,
6597 which narrows the accessible parts of the buffer to just
6598 the current defun.
6599
6600 ** Emacs now handles the `--' argument in the standard way; all
6601 following arguments are treated as ordinary file names.
6602
6603 ** On MSDOS and Windows, the bookmark file is now called _emacs.bmk,
6604 and the saved desktop file is now called _emacs.desktop (truncated if
6605 necessary).
6606
6607 ** When you kill a buffer that visits a file,
6608 if there are any registers that save positions in the file,
6609 these register values no longer become completely useless.
6610 If you try to go to such a register with C-x j, then you are
6611 asked whether to visit the file again. If you say yes,
6612 it visits the file and then goes to the same position.
6613
6614 ** When you visit a file that changes frequently outside Emacs--for
6615 example, a log of output from a process that continues to run--it may
6616 be useful for Emacs to revert the file without querying you whenever
6617 you visit the file afresh with C-x C-f.
6618
6619 You can request this behavior for certain files by setting the
6620 variable revert-without-query to a list of regular expressions. If a
6621 file's name matches any of these regular expressions, find-file and
6622 revert-buffer revert the buffer without asking for permission--but
6623 only if you have not edited the buffer text yourself.
6624
6625 ** set-default-font has been renamed to set-frame-font
6626 since it applies only to the current frame.
6627
6628 ** In TeX mode, you can use the variable tex-main-file to specify the
6629 file for tex-file to run TeX on. (By default, tex-main-file is nil,
6630 and tex-file runs TeX on the current visited file.)
6631
6632 This is useful when you are editing a document that consists of
6633 multiple files. In each of the included files, you can set up a local
6634 variable list which specifies the top-level file of your document for
6635 tex-main-file. Then tex-file will run TeX on the whole document
6636 instead of just the file you are editing.
6637
6638 ** RefTeX mode
6639
6640 RefTeX mode is a new minor mode with special support for \label, \ref
6641 and \cite macros in LaTeX documents. RefTeX distinguishes labels of
6642 different environments (equation, figure, ...) and has full support for
6643 multifile documents. To use it, select a buffer with a LaTeX document and
6644 turn the mode on with M-x reftex-mode. Here are the main user commands:
6645
6646 C-c ( reftex-label
6647 Creates a label semi-automatically. RefTeX is context sensitive and
6648 knows which kind of label is needed.
6649
6650 C-c ) reftex-reference
6651 Offers in a menu all labels in the document, along with context of the
6652 label definition. The selected label is referenced as \ref{LABEL}.
6653
6654 C-c [ reftex-citation
6655 Prompts for a regular expression and displays a list of matching BibTeX
6656 database entries. The selected entry is cited with a \cite{KEY} macro.
6657
6658 C-c & reftex-view-crossref
6659 Views the cross reference of a \ref or \cite command near point.
6660
6661 C-c = reftex-toc
6662 Shows a table of contents of the (multifile) document. From there you
6663 can quickly jump to every section.
6664
6665 Under X, RefTeX installs a "Ref" menu in the menu bar, with additional
6666 commands. Press `?' to get help when a prompt mentions this feature.
6667 Full documentation and customization examples are in the file
6668 reftex.el. You can use the finder to view the file documentation:
6669 C-h p --> tex --> reftex.el
6670
6671 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
6672
6673 *** Info documentation is now available.
6674
6675 *** Don't allow parentheses in string constants anymore. This confused
6676 both the BibTeX program and Emacs BibTeX mode.
6677
6678 *** Renamed variable bibtex-mode-user-optional-fields to
6679 bibtex-user-optional-fields.
6680
6681 *** Removed variable bibtex-include-OPTannote
6682 (use bibtex-user-optional-fields instead).
6683
6684 *** New interactive functions to copy and kill fields and complete
6685 entries to the BibTeX kill ring, from where they can be yanked back by
6686 appropriate functions.
6687
6688 *** New interactive functions for repositioning and marking of
6689 entries. They are bound by default to M-C-l and M-C-h.
6690
6691 *** New hook bibtex-clean-entry-hook. It is called after entry has
6692 been cleaned.
6693
6694 *** New variable bibtex-field-delimiters, which replaces variables
6695 bibtex-field-{left|right}-delimiter.
6696
6697 *** New variable bibtex-entry-delimiters to determine how entries
6698 shall be delimited.
6699
6700 *** Allow preinitialization of fields. See documentation of
6701 bibtex-user-optional-fields, bibtex-entry-field-alist, and
6702 bibtex-include-OPTkey for details.
6703
6704 *** Book and InBook entries require either an author or an editor
6705 field. This is now supported by bibtex.el. Alternative fields are
6706 prefixed with `ALT'.
6707
6708 *** New variable bibtex-entry-format, which replaces variable
6709 bibtex-clean-entry-zap-empty-opts and allows specification of many
6710 formatting options performed on cleaning an entry (see variable
6711 documentation).
6712
6713 *** Even more control on how automatic keys are generated. See
6714 documentation of bibtex-generate-autokey for details. Transcriptions
6715 for foreign languages other than German are now handled, too.
6716
6717 *** New boolean user option bibtex-comma-after-last-field to decide if
6718 comma should be inserted at end of last field.
6719
6720 *** New boolean user option bibtex-align-at-equal-sign to determine if
6721 alignment should be made at left side of field contents or at equal
6722 signs. New user options to control entry layout (e.g. indentation).
6723
6724 *** New function bibtex-fill-entry to realign entries.
6725
6726 *** New function bibtex-reformat to reformat region or buffer.
6727
6728 *** New function bibtex-convert-alien to convert a BibTeX database
6729 from alien sources.
6730
6731 *** New function bibtex-complete-key (similar to bibtex-complete-string)
6732 to complete prefix to a key defined in buffer. Mainly useful in
6733 crossref entries.
6734
6735 *** New function bibtex-count-entries to count entries in buffer or
6736 region.
6737
6738 *** Added support for imenu.
6739
6740 *** The function `bibtex-validate' now checks current region instead
6741 of buffer if mark is active. Now it shows all errors of buffer in a
6742 `compilation mode' buffer. You can use the normal commands (e.g.
6743 `next-error') for compilation modes to jump to errors.
6744
6745 *** New variable `bibtex-string-file-path' to determine where the files
6746 from `bibtex-string-files' are searched.
6747
6748 ** Iso Accents mode now supports Latin-3 as an alternative.
6749
6750 ** The command next-error now opens blocks hidden by hideshow.
6751
6752 ** The function using-unix-filesystems has been replaced by the
6753 functions add-untranslated-filesystem and remove-untranslated-filesystem.
6754 Each of these functions takes the name of a drive letter or directory
6755 as an argument.
6756
6757 When a filesystem is added as untranslated, all files on it are read
6758 and written in binary mode (no cr/lf translation is performed).
6759
6760 ** browse-url changes
6761
6762 *** New methods for: Grail (browse-url-generic), MMM (browse-url-mmm),
6763 Lynx in a separate xterm (browse-url-lynx-xterm) or in an Emacs window
6764 (browse-url-lynx-emacs), remote W3 (browse-url-w3-gnudoit), generic
6765 non-remote-controlled browsers (browse-url-generic) and associated
6766 customization variables.
6767
6768 *** New commands `browse-url-of-region' and `browse-url'.
6769
6770 *** URLs marked up with <URL:...> (RFC1738) work if broken across
6771 lines. Browsing methods can be associated with URL regexps
6772 (e.g. mailto: URLs) via `browse-url-browser-function'.
6773
6774 ** Changes in Ediff
6775
6776 *** Clicking Mouse-2 on a brief command description in Ediff control panel
6777 pops up the Info file for this command.
6778
6779 *** There is now a variable, ediff-autostore-merges, which controls whether
6780 the result of a merge is saved in a file. By default, this is done only when
6781 merge is done from a session group (eg, when merging files in two different
6782 directories).
6783
6784 *** Since Emacs 19.31 (this hasn't been announced before), Ediff can compare
6785 and merge groups of files residing in different directories, or revisions of
6786 files in the same directory.
6787
6788 *** Since Emacs 19.31, Ediff can apply multi-file patches interactively.
6789 The patches must be in the context format or GNU unified format. (The bug
6790 related to the GNU format has now been fixed.)
6791
6792 ** Changes in Viper
6793
6794 *** The startup file is now .viper instead of .vip
6795 *** All variable/function names have been changed to start with viper-
6796 instead of vip-.
6797 *** C-\ now simulates the meta-key in all Viper states.
6798 *** C-z in Insert state now escapes to Vi for the duration of the next
6799 Viper command. In Vi and Insert states, C-z behaves as before.
6800 *** C-c \ escapes to Vi for one command if Viper is in Insert or Emacs states.
6801 *** _ is no longer the meta-key in Vi state.
6802 *** The variable viper-insert-state-cursor-color can be used to change cursor
6803 color when Viper is in insert state.
6804 *** If search lands the cursor near the top or the bottom of the window,
6805 Viper pulls the window up or down to expose more context. The variable
6806 viper-adjust-window-after-search controls this behavior.
6807
6808 ** Etags changes.
6809
6810 *** In C, C++, Objective C and Java, Etags tags global variables by
6811 default. The resulting tags files are inflated by 30% on average.
6812 Use --no-globals to turn this feature off. Etags can also tag
6813 variables which are members of structure-like constructs, but it does
6814 not by default. Use --members to turn this feature on.
6815
6816 *** C++ member functions are now recognized as tags.
6817
6818 *** Java is tagged like C++. In addition, "extends" and "implements"
6819 constructs are tagged. Files are recognised by the extension .java.
6820
6821 *** Etags can now handle programs written in Postscript. Files are
6822 recognised by the extensions .ps and .pdb (Postscript with C syntax).
6823 In Postscript, tags are lines that start with a slash.
6824
6825 *** Etags now handles Objective C and Objective C++ code. The usual C and
6826 C++ tags are recognized in these languages; in addition, etags
6827 recognizes special Objective C syntax for classes, class categories,
6828 methods and protocols.
6829
6830 *** Etags also handles Cobol. Files are recognised by the extension
6831 .cobol. The tagged lines are those containing a word that begins in
6832 column 8 and ends in a full stop, i.e. anything that could be a
6833 paragraph name.
6834
6835 *** Regexps in Etags now support intervals, as in ed or grep. The syntax of
6836 an interval is \{M,N\}, and it means to match the preceding expression
6837 at least M times and as many as N times.
6838
6839 ** The format for specifying a custom format for time-stamp to insert
6840 in files has changed slightly.
6841
6842 With the new enhancements to the functionality of format-time-string,
6843 time-stamp-format will change to be eventually compatible with it.
6844 This conversion is being done in two steps to maintain compatibility
6845 with old time-stamp-format values.
6846
6847 In the new scheme, alternate case is signified by the number-sign
6848 (`#') modifier, rather than changing the case of the format character.
6849 This feature is as yet incompletely implemented for compatibility
6850 reasons.
6851
6852 In the old time-stamp-format, all numeric fields defaulted to their
6853 natural width. (With format-time-string, each format has a
6854 fixed-width default.) In this version, you can specify the colon
6855 (`:') modifier to a numeric conversion to mean "give me the historical
6856 time-stamp-format width default." Do not use colon if you are
6857 specifying an explicit width, as in "%02d".
6858
6859 Numbers are no longer truncated to the requested width, except in the
6860 case of "%02y", which continues to give a two-digit year. Digit
6861 truncation probably wasn't being used for anything else anyway.
6862
6863 The new formats will work with old versions of Emacs. New formats are
6864 being recommended now to allow time-stamp-format to change in the
6865 future to be compatible with format-time-string. The new forms being
6866 recommended now will continue to work then.
6867
6868 See the documentation string for the variable time-stamp-format for
6869 details.
6870
6871 ** There are some additional major modes:
6872
6873 dcl-mode, for editing VMS DCL files.
6874 m4-mode, for editing files of m4 input.
6875 meta-mode, for editing MetaFont and MetaPost source files.
6876
6877 ** In Shell mode, the command shell-copy-environment-variable lets you
6878 copy the value of a specified environment variable from the subshell
6879 into Emacs.
6880
6881 ** New Lisp packages include:
6882
6883 *** battery.el displays battery status for laptops.
6884
6885 *** M-x bruce (named after Lenny Bruce) is a program that might
6886 be used for adding some indecent words to your email.
6887
6888 *** M-x crisp-mode enables an emulation for the CRiSP editor.
6889
6890 *** M-x dirtrack arranges for better tracking of directory changes
6891 in shell buffers.
6892
6893 *** The new library elint.el provides for linting of Emacs Lisp code.
6894 See the documentation for `elint-initialize', `elint-current-buffer'
6895 and `elint-defun'.
6896
6897 *** M-x expand-add-abbrevs defines a special kind of abbrev which is
6898 meant for programming constructs. These abbrevs expand like ordinary
6899 ones, when you type SPC, but only at the end of a line and not within
6900 strings or comments.
6901
6902 These abbrevs can act as templates: you can define places within an
6903 abbrev for insertion of additional text. Once you expand the abbrev,
6904 you can then use C-x a p and C-x a n to move back and forth to these
6905 insertion points. Thus you can conveniently insert additional text
6906 at these points.
6907
6908 *** filecache.el remembers the location of files so that you
6909 can visit them by short forms of their names.
6910
6911 *** find-func.el lets you find the definition of the user-loaded
6912 Emacs Lisp function at point.
6913
6914 *** M-x handwrite converts text to a "handwritten" picture.
6915
6916 *** M-x iswitchb-buffer is a command for switching to a buffer, much like
6917 switch-buffer, but it reads the argument in a more helpful way.
6918
6919 *** M-x landmark implements a neural network for landmark learning.
6920
6921 *** M-x locate provides a convenient interface to the `locate' program.
6922
6923 *** M4 mode is a new mode for editing files of m4 input.
6924
6925 *** mantemp.el creates C++ manual template instantiations
6926 from the GCC error messages which indicate which instantiations are needed.
6927
6928 *** mouse-copy.el provides a one-click copy and move feature.
6929 You can drag a region with M-mouse-1, and it is automatically
6930 inserted at point. M-Shift-mouse-1 deletes the text from its
6931 original place after inserting the copy.
6932
6933 *** mouse-drag.el lets you do scrolling by dragging Mouse-2
6934 on the buffer.
6935
6936 You click the mouse and move; that distance either translates into the
6937 velocity to scroll (with mouse-drag-throw) or the distance to scroll
6938 (with mouse-drag-drag). Horizontal scrolling is enabled when needed.
6939
6940 Enable mouse-drag with:
6941 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-throw)
6942 -or-
6943 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-drag)
6944
6945 *** mspools.el is useful for determining which mail folders have
6946 mail waiting to be read in them. It works with procmail.
6947
6948 *** Octave mode is a major mode for editing files of input for Octave.
6949 It comes with a facility for communicating with an Octave subprocess.
6950
6951 *** ogonek
6952
6953 The ogonek package provides functions for changing the coding of
6954 Polish diacritic characters in buffers. Codings known from various
6955 platforms are supported such as ISO8859-2, Mazovia, IBM Latin2, and
6956 TeX. For example, you can change the coding from Mazovia to
6957 ISO8859-2. Another example is a change of coding from ISO8859-2 to
6958 prefix notation (in which `/a' stands for the aogonek character, for
6959 instance) and vice versa.
6960
6961 To use this package load it using
6962 M-x load-library [enter] ogonek
6963 Then, you may get an explanation by calling one of
6964 M-x ogonek-jak -- in Polish
6965 M-x ogonek-how -- in English
6966 The info specifies the commands and variables provided as well as the
6967 ways of customization in `.emacs'.
6968
6969 *** Interface to ph.
6970
6971 Emacs provides a client interface to CCSO Nameservers (ph/qi)
6972
6973 The CCSO nameserver is used in many universities to provide directory
6974 services about people. ph.el provides a convenient Emacs interface to
6975 these servers.
6976
6977 *** uce.el is useful for replying to unsolicited commercial email.
6978
6979 *** vcursor.el implements a "virtual cursor" feature.
6980 You can move the virtual cursor with special commands
6981 while the real cursor does not move.
6982
6983 *** webjump.el is a "hot list" package which you can set up
6984 for visiting your favorite web sites.
6985
6986 *** M-x winner-mode is a minor mode which saves window configurations,
6987 so you can move back to other configurations that you have recently used.
6988
6989 ** movemail change
6990
6991 Movemail no longer needs to be installed setuid root in order for POP
6992 mail retrieval to function properly. This is because it no longer
6993 supports the RPOP (reserved-port POP) protocol; instead, it uses the
6994 user's POP password to authenticate to the mail server.
6995
6996 This change was made earlier, but not reported in NEWS before.
6997 \f
6998 * Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows.
6999
7000 ** Changes in handling MS-DOS/MS-Windows text files.
7001
7002 Emacs handles three different conventions for representing
7003 end-of-line: CRLF for MSDOS, LF for Unix and GNU, and CR (used on the
7004 Macintosh). Emacs determines which convention is used in a specific
7005 file based on the contents of that file (except for certain special
7006 file names), and when it saves the file, it uses the same convention.
7007
7008 To save the file and change the end-of-line convention, you can use
7009 C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system) to specify a different
7010 coding system for the buffer. Then, when you save the file, the newly
7011 specified coding system will take effect. For example, to save with
7012 LF, specify undecided-unix (or some other ...-unix coding system); to
7013 save with CRLF, specify undecided-dos.
7014 \f
7015 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 20.1
7016
7017 ** Byte-compiled files made with Emacs 20 will, in general, work in
7018 Emacs 19 as well, as long as the source code runs in Emacs 19. And
7019 vice versa: byte-compiled files made with Emacs 19 should also run in
7020 Emacs 20, as long as the program itself works in Emacs 20.
7021
7022 ** Windows-specific functions and variables have been renamed
7023 to start with w32- instead of win32-.
7024
7025 In hacker language, calling something a "win" is a form of praise. We
7026 don't want to praise a non-free Microsoft system, so we don't call it
7027 "win".
7028
7029 ** Basic Lisp changes
7030
7031 *** A symbol whose name starts with a colon now automatically
7032 evaluates to itself. Therefore such a symbol can be used as a constant.
7033
7034 *** The defined purpose of `defconst' has been changed. It should now
7035 be used only for values that should not be changed whether by a program
7036 or by the user.
7037
7038 The actual behavior of defconst has not been changed.
7039
7040 *** There are new macros `when' and `unless'
7041
7042 (when CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION (progn BODY...))
7043 (unless CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION nil BODY...)
7044
7045 *** Emacs now defines functions caar, cadr, cdar and cddr with their
7046 usual Lisp meanings. For example, caar returns the car of the car of
7047 its argument.
7048
7049 *** equal, when comparing strings, now ignores their text properties.
7050
7051 *** The new function `functionp' tests whether an object is a function.
7052
7053 *** arrayp now returns t for char-tables and bool-vectors.
7054
7055 *** Certain primitives which use characters (as integers) now get an
7056 error if the integer is not a valid character code. These primitives
7057 include insert-char, char-to-string, and the %c construct in the
7058 `format' function.
7059
7060 *** The `require' function now insists on adding a suffix, either .el
7061 or .elc, to the file name. Thus, (require 'foo) will not use a file
7062 whose name is just foo. It insists on foo.el or foo.elc.
7063
7064 *** The `autoload' function, when the file name does not contain
7065 either a directory name or the suffix .el or .elc, insists on
7066 adding one of these suffixes.
7067
7068 *** string-to-number now takes an optional second argument BASE
7069 which specifies the base to use when converting an integer.
7070 If BASE is omitted, base 10 is used.
7071
7072 We have not implemented other radices for floating point numbers,
7073 because that would be much more work and does not seem useful.
7074
7075 *** substring now handles vectors as well as strings.
7076
7077 *** The Common Lisp function eql is no longer defined normally.
7078 You must load the `cl' library to define it.
7079
7080 *** The new macro `with-current-buffer' lets you evaluate an expression
7081 conveniently with a different current buffer. It looks like this:
7082
7083 (with-current-buffer BUFFER BODY-FORMS...)
7084
7085 BUFFER is the expression that says which buffer to use.
7086 BODY-FORMS say what to do in that buffer.
7087
7088 *** The new primitive `save-current-buffer' saves and restores the
7089 choice of current buffer, like `save-excursion', but without saving or
7090 restoring the value of point or the mark. `with-current-buffer'
7091 works using `save-current-buffer'.
7092
7093 *** The new macro `with-temp-file' lets you do some work in a new buffer and
7094 write the output to a specified file. Like `progn', it returns the value
7095 of the last form.
7096
7097 *** The new macro `with-temp-buffer' lets you do some work in a new buffer,
7098 which is discarded after use. Like `progn', it returns the value of the
7099 last form. If you wish to return the buffer contents, use (buffer-string)
7100 as the last form.
7101
7102 *** The new function split-string takes a string, splits it at certain
7103 characters, and returns a list of the substrings in between the
7104 matches.
7105
7106 For example, (split-string "foo bar lose" " +") returns ("foo" "bar" "lose").
7107
7108 *** The new macro with-output-to-string executes some Lisp expressions
7109 with standard-output set up so that all output feeds into a string.
7110 Then it returns that string.
7111
7112 For example, if the current buffer name is `foo',
7113
7114 (with-output-to-string
7115 (princ "The buffer is ")
7116 (princ (buffer-name)))
7117
7118 returns "The buffer is foo".
7119
7120 ** Non-ASCII characters are now supported, if enable-multibyte-characters
7121 is non-nil.
7122
7123 These characters have character codes above 256. When inserted in the
7124 buffer or stored in a string, they are represented as multibyte
7125 characters that occupy several buffer positions each.
7126
7127 *** When enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, a single character in
7128 a buffer or string can be two or more bytes (as many as four).
7129
7130 Buffers and strings are still made up of unibyte elements;
7131 character positions and string indices are always measured in bytes.
7132 Therefore, moving forward one character can increase the buffer
7133 position by 2, 3 or 4. The function forward-char moves by whole
7134 characters, and therefore is no longer equivalent to
7135 (lambda (n) (goto-char (+ (point) n))).
7136
7137 ASCII characters (codes 0 through 127) are still single bytes, always.
7138 Sequences of byte values 128 through 255 are used to represent
7139 non-ASCII characters. These sequences are called "multibyte
7140 characters".
7141
7142 The first byte of a multibyte character is always in the range 128
7143 through 159 (octal 0200 through 0237). These values are called
7144 "leading codes". The second and subsequent bytes are always in the
7145 range 160 through 255 (octal 0240 through 0377). The first byte, the
7146 leading code, determines how many bytes long the sequence is.
7147
7148 *** The function forward-char moves over characters, and therefore
7149 (forward-char 1) may increase point by more than 1 if it moves over a
7150 multibyte character. Likewise, delete-char always deletes a
7151 character, which may be more than one buffer position.
7152
7153 This means that some Lisp programs, which assume that a character is
7154 always one buffer position, need to be changed.
7155
7156 However, all ASCII characters are always one buffer position.
7157
7158 *** The regexp [\200-\377] no longer matches all non-ASCII characters,
7159 because when enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, these characters
7160 have codes that are not in the range octal 200 to octal 377. However,
7161 the regexp [^\000-\177] does match all non-ASCII characters,
7162 guaranteed.
7163
7164 *** The function char-boundary-p returns non-nil if position POS is
7165 between two characters in the buffer (not in the middle of a
7166 character).
7167
7168 When the value is non-nil, it says what kind of character follows POS:
7169
7170 0 if POS is at an ASCII character or at the end of range,
7171 1 if POS is before a 2-byte length multi-byte form,
7172 2 if POS is at a head of 3-byte length multi-byte form,
7173 3 if POS is at a head of 4-byte length multi-byte form,
7174 4 if POS is at a head of multi-byte form of a composite character.
7175
7176 *** The function char-bytes returns how many bytes the character CHAR uses.
7177
7178 *** Strings can contain multibyte characters. The function
7179 `length' returns the string length counting bytes, which may be
7180 more than the number of characters.
7181
7182 You can include a multibyte character in a string constant by writing
7183 it literally. You can also represent it with a hex escape,
7184 \xNNNNNNN..., using as many digits as necessary. Any character which
7185 is not a valid hex digit terminates this construct. If you want to
7186 follow it with a character that is a hex digit, write backslash and
7187 newline in between; that will terminate the hex escape.
7188
7189 *** The function concat-chars takes arguments which are characters
7190 and returns a string containing those characters.
7191
7192 *** The function sref access a multibyte character in a string.
7193 (sref STRING INDX) returns the character in STRING at INDEX. INDEX
7194 counts from zero. If INDEX is at a position in the middle of a
7195 character, sref signals an error.
7196
7197 *** The function chars-in-string returns the number of characters
7198 in a string. This is less than the length of the string, if the
7199 string contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
7200
7201 *** The function chars-in-region returns the number of characters
7202 in a region from BEG to END. This is less than (- END BEG) if the
7203 region contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
7204
7205 *** The function string-to-list converts a string to a list of
7206 the characters in it. string-to-vector converts a string
7207 to a vector of the characters in it.
7208
7209 *** The function store-substring alters part of the contents
7210 of a string. You call it as follows:
7211
7212 (store-substring STRING IDX OBJ)
7213
7214 This says to alter STRING, by storing OBJ starting at index IDX in
7215 STRING. OBJ may be either a character or a (smaller) string.
7216 This function really does alter the contents of STRING.
7217 Since it is impossible to change the length of an existing string,
7218 it is an error if OBJ doesn't fit within STRING's actual length.
7219
7220 *** char-width returns the width (in columns) of the character CHAR,
7221 if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
7222
7223 *** string-width returns the width (in columns) of the text in STRING,
7224 if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
7225
7226 *** truncate-string-to-width shortens a string, if necessary,
7227 to fit within a certain number of columns. (Of course, it does
7228 not alter the string that you give it; it returns a new string
7229 which contains all or just part of the existing string.)
7230
7231 (truncate-string-to-width STR END-COLUMN &optional START-COLUMN PADDING)
7232
7233 This returns the part of STR up to column END-COLUMN.
7234
7235 The optional argument START-COLUMN specifies the starting column.
7236 If this is non-nil, then the first START-COLUMN columns of the string
7237 are not included in the resulting value.
7238
7239 The optional argument PADDING, if non-nil, is a padding character to be added
7240 at the beginning and end the resulting string, to extend it to exactly
7241 WIDTH columns. If PADDING is nil, that means do not pad; then, if STRING
7242 is narrower than WIDTH, the value is equal to STRING.
7243
7244 If PADDING and START-COLUMN are both non-nil, and if there is no clean
7245 place in STRING that corresponds to START-COLUMN (because one
7246 character extends across that column), then the padding character
7247 PADDING is added one or more times at the beginning of the result
7248 string, so that its columns line up as if it really did start at
7249 column START-COLUMN.
7250
7251 *** When the functions in the list after-change-functions are called,
7252 the third argument is the number of bytes in the pre-change text, not
7253 necessarily the number of characters. It is, in effect, the
7254 difference in buffer position between the beginning and the end of the
7255 changed text, before the change.
7256
7257 *** The characters Emacs uses are classified in various character
7258 sets, each of which has a name which is a symbol. In general there is
7259 one character set for each script, not for each language.
7260
7261 **** The function charsetp tests whether an object is a character set name.
7262
7263 **** The variable charset-list holds a list of character set names.
7264
7265 **** char-charset, given a character code, returns the name of the character
7266 set that the character belongs to. (The value is a symbol.)
7267
7268 **** split-char, given a character code, returns a list containing the
7269 name of the character set, followed by one or two byte-values
7270 which identify the character within that character set.
7271
7272 **** make-char, given a character set name and one or two subsequent
7273 byte-values, constructs a character code. This is roughly the
7274 opposite of split-char.
7275
7276 **** find-charset-region returns a list of the character sets
7277 of all the characters between BEG and END.
7278
7279 **** find-charset-string returns a list of the character sets
7280 of all the characters in a string.
7281
7282 *** Here are the Lisp facilities for working with coding systems
7283 and specifying coding systems.
7284
7285 **** The function coding-system-list returns a list of all coding
7286 system names (symbols). With optional argument t, it returns a list
7287 of all distinct base coding systems, not including variants.
7288 (Variant coding systems are those like latin-1-dos, latin-1-unix
7289 and latin-1-mac which specify the end-of-line conversion as well
7290 as what to do about code conversion.)
7291
7292 **** coding-system-p tests a symbol to see if it is a coding system
7293 name. It returns t if so, nil if not.
7294
7295 **** file-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
7296 for certain file names. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
7297 except that the PATTERN is matched against the file name.
7298
7299 Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
7300 which file names the element applies to. PATTERN should be a regexp
7301 to match against a file name.
7302
7303 VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
7304 a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
7305 decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
7306 to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
7307 systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
7308 specifies the coding system for encoding.
7309
7310 If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
7311 or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
7312
7313 **** The variable network-coding-system-alist specifies
7314 the coding system to use for network sockets.
7315
7316 Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
7317 which network sockets the element applies to. PATTERN should be
7318 either a port number or a regular expression matching some network
7319 service names.
7320
7321 VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
7322 a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
7323 decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
7324 to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
7325 systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
7326 specifies the coding system for encoding.
7327
7328 If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
7329 or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
7330
7331 **** process-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
7332 for certain subprocess. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
7333 except that the PATTERN is matched against the program name used to
7334 start the subprocess.
7335
7336 **** The variable default-process-coding-system specifies the coding
7337 systems to use for subprocess (and net connection) input and output,
7338 when nothing else specifies what to do. The value is a cons cell
7339 (OUTPUT-CODING . INPUT-CODING). OUTPUT-CODING applies to output
7340 to the subprocess, and INPUT-CODING applies to input from it.
7341
7342 **** The variable coding-system-for-write, if non-nil, specifies the
7343 coding system to use for writing a file, or for output to a synchronous
7344 subprocess.
7345
7346 It also applies to any asynchronous subprocess or network connection,
7347 but in a different way: the value of coding-system-for-write when you
7348 start the subprocess or connection affects that subprocess or
7349 connection permanently or until overridden.
7350
7351 The variable coding-system-for-write takes precedence over
7352 file-coding-system-alist, process-coding-system-alist and
7353 network-coding-system-alist, and all other methods of specifying a
7354 coding system for output. But most of the time this variable is nil.
7355 It exists so that Lisp programs can bind it to a specific coding
7356 system for one operation at a time.
7357
7358 **** coding-system-for-read applies similarly to input from
7359 files, subprocesses or network connections.
7360
7361 **** The function process-coding-system tells you what
7362 coding systems(s) an existing subprocess is using.
7363 The value is a cons cell,
7364 (DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM . ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM)
7365 where DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for decoding output from
7366 the subprocess, and ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for encoding
7367 input to the subprocess.
7368
7369 **** The function set-process-coding-system can be used to
7370 change the coding systems in use for an existing subprocess.
7371
7372 ** Emacs has a new facility to help users manage the many
7373 customization options. To make a Lisp program work with this facility,
7374 you need to use the new macros defgroup and defcustom.
7375
7376 You use defcustom instead of defvar, for defining a user option
7377 variable. The difference is that you specify two additional pieces of
7378 information (usually): the "type" which says what values are
7379 legitimate, and the "group" which specifies the hierarchy for
7380 customization.
7381
7382 Thus, instead of writing
7383
7384 (defvar foo-blurgoze nil
7385 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely.")
7386
7387 you would now write this:
7388
7389 (defcustom foo-blurgoze nil
7390 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely."
7391 :type 'boolean
7392 :group foo)
7393
7394 The type `boolean' means that this variable has only
7395 two meaningful states: nil and non-nil. Other type values
7396 describe other possibilities; see the manual for Custom
7397 for a description of them.
7398
7399 The "group" argument is used to specify a group which the option
7400 should belong to. You define a new group like this:
7401
7402 (defgroup ispell nil
7403 "Spell checking using Ispell."
7404 :group 'processes)
7405
7406 The "group" argument in defgroup specifies the parent group. The root
7407 group is called `emacs'; it should not contain any variables itself,
7408 but only other groups. The immediate subgroups of `emacs' correspond
7409 to the keywords used by C-h p. Under these subgroups come
7410 second-level subgroups that belong to individual packages.
7411
7412 Each Emacs package should have its own set of groups. A simple
7413 package should have just one group; a more complex package should
7414 have a hierarchy of its own groups. The sole or root group of a
7415 package should be a subgroup of one or more of the "keyword"
7416 first-level subgroups.
7417
7418 ** New `widget' library for inserting UI components in buffers.
7419
7420 This library, used by the new custom library, is documented in a
7421 separate manual that accompanies Emacs.
7422
7423 ** easy-mmode
7424
7425 The easy-mmode package provides macros and functions that make
7426 developing minor modes easier. Roughly, the programmer has to code
7427 only the functionality of the minor mode. All the rest--toggles,
7428 predicate, and documentation--can be done in one call to the macro
7429 `easy-mmode-define-minor-mode' (see the documentation). See also
7430 `easy-mmode-define-keymap'.
7431
7432 ** Text property changes
7433
7434 *** The `intangible' property now works on overlays as well as on a
7435 text property.
7436
7437 *** The new functions next-char-property-change and
7438 previous-char-property-change scan through the buffer looking for a
7439 place where either a text property or an overlay might change. The
7440 functions take two arguments, POSITION and LIMIT. POSITION is the
7441 starting position for the scan. LIMIT says where to stop the scan.
7442
7443 If no property change is found before LIMIT, the value is LIMIT. If
7444 LIMIT is nil, scan goes to the beginning or end of the accessible part
7445 of the buffer. If no property change is found, the value is the
7446 position of the beginning or end of the buffer.
7447
7448 *** In the `local-map' text property or overlay property, the property
7449 value can now be a symbol whose function definition is a keymap. This
7450 is an alternative to using the keymap itself.
7451
7452 ** Changes in invisibility features
7453
7454 *** Isearch can now temporarily show parts of the buffer which are
7455 hidden by an overlay with a invisible property, when the search match
7456 is inside that portion of the buffer. To enable this the overlay
7457 should have a isearch-open-invisible property which is a function that
7458 would be called having the overlay as an argument, the function should
7459 make the overlay visible.
7460
7461 During incremental search the overlays are shown by modifying the
7462 invisible and intangible properties, if beside this more actions are
7463 needed the overlay should have a isearch-open-invisible-temporary
7464 which is a function. The function is called with 2 arguments: one is
7465 the overlay and the second is nil when it should show the overlay and
7466 t when it should hide it.
7467
7468 *** add-to-invisibility-spec, remove-from-invisibility-spec
7469
7470 Modes that use overlays to hide portions of a buffer should set the
7471 invisible property of the overlay to the mode's name (or another symbol)
7472 and modify the `buffer-invisibility-spec' to include that symbol.
7473 Use `add-to-invisibility-spec' and `remove-from-invisibility-spec' to
7474 manipulate the `buffer-invisibility-spec'.
7475 Here is an example of how to do this:
7476
7477 ;; If we want to display an ellipsis:
7478 (add-to-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
7479 ;; If you don't want ellipsis:
7480 (add-to-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
7481
7482 ...
7483 (overlay-put (make-overlay beginning end) 'invisible 'my-symbol)
7484
7485 ...
7486 ;; When done with the overlays:
7487 (remove-from-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
7488 ;; Or respectively:
7489 (remove-from-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
7490
7491 ** Changes in syntax parsing.
7492
7493 *** The syntax-directed buffer-scan functions (such as
7494 `parse-partial-sexp', `forward-word' and similar functions) can now
7495 obey syntax information specified by text properties, if the variable
7496 `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil.
7497
7498 If the value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is nil, the behavior
7499 is as before: the syntax-table of the current buffer is always
7500 used to determine the syntax of the character at the position.
7501
7502 When `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil, the syntax of a
7503 character in the buffer is calculated thus:
7504
7505 a) if the `syntax-table' text-property of that character
7506 is a cons, this cons becomes the syntax-type;
7507
7508 Valid values of `syntax-table' text-property are: nil, a valid
7509 syntax-table, and a valid syntax-table element, i.e.,
7510 a cons cell of the form (SYNTAX-CODE . MATCHING-CHAR).
7511
7512 b) if the character's `syntax-table' text-property
7513 is a syntax table, this syntax table is used
7514 (instead of the syntax-table of the current buffer) to
7515 determine the syntax type of the character.
7516
7517 c) otherwise the syntax-type is determined by the syntax-table
7518 of the current buffer.
7519
7520 *** The meaning of \s in regular expressions is also affected by the
7521 value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties'. The details are the same as
7522 for the syntax-directed buffer-scan functions.
7523
7524 *** There are two new syntax-codes, `!' and `|' (numeric values 14
7525 and 15). A character with a code `!' starts a comment which is ended
7526 only by another character with the same code (unless quoted). A
7527 character with a code `|' starts a string which is ended only by
7528 another character with the same code (unless quoted).
7529
7530 These codes are mainly meant for use as values of the `syntax-table'
7531 text property.
7532
7533 *** The function `parse-partial-sexp' has new semantics for the sixth
7534 arg COMMENTSTOP. If it is `syntax-table', parse stops after the start
7535 of a comment or a string, or after end of a comment or a string.
7536
7537 *** The state-list which the return value from `parse-partial-sexp'
7538 (and can also be used as an argument) now has an optional ninth
7539 element: the character address of the start of last comment or string;
7540 nil if none. The fourth and eighth elements have special values if the
7541 string/comment is started by a "!" or "|" syntax-code.
7542
7543 *** Since new features of `parse-partial-sexp' allow a complete
7544 syntactic parsing, `font-lock' no longer supports
7545 `font-lock-comment-start-regexp'.
7546
7547 ** Changes in face features
7548
7549 *** The face functions are now unconditionally defined in Emacs, even
7550 if it does not support displaying on a device that supports faces.
7551
7552 *** The function face-documentation returns the documentation string
7553 of a face (or nil if it doesn't have one).
7554
7555 *** The function face-bold-p returns t if a face should be bold.
7556 set-face-bold-p sets that flag.
7557
7558 *** The function face-italic-p returns t if a face should be italic.
7559 set-face-italic-p sets that flag.
7560
7561 *** You can now specify foreground and background colors for text
7562 by adding elements of the form (foreground-color . COLOR-NAME)
7563 and (background-color . COLOR-NAME) to the list of faces in
7564 the `face' property (either the character's text property or an
7565 overlay property).
7566
7567 This means that you no longer need to create named faces to use
7568 arbitrary colors in a Lisp package.
7569
7570 ** Changes in file-handling functions
7571
7572 *** File-access primitive functions no longer discard an extra redundant
7573 directory name from the beginning of the file name. In other words,
7574 they no longer do anything special with // or /~. That conversion
7575 is now done only in substitute-in-file-name.
7576
7577 This makes it possible for a Lisp program to open a file whose name
7578 begins with ~.
7579
7580 *** If copy-file is unable to set the date of the output file,
7581 it now signals an error with the condition file-date-error.
7582
7583 *** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
7584 the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a list of integers.
7585
7586 *** insert-file-contents can now read from a special file,
7587 as long as the arguments VISIT and REPLACE are nil.
7588
7589 *** The RAWFILE arg to find-file-noselect, if non-nil, now suppresses
7590 character code conversion as well as other things.
7591
7592 Meanwhile, this feature does work with remote file names
7593 (formerly it did not).
7594
7595 *** Lisp packages which create temporary files should use the TMPDIR
7596 environment variable to decide which directory to put them in.
7597
7598 *** interpreter-mode-alist elements now specify regexps
7599 instead of constant strings.
7600
7601 *** expand-file-name no longer treats `//' or `/~' specially. It used
7602 to delete all the text of a file name up through the first slash of
7603 any `//' or `/~' sequence. Now it passes them straight through.
7604
7605 substitute-in-file-name continues to treat those sequences specially,
7606 in the same way as before.
7607
7608 *** The variable `format-alist' is more general now.
7609 The FROM-FN and TO-FN in a format definition can now be strings
7610 which specify shell commands to use as filters to perform conversion.
7611
7612 *** The new function access-file tries to open a file, and signals an
7613 error if that fails. If the open succeeds, access-file does nothing
7614 else, and returns nil.
7615
7616 *** The function insert-directory now signals an error if the specified
7617 directory cannot be listed.
7618
7619 ** Changes in minibuffer input
7620
7621 *** The functions read-buffer, read-variable, read-command, read-string
7622 read-file-name, read-from-minibuffer and completing-read now take an
7623 additional argument which specifies the default value. If this
7624 argument is non-nil, it should be a string; that string is used in two
7625 ways:
7626
7627 It is returned if the user enters empty input.
7628 It is available through the history command M-n.
7629
7630 *** The functions read-string, read-from-minibuffer,
7631 read-no-blanks-input and completing-read now take an additional
7632 argument INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. If this is non-nil, then the
7633 minibuffer inherits the current input method and the setting of
7634 enable-multibyte-characters from the previously current buffer.
7635
7636 In an interactive spec, you can use M instead of s to read an
7637 argument in this way.
7638
7639 *** All minibuffer input functions discard text properties
7640 from the text you enter in the minibuffer, unless the variable
7641 minibuffer-allow-text-properties is non-nil.
7642
7643 ** Echo area features
7644
7645 *** Clearing the echo area now runs the normal hook
7646 echo-area-clear-hook. Note that the echo area can be used while the
7647 minibuffer is active; in that case, the minibuffer is still active
7648 after the echo area is cleared.
7649
7650 *** The function current-message returns the message currently displayed
7651 in the echo area, or nil if there is none.
7652
7653 ** Keyboard input features
7654
7655 *** tty-erase-char is a new variable that reports which character was
7656 set up as the terminal's erase character when time Emacs was started.
7657
7658 *** num-nonmacro-input-events is the total number of input events
7659 received so far from the terminal. It does not count those generated
7660 by keyboard macros.
7661
7662 ** Frame-related changes
7663
7664 *** make-frame runs the normal hook before-make-frame-hook just before
7665 creating a frame, and just after creating a frame it runs the abnormal
7666 hook after-make-frame-functions with the new frame as arg.
7667
7668 *** The new hook window-configuration-change-hook is now run every time
7669 the window configuration has changed. The frame whose configuration
7670 has changed is the selected frame when the hook is run.
7671
7672 *** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
7673 selected buffers, in its buffer-list frame parameter, so that the
7674 value of other-buffer is now based on the buffers recently displayed
7675 in the selected frame.
7676
7677 *** The value of the frame parameter vertical-scroll-bars
7678 is now `left', `right' or nil. A non-nil value specifies
7679 which side of the window to put the scroll bars on.
7680
7681 ** X Windows features
7682
7683 *** You can examine X resources for other applications by binding
7684 x-resource-class around a call to x-get-resource. The usual value of
7685 x-resource-class is "Emacs", which is the correct value for Emacs.
7686
7687 *** In menus, checkboxes and radio buttons now actually work.
7688 The menu displays the current status of the box or button.
7689
7690 *** The function x-list-fonts now takes an optional fourth argument
7691 MAXIMUM which sets a limit on how many matching fonts to return.
7692 A smaller value of MAXIMUM makes the function faster.
7693
7694 If the only question is whether *any* font matches the pattern,
7695 it is good to supply 1 for this argument.
7696
7697 ** Subprocess features
7698
7699 *** A reminder: it is no longer necessary for subprocess filter
7700 functions and sentinels to do save-match-data, because Emacs does this
7701 automatically.
7702
7703 *** The new function shell-command-to-string executes a shell command
7704 and returns the output from the command as a string.
7705
7706 *** The new function process-contact returns t for a child process,
7707 and (HOSTNAME SERVICE) for a net connection.
7708
7709 ** An error in running pre-command-hook or post-command-hook
7710 does clear the variable to nil. The documentation was wrong before.
7711
7712 ** In define-key-after, if AFTER is t, the new binding now always goes
7713 at the end of the keymap. If the keymap is a menu, this means it
7714 goes after the other menu items.
7715
7716 ** If you have a program that makes several changes in the same area
7717 of the buffer, you can use the macro combine-after-change-calls
7718 around that Lisp code to make it faster when after-change hooks
7719 are in use.
7720
7721 The macro arranges to call the after-change functions just once for a
7722 series of several changes--if that seems safe.
7723
7724 Don't alter the variables after-change-functions and
7725 after-change-function within the body of a combine-after-change-calls
7726 form.
7727
7728 ** If you define an abbrev (with define-abbrev) whose EXPANSION
7729 is not a string, then the abbrev does not expand in the usual sense,
7730 but its hook is still run.
7731
7732 ** Normally, the Lisp debugger is not used (even if you have enabled it)
7733 for errors that are handled by condition-case.
7734
7735 If you set debug-on-signal to a non-nil value, then the debugger is called
7736 regardless of whether there is a handler for the condition. This is
7737 useful for debugging problems that happen inside of a condition-case.
7738
7739 This mode of operation seems to be unreliable in other ways. Errors that
7740 are normal and ought to be handled, perhaps in timers or process
7741 filters, will instead invoke the debugger. So don't say you weren't
7742 warned.
7743
7744 ** The new variable ring-bell-function lets you specify your own
7745 way for Emacs to "ring the bell".
7746
7747 ** If run-at-time's TIME argument is t, the action is repeated at
7748 integral multiples of REPEAT from the epoch; this is useful for
7749 functions like display-time.
7750
7751 ** You can use the function locate-library to find the precise file
7752 name of a Lisp library. This isn't new, but wasn't documented before.
7753
7754 ** Commands for entering view mode have new optional arguments that
7755 can be used from Lisp. Low-level entrance to and exit from view mode
7756 is done by functions view-mode-enter and view-mode-exit.
7757
7758 ** batch-byte-compile-file now makes Emacs return a nonzero status code
7759 if there is an error in compilation.
7760
7761 ** pop-to-buffer, switch-to-buffer-other-window and
7762 switch-to-buffer-other-frame now accept an additional optional
7763 argument NORECORD, much like switch-to-buffer. If it is non-nil,
7764 they don't put the buffer at the front of the buffer list.
7765
7766 ** If your .emacs file leaves the *scratch* buffer non-empty,
7767 Emacs does not display the startup message, so as to avoid changing
7768 the *scratch* buffer.
7769
7770 ** The new function regexp-opt returns an efficient regexp to match a string.
7771 The arguments are STRINGS and (optionally) PAREN. This function can be used
7772 where regexp matching or searching is intensively used and speed is important,
7773 e.g., in Font Lock mode.
7774
7775 ** The variable buffer-display-count is local to each buffer,
7776 and is incremented each time the buffer is displayed in a window.
7777 It starts at 0 when the buffer is created.
7778
7779 ** The new function compose-mail starts composing a mail message
7780 using the user's chosen mail composition agent (specified with the
7781 variable mail-user-agent). It has variants compose-mail-other-window
7782 and compose-mail-other-frame.
7783
7784 ** The `user-full-name' function now takes an optional parameter which
7785 can either be a number (the UID) or a string (the login name). The
7786 full name of the specified user will be returned.
7787
7788 ** Lisp packages that load files of customizations, or any other sort
7789 of user profile, should obey the variable init-file-user in deciding
7790 where to find it. They should load the profile of the user name found
7791 in that variable. If init-file-user is nil, meaning that the -q
7792 option was used, then Lisp packages should not load the customization
7793 files at all.
7794
7795 ** format-time-string now allows you to specify the field width
7796 and type of padding. This works as in printf: you write the field
7797 width as digits in the middle of a %-construct. If you start
7798 the field width with 0, it means to pad with zeros.
7799
7800 For example, %S normally specifies the number of seconds since the
7801 minute; %03S means to pad this with zeros to 3 positions, %_3S to pad
7802 with spaces to 3 positions. Plain %3S pads with zeros, because that
7803 is how %S normally pads to two positions.
7804
7805 ** thing-at-point now supports a new kind of "thing": url.
7806
7807 ** imenu.el changes.
7808
7809 You can now specify a function to be run when selecting an
7810 item from menu created by imenu.
7811
7812 An example of using this feature: if we define imenu items for the
7813 #include directives in a C file, we can open the included file when we
7814 select one of those items.
7815 \f
7816 * Emacs 19.34 is a bug-fix release with no user-visible changes.
7817 \f
7818 * Changes in Emacs 19.33.
7819
7820 ** Bibtex mode no longer turns on Auto Fill automatically. (No major
7821 mode should do that--it is the user's choice.)
7822
7823 ** The variable normal-auto-fill-function specifies the function to
7824 use for auto-fill-function, if and when Auto Fill is turned on.
7825 Major modes can set this locally to alter how Auto Fill works.
7826 \f
7827 * Editing Changes in Emacs 19.32
7828
7829 ** C-x f with no argument now signals an error.
7830 To set the fill column at the current column, use C-u C-x f.
7831
7832 ** Expanding dynamic abbrevs with M-/ is now smarter about case
7833 conversion. If you type the abbreviation with mixed case, and it
7834 matches the beginning of the expansion including case, then the
7835 expansion is copied verbatim. Using SPC M-/ to copy an additional
7836 word always copies it verbatim except when the previous copied word is
7837 all caps.
7838
7839 ** On a non-windowing terminal, which can display only one Emacs frame
7840 at a time, creating a new frame with C-x 5 2 also selects that frame.
7841
7842 When using a display that can show multiple frames at once, C-x 5 2
7843 does make the frame visible, but does not select it. This is the same
7844 as in previous Emacs versions.
7845
7846 ** You can use C-x 5 2 to create multiple frames on MSDOS, just as on a
7847 non-X terminal on Unix. Of course, only one frame is visible at any
7848 time, since your terminal doesn't have the ability to display multiple
7849 frames.
7850
7851 ** On Windows, set win32-pass-alt-to-system to a non-nil value
7852 if you would like tapping the Alt key to invoke the Windows menu.
7853 This feature is not enabled by default; since the Alt key is also the
7854 Meta key, it is too easy and painful to activate this feature by
7855 accident.
7856
7857 ** The command apply-macro-to-region-lines repeats the last defined
7858 keyboard macro once for each complete line within the current region.
7859 It does this line by line, by moving point to the beginning of that
7860 line and then executing the macro.
7861
7862 This command is not new, but was never documented before.
7863
7864 ** You can now use Mouse-1 to place the region around a string constant
7865 (something surrounded by doublequote characters or other delimiter
7866 characters of like syntax) by double-clicking on one of the delimiting
7867 characters.
7868
7869 ** Font Lock mode
7870
7871 *** Font Lock support modes
7872
7873 Font Lock can be configured to use Fast Lock mode and Lazy Lock mode (see
7874 below) in a flexible way. Rather than adding the appropriate function to the
7875 hook font-lock-mode-hook, you can use the new variable font-lock-support-mode
7876 to control which modes have Fast Lock mode or Lazy Lock mode turned on when
7877 Font Lock mode is enabled.
7878
7879 For example, to use Fast Lock mode when Font Lock mode is turned on, put:
7880
7881 (setq font-lock-support-mode 'fast-lock-mode)
7882
7883 in your ~/.emacs.
7884
7885 *** lazy-lock
7886
7887 The lazy-lock package speeds up Font Lock mode by making fontification occur
7888 only when necessary, such as when a previously unfontified part of the buffer
7889 becomes visible in a window. When you create a buffer with Font Lock mode and
7890 Lazy Lock mode turned on, the buffer is not fontified. When certain events
7891 occur (such as scrolling), Lazy Lock makes sure that the visible parts of the
7892 buffer are fontified. Lazy Lock also defers on-the-fly fontification until
7893 Emacs has been idle for a given amount of time.
7894
7895 To use this package, put in your ~/.emacs:
7896
7897 (setq font-lock-support-mode 'lazy-lock-mode)
7898
7899 To control the package behaviour, see the documentation for `lazy-lock-mode'.
7900
7901 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
7902
7903 *** For all entries allow spaces and tabs between opening brace or
7904 paren and key.
7905
7906 *** Non-escaped double-quoted characters (as in `Sch"of') are now
7907 supported.
7908
7909 ** Gnus changes.
7910
7911 Gnus, the Emacs news reader, has undergone further rewriting. Many new
7912 commands and variables have been added. There should be no
7913 significant incompatibilities between this Gnus version and the
7914 previously released version, except in the message composition area.
7915
7916 Below is a list of the more user-visible changes. Coding changes
7917 between Gnus 5.1 and 5.2 are more extensive.
7918
7919 *** A new message composition mode is used. All old customization
7920 variables for mail-mode, rnews-reply-mode and gnus-msg are now
7921 obsolete.
7922
7923 *** Gnus is now able to generate "sparse" threads -- threads where
7924 missing articles are represented by empty nodes.
7925
7926 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
7927
7928 *** Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server.
7929
7930 To disable this: (setq gnus-message-archive-group nil)
7931
7932 *** Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
7933 referred.
7934
7935 *** Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions:
7936
7937 (setq gnus-use-grouplens t)
7938
7939 *** A trn-line tree buffer can be displayed.
7940
7941 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
7942
7943 *** An nn-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
7944 buffers.
7945
7946 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7947
7948 *** In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode:
7949
7950 `M-x gnus-binary-mode'
7951
7952 *** Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy.
7953
7954 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
7955
7956 *** Gnus can re-send and bounce mail.
7957
7958 Use the `S D r' and `S D b'.
7959
7960 *** Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
7961 is possible.
7962
7963 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
7964
7965 *** Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
7966 groups of groups.
7967
7968 *** Caching is possible in virtual groups.
7969
7970 *** nndoc now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews news
7971 batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything else.
7972
7973 *** Gnus has a new backend (nnsoup) to create/read SOUP packets.
7974
7975 *** The Gnus cache is much faster.
7976
7977 *** Groups can be sorted according to many criteria.
7978
7979 For instance: (setq gnus-group-sort-function 'gnus-group-sort-by-rank)
7980
7981 *** New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
7982 expiration times.
7983
7984 *** All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used.
7985
7986 *** There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on
7987 process marked articles on the `M P' submap.
7988
7989 *** The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
7990 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
7991 bound to keys on the `/' submap.
7992
7993 *** Articles can be made persistent -- as an alternative to saving
7994 articles with the `*' command.
7995
7996 *** All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
7997
7998 *** Article headers can be buttonized.
7999
8000 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
8001
8002 *** All mail backends support fetching articles by Message-ID.
8003
8004 *** Duplicate mail can now be treated properly. See the
8005 `nnmail-treat-duplicates' variable.
8006
8007 *** All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
8008 buffer.
8009
8010 *** Frames can be part of `gnus-buffer-configuration'.
8011
8012 *** Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process.
8013
8014 *** Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to filter spam.
8015
8016 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
8017
8018 *** Groups can be made permanently visible.
8019
8020 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
8021
8022 *** Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
8023
8024 *** Gnus respects the Mail-Copies-To header.
8025
8026 *** Threads can be gathered by looking at the References header.
8027
8028 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
8029 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
8030
8031 *** Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
8032 refetching.
8033
8034 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
8035
8036 *** A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
8037 buffer to allow easier treatment.
8038
8039 *** Gnus can suggest where to save articles. See `gnus-split-methods'.
8040
8041 *** Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving.
8042
8043 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
8044
8045 *** gnus-uu can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
8046 articles.
8047
8048 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
8049
8050 *** Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text.
8051
8052 *** Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
8053 cited text to hide is now customizable.
8054
8055 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
8056
8057 *** Boring headers can be hidden.
8058
8059 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers)
8060
8061 *** Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
8062
8063 *** Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
8064
8065 The Gnus manual has been expanded. It explains all these new features
8066 in greater detail.
8067 \f
8068 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 19.32
8069
8070 ** The function set-visited-file-name now accepts an optional
8071 second argument NO-QUERY. If it is non-nil, then the user is not
8072 asked for confirmation in the case where the specified file already
8073 exists.
8074
8075 ** The variable print-length applies to printing vectors and bitvectors,
8076 as well as lists.
8077
8078 ** The new function keymap-parent returns the parent keymap
8079 of a given keymap.
8080
8081 ** The new function set-keymap-parent specifies a new parent for a
8082 given keymap. The arguments are KEYMAP and PARENT. PARENT must be a
8083 keymap or nil.
8084
8085 ** Sometimes menu keymaps use a command name, a symbol, which is really
8086 an automatically generated alias for some other command, the "real"
8087 name. In such a case, you should give that alias symbol a non-nil
8088 menu-alias property. That property tells the menu system to look for
8089 equivalent keys for the real name instead of equivalent keys for the
8090 alias.
8091 \f
8092 * Editing Changes in Emacs 19.31
8093
8094 ** Freedom of the press restricted in the United States.
8095
8096 Emacs has been censored in accord with the Communications Decency Act.
8097 This includes removing some features of the doctor program. That law
8098 was described by its supporters as a ban on pornography, but it bans
8099 far more than that. The Emacs distribution has never contained any
8100 pornography, but parts of it were nonetheless prohibited.
8101
8102 For information on US government censorship of the Internet, and what
8103 you can do to bring back freedom of the press, see the web site
8104 `http://www.vtw.org/'.
8105
8106 ** A note about C mode indentation customization.
8107
8108 The old (Emacs 19.29) ways of specifying a C indentation style
8109 do not normally work in the new implementation of C mode.
8110 It has its own methods of customizing indentation, which are
8111 much more powerful than the old C mode. See the Editing Programs
8112 chapter of the manual for details.
8113
8114 However, you can load the library cc-compat to make the old
8115 customization variables take effect.
8116
8117 ** Marking with the mouse.
8118
8119 When you mark a region with the mouse, the region now remains
8120 highlighted until the next input event, regardless of whether you are
8121 using M-x transient-mark-mode.
8122
8123 ** Improved Windows NT/95 support.
8124
8125 *** Emacs now supports scroll bars on Windows NT and Windows 95.
8126
8127 *** Emacs now supports subprocesses on Windows 95. (Subprocesses used
8128 to work on NT only and not on 95.)
8129
8130 *** There are difficulties with subprocesses, though, due to problems
8131 in Windows, beyond the control of Emacs. They work fine as long as
8132 you run Windows applications. The problems arise when you run a DOS
8133 application in a subprocesses. Since current shells run as DOS
8134 applications, these problems are significant.
8135
8136 If you run a DOS application in a subprocess, then the application is
8137 likely to busy-wait, which means that your machine will be 100% busy.
8138 However, if you don't mind the temporary heavy load, the subprocess
8139 will work OK as long as you tell it to terminate before you start any
8140 other DOS application as a subprocess.
8141
8142 Emacs is unable to terminate or interrupt a DOS subprocess.
8143 You have to do this by providing input directly to the subprocess.
8144
8145 If you run two DOS applications at the same time in two separate
8146 subprocesses, even if one of them is asynchronous, you will probably
8147 have to reboot your machine--until then, it will remain 100% busy.
8148 Windows simply does not cope when one Windows process tries to run two
8149 separate DOS subprocesses. Typing CTL-ALT-DEL and then choosing
8150 Shutdown seems to work although it may take a few minutes.
8151
8152 ** M-x resize-minibuffer-mode.
8153
8154 This command, not previously mentioned in NEWS, toggles a mode in
8155 which the minibuffer window expands to show as many lines as the
8156 minibuffer contains.
8157
8158 ** `title' frame parameter and resource.
8159
8160 The `title' X resource now specifies just the frame title, nothing else.
8161 It does not affect the name used for looking up other X resources.
8162 It works by setting the new `title' frame parameter, which likewise
8163 affects just the displayed title of the frame.
8164
8165 The `name' parameter continues to do what it used to do:
8166 it specifies the frame name for looking up X resources,
8167 and also serves as the default for the displayed title
8168 when the `title' parameter is unspecified or nil.
8169
8170 ** Emacs now uses the X toolkit by default, if you have a new
8171 enough version of X installed (X11R5 or newer).
8172
8173 ** When you compile Emacs with the Motif widget set, Motif handles the
8174 F10 key by activating the menu bar. To avoid confusion, the usual
8175 Emacs binding of F10 is replaced with a no-op when using Motif.
8176
8177 If you want to be able to use F10 in Emacs, you can rebind the Motif
8178 menubar to some other key which you don't use. To do so, add
8179 something like this to your X resources file. This example rebinds
8180 the Motif menu bar activation key to S-F12:
8181
8182 Emacs*defaultVirtualBindings: osfMenuBar : Shift<Key>F12
8183
8184 ** In overwrite mode, DEL now inserts spaces in most cases
8185 to replace the characters it "deletes".
8186
8187 ** The Rmail summary now shows the number of lines in each message.
8188
8189 ** Rmail has a new command M-x unforward-rmail-message, which extracts
8190 a forwarded message from the message that forwarded it. To use it,
8191 select a message which contains a forwarded message and then type the command.
8192 It inserts the forwarded message as a separate Rmail message
8193 immediately after the selected one.
8194
8195 This command also undoes the textual modifications that are standardly
8196 made, as part of forwarding, by Rmail and other mail reader programs.
8197
8198 ** Turning off saving of .saves-... files in your home directory.
8199
8200 Each Emacs session writes a file named .saves-... in your home
8201 directory to record which files M-x recover-session should recover.
8202 If you exit Emacs normally with C-x C-c, it deletes that file. If
8203 Emacs or the operating system crashes, the file remains for M-x
8204 recover-session.
8205
8206 You can turn off the writing of these files by setting
8207 auto-save-list-file-name to nil. If you do this, M-x recover-session
8208 will not work.
8209
8210 Some previous Emacs versions failed to delete these files even on
8211 normal exit. This is fixed now. If you are thinking of turning off
8212 this feature because of past experiences with versions that had this
8213 bug, it would make sense to check whether you still want to do so
8214 now that the bug is fixed.
8215
8216 ** Changes to Version Control (VC)
8217
8218 There is a new variable, vc-follow-symlinks. It indicates what to do
8219 when you visit a link to a file that is under version control.
8220 Editing the file through the link bypasses the version control system,
8221 which is dangerous and probably not what you want.
8222
8223 If this variable is t, VC follows the link and visits the real file,
8224 telling you about it in the echo area. If it is `ask' (the default),
8225 VC asks for confirmation whether it should follow the link. If nil,
8226 the link is visited and a warning displayed.
8227
8228 ** iso-acc.el now lets you specify a choice of language.
8229 Languages include "latin-1" (the default) and "latin-2" (which
8230 is designed for entering ISO Latin-2 characters).
8231
8232 There are also choices for specific human languages such as French and
8233 Portuguese. These are subsets of Latin-1, which differ in that they
8234 enable only the accent characters needed for particular language.
8235 The other accent characters, not needed for the chosen language,
8236 remain normal.
8237
8238 ** Posting articles and sending mail now has M-TAB completion on various
8239 header fields (Newsgroups, To, CC, ...).
8240
8241 Completion in the Newsgroups header depends on the list of groups
8242 known to your news reader. Completion in the Followup-To header
8243 offers those groups which are in the Newsgroups header, since
8244 Followup-To usually just holds one of those.
8245
8246 Completion in fields that hold mail addresses works based on the list
8247 of local users plus your aliases. Additionally, if your site provides
8248 a mail directory or a specific host to use for any unrecognized user
8249 name, you can arrange to query that host for completion also. (See the
8250 documentation of variables `mail-directory-process' and
8251 `mail-directory-stream'.)
8252
8253 ** A greatly extended sgml-mode offers new features such as (to be configured)
8254 skeletons with completing read for tags and attributes, typing named
8255 characters including optionally all 8bit characters, making tags invisible
8256 with optional alternate display text, skipping and deleting tag(pair)s.
8257
8258 Note: since Emacs' syntax feature cannot limit the special meaning of ', " and
8259 - to inside <>, for some texts the result, especially of font locking, may be
8260 wrong (see `sgml-specials' if you get wrong results).
8261
8262 The derived html-mode configures this with tags and attributes more or
8263 less HTML3ish. It also offers optional quick keys like C-c 1 for
8264 headline or C-c u for unordered list (see `html-quick-keys'). Edit /
8265 Text Properties / Face or M-g combinations create tags as applicable.
8266 Outline minor mode is supported and level 1 font-locking tries to
8267 fontify tag contents (which only works when they fit on one line, due
8268 to a limitation in font-lock).
8269
8270 External viewing via browse-url can occur automatically upon saving.
8271
8272 ** M-x imenu-add-to-menubar now adds to the menu bar for the current
8273 buffer only. If you want to put an Imenu item in the menu bar for all
8274 buffers that use a particular major mode, use the mode hook, as in
8275 this example:
8276
8277 (add-hook 'emacs-lisp-mode-hook
8278 '(lambda () (imenu-add-to-menubar "Index")))
8279
8280 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
8281
8282 *** Field names may now contain digits, hyphens, and underscores.
8283
8284 *** Font Lock mode is now supported.
8285
8286 *** bibtex-make-optional-field is no longer interactive.
8287
8288 *** If bibtex-maintain-sorted-entries is non-nil, inserting new
8289 entries is now done with a faster algorithm. However, inserting
8290 will fail in this case if the buffer contains invalid entries or
8291 isn't in sorted order, so you should finish each entry with C-c C-c
8292 (bibtex-close-entry) after you have inserted or modified it.
8293 The default value of bibtex-maintain-sorted-entries is nil.
8294
8295 *** Function `show-all' is no longer bound to a key, since C-u C-c C-q
8296 does the same job.
8297
8298 *** Entries with quotes inside quote-delimited fields (as `author =
8299 "Stefan Sch{\"o}f"') are now supported.
8300
8301 *** Case in field names doesn't matter anymore when searching for help
8302 text.
8303
8304 ** Font Lock mode
8305
8306 *** Global Font Lock mode
8307
8308 Font Lock mode can be turned on globally, in buffers that support it, by the
8309 new command global-font-lock-mode. You can use the new variable
8310 font-lock-global-modes to control which modes have Font Lock mode automagically
8311 turned on. By default, this variable is set so that Font Lock mode is turned
8312 on globally where the buffer mode supports it.
8313
8314 For example, to automagically turn on Font Lock mode where supported, put:
8315
8316 (global-font-lock-mode t)
8317
8318 in your ~/.emacs.
8319
8320 *** Local Refontification
8321
8322 In Font Lock mode, editing a line automatically refontifies that line only.
8323 However, if your change alters the syntactic context for following lines,
8324 those lines remain incorrectly fontified. To refontify them, use the new
8325 command M-g M-g (font-lock-fontify-block).
8326
8327 In certain major modes, M-g M-g refontifies the entire current function.
8328 (The variable font-lock-mark-block-function controls how to find the
8329 current function.) In other major modes, M-g M-g refontifies 16 lines
8330 above and below point.
8331
8332 With a prefix argument N, M-g M-g refontifies N lines above and below point.
8333
8334 ** Follow mode
8335
8336 Follow mode is a new minor mode combining windows showing the same
8337 buffer into one tall "virtual window". The windows are typically two
8338 side-by-side windows. Follow mode makes them scroll together as if
8339 they were a unit. To use it, go to a frame with just one window,
8340 split it into two side-by-side windows using C-x 3, and then type M-x
8341 follow-mode.
8342
8343 M-x follow-mode turns off Follow mode if it is already enabled.
8344
8345 To display two side-by-side windows and activate Follow mode, use the
8346 command M-x follow-delete-other-windows-and-split.
8347
8348 ** hide-show changes.
8349
8350 The hooks hs-hide-hooks and hs-show-hooks have been renamed
8351 to hs-hide-hook and hs-show-hook, to follow the convention for
8352 normal hooks.
8353
8354 ** Simula mode now has a menu containing the most important commands.
8355 The new command simula-indent-exp is bound to C-M-q.
8356
8357 ** etags can now handle programs written in Erlang. Files are
8358 recognised by the extensions .erl and .hrl. The tagged lines are
8359 those that begin a function, record, or macro.
8360
8361 ** MSDOS Changes
8362
8363 *** It is now possible to compile Emacs with the version 2 of DJGPP.
8364 Compilation with DJGPP version 1 also still works.
8365
8366 *** The documentation of DOS-specific aspects of Emacs was rewritten
8367 and expanded; see the ``MS-DOS'' node in the on-line docs.
8368
8369 *** Emacs now uses ~ for backup file names, not .bak.
8370
8371 *** You can simulate mouse-3 on two-button mice by simultaneously
8372 pressing both mouse buttons.
8373
8374 *** A number of packages and commands which previously failed or had
8375 restricted functionality on MS-DOS, now work. The most important ones
8376 are:
8377
8378 **** Printing (both with `M-x lpr-buffer' and with `ps-print' package)
8379 now works.
8380
8381 **** `Ediff' works (in a single-frame mode).
8382
8383 **** `M-x display-time' can be used on MS-DOS (due to the new
8384 implementation of Emacs timers, see below).
8385
8386 **** `Dired' supports Unix-style shell wildcards.
8387
8388 **** The `c-macro-expand' command now works as on other platforms.
8389
8390 **** `M-x recover-session' works.
8391
8392 **** `M-x list-colors-display' displays all the available colors.
8393
8394 **** The `TPU-EDT' package works.
8395 \f
8396 * Lisp changes in Emacs 19.31.
8397
8398 ** The function using-unix-filesystems on Windows NT and Windows 95
8399 tells Emacs to read and write files assuming that they reside on a
8400 remote Unix filesystem. No CR/LF translation is done on any files in
8401 this case. Invoking using-unix-filesystems with t activates this
8402 behavior, and invoking it with any other value deactivates it.
8403
8404 ** Change in system-type and system-configuration values.
8405
8406 The value of system-type on a Linux-based GNU system is now `lignux',
8407 not `linux'. This means that some programs which use `system-type'
8408 need to be changed. The value of `system-configuration' will also
8409 be different.
8410
8411 It is generally recommended to use `system-configuration' rather
8412 than `system-type'.
8413
8414 See the file LINUX-GNU in this directory for more about this.
8415
8416 ** The functions shell-command and dired-call-process
8417 now run file name handlers for default-directory, if it has them.
8418
8419 ** Undoing the deletion of text now restores the positions of markers
8420 that pointed into or next to the deleted text.
8421
8422 ** Timers created with run-at-time now work internally to Emacs, and
8423 no longer use a separate process. Therefore, they now work more
8424 reliably and can be used for shorter time delays.
8425
8426 The new function run-with-timer is a convenient way to set up a timer
8427 to run a specified amount of time after the present. A call looks
8428 like this:
8429
8430 (run-with-timer SECS REPEAT FUNCTION ARGS...)
8431
8432 SECS says how many seconds should elapse before the timer happens.
8433 It may be an integer or a floating point number. When the timer
8434 becomes ripe, the action is to call FUNCTION with arguments ARGS.
8435
8436 REPEAT gives the interval for repeating the timer (measured in
8437 seconds). It may be an integer or a floating point number. nil or 0
8438 means don't repeat at all--call FUNCTION just once.
8439
8440 *** with-timeout provides an easy way to do something but give
8441 up if too much time passes.
8442
8443 (with-timeout (SECONDS TIMEOUT-FORMS...) BODY...)
8444
8445 This executes BODY, but gives up after SECONDS seconds.
8446 If it gives up, it runs the TIMEOUT-FORMS and returns the value
8447 of the last one of them. Normally it returns the value of the last
8448 form in BODY.
8449
8450 *** You can now arrange to call a function whenever Emacs is idle for
8451 a certain length of time. To do this, call run-with-idle-timer. A
8452 call looks like this:
8453
8454 (run-with-idle-timer SECS REPEAT FUNCTION ARGS...)
8455
8456 SECS says how many seconds of idleness should elapse before the timer
8457 runs. It may be an integer or a floating point number. When the
8458 timer becomes ripe, the action is to call FUNCTION with arguments
8459 ARGS.
8460
8461 Emacs becomes idle whenever it finishes executing a keyboard or mouse
8462 command. It remains idle until it receives another keyboard or mouse
8463 command.
8464
8465 REPEAT, if non-nil, means this timer should be activated again each
8466 time Emacs becomes idle and remains idle for SECS seconds The timer
8467 does not repeat if Emacs *remains* idle; it runs at most once after
8468 each time Emacs becomes idle.
8469
8470 If REPEAT is nil, the timer runs just once, the first time Emacs is
8471 idle for SECS seconds.
8472
8473 *** post-command-idle-hook is now obsolete; you shouldn't use it at
8474 all, because it interferes with the idle timer mechanism. If your
8475 programs use post-command-idle-hook, convert them to use idle timers
8476 instead.
8477
8478 *** y-or-n-p-with-timeout lets you ask a question but give up if
8479 there is no answer within a certain time.
8480
8481 (y-or-n-p-with-timeout PROMPT SECONDS DEFAULT-VALUE)
8482
8483 asks the question PROMPT (just like y-or-n-p). If the user answers
8484 within SECONDS seconds, it returns the answer that the user gave.
8485 Otherwise it gives up after SECONDS seconds, and returns DEFAULT-VALUE.
8486
8487 ** Minor change to `encode-time': you can now pass more than seven
8488 arguments. If you do that, the first six arguments have the usual
8489 meaning, the last argument is interpreted as the time zone, and the
8490 arguments in between are ignored.
8491
8492 This means that it works to use the list returned by `decode-time' as
8493 the list of arguments for `encode-time'.
8494
8495 ** The default value of load-path now includes the directory
8496 /usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp In addition to
8497 /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp. You can use this new directory for
8498 site-specific Lisp packages that belong with a particular Emacs
8499 version.
8500
8501 It is not unusual for a Lisp package that works well in one Emacs
8502 version to cause trouble in another. Sometimes packages need updating
8503 for incompatible changes; sometimes they look at internal data that
8504 has changed; sometimes the package has been installed in Emacs itself
8505 and the installed version should be used. Whatever the reason for the
8506 problem, this new feature makes it easier to solve.
8507
8508 ** When your program contains a fixed file name (like .completions or
8509 .abbrev.defs), the file name usually needs to be different on operating
8510 systems with limited file name syntax.
8511
8512 Now you can avoid ad-hoc conditionals by using the function
8513 convert-standard-filename to convert the file name to a proper form
8514 for each operating system. Here is an example of use, from the file
8515 completions.el:
8516
8517 (defvar save-completions-file-name
8518 (convert-standard-filename "~/.completions")
8519 "*The filename to save completions to.")
8520
8521 This sets the variable save-completions-file-name to a value that
8522 depends on the operating system, because the definition of
8523 convert-standard-filename depends on the operating system. On
8524 Unix-like systems, it returns the specified file name unchanged. On
8525 MS-DOS, it adapts the name to fit the limitations of that system.
8526
8527 ** The interactive spec N now returns the numeric prefix argument
8528 rather than the raw prefix argument. (It still reads a number using the
8529 minibuffer if there is no prefix argument at all.)
8530
8531 ** When a process is deleted, this no longer disconnects the process
8532 marker from its buffer position.
8533
8534 ** The variable garbage-collection-messages now controls whether
8535 Emacs displays a message at the beginning and end of garbage collection.
8536 The default is nil, meaning there are no messages.
8537
8538 ** The variable debug-ignored-errors specifies certain kinds of errors
8539 that should not enter the debugger. Its value is a list of error
8540 condition symbols and/or regular expressions. If the error has any
8541 of the condition symbols listed, or if any of the regular expressions
8542 matches the error message, then that error does not enter the debugger,
8543 regardless of the value of debug-on-error.
8544
8545 This variable is initialized to match certain common but uninteresting
8546 errors that happen often during editing.
8547
8548 ** The new function error-message-string converts an error datum
8549 into its error message. The error datum is what condition-case
8550 puts into the variable, to describe the error that happened.
8551
8552 ** Anything that changes which buffer appears in a given window
8553 now runs the window-scroll-functions for that window.
8554
8555 ** The new function get-buffer-window-list returns a list of windows displaying
8556 a buffer. The function is called with the buffer (a buffer object or a buffer
8557 name) and two optional arguments specifying the minibuffer windows and frames
8558 to search. Therefore this function takes optional args like next-window etc.,
8559 and not get-buffer-window.
8560
8561 ** buffer-substring now runs the hook buffer-access-fontify-functions,
8562 calling each function with two arguments--the range of the buffer
8563 being accessed. buffer-substring-no-properties does not call them.
8564
8565 If you use this feature, you should set the variable
8566 buffer-access-fontified-property to a non-nil symbol, which is a
8567 property name. Then, if all the characters in the buffer range have a
8568 non-nil value for that property, the buffer-access-fontify-functions
8569 are not called. When called, these functions should put a non-nil
8570 property on the text that they fontify, so that they won't get called
8571 over and over for the same text.
8572
8573 ** Changes in lisp-mnt.el
8574
8575 *** The lisp-mnt package can now recognize file headers that are written
8576 in the formats used by the `what' command and the RCS `ident' command:
8577
8578 ;; @(#) HEADER: text
8579 ;; $HEADER: text $
8580
8581 in addition to the normal
8582
8583 ;; HEADER: text
8584
8585 *** The commands lm-verify and lm-synopsis are now interactive. lm-verify
8586 checks that the library file has proper sections and headers, and
8587 lm-synopsis extracts first line "synopsis'"information.
8588
8589
8590 \f
8591 * For older news, see the file ONEWS
8592
8593 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
8594 Copyright information:
8595
8596 Copyright (C) 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
8597
8598 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
8599 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
8600 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
8601 thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
8602
8603 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
8604 of this document, or of portions of it,
8605 under the above conditions, provided also that they
8606 carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
8607 \f
8608 Local variables:
8609 mode: outline
8610 paragraph-separate: "[ \f]*$"
8611 end: