]> code.delx.au - gnu-emacs/blob - etc/NEWS
Mark as documented in the manual the effect of prefix argument
[gnu-emacs] / etc / NEWS
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 +++
1218 ** When invoked with a prefix argument, the command `list-abbrevs' now
1219 displays local abbrevs, only.
1220
1221 ** New modes and packages
1222
1223 +++
1224 *** The new package timeclock.el is a mode is for keeping track of time
1225 intervals. You can use it for whatever purpose you like, but the
1226 typical scenario is to keep track of how much time you spend working
1227 on certain projects.
1228
1229 +++
1230 *** The new package hi-lock.el, text matching interactively entered
1231 regexp's can be highlighted. For example,
1232
1233 M-x highlight-regexp RET clearly RET RET
1234
1235 will highlight all occurrences of `clearly' using a yellow background
1236 face. New occurrences of `clearly' will be highlighted as they are
1237 typed. `M-x unhighlight-regexp RET' will remove the highlighting.
1238 Any existing face can be used for highlighting and a set of
1239 appropriate faces is provided. The regexps can be written into the
1240 current buffer in a form that will be recognized the next time the
1241 corresponding file is read.
1242
1243 +++
1244 *** The new package zone.el plays games with Emacs' display when
1245 Emacs is idle.
1246
1247 *** The new package xml.el provides a simple but generic XML
1248 parser. It doesn't parse the DTDs however.
1249
1250 *** The comment operations are now provided by the newcomment.el
1251 package which allows different styles of comment-region and should
1252 be more robust while offering the same functionality.
1253
1254 +++
1255 *** The Ebrowse package implements a C++ class browser and tags
1256 facilities tailored for use with C++. It is documented in a
1257 separate Texinfo file.
1258
1259 +++
1260 *** The PCL-CVS package available by either running M-x cvs-examine or
1261 by visiting a CVS administrative directory (with a prefix argument)
1262 provides an alternative interface to VC-dired for CVS. It comes with
1263 `log-view-mode' to view RCS and SCCS logs and `log-edit-mode' used to
1264 enter checkin log messages.
1265
1266 +++
1267 *** The new package called `woman' allows to browse Unix man pages
1268 without invoking external programs.
1269
1270 The command `M-x woman' formats manual pages entirely in Emacs Lisp
1271 and then displays them, like `M-x manual-entry' does. Unlike
1272 `manual-entry', `woman' does not invoke any external programs, so it
1273 is useful on systems such as MS-DOS/MS-Windows where the `man' and
1274 Groff or `troff' commands are not readily available.
1275
1276 The command `M-x woman-find-file' asks for the file name of a man
1277 page, then formats and displays it like `M-x woman' does.
1278
1279 +++
1280 *** The new command M-x re-builder offers a convenient interface for
1281 authoring regular expressions with immediate visual feedback.
1282
1283 The buffer from which the command was called becomes the target for
1284 the regexp editor popping up in a separate window. Matching text in
1285 the target buffer is immediately color marked during the editing.
1286 Each sub-expression of the regexp will show up in a different face so
1287 even complex regexps can be edited and verified on target data in a
1288 single step.
1289
1290 On displays not supporting faces the matches instead blink like
1291 matching parens to make them stand out. On such a setup you will
1292 probably also want to use the sub-expression mode when the regexp
1293 contains such to get feedback about their respective limits.
1294
1295 +++
1296 *** glasses-mode is a minor mode that makes
1297 unreadableIdentifiersLikeThis readable. It works as glasses, without
1298 actually modifying content of a buffer.
1299
1300 *** The package ebnf2ps translates an EBNF to a syntactic chart in
1301 PostScript.
1302
1303 Currently accepts ad-hoc EBNF, ISO EBNF and Bison/Yacc.
1304
1305 The ad-hoc default EBNF syntax has the following elements:
1306
1307 ; comment (until end of line)
1308 A non-terminal
1309 "C" terminal
1310 ?C? special
1311 $A default non-terminal
1312 $"C" default terminal
1313 $?C? default special
1314 A = B. production (A is the header and B the body)
1315 C D sequence (C occurs before D)
1316 C | D alternative (C or D occurs)
1317 A - B exception (A excluding B, B without any non-terminal)
1318 n * A repetition (A repeats n (integer) times)
1319 (C) group (expression C is grouped together)
1320 [C] optional (C may or not occurs)
1321 C+ one or more occurrences of C
1322 {C}+ one or more occurrences of C
1323 {C}* zero or more occurrences of C
1324 {C} zero or more occurrences of 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 {C || D} equivalent to: [C {D C}*]
1329
1330 Please, see ebnf2ps documentation for EBNF syntax and how to use it.
1331
1332 *** The package align.el will align columns within a region, using M-x
1333 align. Its mode-specific rules, based on regular expressions,
1334 determine where the columns should be split. In C and C++, for
1335 example, it will align variable names in declaration lists, or the
1336 equal signs of assignments.
1337
1338 +++
1339 *** `paragraph-indent-minor-mode' is a new minor mode supporting
1340 paragraphs in the same style as `paragraph-indent-text-mode'.
1341
1342 +++
1343 *** bs.el is a new package for buffer selection similar to
1344 list-buffers or electric-buffer-list. Use M-x bs-show to display a
1345 buffer menu with this package. You can use M-x bs-customize to
1346 customize the package.
1347
1348 *** find-lisp.el is a package emulating the Unix find command in Lisp.
1349
1350 *** calculator.el is a small calculator package that is intended to
1351 replace desktop calculators such as xcalc and calc.exe. Actually, it
1352 is not too small - it has more features than most desktop calculators,
1353 and can be customized easily to get many more functions. It should
1354 not be confused with "calc" which is a much bigger mathematical tool
1355 which answers different needs.
1356
1357 +++
1358 *** The minor modes cwarn-mode and global-cwarn-mode highlights
1359 suspicious C and C++ constructions. Currently, assignments inside
1360 expressions, semicolon following `if', `for' and `while' (except, of
1361 course, after a `do .. while' statement), and C++ functions with
1362 reference parameters are recognized. The modes require font-lock mode
1363 to be enabled.
1364
1365 +++
1366 *** smerge-mode.el provides `smerge-mode', a simple minor-mode for files
1367 containing diff3-style conflict markers, such as generated by RCS.
1368
1369 +++
1370 *** 5x5.el is a simple puzzle game.
1371
1372 +++
1373 *** hl-line.el provides a minor mode to highlight the current line.
1374
1375 *** ansi-color.el translates ANSI terminal escapes into text-properties.
1376
1377 *** delphi.el provides a major mode for editing the Delphi (Object
1378 Pascal) language.
1379
1380 +++
1381 *** quickurl.el provides a simple method of inserting a URL based on
1382 the text at point.
1383
1384 *** sql.el provides an interface to SQL data bases.
1385
1386 +++
1387 *** fortune.el uses the fortune program to create mail/news signatures.
1388
1389 *** whitespace.el ???
1390
1391 *** PostScript mode (ps-mode) is a new major mode for editing PostScript
1392 files. It offers: interaction with a PostScript interpreter, including
1393 (very basic) error handling; fontification, easily customizable for
1394 interpreter messages; auto-indentation; insertion of EPSF templates and
1395 often used code snippets; viewing of BoundingBox; commenting out /
1396 uncommenting regions; conversion of 8bit characters to PostScript octal
1397 codes. All functionality is accessible through a menu.
1398
1399 *** delim-col helps to prettify columns in a text region or rectangle.
1400
1401 Here is an example of columns:
1402
1403 horse apple bus
1404 dog pineapple car EXTRA
1405 porcupine strawberry airplane
1406
1407 Doing the following settings:
1408
1409 (setq delimit-columns-str-before "[ ")
1410 (setq delimit-columns-str-after " ]")
1411 (setq delimit-columns-str-separator ", ")
1412 (setq delimit-columns-separator "\t")
1413
1414
1415 Selecting the lines above and typing:
1416
1417 M-x delimit-columns-region
1418
1419 It results:
1420
1421 [ horse , apple , bus , ]
1422 [ dog , pineapple , car , EXTRA ]
1423 [ porcupine, strawberry, airplane, ]
1424
1425 delim-col has the following options:
1426
1427 delimit-columns-str-before Specify a string to be inserted
1428 before all columns.
1429
1430 delimit-columns-str-separator Specify a string to be inserted
1431 between each column.
1432
1433 delimit-columns-str-after Specify a string to be inserted
1434 after all columns.
1435
1436 delimit-columns-separator Specify a regexp which separates
1437 each column.
1438
1439 delim-col has the following commands:
1440
1441 delimit-columns-region Prettify all columns in a text region.
1442 delimit-columns-rectangle Prettify all columns in a text rectangle.
1443
1444 +++
1445 *** The package recentf.el maintains a menu for visiting files that
1446 were operated on recently.
1447
1448 M-x recentf-mode RET toggles recentf mode.
1449
1450 M-x customize-variable RET recentf-mode RET can be used to enable
1451 recentf at Emacs startup.
1452
1453 M-x customize-variable RET recentf-menu-filter RET to specify a menu
1454 filter function to change the menu appearance. For example, the recent
1455 file list can be displayed:
1456
1457 - organized by major modes, directories or user defined rules.
1458 - sorted by file pathes, file names, ascending or descending.
1459 - showing pathes relative to the current default-directory
1460
1461 The `recentf-filter-changer' menu filter function allows to
1462 dynamically change the menu appearance.
1463
1464 *** elide-head.el provides a mechanism for eliding boilerplate header
1465 text.
1466
1467 +++
1468 *** footnote.el provides `footnote-mode', a minor mode supporting use
1469 of footnotes. It is intended for use with Message mode, but isn't
1470 specific to Message mode.
1471
1472 +++
1473 *** diff-mode.el provides `diff-mode', a major mode for
1474 viewing/editing context diffs (patches). It is selected for files
1475 with extension `.diff', `.diffs', `.patch' and `.rej'.
1476
1477 +++
1478 *** EUDC, the Emacs Unified Directory Client, provides a common user
1479 interface to access directory servers using different directory
1480 protocols. It has a separate manual.
1481
1482 *** autoconf.el provides a major mode for editing configure.in files
1483 for Autoconf, selected automatically.
1484
1485 +++
1486 *** windmove.el provides moving between windows.
1487
1488 *** crm.el provides a facility to read multiple strings from the
1489 minibuffer with completion.
1490
1491 *** todo-mode.el provides management of TODO lists and integration
1492 with the diary features.
1493
1494 *** autoarg.el provides a feature reported from Twenex Emacs whereby
1495 numeric keys supply prefix args rather than self inserting.
1496
1497 *** The function `turn-off-auto-fill' unconditionally turns off Auto
1498 Fill mode.
1499
1500 ** Withdrawn packages
1501
1502 *** mldrag.el has been removed. mouse.el provides the same
1503 functionality with aliases for the mldrag functions.
1504
1505 *** eval-reg.el has been obsoleted by changes to edebug.el and removed.
1506
1507 *** ph.el has been obsoleted by EUDC and removed.
1508
1509 \f
1510 * Lisp changes made after edition 2.6 of the Emacs Lisp Manual,
1511 (Display-related features are described in a page of their own below.)
1512
1513 +++
1514 ** Reading from the mini-buffer now reads from standard input if Emacs
1515 is running in batch mode. For example,
1516
1517 (message "%s" (read t))
1518
1519 will read a Lisp expression from standard input and print the result
1520 to standard output.
1521
1522 +++
1523 ** The argument of `down-list', `backward-up-list', `up-list',
1524 `kill-sexp', `backward-kill-sexp' and `mark-sexp' is now optional.
1525
1526 ** If `display-buffer-reuse-frames' is set, function `display-buffer'
1527 will raise frames displaying a buffer, instead of creating a new
1528 frame or window.
1529
1530 +++
1531 ** Two new functions for removing elements from lists/sequences
1532 were added
1533
1534 - Function: remove ELT SEQ
1535
1536 Return a copy of SEQ with all occurences of ELT removed. SEQ must be
1537 a list, vector, or string. The comparison is done with `equal'.
1538
1539 - Function: remq ELT LIST
1540
1541 Return a copy of LIST with all occurences of ELT removed. The
1542 comparison is done with `eq'.
1543
1544 ** The function `delete' now also works with vectors and strings.
1545
1546 ** The meaning of the `:weakness WEAK' argument of make-hash-table
1547 has been changed.
1548
1549 +++
1550 ** Function `aset' stores any multibyte character in any string
1551 without signaling "Attempt to change char length of a string". It may
1552 convert a unibyte string to multibyte if necessary.
1553
1554 ** The value of the `help-echo' text property is called as a function
1555 or evaluated, if it is not a string already, to obtain a help string.
1556
1557 ** Function `make-obsolete' now has an optional arg to say when the
1558 function was declared obsolete.
1559
1560 ** Function `plist-member' is renamed from `widget-plist-member' (which is
1561 retained as an alias).
1562
1563 ** Easy-menu's :filter now works as in XEmacs.
1564 It takes the unconverted (i.e. XEmacs) form of the menu and the result
1565 is automatically converted to Emacs' form.
1566
1567 ** The new function `window-list' has been defined
1568
1569 - Function: window-list &optional WINDOW MINIBUF ALL-FRAMES
1570
1571 Return a list of windows in canonical order. The parameters WINDOW,
1572 MINIBUF and ALL-FRAMES are defined like for `next-window'.
1573
1574 ** There's a new function `some-window' defined as follows
1575
1576 - Function: some-window PREDICATE &optional MINIBUF ALL-FRAMES DEFAULT
1577
1578 Return a window satisfying PREDICATE.
1579
1580 This function cycles through all visible windows using `walk-windows',
1581 calling PREDICATE on each one. PREDICATE is called with a window as
1582 argument. The first window for which PREDICATE returns a non-nil
1583 value is returned. If no window satisfies PREDICATE, DEFAULT is
1584 returned.
1585
1586 Optional second arg MINIBUF t means count the minibuffer window even
1587 if not active. MINIBUF nil or omitted means count the minibuffer iff
1588 it is active. MINIBUF neither t nor nil means not to count the
1589 minibuffer even if it is active.
1590
1591 Several frames may share a single minibuffer; if the minibuffer
1592 counts, all windows on all frames that share that minibuffer count
1593 too. Therefore, if you are using a separate minibuffer frame
1594 and the minibuffer is active and MINIBUF says it counts,
1595 `walk-windows' includes the windows in the frame from which you
1596 entered the minibuffer, as well as the minibuffer window.
1597
1598 ALL-FRAMES is the optional third argument.
1599 ALL-FRAMES nil or omitted means cycle within the frames as specified above.
1600 ALL-FRAMES = `visible' means include windows on all visible frames.
1601 ALL-FRAMES = 0 means include windows on all visible and iconified frames.
1602 ALL-FRAMES = t means include windows on all frames including invisible frames.
1603 If ALL-FRAMES is a frame, it means include windows on that frame.
1604 Anything else means restrict to the selected frame.
1605
1606 ** The function `single-key-description' now encloses function key and
1607 event names in angle brackets. When called with a second optional
1608 argument non-nil, angle brackets won't be printed.
1609
1610 ** If the variable `message-truncate-lines' is bound to t around a
1611 call to `message', the echo area will not be resized to display that
1612 message; it will be truncated instead, as it was done in 20.x.
1613 Default value is nil.
1614
1615 ** The user option `line-number-display-limit' can now be set to nil,
1616 meaning no limit.
1617
1618 ** `select-safe-coding-system' now also checks the most preferred
1619 coding-system if buffer-file-coding-system is `undecided' and
1620 DEFAULT-CODING-SYSTEM is not specified,
1621
1622 ** The function `subr-arity' provides information on the argument list
1623 of a primitive.
1624
1625 ** The text property `keymap' specifies a key map which overrides the
1626 buffer's local map and the map specified by the `local-map' property.
1627 This is probably what most current uses of `local-map' want, rather
1628 than replacing the local map.
1629
1630 ** The obsolete variables before-change-function and
1631 after-change-function are no longer acted upon and have been removed.
1632
1633 ** The function `apropos-mode' runs the hook `apropos-mode-hook'.
1634
1635 +++
1636 ** `concat' no longer accepts individual integer arguments, as
1637 promised long ago.
1638
1639 ** The new function `float-time' returns the current time as a float.
1640 \f
1641 * Lisp changes in Emacs 21.1 (see following page for display-related features)
1642
1643 Note that +++ before an item means the Lisp manual has been updated.
1644 --- means that I have decided it does not need to be in the Lisp manual.
1645 When you add a new item, please add it without either +++ or ---
1646 so I will know I still need to look at it -- rms.
1647
1648 *** The special form `save-restriction' now works correctly even if the
1649 buffer is widened inside the save-restriction and changes made outside
1650 the original restriction. Previously, doing this would cause the saved
1651 restriction to be restored incorrectly.
1652
1653 *** The functions `find-charset-region' and `find-charset-string' include
1654 `eight-bit-control' and/or `eight-bit-graphic' in the returned list
1655 when it finds 8-bit characters. Previously, it included `ascii' in a
1656 multibyte buffer and `unknown' in a unibyte buffer.
1657
1658 *** The functions `set-buffer-modified', `string-as-multibyte' and
1659 `string-as-unibyte' change the byte sequence of a buffer if it
1660 contains a character from the `eight-bit-control' character set.
1661
1662 *** The handling of multibyte sequences in a multibyte buffer is
1663 changed. Previously, a byte sequence matching the pattern
1664 [\200-\237][\240-\377]+ was interpreted as a single character
1665 regardless of the length of the trailing bytes [\240-\377]+. Thus, if
1666 the sequence was longer than what the leading byte indicated, the
1667 extra trailing bytes were ignored by Lisp functions. Now such extra
1668 bytes are independent 8-bit characters belonging to the charset
1669 eight-bit-graphic.
1670
1671 ** Fontsets are now implemented using char-tables.
1672
1673 A fontset can now be specified for for each independent character, for
1674 a group of characters or for a character set rather than just for a
1675 character set as previously.
1676
1677 *** The arguments of the function `set-fontset-font' are changed.
1678 They are NAME, CHARACTER, FONTNAME, and optional FRAME. The function
1679 modifies fontset NAME to use FONTNAME for CHARACTER.
1680
1681 CHARACTER may be a cons (FROM . TO), where FROM and TO are non-generic
1682 characters. In that case FONTNAME is used for all characters in the
1683 range FROM and TO (inclusive). CHARACTER may be a charset. In that
1684 case FONTNAME is used for all character in the charset.
1685
1686 FONTNAME may be a cons (FAMILY . REGISTRY), where FAMILY is the family
1687 name of a font and REGSITRY is a registry name of a font.
1688
1689 *** Variable x-charset-registry has been deleted. The default charset
1690 registries of character sets are set in the default fontset
1691 "fontset-default".
1692
1693 *** The function `create-fontset-from-fontset-spec' ignores the second
1694 argument STYLE-VARIANT. It never creates style-variant fontsets.
1695
1696 ** The method of composing characters is changed. Now character
1697 composition is done by a special text property `composition' in
1698 buffers and strings.
1699
1700 *** Charset composition is deleted. Emacs never creates a `composite
1701 character' which is an independent character with a unique character
1702 code. Thus the following functions handling `composite characters'
1703 have been deleted: composite-char-component,
1704 composite-char-component-count, composite-char-composition-rule,
1705 composite-char-composition-rule and decompose-composite-char delete.
1706 The variables leading-code-composition and min-composite-char have
1707 also been deleted.
1708
1709 *** Three more glyph reference points are added. They can be used to
1710 specify a composition rule. See the documentation of the variable
1711 `reference-point-alist' for more detail.
1712
1713 *** The function `compose-region' takes new arguments COMPONENTS and
1714 MODIFICATION-FUNC. With COMPONENTS, you can specify not only a
1715 composition rule but also characters to be composed. Such characters
1716 may differ between buffer and string text.
1717
1718 *** The function `compose-string' takes new arguments START, END,
1719 COMPONENTS, and MODIFICATION-FUNC.
1720
1721 *** The function `compose-string' puts text property `composition'
1722 directly on the argument STRING instead of returning a new string.
1723 Likewise, the function `decompose-string' just removes text property
1724 `composition' from STRING.
1725
1726 *** The new function `find-composition' returns information about
1727 a composition at a specified position in a buffer or a string.
1728
1729 *** The function `decompose-composite-char' is now labeled as
1730 obsolete.
1731
1732 ** The new character set `mule-unicode-0100-24ff' is introduced for
1733 Unicode characters of the range U+0100..U+24FF. Currently, this
1734 character set is not used.
1735
1736 ** The new character sets `japanese-jisx0213-1' and
1737 `japanese-jisx0213-2' are introduced for the new Japanese standard JIS
1738 X 0213 Plane 1 and Plane 2.
1739
1740 +++
1741 ** The new character sets `eight-bit-control' and `eight-bit-graphic'
1742 are introduced for 8-bit characters in the ranges 0x80..0x9F and
1743 0xA0..0xFF respectively.
1744
1745 +++
1746 ** If the APPEND argument of `write-region' is an integer, it seeks to
1747 that offset in the file before writing.
1748
1749 ** The function `add-minor-mode' has been added for convenience and
1750 compatibility with XEmacs (and is used internally by define-minor-mode).
1751
1752 ** The function `shell-command' now sets the default directory of the
1753 `*Shell Command Output*' buffer to the default directory of the buffer
1754 from which the command was issued.
1755
1756 ** The functions `query-replace', `query-replace-regexp',
1757 `query-replace-regexp-eval' `map-query-replace-regexp',
1758 `replace-string', `replace-regexp', and `perform-replace' take two
1759 additional optional arguments START and END that specify the region to
1760 operate on.
1761
1762 ** The new function `count-screen-lines' is a more flexible alternative
1763 to `window-buffer-height'.
1764
1765 - Function: count-screen-lines &optional BEG END COUNT-FINAL-NEWLINE WINDOW
1766
1767 Return the number of screen lines in the region between BEG and END.
1768 The number of screen lines may be different from the number of actual
1769 lines, due to line breaking, display table, etc.
1770
1771 Optional arguments BEG and END default to `point-min' and `point-max'
1772 respectively.
1773
1774 If region ends with a newline, ignore it unless optinal third argument
1775 COUNT-FINAL-NEWLINE is non-nil.
1776
1777 The optional fourth argument WINDOW specifies the window used for
1778 obtaining parameters such as width, horizontal scrolling, and so
1779 on. The default is to use the selected window's parameters.
1780
1781 Like `vertical-motion', `count-screen-lines' always uses the current
1782 buffer, regardless of which buffer is displayed in WINDOW. This makes
1783 possible to use `count-screen-lines' in any buffer, whether or not it
1784 is currently displayed in some window.
1785
1786 ** The new function `mapc' is like `mapcar' but doesn't collect the
1787 argument function's results.
1788
1789 ** The functions base64-decode-region and base64-decode-string now
1790 signal an error instead of returning nil if decoding fails.
1791
1792 ** The function sendmail-user-agent-compose now recognizes a `body'
1793 header is the list of headers passed to it.
1794
1795 ** The new function member-ignore-case works like `member', but
1796 ignores differences in case and text representation.
1797
1798 ** The buffer-local variable cursor-type can be used to specify the
1799 cursor to use in windows displaying a buffer. Values are interpreted
1800 as follows:
1801
1802 t use the cursor specified for the frame (default)
1803 nil don't display a cursor
1804 `bar' display a bar cursor with default width
1805 (bar . WIDTH) display a bar cursor with width WIDTH
1806 others display a box cursor.
1807
1808 ** The variable open-paren-in-column-0-is-defun-start controls whether
1809 an open parenthesis in column 0 is considered to be the start of a
1810 defun. If set, the default, it is considered a defun start. If not
1811 set, an open parenthesis in column 0 has no special meaning.
1812
1813 ** The new function `string-to-syntax' can be used to translate syntax
1814 specifications in string form as accepted by `modify-syntax-entry' to
1815 the cons-cell form that is used for the values of the `syntax-table'
1816 text property, and in `font-lock-syntactic-keywords'.
1817
1818 Example:
1819
1820 (string-to-syntax "()")
1821 => (4 . 41)
1822
1823 ** Emacs' reader supports CL read syntax for integers in bases
1824 other than 10.
1825
1826 *** `#BINTEGER' or `#bINTEGER' reads INTEGER in binary (radix 2).
1827 INTEGER optionally contains a sign.
1828
1829 #b1111
1830 => 15
1831 #b-1111
1832 => -15
1833
1834 *** `#OINTEGER' or `#oINTEGER' reads INTEGER in octal (radix 8).
1835
1836 #o666
1837 => 438
1838
1839 *** `#XINTEGER' or `#xINTEGER' reads INTEGER in hexadecimal (radix 16).
1840
1841 #xbeef
1842 => 48815
1843
1844 *** `#RADIXrINTEGER' reads INTEGER in radix RADIX, 2 <= RADIX <= 36.
1845
1846 #2R-111
1847 => -7
1848 #25rah
1849 => 267
1850
1851 ** The function `documentation-property' now evaluates the value of
1852 the given property to obtain a string if it doesn't refer to etc/DOC
1853 and isn't a string.
1854
1855 ** If called for a symbol, the function `documentation' now looks for
1856 a `function-documentation' property of that symbol. If it has a non-nil
1857 value, the documentation is taken from that value. If the value is
1858 not a string, it is evaluated to obtain a string.
1859
1860 +++
1861 ** The last argument of `define-key-after' defaults to t for convenience.
1862
1863 ** The new function `replace-regexp-in-string' replaces all matches
1864 for a regexp in a string.
1865
1866 ** `mouse-position' now runs the abnormal hook
1867 `mouse-position-function'.
1868
1869 ** The function string-to-number now returns a float for numbers
1870 that don't fit into a Lisp integer.
1871
1872 ** The variable keyword-symbols-constants-flag has been removed.
1873 Keywords are now always considered constants.
1874
1875 +++
1876 ** The new function `delete-and-extract-region' deletes text and
1877 returns it.
1878
1879 ** The function `clear-this-command-keys' now also clears the vector
1880 returned by function `recent-keys'.
1881
1882 +++
1883 ** Variables `beginning-of-defun-function' and `end-of-defun-function'
1884 can be used to define handlers for the functions that find defuns.
1885 Major modes can define these locally instead of rebinding M-C-a
1886 etc. if the normal conventions for defuns are not appropriate for the
1887 mode.
1888
1889 +++
1890 ** easy-mmode-define-minor-mode now takes an additional BODY argument
1891 and is renamed `define-minor-mode'.
1892
1893 +++
1894 ** If an abbrev has a hook function which is a symbol, and that symbol
1895 has a non-nil `no-self-insert' property, the return value of the hook
1896 function specifies whether an expansion has been done or not. If it
1897 returns nil, abbrev-expand also returns nil, meaning "no expansion has
1898 been performed."
1899
1900 When abbrev expansion is done by typing a self-inserting character,
1901 and the abbrev has a hook with the `no-self-insert' property, and the
1902 hook function returns non-nil meaning expansion has been done,
1903 then the self-inserting character is not inserted.
1904
1905 +++
1906 ** The function `intern-soft' now accepts a symbol as first argument.
1907 In this case, that exact symbol is looked up in the specified obarray,
1908 and the function's value is nil if it is not found.
1909
1910 +++
1911 ** The new macro `with-syntax-table' can be used to evaluate forms
1912 with the syntax table of the current buffer temporarily set to a
1913 specified table.
1914
1915 (with-syntax-table TABLE &rest BODY)
1916
1917 Evaluate BODY with syntax table of current buffer set to a copy of
1918 TABLE. The current syntax table is saved, BODY is evaluated, and the
1919 saved table is restored, even in case of an abnormal exit. Value is
1920 what BODY returns.
1921
1922 +++
1923 ** Regular expressions now support intervals \{n,m\} as well as
1924 Perl's shy-groups \(?:...\) and non-greedy *? +? and ?? operators.
1925
1926 +++
1927 ** The optional argument BUFFER of function file-local-copy has been
1928 removed since it wasn't used by anything.
1929
1930 +++
1931 ** The file name argument of function `file-locked-p' is now required
1932 instead of being optional.
1933
1934 +++
1935 ** The new built-in error `text-read-only' is signaled when trying to
1936 modify read-only text.
1937
1938 +++
1939 ** New functions and variables for locales.
1940
1941 The new variable `locale-coding-system' specifies how to encode and
1942 decode strings passed to low-level message functions like strerror and
1943 time functions like strftime. The new variables
1944 `system-messages-locale' and `system-time-locale' give the system
1945 locales to be used when invoking these two types of functions.
1946
1947 The new function `set-locale-environment' sets the language
1948 environment, preferred coding system, and locale coding system from
1949 the system locale as specified by the LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, and LANG
1950 environment variables. Normally, it is invoked during startup and need
1951 not be invoked thereafter. It uses the new variables
1952 `locale-language-names', `locale-charset-language-names', and
1953 `locale-preferred-coding-systems' to make its decisions.
1954
1955 +++
1956 ** syntax tables now understand nested comments.
1957 To declare a comment syntax as allowing nesting, just add an `n'
1958 modifier to either of the characters of the comment end and the comment
1959 start sequences.
1960
1961 +++
1962 ** The function `pixmap-spec-p' has been renamed `bitmap-spec-p'
1963 because `bitmap' is more in line with the usual X terminology.
1964
1965 +++
1966 ** New function `propertize'
1967
1968 The new function `propertize' can be used to conveniently construct
1969 strings with text properties.
1970
1971 - Function: propertize STRING &rest PROPERTIES
1972
1973 Value is a copy of STRING with text properties assigned as specified
1974 by PROPERTIES. PROPERTIES is a sequence of pairs PROPERTY VALUE, with
1975 PROPERTY being the name of a text property and VALUE being the
1976 specified value of that property. Example:
1977
1978 (propertize "foo" 'face 'bold 'read-only t)
1979
1980 +++
1981 ** push and pop macros.
1982
1983 Simple versions of the push and pop macros of Common Lisp
1984 are now defined in Emacs Lisp. These macros allow only symbols
1985 as the place that holds the list to be changed.
1986
1987 (push NEWELT LISTNAME) add NEWELT to the front of LISTNAME's value.
1988 (pop LISTNAME) return first elt of LISTNAME, and remove it
1989 (thus altering the value of LISTNAME).
1990
1991 ** New dolist and dotimes macros.
1992
1993 Simple versions of the dolist and dotimes macros of Common Lisp
1994 are now defined in Emacs Lisp.
1995
1996 (dolist (VAR LIST [RESULT]) BODY...)
1997 Execute body once for each element of LIST,
1998 using the variable VAR to hold the current element.
1999 Then return the value of RESULT, or nil if RESULT is omitted.
2000
2001 (dotimes (VAR COUNT [RESULT]) BODY...)
2002 Execute BODY with VAR bound to successive integers running from 0,
2003 inclusive, to COUNT, exclusive.
2004 Then return the value of RESULT, or nil if RESULT is omitted.
2005
2006 +++
2007 ** Regular expressions now support Posix character classes such
2008 as [:alpha:], [:space:] and so on.
2009
2010 [:digit:] matches 0 through 9
2011 [:cntrl:] matches ASCII control characters
2012 [:xdigit:] matches 0 through 9, a through f and A through F.
2013 [:blank:] matches space and tab only
2014 [:graph:] matches graphic characters--everything except ASCII control chars,
2015 space, and DEL.
2016 [:print:] matches printing characters--everything except ASCII control chars
2017 and DEL.
2018 [:alnum:] matches letters and digits.
2019 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2020 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
2021 [:alpha:] matches letters.
2022 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2023 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
2024 [:ascii:] matches ASCII (unibyte) characters.
2025 [:nonascii:] matches non-ASCII (multibyte) characters.
2026 [:lower:] matches anything lower-case.
2027 [:punct:] matches punctuation.
2028 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2029 it matches anything that has non-word syntax.)
2030 [:space:] matches anything that has whitespace syntax.
2031 [:upper:] matches anything upper-case.
2032 [:word:] matches anything that has word syntax.
2033
2034 +++
2035 ** Emacs now has built-in hash tables.
2036
2037 The following functions are defined for hash tables:
2038
2039 - Function: make-hash-table ARGS
2040
2041 The argument list ARGS consists of keyword/argument pairs. All arguments
2042 are optional. The following arguments are defined:
2043
2044 :test TEST
2045
2046 TEST must be a symbol specifying how to compare keys. Default is `eql'.
2047 Predefined are `eq', `eql' and `equal'. If TEST is not predefined,
2048 it must have been defined with `define-hash-table-test'.
2049
2050 :size SIZE
2051
2052 SIZE must be an integer > 0 giving a hint to the implementation how
2053 many elements will be put in the hash table. Default size is 65.
2054
2055 :rehash-size REHASH-SIZE
2056
2057 REHASH-SIZE specifies by how much to grow a hash table once it becomes
2058 full. If REHASH-SIZE is an integer, add that to the hash table's old
2059 size to get the new size. Otherwise, REHASH-SIZE must be a float >
2060 1.0, and the new size is computed by multiplying REHASH-SIZE with the
2061 old size. Default rehash size is 1.5.
2062
2063 :rehash-threshold THRESHOLD
2064
2065 THRESHOLD must be a float > 0 and <= 1.0 specifying when to resize the
2066 hash table. It is resized when the ratio of (number of entries) /
2067 (size of hash table) is >= THRESHOLD. Default threshold is 0.8.
2068
2069 :weakness WEAK
2070
2071 WEAK must be either nil, one of the symbols `key, `value',
2072 `key-or-value', `key-and-value', or t, meaning the same as
2073 `key-and-value'. Entries are removed from weak tables during garbage
2074 collection if their key and/or value are not referenced elsewhere
2075 outside of the hash table. Default are non-weak hash tables.
2076
2077 - Function: makehash &optional TEST
2078
2079 Similar to make-hash-table, but only TEST can be specified.
2080
2081 - Function: hash-table-p TABLE
2082
2083 Returns non-nil if TABLE is a hash table object.
2084
2085 - Function: copy-hash-table TABLE
2086
2087 Returns a copy of TABLE. Only the table itself is copied, keys and
2088 values are shared.
2089
2090 - Function: hash-table-count TABLE
2091
2092 Returns the number of entries in TABLE.
2093
2094 - Function: hash-table-rehash-size TABLE
2095
2096 Returns the rehash size of TABLE.
2097
2098 - Function: hash-table-rehash-threshold TABLE
2099
2100 Returns the rehash threshold of TABLE.
2101
2102 - Function: hash-table-rehash-size TABLE
2103
2104 Returns the size of TABLE.
2105
2106 - Function: hash-table-test TABLE
2107
2108 Returns the test TABLE uses to compare keys.
2109
2110 - Function: hash-table-weakness TABLE
2111
2112 Returns the weakness specified for TABLE.
2113
2114 - Function: clrhash TABLE
2115
2116 Clear TABLE.
2117
2118 - Function: gethash KEY TABLE &optional DEFAULT
2119
2120 Look up KEY in TABLE and return its associated VALUE or DEFAULT if
2121 not found.
2122
2123 - Function: puthash KEY VALUE TABLE
2124
2125 Associate KEY with VALUE in TABLE. If KEY is already associated with
2126 another value, replace the old value with VALUE.
2127
2128 - Function: remhash KEY TABLE
2129
2130 Remove KEY from TABLE if it is there.
2131
2132 - Function: maphash FUNCTION TABLE
2133
2134 Call FUNCTION for all elements in TABLE. FUNCTION must take two
2135 arguments KEY and VALUE.
2136
2137 - Function: sxhash OBJ
2138
2139 Return a hash code for Lisp object OBJ.
2140
2141 - Function: define-hash-table-test NAME TEST-FN HASH-FN
2142
2143 Define a new hash table test named NAME. If NAME is specified as
2144 a test in `make-hash-table', the table created will use TEST-FN for
2145 comparing keys, and HASH-FN to compute hash codes for keys. Test
2146 and hash function are stored as symbol property `hash-table-test'
2147 of NAME with a value of (TEST-FN HASH-FN).
2148
2149 TEST-FN must take two arguments and return non-nil if they are the same.
2150
2151 HASH-FN must take one argument and return an integer that is the hash
2152 code of the argument. The function should use the whole range of
2153 integer values for hash code computation, including negative integers.
2154
2155 Example: The following creates a hash table whose keys are supposed to
2156 be strings that are compared case-insensitively.
2157
2158 (defun case-fold-string= (a b)
2159 (compare-strings a nil nil b nil nil t))
2160
2161 (defun case-fold-string-hash (a)
2162 (sxhash (upcase a)))
2163
2164 (define-hash-table-test 'case-fold 'case-fold-string=
2165 'case-fold-string-hash))
2166
2167 (make-hash-table :test 'case-fold)
2168
2169 +++
2170 ** The Lisp reader handles circular structure.
2171
2172 It now works to use the #N= and #N# constructs to represent
2173 circular structures. For example, #1=(a . #1#) represents
2174 a cons cell which is its own cdr.
2175
2176 +++
2177 ** The Lisp printer handles circular structure.
2178
2179 If you bind print-circle to a non-nil value, the Lisp printer outputs
2180 #N= and #N# constructs to represent circular and shared structure.
2181
2182 +++
2183 ** If the second argument to `move-to-column' is anything but nil or
2184 t, that means replace a tab with spaces if necessary to reach the
2185 specified column, but do not add spaces at the end of the line if it
2186 is too short to reach that column.
2187
2188 +++
2189 ** perform-replace has a new feature: the REPLACEMENTS argument may
2190 now be a cons cell (FUNCTION . DATA). This means to call FUNCTION
2191 after each match to get the replacement text. FUNCTION is called with
2192 two arguments: DATA, and the number of replacements already made.
2193
2194 If the FROM-STRING contains any upper-case letters,
2195 perform-replace also turns off `case-fold-search' temporarily
2196 and inserts the replacement text without altering case in it.
2197
2198 +++
2199 ** The function buffer-size now accepts an optional argument
2200 to specify which buffer to return the size of.
2201
2202 +++
2203 ** The calendar motion commands now run the normal hook
2204 calendar-move-hook after moving point.
2205
2206 +++
2207 ** The new variable small-temporary-file-directory specifies a
2208 directory to use for creating temporary files that are likely to be
2209 small. (Certain Emacs features use this directory.) If
2210 small-temporary-file-directory is nil, they use
2211 temporary-file-directory instead.
2212
2213 +++
2214 ** The variable `inhibit-modification-hooks', if non-nil, inhibits all
2215 the hooks that track changes in the buffer. This affects
2216 `before-change-functions' and `after-change-functions', as well as
2217 hooks attached to text properties and overlay properties.
2218
2219 +++
2220 ** assoc-delete-all is a new function that deletes all the
2221 elements of an alist which have a particular value as the car.
2222
2223 +++
2224 ** make-temp-file provides a more reliable way to create a temporary file.
2225
2226 make-temp-file is used like make-temp-name, except that it actually
2227 creates the file before it returns. This prevents a timing error,
2228 ensuring that no other job can use the same name for a temporary file.
2229
2230 +++
2231 ** New exclusive-open feature in `write-region'
2232
2233 The optional seventh arg is now called MUSTBENEW. If non-nil, it insists
2234 on a check for an existing file with the same name. If MUSTBENEW
2235 is `excl', that means to get an error if the file already exists;
2236 never overwrite. If MUSTBENEW is neither nil nor `excl', that means
2237 ask for confirmation before overwriting, but do go ahead and
2238 overwrite the file if the user gives confirmation.
2239
2240 If the MUSTBENEW argument in `write-region' is `excl',
2241 that means to use a special feature in the `open' system call
2242 to get an error if the file exists at that time.
2243 The error reported is `file-already-exists'.
2244
2245 +++
2246 ** Function `format' now handles text properties.
2247
2248 Text properties of the format string are applied to the result string.
2249 If the result string is longer than the format string, text properties
2250 ending at the end of the format string are extended to the end of the
2251 result string.
2252
2253 Text properties from string arguments are applied to the result
2254 string where arguments appear in the result string.
2255
2256 Example:
2257
2258 (let ((s1 "hello, %s")
2259 (s2 "world"))
2260 (put-text-property 0 (length s1) 'face 'bold s1)
2261 (put-text-property 0 (length s2) 'face 'italic s2)
2262 (format s1 s2))
2263
2264 results in a bold-face string with an italic `world' at the end.
2265
2266 +++
2267 ** Messages can now be displayed with text properties.
2268
2269 Text properties are handled as described above for function `format'.
2270 The following example displays a bold-face message with an italic
2271 argument in it.
2272
2273 (let ((msg "hello, %s!")
2274 (arg "world"))
2275 (put-text-property 0 (length msg) 'face 'bold msg)
2276 (put-text-property 0 (length arg) 'face 'italic arg)
2277 (message msg arg))
2278
2279 +++
2280 ** Sound support
2281
2282 Emacs supports playing sound files on GNU/Linux and the free BSDs
2283 (Voxware driver and native BSD driver, aka as Luigi's driver).
2284
2285 Currently supported file formats are RIFF-WAVE (*.wav) and Sun Audio
2286 (*.au). You must configure Emacs with the option `--with-sound=yes'
2287 to enable sound support.
2288
2289 Sound files can be played by calling (play-sound SOUND). SOUND is a
2290 list of the form `(sound PROPERTY...)'. The function is only defined
2291 when sound support is present for the system on which Emacs runs. The
2292 functions runs `play-sound-functions' with one argument which is the
2293 sound to play, before playing the sound.
2294
2295 The following sound properties are supported:
2296
2297 - `:file FILE'
2298
2299 FILE is a file name. If FILE isn't an absolute name, it will be
2300 searched relative to `data-directory'.
2301
2302 - `:data DATA'
2303
2304 DATA is a string containing sound data. Either :file or :data
2305 may be present, but not both.
2306
2307 - `:volume VOLUME'
2308
2309 VOLUME must be an integer in the range 0..100 or a float in the range
2310 0..1. This property is optional.
2311
2312 Other properties are ignored.
2313
2314 ** `multimedia' is a new Finder keyword and Custom group.
2315
2316 ** keywordp is a new predicate to test efficiently for an object being
2317 a keyword symbol.
2318
2319 ** Changes to garbage collection
2320
2321 *** The function garbage-collect now additionally returns the number
2322 of live and free strings.
2323
2324 *** There is a new variable `strings-consed' holding the number of
2325 strings that have been consed so far.
2326
2327 \f
2328 * Lisp-level Display features added after release 2.6 of the Emacs
2329 Lisp Manual
2330
2331 *** On window systems, `glyph-table' is no longer used.
2332
2333 +++
2334 ** Help strings in menu items are now used to provide `help-echo' text.
2335
2336 ** The function `image-size' can be used to determine the size of an
2337 image.
2338
2339 - Function: image-size SPEC &optional PIXELS FRAME
2340
2341 Return the size of an image as a pair (WIDTH . HEIGHT).
2342
2343 SPEC is an image specification. PIXELS non-nil means return sizes
2344 measured in pixels, otherwise return sizes measured in canonical
2345 character units (fractions of the width/height of the frame's default
2346 font). FRAME is the frame on which the image will be displayed.
2347 FRAME nil or omitted means use the selected frame.
2348
2349 +++
2350 ** The function `find-image' can be used to find a usable image
2351 satisfying one of a list of specifications.
2352
2353 +++
2354 ** The STRING argument of `put-image' and `insert-image' is now
2355 optional.
2356
2357 +++
2358 ** Image specifications may contain the property `:ascent center' (see
2359 below).
2360
2361 \f
2362 * New Lisp-level Display features in Emacs 21.1
2363
2364 Note that +++ before an item means the Lisp manual has been updated.
2365 --- means that I have decided it does not need to be in the Lisp manual.
2366 When you add a new item, please add it without either +++ or ---
2367 so I will know I still need to look at it -- rms.
2368
2369 ** The function tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors can be used
2370 to make Emacs avoid displaying text with bold black foreground on TTYs.
2371
2372 Some terminals, notably PC consoles, emulate bold text by displaying
2373 text in brighter colors. On such a console, a bold black foreground
2374 is displayed in a gray color. If this turns out to be hard to read on
2375 your monitor---the problem occurred with the mode line on
2376 laptops---you can instruct Emacs to ignore the text's boldness, and to
2377 just display it black instead.
2378
2379 This situation can't be detected automatically. You will have to put
2380 a line like
2381
2382 (tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors t)
2383
2384 in your `.emacs'.
2385
2386 ** New face implementation.
2387
2388 Emacs faces have been reimplemented from scratch. They don't use XLFD
2389 font names anymore and face merging now works as expected.
2390
2391 +++
2392 *** New faces.
2393
2394 Each face can specify the following display attributes:
2395
2396 1. Font family or fontset alias name.
2397
2398 2. Relative proportionate width, aka character set width or set
2399 width (swidth), e.g. `semi-compressed'.
2400
2401 3. Font height in 1/10pt
2402
2403 4. Font weight, e.g. `bold'.
2404
2405 5. Font slant, e.g. `italic'.
2406
2407 6. Foreground color.
2408
2409 7. Background color.
2410
2411 8. Whether or not characters should be underlined, and in what color.
2412
2413 9. Whether or not characters should be displayed in inverse video.
2414
2415 10. A background stipple, a bitmap.
2416
2417 11. Whether or not characters should be overlined, and in what color.
2418
2419 12. Whether or not characters should be strike-through, and in what
2420 color.
2421
2422 13. Whether or not a box should be drawn around characters, its
2423 color, the width of the box lines, and 3D appearance.
2424
2425 Faces are frame-local by nature because Emacs allows to define the
2426 same named face (face names are symbols) differently for different
2427 frames. Each frame has an alist of face definitions for all named
2428 faces. The value of a named face in such an alist is a Lisp vector
2429 with the symbol `face' in slot 0, and a slot for each each of the face
2430 attributes mentioned above.
2431
2432 There is also a global face alist `face-new-frame-defaults'. Face
2433 definitions from this list are used to initialize faces of newly
2434 created frames.
2435
2436 A face doesn't have to specify all attributes. Those not specified
2437 have a nil value. Faces specifying all attributes are called
2438 `fully-specified'.
2439
2440 +++
2441 *** Face merging.
2442
2443 The display style of a given character in the text is determined by
2444 combining several faces. This process is called `face merging'. Any
2445 aspect of the display style that isn't specified by overlays or text
2446 properties is taken from the `default' face. Since it is made sure
2447 that the default face is always fully-specified, face merging always
2448 results in a fully-specified face.
2449
2450 +++
2451 *** Face realization.
2452
2453 After all face attributes for a character have been determined by
2454 merging faces of that character, that face is `realized'. The
2455 realization process maps face attributes to what is physically
2456 available on the system where Emacs runs. The result is a `realized
2457 face' in form of an internal structure which is stored in the face
2458 cache of the frame on which it was realized.
2459
2460 Face realization is done in the context of the charset of the
2461 character to display because different fonts and encodings are used
2462 for different charsets. In other words, for characters of different
2463 charsets, different realized faces are needed to display them.
2464
2465 Except for composite characters, faces are always realized for a
2466 specific character set and contain a specific font, even if the face
2467 being realized specifies a fontset. The reason is that the result of
2468 the new font selection stage is better than what can be done with
2469 statically defined font name patterns in fontsets.
2470
2471 In unibyte text, Emacs' charsets aren't applicable; function
2472 `char-charset' reports ASCII for all characters, including those >
2473 0x7f. The X registry and encoding of fonts to use is determined from
2474 the variable `face-default-registry' in this case. The variable is
2475 initialized at Emacs startup time from the font the user specified for
2476 Emacs.
2477
2478 Currently all unibyte text, i.e. all buffers with
2479 `enable-multibyte-characters' nil are displayed with fonts of the same
2480 registry and encoding `face-default-registry'. This is consistent
2481 with the fact that languages can also be set globally, only.
2482
2483 ++++
2484 **** Clearing face caches.
2485
2486 The Lisp function `clear-face-cache' can be called to clear face caches
2487 on all frames. If called with a non-nil argument, it will also unload
2488 unused fonts.
2489
2490 +++
2491 *** Font selection.
2492
2493 Font selection tries to find the best available matching font for a
2494 given (charset, face) combination. This is done slightly differently
2495 for faces specifying a fontset, or a font family name.
2496
2497 If the face specifies a fontset name, that fontset determines a
2498 pattern for fonts of the given charset. If the face specifies a font
2499 family, a font pattern is constructed. Charset symbols have a
2500 property `x-charset-registry' for that purpose that maps a charset to
2501 an XLFD registry and encoding in the font pattern constructed.
2502
2503 Available fonts on the system on which Emacs runs are then matched
2504 against the font pattern. The result of font selection is the best
2505 match for the given face attributes in this font list.
2506
2507 Font selection can be influenced by the user.
2508
2509 The user can specify the relative importance he gives the face
2510 attributes width, height, weight, and slant by setting
2511 face-font-selection-order (faces.el) to a list of face attribute
2512 names. The default is (:width :height :weight :slant), and means
2513 that font selection first tries to find a good match for the font
2514 width specified by a face, then---within fonts with that width---tries
2515 to find a best match for the specified font height, etc.
2516
2517 Setting `face-alternative-font-family-alist' allows the user to
2518 specify alternative font families to try if a family specified by a
2519 face doesn't exist.
2520
2521 +++
2522 **** Scalable fonts
2523
2524 Emacs can make use of scalable fonts but doesn't do so by default,
2525 since the use of too many or too big scalable fonts may crash XFree86
2526 servers.
2527
2528 To enable scalable font use, set the variable
2529 `scalable-fonts-allowed'. A value of nil, the default, means never use
2530 scalable fonts. A value of t means any scalable font may be used.
2531 Otherwise, the value must be a list of regular expressions. A
2532 scalable font may then be used if it matches a regular expression from
2533 that list. Example:
2534
2535 (setq scalable-fonts-allowed '("muleindian-2$"))
2536
2537 allows the use of scalable fonts with registry `muleindian-2'.
2538
2539 +++
2540 *** Functions and variables related to font selection.
2541
2542 - Function: x-family-fonts &optional FAMILY FRAME
2543
2544 Return a list of available fonts of family FAMILY on FRAME. If FAMILY
2545 is omitted or nil, list all families. Otherwise, FAMILY must be a
2546 string, possibly containing wildcards `?' and `*'.
2547
2548 If FRAME is omitted or nil, use the selected frame. Each element of
2549 the result is a vector [FAMILY WIDTH POINT-SIZE WEIGHT SLANT FIXED-P
2550 FULL REGISTRY-AND-ENCODING]. FAMILY is the font family name.
2551 POINT-SIZE is the size of the font in 1/10 pt. WIDTH, WEIGHT, and
2552 SLANT are symbols describing the width, weight and slant of the font.
2553 These symbols are the same as for face attributes. FIXED-P is non-nil
2554 if the font is fixed-pitch. FULL is the full name of the font, and
2555 REGISTRY-AND-ENCODING is a string giving the registry and encoding of
2556 the font. The result list is sorted according to the current setting
2557 of the face font sort order.
2558
2559 - Function: x-font-family-list
2560
2561 Return a list of available font families on FRAME. If FRAME is
2562 omitted or nil, use the selected frame. Value is a list of conses
2563 (FAMILY . FIXED-P) where FAMILY is a font family, and FIXED-P is
2564 non-nil if fonts of that family are fixed-pitch.
2565
2566 - Variable: font-list-limit
2567
2568 Limit for font matching. If an integer > 0, font matching functions
2569 won't load more than that number of fonts when searching for a
2570 matching font. The default is currently 100.
2571
2572 +++
2573 *** Setting face attributes.
2574
2575 For the most part, the new face implementation is interface-compatible
2576 with the old one. Old face attribute related functions are now
2577 implemented in terms of the new functions `set-face-attribute' and
2578 `face-attribute'.
2579
2580 Face attributes are identified by their names which are keyword
2581 symbols. All attributes can be set to `unspecified'.
2582
2583 The following attributes are recognized:
2584
2585 `:family'
2586
2587 VALUE must be a string specifying the font family, e.g. ``courier'',
2588 or a fontset alias name. If a font family is specified, wild-cards `*'
2589 and `?' are allowed.
2590
2591 `:width'
2592
2593 VALUE specifies the relative proportionate width of the font to use.
2594 It must be one of the symbols `ultra-condensed', `extra-condensed',
2595 `condensed', `semi-condensed', `normal', `semi-expanded', `expanded',
2596 `extra-expanded', or `ultra-expanded'.
2597
2598 `:height'
2599
2600 VALUE must be either an integer specifying the height of the font to use
2601 in 1/10 pt, a floating point number specifying the amount by which to
2602 scale any underlying face, or a function, which is called with the old
2603 height (from the underlying face), and should return the new height.
2604
2605 `:weight'
2606
2607 VALUE specifies the weight of the font to use. It must be one of the
2608 symbols `ultra-bold', `extra-bold', `bold', `semi-bold', `normal',
2609 `semi-light', `light', `extra-light', `ultra-light'.
2610
2611 `:slant'
2612
2613 VALUE specifies the slant of the font to use. It must be one of the
2614 symbols `italic', `oblique', `normal', `reverse-italic', or
2615 `reverse-oblique'.
2616
2617 `:foreground', `:background'
2618
2619 VALUE must be a color name, a string.
2620
2621 `:underline'
2622
2623 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be underlined. If
2624 VALUE is t, underline with foreground color of the face. If VALUE is
2625 a string, underline with that color. If VALUE is nil, explicitly
2626 don't underline.
2627
2628 `:overline'
2629
2630 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be overlined. If
2631 VALUE is t, overline with foreground color of the face. If VALUE is a
2632 string, overline with that color. If VALUE is nil, explicitly don't
2633 overline.
2634
2635 `:strike-through'
2636
2637 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be drawn with a line
2638 striking through them. If VALUE is t, use the foreground color of the
2639 face. If VALUE is a string, strike-through with that color. If VALUE
2640 is nil, explicitly don't strike through.
2641
2642 `:box'
2643
2644 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should have a box drawn
2645 around them. If VALUE is nil, explicitly don't draw boxes. If
2646 VALUE is t, draw a box with lines of width 1 in the foreground color
2647 of the face. If VALUE is a string, the string must be a color name,
2648 and the box is drawn in that color with a line width of 1. Otherwise,
2649 VALUE must be a property list of the form `(:line-width WIDTH
2650 :color COLOR :style STYLE)'. If a keyword/value pair is missing from
2651 the property list, a default value will be used for the value, as
2652 specified below. WIDTH specifies the width of the lines to draw; it
2653 defaults to 1. COLOR is the name of the color to draw in, default is
2654 the foreground color of the face for simple boxes, and the background
2655 color of the face for 3D boxes. STYLE specifies whether a 3D box
2656 should be draw. If STYLE is `released-button', draw a box looking
2657 like a released 3D button. If STYLE is `pressed-button' draw a box
2658 that appears like a pressed button. If STYLE is nil, the default if
2659 the property list doesn't contain a style specification, draw a 2D
2660 box.
2661
2662 `:inverse-video'
2663
2664 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be displayed in
2665 inverse video. VALUE must be one of t or nil.
2666
2667 `:stipple'
2668
2669 If VALUE is a string, it must be the name of a file of pixmap data.
2670 The directories listed in the `x-bitmap-file-path' variable are
2671 searched. Alternatively, VALUE may be a list of the form (WIDTH
2672 HEIGHT DATA) where WIDTH and HEIGHT are the size in pixels, and DATA
2673 is a string containing the raw bits of the bitmap. VALUE nil means
2674 explicitly don't use a stipple pattern.
2675
2676 For convenience, attributes `:family', `:width', `:height', `:weight',
2677 and `:slant' may also be set in one step from an X font name:
2678
2679 `:font'
2680
2681 Set font-related face attributes from VALUE. VALUE must be a valid
2682 XLFD font name. If it is a font name pattern, the first matching font
2683 is used--this is for compatibility with the behavior of previous
2684 versions of Emacs.
2685
2686 For compatibility with Emacs 20, keywords `:bold' and `:italic' can
2687 be used to specify that a bold or italic font should be used. VALUE
2688 must be t or nil in that case. A value of `unspecified' is not allowed."
2689
2690 Please see also the documentation of `set-face-attribute' and
2691 `defface'.
2692
2693 `:inherit'
2694
2695 VALUE is the name of a face from which to inherit attributes, or a list
2696 of face names. Attributes from inherited faces are merged into the face
2697 like an underlying face would be, with higher priority than underlying faces.
2698
2699 *** Face attributes and X resources
2700
2701 The following X resource names can be used to set face attributes
2702 from X resources:
2703
2704 Face attribute X resource class
2705 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
2706 :family attributeFamily . Face.AttributeFamily
2707 :width attributeWidth Face.AttributeWidth
2708 :height attributeHeight Face.AttributeHeight
2709 :weight attributeWeight Face.AttributeWeight
2710 :slant attributeSlant Face.AttributeSlant
2711 foreground attributeForeground Face.AttributeForeground
2712 :background attributeBackground . Face.AttributeBackground
2713 :overline attributeOverline Face.AttributeOverline
2714 :strike-through attributeStrikeThrough Face.AttributeStrikeThrough
2715 :box attributeBox Face.AttributeBox
2716 :underline attributeUnderline Face.AttributeUnderline
2717 :inverse-video attributeInverse Face.AttributeInverse
2718 :stipple attributeStipple Face.AttributeStipple
2719 or attributeBackgroundPixmap
2720 Face.AttributeBackgroundPixmap
2721 :font attributeFont Face.AttributeFont
2722 :bold attributeBold Face.AttributeBold
2723 :italic attributeItalic . Face.AttributeItalic
2724 :font attributeFont Face.AttributeFont
2725
2726 +++
2727 *** Text property `face'.
2728
2729 The value of the `face' text property can now be a single face
2730 specification or a list of such specifications. Each face
2731 specification can be
2732
2733 1. A symbol or string naming a Lisp face.
2734
2735 2. A property list of the form (KEYWORD VALUE ...) where each
2736 KEYWORD is a face attribute name, and VALUE is an appropriate value
2737 for that attribute. Please see the doc string of `set-face-attribute'
2738 for face attribute names.
2739
2740 3. Conses of the form (FOREGROUND-COLOR . COLOR) or
2741 (BACKGROUND-COLOR . COLOR) where COLOR is a color name. This is
2742 for compatibility with previous Emacs versions.
2743
2744 +++
2745 ** Support functions for colors on text-only terminals.
2746
2747 The function `tty-color-define' can be used to define colors for use
2748 on TTY and MSDOS frames. It maps a color name to a color number on
2749 the terminal. Emacs defines a couple of common color mappings by
2750 default. You can get defined colors with a call to
2751 `defined-colors'. The function `tty-color-clear' can be
2752 used to clear the mapping table.
2753
2754 ** Unified support for colors independent of frame type.
2755
2756 The new functions `defined-colors', `color-defined-p', `color-values',
2757 and `display-color-p' work for any type of frame. On frames whose
2758 type is neither x nor w32, these functions transparently map X-style
2759 color specifications to the closest colors supported by the frame
2760 display. Lisp programs should use these new functions instead of the
2761 old `x-defined-colors', `x-color-defined-p', `x-color-values', and
2762 `x-display-color-p'. (The old function names are still available for
2763 compatibility; they are now aliases of the new names.) Lisp programs
2764 should no more look at the value of the variable window-system to
2765 modify their color-related behavior.
2766
2767 The primitives `color-gray-p' and `color-supported-p' also work for
2768 any frame type.
2769
2770 ** Platform-independent functions to describe display capabilities.
2771
2772 The new functions `display-mouse-p', `display-popup-menus-p',
2773 `display-graphic-p', `display-selections-p', `display-screens',
2774 `display-pixel-width', `display-pixel-height', `display-mm-width',
2775 `display-mm-height', `display-backing-store', `display-save-under',
2776 `display-planes', `display-color-cells', `display-visual-class', and
2777 `display-grayscale-p' describe the basic capabilities of a particular
2778 display. Lisp programs should call these functions instead of testing
2779 the value of the variables `window-system' or `system-type', or calling
2780 platform-specific functions such as `x-display-pixel-width'.
2781
2782 +++
2783 ** The minibuffer prompt is now actually inserted in the minibuffer.
2784
2785 This makes it possible to scroll through the prompt, if you want to.
2786
2787 The function minubuffer-prompt-end returns the current position of the
2788 end of the minibuffer prompt, if the minibuffer is current.
2789 Otherwise, it returns zero.
2790
2791 ** New `field' abstraction in buffers.
2792
2793 There is now code to support an abstraction called `fields' in emacs
2794 buffers. A field is a contiguous region of text with the same `field'
2795 property (which can be a text property or an overlay).
2796
2797 Many emacs functions, such as forward-word, forward-sentence,
2798 forward-paragraph, beginning-of-line, etc., stop moving when they come
2799 to the boundary between fields; beginning-of-line and end-of-line will
2800 not let the point move past the field boundary, but other movement
2801 commands continue into the next field if repeated. Stopping at field
2802 boundaries can be suppressed programmatically by binding
2803 `inhibit-field-text-motion' to a non-nil value around calls to these
2804 functions.
2805
2806 Now that the minibuffer prompt is inserted into the minibuffer, it is in
2807 a separate field from the user-input part of the buffer, so that common
2808 editing commands treat the user's text separately from the prompt.
2809
2810 The following functions are defined for operating on fields:
2811
2812 - Function: constrain-to-field NEW-POS OLD-POS &optional ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE ONLY-IN-LINE INHIBIT-CAPTURE-PROPERTY
2813
2814 Return the position closest to NEW-POS that is in the same field as OLD-POS.
2815
2816 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2817 If NEW-POS is nil, then the current point is used instead, and set to the
2818 constrained position if that is is different.
2819
2820 If OLD-POS is at the boundary of two fields, then the allowable
2821 positions for NEW-POS depends on the value of the optional argument
2822 ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE: If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is nil, then NEW-POS is
2823 constrained to the field that has the same `field' char-property
2824 as any new characters inserted at OLD-POS, whereas if ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
2825 is non-nil, NEW-POS is constrained to the union of the two adjacent
2826 fields. Additionally, if two fields are separated by another field with
2827 the special value `boundary', then any point within this special field is
2828 also considered to be `on the boundary'.
2829
2830 If the optional argument ONLY-IN-LINE is non-nil and constraining
2831 NEW-POS would move it to a different line, NEW-POS is returned
2832 unconstrained. This useful for commands that move by line, like
2833 C-n or C-a, which should generally respect field boundaries
2834 only in the case where they can still move to the right line.
2835
2836 If the optional argument INHIBIT-CAPTURE-PROPERTY is non-nil, and OLD-POS has
2837 a non-nil property of that name, then any field boundaries are ignored.
2838
2839 Field boundaries are not noticed if `inhibit-field-text-motion' is non-nil.
2840
2841 - Function: delete-field &optional POS
2842
2843 Delete the field surrounding POS.
2844 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2845 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2846
2847 - Function: field-beginning &optional POS ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
2848
2849 Return the beginning of the field surrounding POS.
2850 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2851 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2852 If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is non-nil and POS is at the beginning of its
2853 field, then the beginning of the *previous* field is returned.
2854
2855 - Function: field-end &optional POS ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
2856
2857 Return the end of the field surrounding POS.
2858 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2859 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2860 If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is non-nil and POS is at the end of its field,
2861 then the end of the *following* field is returned.
2862
2863 - Function: field-string &optional POS
2864
2865 Return the contents of the field surrounding POS as a string.
2866 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2867 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2868
2869 - Function: field-string-no-properties &optional POS
2870
2871 Return the contents of the field around POS, without text-properties.
2872 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
2873 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
2874
2875 +++
2876 ** Image support.
2877
2878 Emacs can now display images. Images are inserted into text by giving
2879 strings or buffer text a `display' text property containing one of
2880 (AREA IMAGE) or IMAGE. The display of the `display' property value
2881 replaces the display of the characters having that property.
2882
2883 If the property value has the form (AREA IMAGE), AREA must be one of
2884 `(margin left-margin)', `(margin right-margin)' or `(margin nil)'. If
2885 AREA is `(margin nil)', IMAGE will be displayed in the text area of a
2886 window, otherwise it will be displayed in the left or right marginal
2887 area.
2888
2889 IMAGE is an image specification.
2890
2891 *** Image specifications
2892
2893 Image specifications are lists of the form `(image PROPS)' where PROPS
2894 is a property list whose keys are keyword symbols. Each
2895 specifications must contain a property `:type TYPE' with TYPE being a
2896 symbol specifying the image type, e.g. `xbm'. Properties not
2897 described below are ignored.
2898
2899 The following is a list of properties all image types share.
2900
2901 `:ascent ASCENT'
2902
2903 ASCENT must be a number in the range 0..100, or the symbol `center'.
2904 If it is a number, it specifies the percentage of the image's height
2905 to use for its ascent.
2906
2907 If not specified, ASCENT defaults to the value 50 which means that the
2908 image will be centered with the base line of the row it appears in.
2909
2910 If ASCENT is `center' the image is vertically centered around a
2911 centerline which is the vertical center of text drawn at the position
2912 of the image, in the manner specified by the text properties and
2913 overlays that apply to the image.
2914
2915 `:margin MARGIN'
2916
2917 MARGIN must be a number >= 0 specifying how many pixels to put as
2918 margin around the image. Default is 0.
2919
2920 `:relief RELIEF'
2921
2922 RELIEF is analogous to the `:relief' attribute of faces. Puts a relief
2923 around an image.
2924
2925 `:algorithm ALGO'
2926
2927 Apply an image algorithm to the image before displaying it. ALGO must
2928 be a symbol specifying the algorithm. Currently only `laplace' is
2929 supported which applies a Laplace edge detection algorithm to an image
2930 which is intended to display images "disabled."
2931
2932 `:heuristic-mask BG'
2933
2934 If BG is not nil, build a clipping mask for the image, so that the
2935 background of a frame is visible behind the image. If BG is t,
2936 determine the background color of the image by looking at the 4
2937 corners of the image, assuming the most frequently occuring color from
2938 the corners is the background color of the image. Otherwise, BG must
2939 be a list `(RED GREEN BLUE)' specifying the color to assume for the
2940 background of the image.
2941
2942 `:file FILE'
2943
2944 Load image from FILE. If FILE is not absolute after expanding it,
2945 search for the image in `data-directory'. Some image types support
2946 building images from data. When this is done, no `:file' property
2947 may be present in the image specification.
2948
2949 `:data DATA'
2950
2951 Get image data from DATA. (As of this writing, this is not yet
2952 supported for image type `postscript'). Either :file or :data may be
2953 present in an image specification, but not both. All image types
2954 support strings as DATA, some types allow additional types of DATA.
2955
2956 *** Supported image types
2957
2958 **** XBM, image type `xbm'.
2959
2960 XBM images don't require an external library. Additional image
2961 properties supported are
2962
2963 `:foreground FG'
2964
2965 FG must be a string specifying the image foreground color. Default
2966 is the frame's foreground.
2967
2968 `:background FG'
2969
2970 BG must be a string specifying the image foreground color. Default is
2971 the frame's background color.
2972
2973 XBM images can be constructed from data instead of file. In this
2974 case, the image specification must contain the following properties
2975 instead of a `:file' property.
2976
2977 `:width WIDTH'
2978
2979 WIDTH specifies the width of the image in pixels.
2980
2981 `:height HEIGHT'
2982
2983 HEIGHT specifies the height of the image in pixels.
2984
2985 `:data DATA'
2986
2987 DATA must be either
2988
2989 1. a string large enough to hold the bitmap data, i.e. it must
2990 have a size >= (WIDTH + 7) / 8 * HEIGHT
2991
2992 2. a bool-vector of size >= WIDTH * HEIGHT
2993
2994 3. a vector of strings or bool-vectors, one for each line of the
2995 bitmap.
2996
2997 4. a string that's an in-memory XBM file. Neither width nor
2998 height may be specified in this case because these are defined
2999 in the file.
3000
3001 **** XPM, image type `xpm'
3002
3003 XPM images require the external library `libXpm', package
3004 `xpm-3.4k.tar.gz', version 3.4k or later. Make sure the library is
3005 found when Emacs is configured by supplying appropriate paths via
3006 `--x-includes' and `--x-libraries'.
3007
3008 Additional image properties supported are:
3009
3010 `:color-symbols SYMBOLS'
3011
3012 SYMBOLS must be a list of pairs (NAME . COLOR), with NAME being the
3013 name of color as it appears in an XPM file, and COLOR being an X color
3014 name.
3015
3016 XPM images can be built from memory instead of files. In that case,
3017 add a `:data' property instead of a `:file' property.
3018
3019 The XPM library uses libz in its implementation so that it is able
3020 to display compressed images.
3021
3022 **** PBM, image type `pbm'
3023
3024 PBM images don't require an external library. Color, gray-scale and
3025 mono images are supported. There are no additional image properties
3026 defined.
3027
3028 **** JPEG, image type `jpeg'
3029
3030 Support for JPEG images requires the external library `libjpeg',
3031 package `jpegsrc.v6a.tar.gz', or later. Additional image properties
3032 are:
3033
3034 **** TIFF, image type `tiff'
3035
3036 Support for TIFF images requires the external library `libtiff',
3037 package `tiff-v3.4-tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
3038 properties defined.
3039
3040 **** GIF, image type `gif'
3041
3042 Support for GIF images requires the external library `libungif', package
3043 `libungif-4.1.0', or later.
3044
3045 Additional image properties supported are:
3046
3047 `:index INDEX'
3048
3049 INDEX must be an integer >= 0. Load image number INDEX from a
3050 multi-image GIF file. An error is signalled if INDEX is too large.
3051
3052 This could be used to implement limited support for animated GIFs.
3053 For example, the following function displays a multi-image GIF file
3054 at point-min in the current buffer, switching between sub-images
3055 every 0.1 seconds.
3056
3057 (defun show-anim (file max)
3058 "Display multi-image GIF file FILE which contains MAX subimages."
3059 (display-anim (current-buffer) file 0 max t))
3060
3061 (defun display-anim (buffer file idx max first-time)
3062 (when (= idx max)
3063 (setq idx 0))
3064 (let ((img (create-image file nil nil :index idx)))
3065 (save-excursion
3066 (set-buffer buffer)
3067 (goto-char (point-min))
3068 (unless first-time (delete-char 1))
3069 (insert-image img "x"))
3070 (run-with-timer 0.1 nil 'display-anim buffer file (1+ idx) max nil)))
3071
3072 **** PNG, image type `png'
3073
3074 Support for PNG images requires the external library `libpng',
3075 package `libpng-1.0.2.tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
3076 properties defined.
3077
3078 **** Ghostscript, image type `postscript'.
3079
3080 Additional image properties supported are:
3081
3082 `:pt-width WIDTH'
3083
3084 WIDTH is width of the image in pt (1/72 inch). WIDTH must be an
3085 integer. This is a required property.
3086
3087 `:pt-height HEIGHT'
3088
3089 HEIGHT specifies the height of the image in pt (1/72 inch). HEIGHT
3090 must be a integer. This is an required property.
3091
3092 `:bounding-box BOX'
3093
3094 BOX must be a list or vector of 4 integers giving the bounding box of
3095 the PS image, analogous to the `BoundingBox' comment found in PS
3096 files. This is an required property.
3097
3098 Part of the Ghostscript interface is implemented in Lisp. See
3099 lisp/gs.el.
3100
3101 *** Lisp interface.
3102
3103 The variable `image-types' contains a list of those image types
3104 which are supported in the current configuration.
3105
3106 Images are stored in an image cache and removed from the cache when
3107 they haven't been displayed for `image-cache-eviction-delay seconds.
3108 The function `clear-image-cache' can be used to clear the image cache
3109 manually. Images in the cache are compared with `equal', i.e. all
3110 images with `equal' specifications share the same image.
3111
3112 *** Simplified image API, image.el
3113
3114 The new Lisp package image.el contains functions that simplify image
3115 creation and putting images into text. The function `create-image'
3116 can be used to create images. The macro `defimage' can be used to
3117 define an image based on available image types. The functions
3118 `put-image' and `insert-image' can be used to insert an image into a
3119 buffer.
3120
3121 +++
3122 ** Display margins.
3123
3124 Windows can now have margins which are used for special text
3125 and images.
3126
3127 To give a window margins, either set the buffer-local variables
3128 `left-margin-width' and `right-margin-width', or call
3129 `set-window-margins'. The function `window-margins' can be used to
3130 obtain the current settings. To make `left-margin-width' and
3131 `right-margin-width' take effect, you must set them before displaying
3132 the buffer in a window, or use `set-window-buffer' to force an update
3133 of the display margins.
3134
3135 You can put text in margins by giving it a `display' text property
3136 containing a pair of the form `(LOCATION . VALUE)', where LOCATION is
3137 one of `left-margin' or `right-margin' or nil. VALUE can be either a
3138 string, an image specification or a stretch specification (see later
3139 in this file).
3140
3141 +++
3142 ** Help display
3143
3144 Emacs displays short help messages in the echo area, when the mouse
3145 moves over a tool-bar item or a piece of text that has a text property
3146 `help-echo'. This feature also applies to strings in the mode line
3147 that have a `help-echo' property.
3148
3149 If the value of the `help-echo' property is a function, that function
3150 is called with three arguments WINDOW, OBJECT and POSITION. WINDOW is
3151 the window in which the help was found.
3152
3153 If OBJECT is a buffer, POS is the position in the buffer where the
3154 `help-echo' text property was found.
3155
3156 If OBJECT is an overlay, that overlay has a `help-echo' property, and
3157 POS is the position in the overlay's buffer under the mouse.
3158
3159 If OBJECT is a string (an overlay string or a string displayed with
3160 the `display' property), POS is the position in that string under the
3161 mouse.
3162
3163 If the value of the `help-echo' property is neither a function nor a
3164 string, it is evaluated to obtain a help string.
3165
3166 For tool-bar and menu-bar items, their key definition is used to
3167 determine the help to display. If their definition contains a
3168 property `:help FORM', FORM is evaluated to determine the help string.
3169 For tool-bar items without a help form, the caption of the item is
3170 used as help string.
3171
3172 The hook `show-help-function' can be set to a function that displays
3173 the help string differently. For example, enabling a tooltip window
3174 causes the help display to appear there instead of in the echo area.
3175
3176 +++
3177 ** Vertical fractional scrolling.
3178
3179 The display of text in windows can be scrolled smoothly in pixels.
3180 This is useful, for example, for making parts of large images visible.
3181
3182 The function `window-vscroll' returns the current value of vertical
3183 scrolling, a non-negative fraction of the canonical character height.
3184 The function `set-window-vscroll' can be used to set the vertical
3185 scrolling value. Here is an example of how these function might be
3186 used.
3187
3188 (global-set-key [A-down]
3189 #'(lambda ()
3190 (interactive)
3191 (set-window-vscroll (selected-window)
3192 (+ 0.5 (window-vscroll)))))
3193 (global-set-key [A-up]
3194 #'(lambda ()
3195 (interactive)
3196 (set-window-vscroll (selected-window)
3197 (- (window-vscroll) 0.5)))))
3198
3199 +++
3200 ** New hook `fontification-functions'.
3201
3202 Functions from `fontification-functions' are called from redisplay
3203 when it encounters a region of text that is not yet fontified. This
3204 variable automatically becomes buffer-local when set. Each function
3205 is called with one argument, POS.
3206
3207 At least one of the hook functions should fontify one or more
3208 characters starting at POS in the current buffer. It should mark them
3209 as fontified by giving them a non-nil value of the `fontified' text
3210 property. It may be reasonable for these functions to check for the
3211 `fontified' property and not put it back on, but they do not have to.
3212
3213 +++
3214 ** Tool bar support.
3215
3216 Emacs supports a tool bar at the top of a frame under X. The frame
3217 parameter `tool-bar-lines' (X resource "toolBar", class "ToolBar")
3218 controls how may lines to reserve for the tool bar. A zero value
3219 suppresses the tool bar. If the value is non-zero and
3220 `auto-resize-tool-bars' is non-nil the tool bar's size will be changed
3221 automatically so that all tool bar items are visible.
3222
3223 before this facility can be useful, we need people to donate icons.
3224
3225 *** Tool bar item definitions
3226
3227 Tool bar items are defined using `define-key' with a prefix-key
3228 `tool-bar'. For example `(define-key global-map [tool-bar item1] ITEM)'
3229 where ITEM is a list `(menu-item CAPTION BINDING PROPS...)'.
3230
3231 CAPTION is the caption of the item, If it's not a string, it is
3232 evaluated to get a string. The caption is currently not displayed in
3233 the tool bar, but it is displayed if the item doesn't have a `:help'
3234 property (see below).
3235
3236 BINDING is the tool bar item's binding. Tool bar items with keymaps as
3237 binding are currently ignored.
3238
3239 The following properties are recognized:
3240
3241 `:enable FORM'.
3242
3243 FORM is evaluated and specifies whether the tool bar item is enabled
3244 or disabled.
3245
3246 `:visible FORM'
3247
3248 FORM is evaluated and specifies whether the tool bar item is displayed.
3249
3250 `:filter FUNCTION'
3251
3252 FUNCTION is called with one parameter, the same list BINDING in which
3253 FUNCTION is specified as the filter. The value FUNCTION returns is
3254 used instead of BINDING to display this item.
3255
3256 `:button (TYPE SELECTED)'
3257
3258 TYPE must be one of `:radio' or `:toggle'. SELECTED is evaluated
3259 and specifies whether the button is selected (pressed) or not.
3260
3261 `:image IMAGES'
3262
3263 IMAGES is either a single image specification or a vector of four
3264 image specifications. If it is a vector, this table lists the
3265 meaning of each of the four elements:
3266
3267 Index Use when item is
3268 ----------------------------------------
3269 0 enabled and selected
3270 1 enabled and deselected
3271 2 disabled and selected
3272 3 disabled and deselected
3273
3274 If IMAGE is a single image specification, a Laplace edge-detection
3275 algorithm is used on that image to draw the image in disabled state.
3276
3277 `:help HELP-STRING'.
3278
3279 Gives a help string to display for the tool bar item. This help
3280 is displayed when the mouse is moved over the item.
3281
3282 *** Tool-bar-related variables.
3283
3284 If `auto-resize-tool-bar' is non-nil, the tool bar will automatically
3285 resize to show all defined tool bar items. It will never grow larger
3286 than 1/4 of the frame's size.
3287
3288 If `auto-raise-tool-bar-buttons' is non-nil, tool bar buttons will be
3289 raised when the mouse moves over them.
3290
3291 You can add extra space between tool bar items by setting
3292 `tool-bar-button-margin' to a positive integer specifying a number of
3293 pixels. Default is 1.
3294
3295 You can change the shadow thickness of tool bar buttons by setting
3296 `tool-bar-button-relief' to an integer. Default is 3.
3297
3298 *** Tool-bar clicks with modifiers.
3299
3300 You can bind commands to clicks with control, shift, meta etc. on
3301 a tool bar item. If
3302
3303 (define-key global-map [tool-bar shell]
3304 '(menu-item "Shell" shell
3305 :image (image :type xpm :file "shell.xpm")))
3306
3307 is the original tool bar item definition, then
3308
3309 (define-key global-map [tool-bar S-shell] 'some-command)
3310
3311 makes a binding to run `some-command' for a shifted click on the same
3312 item.
3313
3314 ** Mode line changes.
3315
3316 +++
3317 *** Mouse-sensitive mode line.
3318
3319 The mode line can be made mouse-sensitive by displaying strings there
3320 that have a `local-map' text property. There are three ways to display
3321 a string with a `local-map' property in the mode line.
3322
3323 1. The mode line spec contains a variable whose string value has
3324 a `local-map' text property.
3325
3326 2. The mode line spec contains a format specifier (e.g. `%12b'), and
3327 that format specifier has a `local-map' property.
3328
3329 3. The mode line spec contains a list containing `:eval FORM'. FORM
3330 is evaluated. If the result is a string, and that string has a
3331 `local-map' property.
3332
3333 The same mechanism is used to determine the `face' and `help-echo'
3334 properties of strings in the mode line. See `bindings.el' for an
3335 example.
3336
3337 *** If a mode line element has the form `(:eval FORM)', FORM is
3338 evaluated and the result is used as mode line element.
3339
3340 +++
3341 *** You can suppress mode-line display by setting the buffer-local
3342 variable mode-line-format to nil.
3343
3344 +++
3345 *** A headerline can now be displayed at the top of a window.
3346
3347 This mode line's contents are controlled by the new variable
3348 `header-line-format' and `default-header-line-format' which are
3349 completely analogous to `mode-line-format' and
3350 `default-mode-line-format'. A value of nil means don't display a top
3351 line.
3352
3353 The appearance of top mode lines is controlled by the face
3354 `header-line'.
3355
3356 The function `coordinates-in-window-p' returns `header-line' for a
3357 position in the header-line.
3358
3359 +++
3360 ** Text property `display'
3361
3362 The `display' text property is used to insert images into text, and
3363 also control other aspects of how text displays. The value of the
3364 `display' property should be a display specification, as described
3365 below, or a list or vector containing display specifications.
3366
3367 *** Variable width and height spaces
3368
3369 To display a space of fractional width or height, use a display
3370 specification of the form `(LOCATION STRECH)'. If LOCATION is
3371 `(margin left-margin)', the space is displayed in the left marginal
3372 area, if it is `(margin right-margin)', it is displayed in the right
3373 marginal area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' the space is
3374 displayed in the text. In the latter case you can also use the
3375 simpler form STRETCH as property value.
3376
3377 The stretch specification STRETCH itself is a list of the form `(space
3378 PROPS)', where PROPS is a property list which can contain the
3379 properties described below.
3380
3381 The display of the fractional space replaces the display of the
3382 characters having the `display' property.
3383
3384 - :width WIDTH
3385
3386 Specifies that the space width should be WIDTH times the normal
3387 character width. WIDTH can be an integer or floating point number.
3388
3389 - :relative-width FACTOR
3390
3391 Specifies that the width of the stretch should be computed from the
3392 first character in a group of consecutive characters that have the
3393 same `display' property. The computation is done by multiplying the
3394 width of that character by FACTOR.
3395
3396 - :align-to HPOS
3397
3398 Specifies that the space should be wide enough to reach HPOS. The
3399 value HPOS is measured in units of the normal character width.
3400
3401 Exactly one of the above properties should be used.
3402
3403 - :height HEIGHT
3404
3405 Specifies the height of the space, as HEIGHT, measured in terms of the
3406 normal line height.
3407
3408 - :relative-height FACTOR
3409
3410 The height of the space is computed as the product of the height
3411 of the text having the `display' property and FACTOR.
3412
3413 - :ascent ASCENT
3414
3415 Specifies that ASCENT percent of the height of the stretch should be
3416 used for the ascent of the stretch, i.e. for the part above the
3417 baseline. The value of ASCENT must be a non-negative number less or
3418 equal to 100.
3419
3420 You should not use both `:height' and `:relative-height' together.
3421
3422 *** Images
3423
3424 A display specification for an image has the form `(LOCATION
3425 . IMAGE)', where IMAGE is an image specification. The image replaces,
3426 in the display, the characters having this display specification in
3427 their `display' text property. If LOCATION is `(margin left-margin)',
3428 the image will be displayed in the left marginal area, if it is
3429 `(margin right-margin)' it will be displayed in the right marginal
3430 area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' the image will be displayed in
3431 the text. In the latter case you can also use the simpler form IMAGE
3432 as display specification.
3433
3434 *** Other display properties
3435
3436 - :space-width FACTOR
3437
3438 Specifies that space characters in the text having that property
3439 should be displayed FACTOR times as wide as normal; FACTOR must be an
3440 integer or float.
3441
3442 - :height HEIGHT
3443
3444 Display text having this property in a font that is smaller or larger.
3445
3446 If HEIGHT is a list of the form `(+ N)', where N is an integer, that
3447 means to use a font that is N steps larger. If HEIGHT is a list of
3448 the form `(- N)', that means to use a font that is N steps smaller. A
3449 ``step'' is defined by the set of available fonts; each size for which
3450 a font is available counts as a step.
3451
3452 If HEIGHT is a number, that means to use a font that is HEIGHT times
3453 as tall as the frame's default font.
3454
3455 If HEIGHT is a symbol, it is called as a function with the current
3456 height as argument. The function should return the new height to use.
3457
3458 Otherwise, HEIGHT is evaluated to get the new height, with the symbol
3459 `height' bound to the current specified font height.
3460
3461 - :raise FACTOR
3462
3463 FACTOR must be a number, specifying a multiple of the current
3464 font's height. If it is positive, that means to display the characters
3465 raised. If it is negative, that means to display them lower down. The
3466 amount of raising or lowering is computed without taking account of the
3467 `:height' subproperty.
3468
3469 *** Conditional display properties
3470
3471 All display specifications can be conditionalized. If a specification
3472 has the form `(:when CONDITION . SPEC)', the specification SPEC
3473 applies only when CONDITION yields a non-nil value when evaluated.
3474 During evaluattion, point is temporarily set to the end position of
3475 the text having the `display' property.
3476
3477 The normal specification consisting of SPEC only is equivalent to
3478 `(:when t SPEC)'.
3479
3480 +++
3481 ** New menu separator types.
3482
3483 Emacs now supports more than one menu separator type. Menu items with
3484 item names consisting of dashes only (including zero dashes) are
3485 treated like before. In addition, the following item names are used
3486 to specify other menu separator types.
3487
3488 - `--no-line' or `--space', or `--:space', or `--:noLine'
3489
3490 No separator lines are drawn, but a small space is inserted where the
3491 separator occurs.
3492
3493 - `--single-line' or `--:singleLine'
3494
3495 A single line in the menu's foreground color.
3496
3497 - `--double-line' or `--:doubleLine'
3498
3499 A double line in the menu's foreground color.
3500
3501 - `--single-dashed-line' or `--:singleDashedLine'
3502
3503 A single dashed line in the menu's foreground color.
3504
3505 - `--double-dashed-line' or `--:doubleDashedLine'
3506
3507 A double dashed line in the menu's foreground color.
3508
3509 - `--shadow-etched-in' or `--:shadowEtchedIn'
3510
3511 A single line with 3D sunken appearance. This is the the form
3512 displayed for item names consisting of dashes only.
3513
3514 - `--shadow-etched-out' or `--:shadowEtchedOut'
3515
3516 A single line with 3D raised appearance.
3517
3518 - `--shadow-etched-in-dash' or `--:shadowEtchedInDash'
3519
3520 A single dashed line with 3D sunken appearance.
3521
3522 - `--shadow-etched-out-dash' or `--:shadowEtchedOutDash'
3523
3524 A single dashed line with 3D raise appearance.
3525
3526 - `--shadow-double-etched-in' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedIn'
3527
3528 Two lines with 3D sunken appearance.
3529
3530 - `--shadow-double-etched-out' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedOut'
3531
3532 Two lines with 3D raised appearance.
3533
3534 - `--shadow-double-etched-in-dash' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedInDash'
3535
3536 Two dashed lines with 3D sunken appearance.
3537
3538 - `--shadow-double-etched-out-dash' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedOutDash'
3539
3540 Two dashed lines with 3D raised appearance.
3541
3542 Under LessTif/Motif, the last four separator types are displayed like
3543 the corresponding single-line separators.
3544
3545 +++
3546 ** New frame parameters for scroll bar colors.
3547
3548 The new frame parameters `scroll-bar-foreground' and
3549 `scroll-bar-background' can be used to change scroll bar colors.
3550 Their value must be either a color name, a string, or nil to specify
3551 that scroll bars should use a default color. For toolkit scroll bars,
3552 default colors are toolkit specific. For non-toolkit scroll bars, the
3553 default background is the background color of the frame, and the
3554 default foreground is black.
3555
3556 The X resource name of these parameters are `scrollBarForeground'
3557 (class ScrollBarForeground) and `scrollBarBackground' (class
3558 `ScrollBarBackground').
3559
3560 Setting these parameters overrides toolkit specific X resource
3561 settings for scroll bar colors.
3562
3563 +++
3564 ** You can set `redisplay-dont-pause' to a non-nil value to prevent
3565 display updates from being interrupted when input is pending.
3566
3567 ---
3568 ** Changing a window's width may now change its window start if it
3569 starts on a continuation line. The new window start is computed based
3570 on the window's new width, starting from the start of the continued
3571 line as the start of the screen line with the minimum distance from
3572 the original window start.
3573
3574 ---
3575 ** The variable `hscroll-step' and the functions
3576 `hscroll-point-visible' and `hscroll-window-column' have been removed
3577 now that proper horizontal scrolling is implemented.
3578
3579 +++
3580 ** Windows can now be made fixed-width and/or fixed-height.
3581
3582 A window is fixed-size if its buffer has a buffer-local variable
3583 `window-size-fixed' whose value is not nil. A value of `height' makes
3584 windows fixed-height, a value of `width' makes them fixed-width, any
3585 other non-nil value makes them both fixed-width and fixed-height.
3586
3587 The following code makes all windows displaying the current buffer
3588 fixed-width and fixed-height.
3589
3590 (set (make-local-variable 'window-size-fixed) t)
3591
3592 A call to enlarge-window on a window gives an error if that window is
3593 fixed-width and it is tried to change the window's width, or if the
3594 window is fixed-height, and it is tried to change its height. To
3595 change the size of a fixed-size window, bind `window-size-fixed'
3596 temporarily to nil, for example
3597
3598 (let ((window-size-fixed nil))
3599 (enlarge-window 10))
3600
3601 Likewise, an attempt to split a fixed-height window vertically,
3602 or a fixed-width window horizontally results in a error.
3603
3604 ** The cursor-type frame parameter is now supported on MS-DOS
3605 terminals. When Emacs starts, it by default changes the cursor shape
3606 to a solid box, as it does on Unix. The `cursor-type' frame parameter
3607 overrides this as it does on Unix, except that the bar cursor is
3608 horizontal rather than vertical (since the MS-DOS display doesn't
3609 support a vertical-bar cursor).
3610
3611
3612 ^L
3613 * Emacs 20.7 is a bug-fix release with few user-visible changes
3614
3615 ** It is now possible to use CCL-based coding systems for keyboard
3616 input.
3617
3618 ** ange-ftp now handles FTP security extensions, like Kerberos.
3619
3620 ** Rmail has been extended to recognize more forms of digest messages.
3621
3622 ** Now, most coding systems set in keyboard coding system work not
3623 only for character input, but also in incremental search. The
3624 exceptions are such coding systems that handle 2-byte character sets
3625 (e.g euc-kr, euc-jp) and that use ISO's escape sequence
3626 (e.g. iso-2022-jp). They are ignored in incremental search.
3627
3628 ** Support for Macintosh PowerPC-based machines running GNU/Linux has
3629 been added.
3630
3631 ^L
3632 * Emacs 20.6 is a bug-fix release with one user-visible change
3633
3634 ** Support for ARM-based non-RISCiX machines has been added.
3635
3636 ^L
3637 * Emacs 20.5 is a bug-fix release with no user-visible changes.
3638
3639 ** Not new, but not mentioned before:
3640 M-w when Transient Mark mode is enabled disables the mark.
3641 \f
3642 * Changes in Emacs 20.4
3643
3644 ** Init file may be called .emacs.el.
3645
3646 You can now call the Emacs init file `.emacs.el'.
3647 Formerly the name had to be `.emacs'. If you use the name
3648 `.emacs.el', you can byte-compile the file in the usual way.
3649
3650 If both `.emacs' and `.emacs.el' exist, the latter file
3651 is the one that is used.
3652
3653 ** shell-command, and shell-command-on-region, now return
3654 the exit code of the command (unless it is asynchronous).
3655 Also, you can specify a place to put the error output,
3656 separate from the command's regular output.
3657 Interactively, the variable shell-command-default-error-buffer
3658 says where to put error output; set it to a buffer name.
3659 In calls from Lisp, an optional argument ERROR-BUFFER specifies
3660 the buffer name.
3661
3662 When you specify a non-nil error buffer (or buffer name), any error
3663 output is inserted before point in that buffer, with \f\n to separate
3664 it from the previous batch of error output. The error buffer is not
3665 cleared, so error output from successive commands accumulates there.
3666
3667 ** Setting the default value of enable-multibyte-characters to nil in
3668 the .emacs file, either explicitly using setq-default, or via Custom,
3669 is now essentially equivalent to using --unibyte: all buffers
3670 created during startup will be made unibyte after loading .emacs.
3671
3672 ** C-x C-f now handles the wildcards * and ? in file names. For
3673 example, typing C-x C-f c*.c RET visits all the files whose names
3674 match c*.c. To visit a file whose name contains * or ?, add the
3675 quoting sequence /: to the beginning of the file name.
3676
3677 ** The M-x commands keep-lines, flush-lines and count-matches
3678 now have the same feature as occur and query-replace:
3679 if the pattern contains any upper case letters, then
3680 they never ignore case.
3681
3682 ** The end-of-line format conversion feature previously mentioned
3683 under `* Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows' actually
3684 applies to all operating systems. Emacs recognizes from the contents
3685 of a file what convention it uses to separate lines--newline, CRLF, or
3686 just CR--and automatically converts the contents to the normal Emacs
3687 convention (using newline to separate lines) for editing. This is a
3688 part of the general feature of coding system conversion.
3689
3690 If you subsequently save the buffer, Emacs converts the text back to
3691 the same format that was used in the file before.
3692
3693 You can turn off end-of-line conversion by setting the variable
3694 `inhibit-eol-conversion' to non-nil, e.g. with Custom in the MULE group.
3695
3696 ** The character set property `prefered-coding-system' has been
3697 renamed to `preferred-coding-system', for the sake of correct spelling.
3698 This is a fairly internal feature, so few programs should be affected.
3699
3700 ** Mode-line display of end-of-line format is changed.
3701 The indication of the end-of-line format of the file visited by a
3702 buffer is now more explicit when that format is not the usual one for
3703 your operating system. For example, the DOS-style end-of-line format
3704 is displayed as "(DOS)" on Unix and GNU/Linux systems. The usual
3705 end-of-line format is still displayed as a single character (colon for
3706 Unix, backslash for DOS and Windows, and forward slash for the Mac).
3707
3708 The values of the variables eol-mnemonic-unix, eol-mnemonic-dos,
3709 eol-mnemonic-mac, and eol-mnemonic-undecided, which are strings,
3710 control what is displayed in the mode line for each end-of-line
3711 format. You can now customize these variables.
3712
3713 ** In the previous version of Emacs, tar-mode didn't work well if a
3714 filename contained non-ASCII characters. Now this is fixed. Such a
3715 filename is decoded by file-name-coding-system if the default value of
3716 enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil.
3717
3718 ** The command temp-buffer-resize-mode toggles a minor mode
3719 in which temporary buffers (such as help buffers) are given
3720 windows just big enough to hold the whole contents.
3721
3722 ** If you use completion.el, you must now run the function
3723 dynamic-completion-mode to enable it. Just loading the file
3724 doesn't have any effect.
3725
3726 ** In Flyspell mode, the default is now to make just one Ispell process,
3727 not one per buffer.
3728
3729 ** If you use iswitchb but do not call (iswitchb-default-keybindings) to
3730 use the default keybindings, you will need to add the following line:
3731 (add-hook 'minibuffer-setup-hook 'iswitchb-minibuffer-setup)
3732
3733 ** Auto-show mode is no longer enabled just by loading auto-show.el.
3734 To control it, set `auto-show-mode' via Custom or use the
3735 `auto-show-mode' command.
3736
3737 ** Handling of X fonts' ascent/descent parameters has been changed to
3738 avoid redisplay problems. As a consequence, compared with previous
3739 versions the line spacing and frame size now differ with some font
3740 choices, typically increasing by a pixel per line. This change
3741 occurred in version 20.3 but was not documented then.
3742
3743 ** If you select the bar cursor style, it uses the frame's
3744 cursor-color, rather than the cursor foreground pixel.
3745
3746 ** In multibyte mode, Rmail decodes incoming MIME messages using the
3747 character set specified in the message. If you want to disable this
3748 feature, set the variable rmail-decode-mime-charset to nil.
3749
3750 ** Not new, but not mentioned previously in NEWS: when you use #! at
3751 the beginning of a file to make it executable and specify an
3752 interpreter program, Emacs looks on the second line for the -*- mode
3753 and variable specification, as well as on the first line.
3754
3755 ** Support for IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters.
3756
3757 The new command M-x codepage-setup creates a special coding system
3758 that can be used to convert text between a specific IBM codepage and
3759 one of the character sets built into Emacs which matches that
3760 codepage. For example, codepage 850 corresponds to Latin-1 character
3761 set, codepage 855 corresponds to Cyrillic-ISO character set, etc.
3762
3763 Windows codepages 1250, 1251 and some others, where Windows deviates
3764 from the corresponding ISO character set, are also supported.
3765
3766 IBM box-drawing characters and other glyphs which don't have
3767 equivalents in the corresponding ISO character set, are converted to
3768 a character defined by dos-unsupported-char-glyph on MS-DOS, and to
3769 `?' on other systems.
3770
3771 IBM codepages are widely used on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, so this
3772 feature is most useful on those platforms, but it can also be used on
3773 Unix.
3774
3775 Emacs compiled for MS-DOS automatically loads the support for the
3776 current codepage when it starts.
3777
3778 ** Mail changes
3779
3780 *** When mail is sent using compose-mail (C-x m), and if
3781 `mail-send-nonascii' is set to the new default value `mime',
3782 appropriate MIME headers are added. The headers are added only if
3783 non-ASCII characters are present in the body of the mail, and no other
3784 MIME headers are already present. For example, the following three
3785 headers are added if the coding system used in the *mail* buffer is
3786 latin-1:
3787
3788 MIME-version: 1.0
3789 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
3790 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
3791
3792 *** The new variable default-sendmail-coding-system specifies the
3793 default way to encode outgoing mail. This has higher priority than
3794 default-buffer-file-coding-system but has lower priority than
3795 sendmail-coding-system and the local value of
3796 buffer-file-coding-system.
3797
3798 You should not set this variable manually. Instead, set
3799 sendmail-coding-system to specify a fixed encoding for all outgoing
3800 mail.
3801
3802 *** When you try to send a message that contains non-ASCII characters,
3803 if the coding system specified by those variables doesn't handle them,
3804 Emacs will ask you to select a suitable coding system while showing a
3805 list of possible coding systems.
3806
3807 ** CC Mode changes
3808
3809 *** c-default-style can now take an association list that maps major
3810 modes to style names. When this variable is an alist, Java mode no
3811 longer hardcodes a setting to "java" style. See the variable's
3812 docstring for details.
3813
3814 *** It's now possible to put a list as the offset on a syntactic
3815 symbol. The list is evaluated recursively until a non-nil offset is
3816 found. This is useful to combine several lineup functions to act in a
3817 prioritized order on a single line. However, none of the supplied
3818 lineup functions use this feature currently.
3819
3820 *** New syntactic symbol catch-clause, which is used on the "catch" and
3821 "finally" lines in try-catch constructs in C++ and Java.
3822
3823 *** New cleanup brace-catch-brace on c-cleanup-list, which does for
3824 "catch" lines what brace-elseif-brace does for "else if" lines.
3825
3826 *** The braces of Java anonymous inner classes are treated separately
3827 from the braces of other classes in auto-newline mode. Two new
3828 symbols inexpr-class-open and inexpr-class-close may be used on
3829 c-hanging-braces-alist to control the automatic newlines used for
3830 anonymous classes.
3831
3832 *** Support for the Pike language added, along with new Pike specific
3833 syntactic symbols: inlambda, lambda-intro-cont
3834
3835 *** Support for Java anonymous classes via new syntactic symbol
3836 inexpr-class. New syntactic symbol inexpr-statement for Pike
3837 support and gcc-style statements inside expressions. New lineup
3838 function c-lineup-inexpr-block.
3839
3840 *** New syntactic symbol brace-entry-open which is used in brace lists
3841 (i.e. static initializers) when a list entry starts with an open
3842 brace. These used to be recognized as brace-list-entry's.
3843 c-electric-brace also recognizes brace-entry-open braces
3844 (brace-list-entry's can no longer be electrified).
3845
3846 *** New command c-indent-line-or-region, not bound by default.
3847
3848 *** `#' is only electric when typed in the indentation of a line.
3849
3850 *** Parentheses are now electric (via the new command c-electric-paren)
3851 for auto-reindenting lines when parens are typed.
3852
3853 *** In "gnu" style, inline-open offset is now set to zero.
3854
3855 *** Uniform handling of the inclass syntactic symbol. The indentation
3856 associated with it is now always relative to the class opening brace.
3857 This means that the indentation behavior has changed in some
3858 circumstances, but only if you've put anything besides 0 on the
3859 class-open syntactic symbol (none of the default styles do that).
3860
3861 ** Gnus changes.
3862
3863 *** New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
3864 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See the
3865 Gnus manual for the full story.
3866
3867 *** The nndraft backend has returned, but works differently than
3868 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the nndraft
3869 group, which is created automatically.
3870
3871 *** `gnus-alter-header-function' can now be used to alter header
3872 values.
3873
3874 *** `gnus-summary-goto-article' now accept Message-ID's.
3875
3876 *** A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
3877 outside the region: `C-c C-v'.
3878
3879 *** You can now post to component group in nnvirtual groups with
3880 `C-u C-c C-c'.
3881
3882 *** `nntp-rlogin-program' -- new variable to ease customization.
3883
3884 *** `C-u C-c C-c' in `gnus-article-edit-mode' will now inhibit
3885 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
3886
3887 *** New element in `gnus-boring-article-headers' -- `long-to'.
3888
3889 *** `M-i' symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
3890 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
3891
3892 *** `L' and `I' in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
3893 `a' to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
3894
3895 *** `gnus-simplify-subject-functions' variable to allow greater
3896 control over simplification.
3897
3898 *** `A T' -- new command for fetching the current thread.
3899
3900 *** `/ T' -- new command for including the current thread in the
3901 limit.
3902
3903 *** `M-RET' is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
3904
3905 *** \\1-expressions are now valid in `nnmail-split-methods'.
3906
3907 *** The `custom-face-lookup' function has been removed.
3908 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
3909 rewrite them to use `face-spec-set' instead.
3910
3911 *** Cancelling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
3912 `a' forces normal posting method.
3913
3914 *** New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper text
3915 -- `W d'.
3916
3917 *** For easier debugging of nntp, you can set `nntp-record-commands'
3918 to a non-nil value.
3919
3920 *** nntp now uses ~/.authinfo, a .netrc-like file, for controlling
3921 where and how to send AUTHINFO to NNTP servers.
3922
3923 *** A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
3924 has been added.
3925
3926 *** A history of where mails have been split is available.
3927
3928 *** A new article date command has been added -- `article-date-iso8601'.
3929
3930 *** Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
3931 `gnus-score-thread-simplify'.
3932
3933 *** A new function for citing in Message has been added --
3934 `message-cite-original-without-signature'.
3935
3936 *** `article-strip-all-blank-lines' -- new article command.
3937
3938 *** A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
3939 been added.
3940
3941 *** A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
3942 `gnus-adaptive-word-minimum' variable.
3943
3944 *** The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
3945 updated by the `gnus-start-date-timer' command.
3946
3947 *** Web listserv archives can be read with the nnlistserv backend.
3948
3949 *** Old dejanews archives can now be read by nnweb.
3950
3951 *** `gnus-posting-styles' has been re-activated.
3952
3953 ** Changes to TeX and LaTeX mode
3954
3955 *** The new variable `tex-start-options-string' can be used to give
3956 options for the TeX run. The default value causes TeX to run in
3957 nonstopmode. For an interactive TeX run set it to nil or "".
3958
3959 *** The command `tex-feed-input' sends input to the Tex Shell. In a
3960 TeX buffer it is bound to the keys C-RET, C-c RET, and C-c C-m (some
3961 of these keys may not work on all systems). For instance, if you run
3962 TeX interactively and if the TeX run stops because of an error, you
3963 can continue it without leaving the TeX buffer by typing C-RET.
3964
3965 *** The Tex Shell Buffer is now in `compilation-shell-minor-mode'.
3966 All error-parsing commands of the Compilation major mode are available
3967 but bound to keys that don't collide with the shell. Thus you can use
3968 the Tex Shell for command line executions like a usual shell.
3969
3970 *** The commands `tex-validate-region' and `tex-validate-buffer' check
3971 the matching of braces and $'s. The errors are listed in a *Occur*
3972 buffer and you can use C-c C-c or mouse-2 to go to a particular
3973 mismatch.
3974
3975 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
3976
3977 *** The table of contents buffer can now also display labels and
3978 file boundaries in addition to sections. Use `l', `i', and `c' keys.
3979
3980 *** Labels derived from context (the section heading) are now
3981 lowercase by default. To make the label legal in LaTeX, latin-1
3982 characters will lose their accent. All Mule characters will be
3983 removed from the label.
3984
3985 *** The automatic display of cross reference information can also use
3986 a window instead of the echo area. See variable `reftex-auto-view-crossref'.
3987
3988 *** kpsewhich can be used by RefTeX to find TeX and BibTeX files. See the
3989 customization group `reftex-finding-files'.
3990
3991 *** The option `reftex-bibfile-ignore-list' has been renamed to
3992 `reftex-bibfile-ignore-regexps' and indeed can be fed with regular
3993 expressions.
3994
3995 *** Multiple Selection buffers are now hidden buffers.
3996
3997 ** New/deleted modes and packages
3998
3999 *** The package snmp-mode.el provides major modes for editing SNMP and
4000 SNMPv2 MIBs. It has entries on `auto-mode-alist'.
4001
4002 *** The package sql.el provides a major mode, M-x sql-mode, for
4003 editing SQL files, and M-x sql-interactive-mode for interacting with
4004 SQL interpreters. It has an entry on `auto-mode-alist'.
4005
4006 *** M-x highlight-changes-mode provides a minor mode displaying buffer
4007 changes with a special face.
4008
4009 *** ispell4.el has been deleted. It got in the way of ispell.el and
4010 this was hard to fix reliably. It has long been obsolete -- use
4011 Ispell 3.1 and ispell.el.
4012 \f
4013 * MS-DOS changes in Emacs 20.4
4014
4015 ** Emacs compiled for MS-DOS now supports MULE features better.
4016 This includes support for display of all ISO 8859-N character sets,
4017 conversion to and from IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters,
4018 and automatic setup of the MULE environment at startup. For details,
4019 check out the section `MS-DOS and MULE' in the manual.
4020
4021 The MS-DOS installation procedure automatically configures and builds
4022 Emacs with input method support if it finds an unpacked Leim
4023 distribution when the config.bat script is run.
4024
4025 ** Formerly, the value of lpr-command did not affect printing on
4026 MS-DOS unless print-region-function was set to nil, but now it
4027 controls whether an external program is invoked or output is written
4028 directly to a printer port. Similarly, in the previous version of
4029 Emacs, the value of ps-lpr-command did not affect PostScript printing
4030 on MS-DOS unless ps-printer-name was set to something other than a
4031 string (eg. t or `pipe'), but now it controls whether an external
4032 program is used. (These changes were made so that configuration of
4033 printing variables would be almost identical across all platforms.)
4034
4035 ** In the previous version of Emacs, PostScript and non-PostScript
4036 output was piped to external programs, but because most print programs
4037 available for MS-DOS and MS-Windows cannot read data from their standard
4038 input, on those systems the data to be output is now written to a
4039 temporary file whose name is passed as the last argument to the external
4040 program.
4041
4042 An exception is made for `print', a standard program on Windows NT,
4043 and `nprint', a standard program on Novell Netware. For both of these
4044 programs, the command line is constructed in the appropriate syntax
4045 automatically, using only the value of printer-name or ps-printer-name
4046 as appropriate--the value of the relevant `-switches' variable is
4047 ignored, as both programs have no useful switches.
4048
4049 ** The value of the variable dos-printer (cf. dos-ps-printer), if it has
4050 a value, overrides the value of printer-name (cf. ps-printer-name), on
4051 MS-DOS and MS-Windows only. This has been true since version 20.3, but
4052 was not documented clearly before.
4053
4054 ** All the Emacs games now work on MS-DOS terminals.
4055 This includes Tetris and Snake.
4056 \f
4057 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.4
4058
4059 ** New functions line-beginning-position and line-end-position
4060 return the position of the beginning or end of the current line.
4061 They both accept an optional argument, which has the same
4062 meaning as the argument to beginning-of-line or end-of-line.
4063
4064 ** find-file and allied functions now have an optional argument
4065 WILDCARD. If this is non-nil, they do wildcard processing,
4066 and visit all files that match the wildcard pattern.
4067
4068 ** Changes in the file-attributes function.
4069
4070 *** The file size returned by file-attributes may be an integer or a float.
4071 It is an integer if the size fits in a Lisp integer, float otherwise.
4072
4073 *** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
4074 the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a cons cell containing two
4075 integers.
4076
4077 ** The new function directory-files-and-attributes returns a list of
4078 files in a directory and their attributes. It accepts the same
4079 arguments as directory-files and has similar semantics, except that
4080 file names and attributes are returned.
4081
4082 ** The new function file-attributes-lessp is a helper function for
4083 sorting the list generated by directory-files-and-attributes. It
4084 accepts two arguments, each a list of a file name and its atttributes.
4085 It compares the file names of each according to string-lessp and
4086 returns the result.
4087
4088 ** The new function file-expand-wildcards expands a wildcard-pattern
4089 to produce a list of existing files that match the pattern.
4090
4091 ** New functions for base64 conversion:
4092
4093 The function base64-encode-region converts a part of the buffer
4094 into the base64 code used in MIME. base64-decode-region
4095 performs the opposite conversion. Line-breaking is supported
4096 optionally.
4097
4098 Functions base64-encode-string and base64-decode-string do a similar
4099 job on the text in a string. They return the value as a new string.
4100
4101 **
4102 The new function process-running-child-p
4103 will tell you if a subprocess has given control of its
4104 terminal to its own child process.
4105
4106 ** interrupt-process and such functions have a new feature:
4107 when the second argument is `lambda', they send a signal
4108 to the running child of the subshell, if any, but if the shell
4109 itself owns its terminal, no signal is sent.
4110
4111 ** There are new widget types `plist' and `alist' which can
4112 be used for customizing variables whose values are plists or alists.
4113
4114 ** easymenu.el Now understands `:key-sequence' and `:style button'.
4115 :included is an alias for :visible.
4116
4117 easy-menu-add-item now understands the values returned by
4118 easy-menu-remove-item and easy-menu-item-present-p. This can be used
4119 to move or copy menu entries.
4120
4121 ** Multibyte editing changes
4122
4123 *** The definitions of sref and char-bytes are changed. Now, sref is
4124 an alias of aref and char-bytes always returns 1. This change is to
4125 make some Emacs Lisp code which works on 20.2 and earlier also
4126 work on the latest Emacs. Such code uses a combination of sref and
4127 char-bytes in a loop typically as below:
4128 (setq char (sref str idx)
4129 idx (+ idx (char-bytes idx)))
4130 The byte-compiler now warns that this is obsolete.
4131
4132 If you want to know how many bytes a specific multibyte character
4133 (say, CH) occupies in a multibyte buffer, use this code:
4134 (charset-bytes (char-charset ch))
4135
4136 *** In multibyte mode, when you narrow a buffer to some region, and the
4137 region is preceded or followed by non-ASCII codes, inserting or
4138 deleting at the head or the end of the region may signal this error:
4139
4140 Byte combining across boundary of accessible buffer text inhibitted
4141
4142 This is to avoid some bytes being combined together into a character
4143 across the boundary.
4144
4145 *** The functions find-charset-region and find-charset-string include
4146 `unknown' in the returned list in the following cases:
4147 o The current buffer or the target string is unibyte and
4148 contains 8-bit characters.
4149 o The current buffer or the target string is multibyte and
4150 contains invalid characters.
4151
4152 *** The functions decode-coding-region and encode-coding-region remove
4153 text properties of the target region. Ideally, they should correctly
4154 preserve text properties, but for the moment, it's hard. Removing
4155 text properties is better than preserving them in a less-than-correct
4156 way.
4157
4158 *** prefer-coding-system sets EOL conversion of default coding systems.
4159 If the argument to prefer-coding-system specifies a certain type of
4160 end of line conversion, the default coding systems set by
4161 prefer-coding-system will specify that conversion type for end of line.
4162
4163 *** The new function thai-compose-string can be used to properly
4164 compose Thai characters in a string.
4165
4166 ** The primitive `define-prefix-command' now takes an optional third
4167 argument NAME, which should be a string. It supplies the menu name
4168 for the created keymap. Keymaps created in order to be displayed as
4169 menus should always use the third argument.
4170
4171 ** The meanings of optional second arguments for read-char,
4172 read-event, and read-char-exclusive are flipped. Now the second
4173 arguments are INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. These functions use the current
4174 input method (if any) if and only if INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD is non-nil.
4175
4176 ** The new function clear-this-command-keys empties out the contents
4177 of the vector that (this-command-keys) returns. This is useful in
4178 programs that read passwords, to prevent the passwords from echoing
4179 inadvertently as part of the next command in certain cases.
4180
4181 ** The new macro `with-temp-message' displays a temporary message in
4182 the echo area, while executing some Lisp code. Like `progn', it
4183 returns the value of the last form, but it also restores the previous
4184 echo area contents.
4185
4186 (with-temp-message MESSAGE &rest BODY)
4187
4188 ** The function `require' now takes an optional third argument
4189 NOERROR. If it is non-nil, then there is no error if the
4190 requested feature cannot be loaded.
4191
4192 ** In the function modify-face, an argument of (nil) for the
4193 foreground color, background color or stipple pattern
4194 means to clear out that attribute.
4195
4196 ** The `outer-window-id' frame property of an X frame
4197 gives the window number of the outermost X window for the frame.
4198
4199 ** Temporary buffers made with with-output-to-temp-buffer are now
4200 read-only by default, and normally use the major mode Help mode
4201 unless you put them in some other non-Fundamental mode before the
4202 end of with-output-to-temp-buffer.
4203
4204 ** The new functions gap-position and gap-size return information on
4205 the gap of the current buffer.
4206
4207 ** The new functions position-bytes and byte-to-position provide a way
4208 to convert between character positions and byte positions in the
4209 current buffer.
4210
4211 ** vc.el defines two new macros, `edit-vc-file' and `with-vc-file', to
4212 facilitate working with version-controlled files from Lisp programs.
4213 These macros check out a given file automatically if needed, and check
4214 it back in after any modifications have been made.
4215 \f
4216 * Installation Changes in Emacs 20.3
4217
4218 ** The default value of load-path now includes most subdirectories of
4219 the site-specific directories /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp and
4220 /usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp, in addition to those
4221 directories themselves. Both immediate subdirectories and
4222 subdirectories multiple levels down are added to load-path.
4223
4224 Not all subdirectories are included, though. Subdirectories whose
4225 names do not start with a letter or digit are excluded.
4226 Subdirectories named RCS or CVS are excluded. Also, a subdirectory
4227 which contains a file named `.nosearch' is excluded. You can use
4228 these methods to prevent certain subdirectories from being searched.
4229
4230 Emacs finds these subdirectories and adds them to load-path when it
4231 starts up. While it would be cleaner to find the subdirectories each
4232 time Emacs loads a file, that would be much slower.
4233
4234 This feature is an incompatible change. If you have stored some Emacs
4235 Lisp files in a subdirectory of the site-lisp directory specifically
4236 to prevent them from being used, you will need to rename the
4237 subdirectory to start with a non-alphanumeric character, or create a
4238 `.nosearch' file in it, in order to continue to achieve the desired
4239 results.
4240
4241 ** Emacs no longer includes an old version of the C preprocessor from
4242 GCC. This was formerly used to help compile Emacs with C compilers
4243 that had limits on the significant length of an identifier, but in
4244 fact we stopped supporting such compilers some time ago.
4245 \f
4246 * Changes in Emacs 20.3
4247
4248 ** The new command C-x z (repeat) repeats the previous command
4249 including its argument. If you repeat the z afterward,
4250 it repeats the command additional times; thus, you can
4251 perform many repetitions with one keystroke per repetition.
4252
4253 ** Emacs now supports "selective undo" which undoes only within a
4254 specified region. To do this, set point and mark around the desired
4255 region and type C-u C-x u (or C-u C-_). You can then continue undoing
4256 further, within the same region, by repeating the ordinary undo
4257 command C-x u or C-_. This will keep undoing changes that were made
4258 within the region you originally specified, until either all of them
4259 are undone, or it encounters a change which crosses the edge of that
4260 region.
4261
4262 In Transient Mark mode, undoing when a region is active requests
4263 selective undo.
4264
4265 ** If you specify --unibyte when starting Emacs, then all buffers are
4266 unibyte, except when a Lisp program specifically creates a multibyte
4267 buffer. Setting the environment variable EMACS_UNIBYTE has the same
4268 effect. The --no-unibyte option overrides EMACS_UNIBYTE and directs
4269 Emacs to run normally in multibyte mode.
4270
4271 The option --unibyte does not affect the reading of Emacs Lisp files,
4272 though. If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode, use
4273 -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line. That will force Emacs to
4274 load that file in unibyte mode, regardless of how Emacs was started.
4275
4276 ** toggle-enable-multibyte-characters no longer has a key binding and
4277 no longer appears in the menu bar. We've realized that changing the
4278 enable-multibyte-characters variable in an existing buffer is
4279 something that most users not do.
4280
4281 ** You can specify a coding system to use for the next cut or paste
4282 operations through the window system with the command C-x RET X.
4283 The coding system can make a difference for communication with other
4284 applications.
4285
4286 C-x RET x specifies a coding system for all subsequent cutting and
4287 pasting operations.
4288
4289 ** You can specify the printer to use for commands that do printing by
4290 setting the variable `printer-name'. Just what a printer name looks
4291 like depends on your operating system. You can specify a different
4292 printer for the Postscript printing commands by setting
4293 `ps-printer-name'.
4294
4295 ** Emacs now supports on-the-fly spell checking by the means of a
4296 minor mode. It is called M-x flyspell-mode. You don't have to remember
4297 any other special commands to use it, and you will hardly notice it
4298 except when you make a spelling error. Flyspell works by highlighting
4299 incorrect words as soon as they are completed or as soon as the cursor
4300 hits a new word.
4301
4302 Flyspell mode works with whichever dictionary you have selected for
4303 Ispell in Emacs. In TeX mode, it understands TeX syntax so as not
4304 to be confused by TeX commands.
4305
4306 You can correct a misspelled word by editing it into something
4307 correct. You can also correct it, or accept it as correct, by
4308 clicking on the word with Mouse-2; that gives you a pop-up menu
4309 of various alternative replacements and actions.
4310
4311 Flyspell mode also proposes "automatic" corrections. M-TAB replaces
4312 the current misspelled word with a possible correction. If several
4313 corrections are made possible, M-TAB cycles through them in
4314 alphabetical order, or in order of decreasing likelihood if
4315 flyspell-sort-corrections is nil.
4316
4317 Flyspell mode also flags an error when a word is repeated, if
4318 flyspell-mark-duplications-flag is non-nil.
4319
4320 ** Changes in input method usage.
4321
4322 Now you can use arrow keys (right, left, down, up) for selecting among
4323 the alternatives just the same way as you do by C-f, C-b, C-n, and C-p
4324 respectively.
4325
4326 You can use the ENTER key to accept the current conversion.
4327
4328 If you type TAB to display a list of alternatives, you can select one
4329 of the alternatives with Mouse-2.
4330
4331 The meaning of the variable `input-method-verbose-flag' is changed so
4332 that you can set it to t, nil, `default', or `complex-only'.
4333
4334 If the value is nil, extra guidance is never given.
4335
4336 If the value is t, extra guidance is always given.
4337
4338 If the value is `complex-only', extra guidance is always given only
4339 when you are using complex input methods such as chinese-py.
4340
4341 If the value is `default' (this is the default), extra guidance is
4342 given in the following case:
4343 o When you are using a complex input method.
4344 o When you are using a simple input method but not in the minibuffer.
4345
4346 If you are using Emacs through a very slow line, setting
4347 input-method-verbose-flag to nil or to complex-only is a good choice,
4348 and if you are using an input method you are not familiar with,
4349 setting it to t is helpful.
4350
4351 The old command select-input-method is now called set-input-method.
4352
4353 In the language environment "Korean", you can use the following
4354 keys:
4355 Shift-SPC toggle-korean-input-method
4356 C-F9 quail-hangul-switch-symbol-ksc
4357 F9 quail-hangul-switch-hanja
4358 These key bindings are canceled when you switch to another language
4359 environment.
4360
4361 ** The minibuffer history of file names now records the specified file
4362 names, not the entire minibuffer input. For example, if the
4363 minibuffer starts out with /usr/foo/, you might type in /etc/passwd to
4364 get
4365
4366 /usr/foo//etc/passwd
4367
4368 which stands for the file /etc/passwd.
4369
4370 Formerly, this used to put /usr/foo//etc/passwd in the history list.
4371 Now this puts just /etc/passwd in the history list.
4372
4373 ** If you are root, Emacs sets backup-by-copying-when-mismatch to t
4374 at startup, so that saving a file will be sure to preserve
4375 its owner and group.
4376
4377 ** find-func.el can now also find the place of definition of Emacs
4378 Lisp variables in user-loaded libraries.
4379
4380 ** C-x r t (string-rectangle) now deletes the existing rectangle
4381 contents before inserting the specified string on each line.
4382
4383 ** There is a new command delete-whitespace-rectangle
4384 which deletes whitespace starting from a particular column
4385 in all the lines on a rectangle. The column is specified
4386 by the left edge of the rectangle.
4387
4388 ** You can now store a number into a register with C-u NUMBER C-x r n REG,
4389 increment it by INC with C-u INC C-x r + REG (to increment by one, omit
4390 C-u INC), and insert it in the buffer with C-x r g REG. This is useful
4391 for writing keyboard macros.
4392
4393 ** The new command M-x speedbar displays a frame in which directories,
4394 files, and tags can be displayed, manipulated, and jumped to. The
4395 frame defaults to 20 characters in width, and is the same height as
4396 the frame that it was started from. Some major modes define
4397 additional commands for the speedbar, including Rmail, GUD/GDB, and
4398 info.
4399
4400 ** query-replace-regexp is now bound to C-M-%.
4401
4402 ** In Transient Mark mode, when the region is active, M-x
4403 query-replace and the other replace commands now operate on the region
4404 contents only.
4405
4406 ** M-x write-region, when used interactively, now asks for
4407 confirmation before overwriting an existing file. When you call
4408 the function from a Lisp program, a new optional argument CONFIRM
4409 says whether to ask for confirmation in this case.
4410
4411 ** If you use find-file-literally and the file is already visited
4412 non-literally, the command asks you whether to revisit the file
4413 literally. If you say no, it signals an error.
4414
4415 ** Major modes defined with the "derived mode" feature
4416 now use the proper name for the mode hook: WHATEVER-mode-hook.
4417 Formerly they used the name WHATEVER-mode-hooks, but that is
4418 inconsistent with Emacs conventions.
4419
4420 ** shell-command-on-region (and shell-command) reports success or
4421 failure if the command produces no output.
4422
4423 ** Set focus-follows-mouse to nil if your window system or window
4424 manager does not transfer focus to another window when you just move
4425 the mouse.
4426
4427 ** mouse-menu-buffer-maxlen has been renamed to
4428 mouse-buffer-menu-maxlen to be consistent with the other related
4429 function and variable names.
4430
4431 ** The new variable auto-coding-alist specifies coding systems for
4432 reading specific files. This has higher priority than
4433 file-coding-system-alist.
4434
4435 ** If you set the variable unibyte-display-via-language-environment to
4436 t, then Emacs displays non-ASCII characters are displayed by
4437 converting them to the equivalent multibyte characters according to
4438 the current language environment. As a result, they are displayed
4439 according to the current fontset.
4440
4441 ** C-q's handling of codes in the range 0200 through 0377 is changed.
4442
4443 The codes in the range 0200 through 0237 are inserted as one byte of
4444 that code regardless of the values of nonascii-translation-table and
4445 nonascii-insert-offset.
4446
4447 For the codes in the range 0240 through 0377, if
4448 enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil and nonascii-translation-table
4449 nor nonascii-insert-offset can't convert them to valid multibyte
4450 characters, they are converted to Latin-1 characters.
4451
4452 ** If you try to find a file that is not read-accessible, you now get
4453 an error, rather than an empty buffer and a warning.
4454
4455 ** In the minibuffer history commands M-r and M-s, an upper case
4456 letter in the regular expression forces case-sensitive search.
4457
4458 ** In the *Help* buffer, cross-references to commands and variables
4459 are inferred and hyperlinked. Use C-h m in Help mode for the relevant
4460 command keys.
4461
4462 ** M-x apropos-command, with a prefix argument, no longer looks for
4463 user option variables--instead it looks for noninteractive functions.
4464
4465 Meanwhile, the command apropos-variable normally searches for
4466 user option variables; with a prefix argument, it looks at
4467 all variables that have documentation.
4468
4469 ** When you type a long line in the minibuffer, and the minibuffer
4470 shows just one line, automatically scrolling works in a special way
4471 that shows you overlap with the previous line of text. The variable
4472 minibuffer-scroll-overlap controls how many characters of overlap
4473 it should show; the default is 20.
4474
4475 Meanwhile, Resize Minibuffer mode is still available; in that mode,
4476 the minibuffer grows taller (up to a point) as needed to show the whole
4477 of your input.
4478
4479 ** The new command M-x customize-changed-options lets you customize
4480 all the options whose meanings or default values have changed in
4481 recent Emacs versions. You specify a previous Emacs version number as
4482 argument, and the command creates a customization buffer showing all
4483 the customizable options which were changed since that version.
4484 Newly added options are included as well.
4485
4486 If you don't specify a particular version number argument,
4487 then the customization buffer shows all the customizable options
4488 for which Emacs versions of changes are recorded.
4489
4490 This function is also bound to the Changed Options entry in the
4491 Customize menu.
4492
4493 ** When you run M-x grep with a prefix argument, it figures out
4494 the tag around point and puts that into the default grep command.
4495
4496 ** The new command M-* (pop-tag-mark) pops back through a history of
4497 buffer positions from which M-. or other tag-finding commands were
4498 invoked.
4499
4500 ** The new variable comment-padding specifies the number of spaces
4501 that `comment-region' will insert before the actual text of the comment.
4502 The default is 1.
4503
4504 ** In Fortran mode the characters `.', `_' and `$' now have symbol
4505 syntax, not word syntax. Fortran mode now supports `imenu' and has
4506 new commands fortran-join-line (M-^) and fortran-narrow-to-subprogram
4507 (C-x n d). M-q can be used to fill a statement or comment block
4508 sensibly.
4509
4510 ** GUD now supports jdb, the Java debugger, and pdb, the Python debugger.
4511
4512 ** If you set the variable add-log-keep-changes-together to a non-nil
4513 value, the command `C-x 4 a' will automatically notice when you make
4514 two entries in one day for one file, and combine them.
4515
4516 ** You can use the command M-x diary-mail-entries to mail yourself a
4517 reminder about upcoming diary entries. See the documentation string
4518 for a sample shell script for calling this function automatically
4519 every night.
4520
4521 ** Desktop changes
4522
4523 *** All you need to do to enable use of the Desktop package, is to set
4524 the variable desktop-enable to t with Custom.
4525
4526 *** Minor modes are now restored. Which minor modes are restored
4527 and how modes are restored is controlled by `desktop-minor-mode-table'.
4528
4529 ** There is no need to do anything special, now, to enable Gnus to
4530 read and post multi-lingual articles.
4531
4532 ** Outline mode has now support for showing hidden outlines when
4533 doing an isearch. In order for this to happen search-invisible should
4534 be set to open (the default). If an isearch match is inside a hidden
4535 outline the outline is made visible. If you continue pressing C-s and
4536 the match moves outside the formerly invisible outline, the outline is
4537 made invisible again.
4538
4539 ** Mail reading and sending changes
4540
4541 *** The Rmail e command now switches to displaying the whole header of
4542 the message before it lets you edit the message. This is so that any
4543 changes you make in the header will not be lost if you subsequently
4544 toggle.
4545
4546 *** The w command in Rmail, which writes the message body into a file,
4547 now works in the summary buffer as well. (The command to delete the
4548 summary buffer is now Q.) The default file name for the w command, if
4549 the message has no subject, is stored in the variable
4550 rmail-default-body-file.
4551
4552 *** Most of the commands and modes that operate on mail and netnews no
4553 longer depend on the value of mail-header-separator. Instead, they
4554 handle whatever separator the buffer happens to use.
4555
4556 *** If you set mail-signature to a value which is not t, nil, or a string,
4557 it should be an expression. When you send a message, this expression
4558 is evaluated to insert the signature.
4559
4560 *** The new Lisp library feedmail.el (version 8) enhances processing of
4561 outbound email messages. It works in coordination with other email
4562 handling packages (e.g., rmail, VM, gnus) and is responsible for
4563 putting final touches on messages and actually submitting them for
4564 transmission. Users of the emacs program "fakemail" might be
4565 especially interested in trying feedmail.
4566
4567 feedmail is not enabled by default. See comments at the top of
4568 feedmail.el for set-up instructions. Among the bigger features
4569 provided by feedmail are:
4570
4571 **** you can park outgoing messages into a disk-based queue and
4572 stimulate sending some or all of them later (handy for laptop users);
4573 there is also a queue for draft messages
4574
4575 **** you can get one last look at the prepped outbound message and
4576 be prompted for confirmation
4577
4578 **** does smart filling of address headers
4579
4580 **** can generate a MESSAGE-ID: line and a DATE: line; the date can be
4581 the time the message was written or the time it is being sent; this
4582 can make FCC copies more closely resemble copies that recipients get
4583
4584 **** you can specify an arbitrary function for actually transmitting
4585 the message; included in feedmail are interfaces for /bin/[r]mail,
4586 /usr/lib/sendmail, and elisp smtpmail; it's easy to write a new
4587 function for something else (10-20 lines of elisp)
4588
4589 ** Dired changes
4590
4591 *** The Dired function dired-do-toggle, which toggles marked and unmarked
4592 files, is now bound to "t" instead of "T".
4593
4594 *** dired-at-point has been added to ffap.el. It allows one to easily
4595 run Dired on the directory name at point.
4596
4597 *** Dired has a new command: %g. It searches the contents of
4598 files in the directory and marks each file that contains a match
4599 for a specified regexp.
4600
4601 ** VC Changes
4602
4603 *** New option vc-ignore-vc-files lets you turn off version control
4604 conveniently.
4605
4606 *** VC Dired has been completely rewritten. It is now much
4607 faster, especially for CVS, and works very similar to ordinary
4608 Dired.
4609
4610 VC Dired is invoked by typing C-x v d and entering the name of the
4611 directory to display. By default, VC Dired gives you a recursive
4612 listing of all files at or below the given directory which are
4613 currently locked (for CVS, all files not up-to-date are shown).
4614
4615 You can change the listing format by setting vc-dired-recurse to nil,
4616 then it shows only the given directory, and you may also set
4617 vc-dired-terse-display to nil, then it shows all files under version
4618 control plus the names of any subdirectories, so that you can type `i'
4619 on such lines to insert them manually, as in ordinary Dired.
4620
4621 All Dired commands operate normally in VC Dired, except for `v', which
4622 is redefined as the version control prefix. That means you may type
4623 `v l', `v =' etc. to invoke `vc-print-log', `vc-diff' and the like on
4624 the file named in the current Dired buffer line. `v v' invokes
4625 `vc-next-action' on this file, or on all files currently marked.
4626
4627 The new command `v t' (vc-dired-toggle-terse-mode) allows you to
4628 toggle between terse display (only locked files) and full display (all
4629 VC files plus subdirectories). There is also a special command,
4630 `* l', to mark all files currently locked.
4631
4632 Giving a prefix argument to C-x v d now does the same thing as in
4633 ordinary Dired: it allows you to supply additional options for the ls
4634 command in the minibuffer, to fine-tune VC Dired's output.
4635
4636 *** Under CVS, if you merge changes from the repository into a working
4637 file, and CVS detects conflicts, VC now offers to start an ediff
4638 session to resolve them.
4639
4640 Alternatively, you can use the new command `vc-resolve-conflicts' to
4641 resolve conflicts in a file at any time. It works in any buffer that
4642 contains conflict markers as generated by rcsmerge (which is what CVS
4643 uses as well).
4644
4645 *** You can now transfer changes between branches, using the new
4646 command vc-merge (C-x v m). It is implemented for RCS and CVS. When
4647 you invoke it in a buffer under version-control, you can specify
4648 either an entire branch or a pair of versions, and the changes on that
4649 branch or between the two versions are merged into the working file.
4650 If this results in any conflicts, they may be resolved interactively,
4651 using ediff.
4652
4653 ** Changes in Font Lock
4654
4655 *** The face and variable previously known as font-lock-reference-face
4656 are now called font-lock-constant-face to better reflect their typical
4657 use for highlighting constants and labels. (Its face properties are
4658 unchanged.) The variable font-lock-reference-face remains for now for
4659 compatibility reasons, but its value is font-lock-constant-face.
4660
4661 ** Frame name display changes
4662
4663 *** The command set-frame-name lets you set the name of the current
4664 frame. You can use the new command select-frame-by-name to select and
4665 raise a frame; this is mostly useful on character-only terminals, or
4666 when many frames are invisible or iconified.
4667
4668 *** On character-only terminal (not a window system), changing the
4669 frame name is now reflected on the mode line and in the Buffers/Frames
4670 menu.
4671
4672 ** Comint (subshell) changes
4673
4674 *** In Comint modes, the commands to kill, stop or interrupt a
4675 subjob now also kill pending input. This is for compatibility
4676 with ordinary shells, where the signal characters do this.
4677
4678 *** There are new commands in Comint mode.
4679
4680 C-c C-x fetches the "next" line from the input history;
4681 that is, the line after the last line you got.
4682 You can use this command to fetch successive lines, one by one.
4683
4684 C-c SPC accumulates lines of input. More precisely, it arranges to
4685 send the current line together with the following line, when you send
4686 the following line.
4687
4688 C-c C-a if repeated twice consecutively now moves to the process mark,
4689 which separates the pending input from the subprocess output and the
4690 previously sent input.
4691
4692 C-c M-r now runs comint-previous-matching-input-from-input;
4693 it searches for a previous command, using the current pending input
4694 as the search string.
4695
4696 *** New option compilation-scroll-output can be set to scroll
4697 automatically in compilation-mode windows.
4698
4699 ** C mode changes
4700
4701 *** Multiline macros are now handled, both as they affect indentation,
4702 and as recognized syntax. New syntactic symbol cpp-macro-cont is
4703 assigned to second and subsequent lines of a multiline macro
4704 definition.
4705
4706 *** A new style "user" which captures all non-hook-ified
4707 (i.e. top-level) .emacs file variable settings and customizations.
4708 Style "cc-mode" is an alias for "user" and is deprecated. "gnu"
4709 style is still the default however.
4710
4711 *** "java" style now conforms to Sun's JDK coding style.
4712
4713 *** There are new commands c-beginning-of-defun, c-end-of-defun which
4714 are alternatives which you could bind to C-M-a and C-M-e if you prefer
4715 them. They do not have key bindings by default.
4716
4717 *** New and improved implementations of M-a (c-beginning-of-statement)
4718 and M-e (c-end-of-statement).
4719
4720 *** C++ namespace blocks are supported, with new syntactic symbols
4721 namespace-open, namespace-close, and innamespace.
4722
4723 *** File local variable settings of c-file-style and c-file-offsets
4724 makes the style variables local to that buffer only.
4725
4726 *** New indentation functions c-lineup-close-paren,
4727 c-indent-one-line-block, c-lineup-dont-change.
4728
4729 *** Improvements (hopefully!) to the way CC Mode is loaded. You
4730 should now be able to do a (require 'cc-mode) to get the entire
4731 package loaded properly for customization in your .emacs file. A new
4732 variable c-initialize-on-load controls this and is t by default.
4733
4734 ** Changes to hippie-expand.
4735
4736 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-skip-space'. If
4737 non-nil, trailing spaces may be included in the abbreviation to search for,
4738 which then gives the same behavior as the original `dabbrev-expand'.
4739
4740 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-as-symbol'. If
4741 non-nil, characters of syntax '_' is considered part of the word when
4742 expanding dynamically.
4743
4744 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-no-restriction'. If
4745 non-nil, narrowed buffers are widened before they are searched.
4746
4747 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-only-buffers'. If
4748 non-empty, buffers searched are restricted to the types specified in
4749 this list. Useful for example when constructing new special-purpose
4750 expansion functions with `make-hippie-expand-function'.
4751
4752 *** Text properties of the expansion are no longer copied.
4753
4754 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
4755
4756 *** Any titleword matching a regexp in the new variable
4757 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore (case sensitive) is ignored during
4758 automatic key generation. This replaces variable
4759 bibtex-autokey-titleword-first-ignore, which only checked for matches
4760 against the first word in the title.
4761
4762 *** Autokey generation now uses all words from the title, not just
4763 capitalized words. To avoid conflicts with existing customizations,
4764 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore is set up such that words starting with
4765 lowerkey characters will still be ignored. Thus, if you want to use
4766 lowercase words from the title, you will have to overwrite the
4767 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore standard setting.
4768
4769 *** Case conversion of names and title words for automatic key
4770 generation is more flexible. Variable bibtex-autokey-preserve-case is
4771 replaced by bibtex-autokey-titleword-case-convert and
4772 bibtex-autokey-name-case-convert.
4773
4774 ** Changes in vcursor.el.
4775
4776 *** Support for character terminals is available: there is a new keymap
4777 and the vcursor will appear as an arrow between buffer text. A
4778 variable `vcursor-interpret-input' allows input from the vcursor to be
4779 entered exactly as if typed. Numerous functions, including
4780 `vcursor-compare-windows', have been rewritten to improve consistency
4781 in the selection of windows and corresponding keymaps.
4782
4783 *** vcursor options can now be altered with M-x customize under the
4784 Editing group once the package is loaded.
4785
4786 *** Loading vcursor now does not define keys by default, as this is
4787 generally a bad side effect. Use M-x customize to set
4788 vcursor-key-bindings to t to restore the old behaviour.
4789
4790 *** vcursor-auto-disable can be `copy', which turns off copying from the
4791 vcursor, but doesn't disable it, after any non-vcursor command.
4792
4793 ** Ispell changes.
4794
4795 *** You can now spell check comments and strings in the current
4796 buffer with M-x ispell-comments-and-strings. Comments and strings
4797 are identified by syntax tables in effect.
4798
4799 *** Generic region skipping implemented.
4800 A single buffer can be broken into a number of regions where text will
4801 and will not be checked. The definitions of the regions can be user
4802 defined. New applications and improvements made available by this
4803 include:
4804
4805 o URLs are automatically skipped
4806 o EMail message checking is vastly improved.
4807
4808 *** Ispell can highlight the erroneous word even on non-window terminals.
4809
4810 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
4811
4812 RefTeX has been updated in order to make it more usable with very
4813 large projects (like a several volume math book). The parser has been
4814 re-written from scratch. To get maximum speed from RefTeX, check the
4815 section `Optimizations' in the manual.
4816
4817 *** New recursive parser.
4818
4819 The old version of RefTeX created a single large buffer containing the
4820 entire multifile document in order to parse the document. The new
4821 recursive parser scans the individual files.
4822
4823 *** Parsing only part of a document.
4824
4825 Reparsing of changed document parts can now be made faster by enabling
4826 partial scans. To use this feature, read the documentation string of
4827 the variable `reftex-enable-partial-scans' and set the variable to t.
4828
4829 (setq reftex-enable-partial-scans t)
4830
4831 *** Storing parsing information in a file.
4832
4833 This can improve startup times considerably. To turn it on, use
4834
4835 (setq reftex-save-parse-info t)
4836
4837 *** Using multiple selection buffers
4838
4839 If the creation of label selection buffers is too slow (this happens
4840 for large documents), you can reuse these buffers by setting
4841
4842 (setq reftex-use-multiple-selection-buffers t)
4843
4844 *** References to external documents.
4845
4846 The LaTeX package `xr' allows to cross-reference labels in external
4847 documents. RefTeX can provide information about the external
4848 documents as well. To use this feature, set up the \externaldocument
4849 macros required by the `xr' package and rescan the document with
4850 RefTeX. The external labels can then be accessed with the `x' key in
4851 the selection buffer provided by `reftex-reference' (bound to `C-c )').
4852 The `x' key also works in the table of contents buffer.
4853
4854 *** Many more labeled LaTeX environments are recognized by default.
4855
4856 The builtin command list now covers all the standard LaTeX commands,
4857 and all of the major packages included in the LaTeX distribution.
4858
4859 Also, RefTeX now understands the \appendix macro and changes
4860 the enumeration of sections in the *toc* buffer accordingly.
4861
4862 *** Mouse support for selection and *toc* buffers
4863
4864 The mouse can now be used to select items in the selection and *toc*
4865 buffers. See also the new option `reftex-highlight-selection'.
4866
4867 *** New keymaps for selection and table of contents modes.
4868
4869 The selection processes for labels and citation keys, and the table of
4870 contents buffer now have their own keymaps: `reftex-select-label-map',
4871 `reftex-select-bib-map', `reftex-toc-map'. The selection processes
4872 have a number of new keys predefined. In particular, TAB lets you
4873 enter a label with completion. Check the on-the-fly help (press `?'
4874 at the selection prompt) or read the Info documentation to find out
4875 more.
4876
4877 *** Support for the varioref package
4878
4879 The `v' key in the label selection buffer toggles \ref versus \vref.
4880
4881 *** New hooks
4882
4883 Three new hooks can be used to redefine the way labels, references,
4884 and citations are created. These hooks are
4885 `reftex-format-label-function', `reftex-format-ref-function',
4886 `reftex-format-cite-function'.
4887
4888 *** Citations outside LaTeX
4889
4890 The command `reftex-citation' may also be used outside LaTeX (e.g. in
4891 a mail buffer). See the Info documentation for details.
4892
4893 *** Short context is no longer fontified.
4894
4895 The short context in the label menu no longer copies the
4896 fontification from the text in the buffer. If you prefer it to be
4897 fontified, use
4898
4899 (setq reftex-refontify-context t)
4900
4901 ** file-cache-minibuffer-complete now accepts a prefix argument.
4902 With a prefix argument, it does not try to do completion of
4903 the file name within its directory; it only checks for other
4904 directories that contain the same file name.
4905
4906 Thus, given the file name Makefile, and assuming that a file
4907 Makefile.in exists in the same directory, ordinary
4908 file-cache-minibuffer-complete will try to complete Makefile to
4909 Makefile.in and will therefore never look for other directories that
4910 have Makefile. A prefix argument tells it not to look for longer
4911 names such as Makefile.in, so that instead it will look for other
4912 directories--just as if the name were already complete in its present
4913 directory.
4914
4915 ** New modes and packages
4916
4917 *** There is a new alternative major mode for Perl, Cperl mode.
4918 It has many more features than Perl mode, and some people prefer
4919 it, but some do not.
4920
4921 *** There is a new major mode, M-x vhdl-mode, for editing files of VHDL
4922 code.
4923
4924 *** M-x which-function-mode enables a minor mode that displays the
4925 current function name continuously in the mode line, as you move
4926 around in a buffer.
4927
4928 Which Function mode is effective in major modes which support Imenu.
4929
4930 *** Gametree is a major mode for editing game analysis trees. The author
4931 uses it for keeping notes about his postal Chess games, but it should
4932 be helpful for other two-player games as well, as long as they have an
4933 established system of notation similar to Chess.
4934
4935 *** The new minor mode checkdoc-minor-mode provides Emacs Lisp
4936 documentation string checking for style and spelling. The style
4937 guidelines are found in the Emacs Lisp programming manual.
4938
4939 *** The net-utils package makes some common networking features
4940 available in Emacs. Some of these functions are wrappers around
4941 system utilities (ping, nslookup, etc); others are implementations of
4942 simple protocols (finger, whois) in Emacs Lisp. There are also
4943 functions to make simple connections to TCP/IP ports for debugging and
4944 the like.
4945
4946 *** highlight-changes-mode is a minor mode that uses colors to
4947 identify recently changed parts of the buffer text.
4948
4949 *** The new package `midnight' lets you specify things to be done
4950 within Emacs at midnight--by default, kill buffers that you have not
4951 used in a considerable time. To use this feature, customize
4952 the user option `midnight-mode' to t.
4953
4954 *** The file generic-x.el defines a number of simple major modes.
4955
4956 apache-generic-mode: For Apache and NCSA httpd configuration files
4957 samba-generic-mode: Samba configuration files
4958 fvwm-generic-mode: For fvwm initialization files
4959 x-resource-generic-mode: For X resource files
4960 hosts-generic-mode: For hosts files (.rhosts, /etc/hosts, etc)
4961 mailagent-rules-generic-mode: For mailagent .rules files
4962 javascript-generic-mode: For JavaScript files
4963 vrml-generic-mode: For VRML files
4964 java-manifest-generic-mode: For Java MANIFEST files
4965 java-properties-generic-mode: For Java property files
4966 mailrc-generic-mode: For .mailrc files
4967
4968 Platform-specific modes:
4969
4970 prototype-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V prototype files
4971 pkginfo-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V pkginfo files
4972 alias-generic-mode: For C shell alias files
4973 inf-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INF files
4974 ini-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INI files
4975 reg-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Registry files
4976 bat-generic-mode: For MS-Windows BAT scripts
4977 rc-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Resource files
4978 rul-generic-mode: For InstallShield scripts
4979 \f
4980 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 since the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
4981
4982 ** If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode,
4983 use -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line.
4984 That will force Emacs to read that file in unibyte mode.
4985 Otherwise, the file will be loaded and byte-compiled in multibyte mode.
4986
4987 Thus, each lisp file is read in a consistent way regardless of whether
4988 you started Emacs with --unibyte, so that a Lisp program gives
4989 consistent results regardless of how Emacs was started.
4990
4991 ** The new function assoc-default is useful for searching an alist,
4992 and using a default value if the key is not found there. You can
4993 specify a comparison predicate, so this function is useful for
4994 searching comparing a string against an alist of regular expressions.
4995
4996 ** The functions unibyte-char-to-multibyte and
4997 multibyte-char-to-unibyte convert between unibyte and multibyte
4998 character codes, in a way that is appropriate for the current language
4999 environment.
5000
5001 ** The functions read-event, read-char and read-char-exclusive now
5002 take two optional arguments. PROMPT, if non-nil, specifies a prompt
5003 string. SUPPRESS-INPUT-METHOD, if non-nil, says to disable the
5004 current input method for reading this one event.
5005
5006 ** Two new variables print-escape-nonascii and print-escape-multibyte
5007 now control whether to output certain characters as
5008 backslash-sequences. print-escape-nonascii applies to single-byte
5009 non-ASCII characters; print-escape-multibyte applies to multibyte
5010 characters. Both of these variables are used only when printing
5011 in readable fashion (prin1 uses them, princ does not).
5012 \f
5013 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 before the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
5014
5015 ** Compiled Emacs Lisp files made with the modified "MBSK" version
5016 of Emacs 20.2 do not work in Emacs 20.3.
5017
5018 ** Buffer positions are now measured in characters, as they were
5019 in Emacs 19 and before. This means that (forward-char 1)
5020 always increases point by 1.
5021
5022 The function chars-in-region now just subtracts its arguments. It is
5023 considered obsolete. The function char-boundary-p has been deleted.
5024
5025 See below for additional changes relating to multibyte characters.
5026
5027 ** defcustom, defface and defgroup now accept the keyword `:version'.
5028 Use this to specify in which version of Emacs a certain variable's
5029 default value changed. For example,
5030
5031 (defcustom foo-max 34 "*Maximum number of foo's allowed."
5032 :type 'integer
5033 :group 'foo
5034 :version "20.3")
5035
5036 (defgroup foo-group nil "The foo group."
5037 :version "20.3")
5038
5039 If an entire new group is added or the variables in it have the
5040 default values changed, then just add a `:version' to that group. It
5041 is recommended that new packages added to the distribution contain a
5042 `:version' in the top level group.
5043
5044 This information is used to control the customize-changed-options command.
5045
5046 ** It is now an error to change the value of a symbol whose name
5047 starts with a colon--if it is interned in the standard obarray.
5048
5049 However, setting such a symbol to its proper value, which is that
5050 symbol itself, is not an error. This is for the sake of programs that
5051 support previous Emacs versions by explicitly setting these variables
5052 to themselves.
5053
5054 If you set the variable keyword-symbols-constant-flag to nil,
5055 this error is suppressed, and you can set these symbols to any
5056 values whatever.
5057
5058 ** There is a new debugger command, R.
5059 It evaluates an expression like e, but saves the result
5060 in the buffer *Debugger-record*.
5061
5062 ** Frame-local variables.
5063
5064 You can now make a variable local to various frames. To do this, call
5065 the function make-variable-frame-local; this enables frames to have
5066 local bindings for that variable.
5067
5068 These frame-local bindings are actually frame parameters: you create a
5069 frame-local binding in a specific frame by calling
5070 modify-frame-parameters and specifying the variable name as the
5071 parameter name.
5072
5073 Buffer-local bindings take precedence over frame-local bindings.
5074 Thus, if the current buffer has a buffer-local binding, that binding is
5075 active; otherwise, if the selected frame has a frame-local binding,
5076 that binding is active; otherwise, the default binding is active.
5077
5078 It would not be hard to implement window-local bindings, but it is not
5079 clear that this would be very useful; windows tend to come and go in a
5080 very transitory fashion, so that trying to produce any specific effect
5081 through a window-local binding would not be very robust.
5082
5083 ** `sregexq' and `sregex' are two new functions for constructing
5084 "symbolic regular expressions." These are Lisp expressions that, when
5085 evaluated, yield conventional string-based regexps. The symbolic form
5086 makes it easier to construct, read, and maintain complex patterns.
5087 See the documentation in sregex.el.
5088
5089 ** parse-partial-sexp's return value has an additional element which
5090 is used to pass information along if you pass it to another call to
5091 parse-partial-sexp, starting its scan where the first call ended.
5092 The contents of this field are not yet finalized.
5093
5094 ** eval-region now accepts a fourth optional argument READ-FUNCTION.
5095 If it is non-nil, that function is used instead of `read'.
5096
5097 ** unload-feature by default removes the feature's functions from
5098 known hooks to avoid trouble, but a package providing FEATURE can
5099 define a hook FEATURE-unload-hook to be run by unload-feature instead.
5100
5101 ** read-from-minibuffer no longer returns the argument DEFAULT-VALUE
5102 when the user enters empty input. It now returns the null string, as
5103 it did in Emacs 19. The default value is made available in the
5104 history via M-n, but it is not applied here as a default.
5105
5106 The other, more specialized minibuffer-reading functions continue to
5107 return the default value (not the null string) when the user enters
5108 empty input.
5109
5110 ** The new variable read-buffer-function controls which routine to use
5111 for selecting buffers. For example, if you set this variable to
5112 `iswitchb-read-buffer', iswitchb will be used to read buffer names.
5113 Other functions can also be used if they accept the same arguments as
5114 `read-buffer' and return the selected buffer name as a string.
5115
5116 ** The new function read-passwd reads a password from the terminal,
5117 echoing a period for each character typed. It takes three arguments:
5118 a prompt string, a flag which says "read it twice to make sure", and a
5119 default password to use if the user enters nothing.
5120
5121 ** The variable fill-nobreak-predicate gives major modes a way to
5122 specify not to break a line at certain places. Its value is a
5123 function which is called with no arguments, with point located at the
5124 place where a break is being considered. If the function returns
5125 non-nil, then the line won't be broken there.
5126
5127 ** window-end now takes an optional second argument, UPDATE.
5128 If this is non-nil, then the function always returns an accurate
5129 up-to-date value for the buffer position corresponding to the
5130 end of the window, even if this requires computation.
5131
5132 ** other-buffer now takes an optional argument FRAME
5133 which specifies which frame's buffer list to use.
5134 If it is nil, that means use the selected frame's buffer list.
5135
5136 ** The new variable buffer-display-time, always local in every buffer,
5137 holds the value of (current-time) as of the last time that a window
5138 was directed to display this buffer.
5139
5140 ** It is now meaningful to compare two window-configuration objects
5141 with `equal'. Two window-configuration objects are equal if they
5142 describe equivalent arrangements of windows, in the same frame--in
5143 other words, if they would give the same results if passed to
5144 set-window-configuration.
5145
5146 ** compare-window-configurations is a new function that compares two
5147 window configurations loosely. It ignores differences in saved buffer
5148 positions and scrolling, and considers only the structure and sizes of
5149 windows and the choice of buffers to display.
5150
5151 ** The variable minor-mode-overriding-map-alist allows major modes to
5152 override the key bindings of a minor mode. The elements of this alist
5153 look like the elements of minor-mode-map-alist: (VARIABLE . KEYMAP).
5154
5155 If the VARIABLE in an element of minor-mode-overriding-map-alist has a
5156 non-nil value, the paired KEYMAP is active, and totally overrides the
5157 map (if any) specified for the same variable in minor-mode-map-alist.
5158
5159 minor-mode-overriding-map-alist is automatically local in all buffers,
5160 and it is meant to be set by major modes.
5161
5162 ** The function match-string-no-properties is like match-string
5163 except that it discards all text properties from the result.
5164
5165 ** The function load-average now accepts an optional argument
5166 USE-FLOATS. If it is non-nil, the load average values are returned as
5167 floating point numbers, rather than as integers to be divided by 100.
5168
5169 ** The new variable temporary-file-directory specifies the directory
5170 to use for creating temporary files. The default value is determined
5171 in a reasonable way for your operating system; on GNU and Unix systems
5172 it is based on the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables.
5173
5174 ** Menu changes
5175
5176 *** easymenu.el now uses the new menu item format and supports the
5177 keywords :visible and :filter. The existing keyword :keys is now
5178 better supported.
5179
5180 The variable `easy-menu-precalculate-equivalent-keybindings' controls
5181 a new feature which calculates keyboard equivalents for the menu when
5182 you define the menu. The default is t. If you rarely use menus, you
5183 can set the variable to nil to disable this precalculation feature;
5184 then the calculation is done only if you use the menu bar.
5185
5186 *** A new format for menu items is supported.
5187
5188 In a keymap, a key binding that has the format
5189 (STRING . REAL-BINDING) or (STRING HELP-STRING . REAL-BINDING)
5190 defines a menu item. Now a menu item definition may also be a list that
5191 starts with the symbol `menu-item'.
5192
5193 The format is:
5194 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) or
5195 (menu-item ITEM-NAME REAL-BINDING . ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST)
5196 where ITEM-NAME is an expression which evaluates to the menu item
5197 string, and ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST has the form of a property list.
5198 The supported properties include
5199
5200 :enable FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
5201 item is enabled.
5202 :visible FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
5203 item should appear in the menu.
5204 :filter FILTER-FN
5205 FILTER-FN is a function of one argument,
5206 which will be REAL-BINDING.
5207 It should return a binding to use instead.
5208 :keys DESCRIPTION
5209 DESCRIPTION is a string that describes an equivalent keyboard
5210 binding for for REAL-BINDING. DESCRIPTION is expanded with
5211 `substitute-command-keys' before it is used.
5212 :key-sequence KEY-SEQUENCE
5213 KEY-SEQUENCE is a key-sequence for an equivalent
5214 keyboard binding.
5215 :key-sequence nil
5216 This means that the command normally has no
5217 keyboard equivalent.
5218 :help HELP HELP is the extra help string (not currently used).
5219 :button (TYPE . SELECTED)
5220 TYPE is :toggle or :radio.
5221 SELECTED is a form, to be evaluated, and its
5222 value says whether this button is currently selected.
5223
5224 Buttons are at the moment only simulated by prefixes in the menu.
5225 Eventually ordinary X-buttons may be supported.
5226
5227 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) defines unselectable item.
5228
5229 ** New event types
5230
5231 *** The new event type `mouse-wheel' is generated by a wheel on a
5232 mouse (such as the MS Intellimouse). The event contains a delta that
5233 corresponds to the amount and direction that the wheel is rotated,
5234 which is typically used to implement a scroll or zoom. The format is:
5235
5236 (mouse-wheel POSITION DELTA)
5237
5238 where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
5239 same format as a mouse-click event, and DELTA is a signed number
5240 indicating the number of increments by which the wheel was rotated. A
5241 negative DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated backwards, towards
5242 the user, and a positive DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated
5243 forward, away from the user.
5244
5245 As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
5246
5247 *** The new event type `drag-n-drop' is generated when a group of
5248 files is selected in an application outside of Emacs, and then dragged
5249 and dropped onto an Emacs frame. The event contains a list of
5250 filenames that were dragged and dropped, which are then typically
5251 loaded into Emacs. The format is:
5252
5253 (drag-n-drop POSITION FILES)
5254
5255 where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
5256 same format as a mouse-click event, and FILES is the list of filenames
5257 that were dragged and dropped.
5258
5259 As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
5260
5261 ** Changes relating to multibyte characters.
5262
5263 *** The variable enable-multibyte-characters is now read-only;
5264 any attempt to set it directly signals an error. The only way
5265 to change this value in an existing buffer is with set-buffer-multibyte.
5266
5267 *** In a string constant, `\ ' now stands for "nothing at all". You
5268 can use it to terminate a hex escape which is followed by a character
5269 that could otherwise be read as part of the hex escape.
5270
5271 *** String indices are now measured in characters, as they were
5272 in Emacs 19 and before.
5273
5274 The function chars-in-string has been deleted.
5275 The function concat-chars has been renamed to `string'.
5276
5277 *** The function set-buffer-multibyte sets the flag in the current
5278 buffer that says whether the buffer uses multibyte representation or
5279 unibyte representation. If the argument is nil, it selects unibyte
5280 representation. Otherwise it selects multibyte representation.
5281
5282 This function does not change the contents of the buffer, viewed
5283 as a sequence of bytes. However, it does change the contents
5284 viewed as characters; a sequence of two bytes which is treated as
5285 one character when the buffer uses multibyte representation
5286 will count as two characters using unibyte representation.
5287
5288 This function sets enable-multibyte-characters to record which
5289 representation is in use. It also adjusts various data in the buffer
5290 (including its markers, overlays and text properties) so that they are
5291 consistent with the new representation.
5292
5293 *** string-make-multibyte takes a string and converts it to multibyte
5294 representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care
5295 about the representation, because Emacs converts when necessary;
5296 however, it makes a difference when you compare strings.
5297
5298 The conversion of non-ASCII characters works by adding the value of
5299 nonascii-insert-offset to each character, or by translating them
5300 using the table nonascii-translation-table.
5301
5302 *** string-make-unibyte takes a string and converts it to unibyte
5303 representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care about the
5304 representation, but it makes a difference when you compare strings.
5305
5306 The conversion from multibyte to unibyte representation
5307 loses information; the only time Emacs performs it automatically
5308 is when inserting a multibyte string into a unibyte buffer.
5309
5310 *** string-as-multibyte takes a string, and returns another string
5311 which contains the same bytes, but treats them as multibyte.
5312
5313 *** string-as-unibyte takes a string, and returns another string
5314 which contains the same bytes, but treats them as unibyte.
5315
5316 *** The new function compare-strings lets you compare
5317 portions of two strings. Unibyte strings are converted to multibyte,
5318 so that a unibyte string can match a multibyte string.
5319 You can specify whether to ignore case or not.
5320
5321 *** assoc-ignore-case now uses compare-strings so that
5322 it can treat unibyte and multibyte strings as equal.
5323
5324 *** Regular expression operations and buffer string searches now
5325 convert the search pattern to multibyte or unibyte to accord with the
5326 buffer or string being searched.
5327
5328 One consequence is that you cannot always use \200-\377 inside of
5329 [...] to match all non-ASCII characters. This does still work when
5330 searching or matching a unibyte buffer or string, but not when
5331 searching or matching a multibyte string. Unfortunately, there is no
5332 obvious choice of syntax to use within [...] for that job. But, what
5333 you want is just to match all non-ASCII characters, the regular
5334 expression [^\0-\177] works for it.
5335
5336 *** Structure of coding system changed.
5337
5338 All coding systems (including aliases and subsidiaries) are named
5339 by symbols; the symbol's `coding-system' property is a vector
5340 which defines the coding system. Aliases share the same vector
5341 as the principal name, so that altering the contents of this
5342 vector affects the principal name and its aliases. You can define
5343 your own alias name of a coding system by the function
5344 define-coding-system-alias.
5345
5346 The coding system definition includes a property list of its own. Use
5347 the new functions `coding-system-get' and `coding-system-put' to
5348 access such coding system properties as post-read-conversion,
5349 pre-write-conversion, character-translation-table-for-decode,
5350 character-translation-table-for-encode, mime-charset, and
5351 safe-charsets. For instance, (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1
5352 'mime-charset) gives the corresponding MIME-charset parameter
5353 `iso-8859-1'.
5354
5355 Among the coding system properties listed above, safe-charsets is new.
5356 The value of this property is a list of character sets which this
5357 coding system can correctly encode and decode. For instance:
5358 (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1 'safe-charsets) => (ascii latin-iso8859-1)
5359
5360 Here, "correctly encode" means that the encoded character sets can
5361 also be handled safely by systems other than Emacs as far as they
5362 are capable of that coding system. Though, Emacs itself can encode
5363 the other character sets and read it back correctly.
5364
5365 *** The new function select-safe-coding-system can be used to find a
5366 proper coding system for encoding the specified region or string.
5367 This function requires a user interaction.
5368
5369 *** The new functions find-coding-systems-region and
5370 find-coding-systems-string are helper functions used by
5371 select-safe-coding-system. They return a list of all proper coding
5372 systems to encode a text in some region or string. If you don't want
5373 a user interaction, use one of these functions instead of
5374 select-safe-coding-system.
5375
5376 *** The explicit encoding and decoding functions, such as
5377 decode-coding-region and encode-coding-string, now set
5378 last-coding-system-used to reflect the actual way encoding or decoding
5379 was done.
5380
5381 *** The new function detect-coding-with-language-environment can be
5382 used to detect a coding system of text according to priorities of
5383 coding systems used by some specific language environment.
5384
5385 *** The functions detect-coding-region and detect-coding-string always
5386 return a list if the arg HIGHEST is nil. Thus, if only ASCII
5387 characters are found, they now return a list of single element
5388 `undecided' or its subsidiaries.
5389
5390 *** The new functions coding-system-change-eol-conversion and
5391 coding-system-change-text-conversion can be used to get a different
5392 coding system than what specified only in how end-of-line or text is
5393 converted.
5394
5395 *** The new function set-selection-coding-system can be used to set a
5396 coding system for communicating with other X clients.
5397
5398 *** The function `map-char-table' now passes as argument only valid
5399 character codes, plus generic characters that stand for entire
5400 character sets or entire subrows of a character set. In other words,
5401 each time `map-char-table' calls its FUNCTION argument, the key value
5402 either will be a valid individual character code, or will stand for a
5403 range of characters.
5404
5405 *** The new function `char-valid-p' can be used for checking whether a
5406 Lisp object is a valid character code or not.
5407
5408 *** The new function `charset-after' returns a charset of a character
5409 in the current buffer at position POS.
5410
5411 *** Input methods are now implemented using the variable
5412 input-method-function. If this is non-nil, its value should be a
5413 function; then, whenever Emacs reads an input event that is a printing
5414 character with no modifier bits, it calls that function, passing the
5415 event as an argument. Often this function will read more input, first
5416 binding input-method-function to nil.
5417
5418 The return value should be a list of the events resulting from input
5419 method processing. These events will be processed sequentially as
5420 input, before resorting to unread-command-events. Events returned by
5421 the input method function are not passed to the input method function,
5422 not even if they are printing characters with no modifier bits.
5423
5424 The input method function is not called when reading the second and
5425 subsequent events of a key sequence.
5426
5427 *** You can customize any language environment by using
5428 set-language-environment-hook and exit-language-environment-hook.
5429
5430 The hook `exit-language-environment-hook' should be used to undo
5431 customizations that you made with set-language-environment-hook. For
5432 instance, if you set up a special key binding for a specific language
5433 environment by set-language-environment-hook, you should set up
5434 exit-language-environment-hook to restore the normal key binding.
5435 \f
5436 * Changes in Emacs 20.1
5437
5438 ** Emacs has a new facility for customization of its many user
5439 options. It is called M-x customize. With this facility you can look
5440 at the many user options in an organized way; they are grouped into a
5441 tree structure.
5442
5443 M-x customize also knows what sorts of values are legitimate for each
5444 user option and ensures that you don't use invalid values.
5445
5446 With M-x customize, you can set options either for the present Emacs
5447 session or permanently. (Permanent settings are stored automatically
5448 in your .emacs file.)
5449
5450 ** Scroll bars are now on the left side of the window.
5451 You can change this with M-x customize-option scroll-bar-mode.
5452
5453 ** The mode line no longer includes the string `Emacs'.
5454 This makes more space in the mode line for other information.
5455
5456 ** When you select a region with the mouse, it is highlighted
5457 immediately afterward. At that time, if you type the DELETE key, it
5458 kills the region.
5459
5460 The BACKSPACE key, and the ASCII character DEL, do not do this; they
5461 delete the character before point, as usual.
5462
5463 ** In an incremental search the whole current match is highlighted
5464 on terminals which support this. (You can disable this feature
5465 by setting search-highlight to nil.)
5466
5467 ** In the minibuffer, in some cases, you can now use M-n to
5468 insert the default value into the minibuffer as text. In effect,
5469 the default value (if the minibuffer routines know it) is tacked
5470 onto the history "in the future". (The more normal use of the
5471 history list is to use M-p to insert minibuffer input used in the
5472 past.)
5473
5474 ** In Text mode, now only blank lines separate paragraphs.
5475 This makes it possible to get the full benefit of Adaptive Fill mode
5476 in Text mode, and other modes derived from it (such as Mail mode).
5477 TAB in Text mode now runs the command indent-relative; this
5478 makes a practical difference only when you use indented paragraphs.
5479
5480 As a result, the old Indented Text mode is now identical to Text mode,
5481 and is an alias for it.
5482
5483 If you want spaces at the beginning of a line to start a paragraph,
5484 use the new mode, Paragraph Indent Text mode.
5485
5486 ** Scrolling changes
5487
5488 *** Scroll commands to scroll a whole screen now preserve the screen
5489 position of the cursor, if scroll-preserve-screen-position is non-nil.
5490
5491 In this mode, if you scroll several screens back and forth, finishing
5492 on the same screen where you started, the cursor goes back to the line
5493 where it started.
5494
5495 *** If you set scroll-conservatively to a small number, then when you
5496 move point a short distance off the screen, Emacs will scroll the
5497 screen just far enough to bring point back on screen, provided that
5498 does not exceed `scroll-conservatively' lines.
5499
5500 *** The new variable scroll-margin says how close point can come to the
5501 top or bottom of a window. It is a number of screen lines; if point
5502 comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the window, Emacs
5503 recenters the window.
5504
5505 ** International character set support (MULE)
5506
5507 Emacs now supports a wide variety of international character sets,
5508 including European variants of the Latin alphabet, as well as Chinese,
5509 Devanagari (Hindi and Marathi), Ethiopian, Greek, IPA, Japanese,
5510 Korean, Lao, Russian, Thai, Tibetan, and Vietnamese scripts. These
5511 features have been merged from the modified version of Emacs known as
5512 MULE (for "MULti-lingual Enhancement to GNU Emacs")
5513
5514 Users of these scripts have established many more-or-less standard
5515 coding systems for storing files. Emacs uses a single multibyte
5516 character encoding within Emacs buffers; it can translate from a wide
5517 variety of coding systems when reading a file and can translate back
5518 into any of these coding systems when saving a file.
5519
5520 Keyboards, even in the countries where these character sets are used,
5521 generally don't have keys for all the characters in them. So Emacs
5522 supports various "input methods", typically one for each script or
5523 language, to make it possible to type them.
5524
5525 The Emacs internal multibyte encoding represents a non-ASCII
5526 character as a sequence of bytes in the range 0200 through 0377.
5527
5528 The new prefix key C-x RET is used for commands that pertain
5529 to multibyte characters, coding systems, and input methods.
5530
5531 You can disable multibyte character support as follows:
5532
5533 (setq-default enable-multibyte-characters nil)
5534
5535 Calling the function standard-display-european turns off multibyte
5536 characters, unless you specify a non-nil value for the second
5537 argument, AUTO. This provides compatibility for people who are
5538 already using standard-display-european to continue using unibyte
5539 characters for their work until they want to change.
5540
5541 *** Input methods
5542
5543 An input method is a kind of character conversion which is designed
5544 specifically for interactive input. In Emacs, typically each language
5545 has its own input method (though sometimes several languages which use
5546 the same characters can share one input method). Some languages
5547 support several input methods.
5548
5549 The simplest kind of input method works by mapping ASCII letters into
5550 another alphabet. This is how the Greek and Russian input methods
5551 work.
5552
5553 A more powerful technique is composition: converting sequences of
5554 characters into one letter. Many European input methods use
5555 composition to produce a single non-ASCII letter from a sequence which
5556 consists of a letter followed by diacritics. For example, a' is one
5557 sequence of two characters that might be converted into a single
5558 letter.
5559
5560 The input methods for syllabic scripts typically use mapping followed
5561 by conversion. The input methods for Thai and Korean work this way.
5562 First, letters are mapped into symbols for particular sounds or tone
5563 marks; then, sequences of these which make up a whole syllable are
5564 mapped into one syllable sign--most often a "composite character".
5565
5566 None of these methods works very well for Chinese and Japanese, so
5567 they are handled specially. First you input a whole word using
5568 phonetic spelling; then, after the word is in the buffer, Emacs
5569 converts it into one or more characters using a large dictionary.
5570
5571 Since there is more than one way to represent a phonetically spelled
5572 word using Chinese characters, Emacs can only guess which one to use;
5573 typically these input methods give you a way to say "guess again" if
5574 the first guess is wrong.
5575
5576 *** The command C-x RET m (toggle-enable-multibyte-characters)
5577 turns multibyte character support on or off for the current buffer.
5578
5579 If multibyte character support is turned off in a buffer, then each
5580 byte is a single character, even codes 0200 through 0377--exactly as
5581 they did in Emacs 19.34. This includes the features for support for
5582 the European characters, ISO Latin-1 and ISO Latin-2.
5583
5584 However, there is no need to turn off multibyte character support to
5585 use ISO Latin-1 or ISO Latin-2; the Emacs multibyte character set
5586 includes all the characters in these character sets, and Emacs can
5587 translate automatically to and from either one.
5588
5589 *** Visiting a file in unibyte mode.
5590
5591 Turning off multibyte character support in the buffer after visiting a
5592 file with multibyte code conversion will display the multibyte
5593 sequences already in the buffer, byte by byte. This is probably not
5594 what you want.
5595
5596 If you want to edit a file of unibyte characters (Latin-1, for
5597 example), you can do it by specifying `no-conversion' as the coding
5598 system when reading the file. This coding system also turns off
5599 multibyte characters in that buffer.
5600
5601 If you turn off multibyte character support entirely, this turns off
5602 character conversion as well.
5603
5604 *** Displaying international characters on X Windows.
5605
5606 A font for X typically displays just one alphabet or script.
5607 Therefore, displaying the entire range of characters Emacs supports
5608 requires using many fonts.
5609
5610 Therefore, Emacs now supports "fontsets". Each fontset is a
5611 collection of fonts, each assigned to a range of character codes.
5612
5613 A fontset has a name, like a font. Individual fonts are defined by
5614 the X server; fontsets are defined within Emacs itself. But once you
5615 have defined a fontset, you can use it in a face or a frame just as
5616 you would use a font.
5617
5618 If a fontset specifies no font for a certain character, or if it
5619 specifies a font that does not exist on your system, then it cannot
5620 display that character. It will display an empty box instead.
5621
5622 The fontset height and width are determined by the ASCII characters
5623 (that is, by the font in the fontset which is used for ASCII
5624 characters). If another font in the fontset has a different height,
5625 or the wrong width, then characters assigned to that font are clipped,
5626 and displayed within a box if highlight-wrong-size-font is non-nil.
5627
5628 *** Defining fontsets.
5629
5630 Emacs does not use any fontset by default. Its default font is still
5631 chosen as in previous versions. You can tell Emacs to use a fontset
5632 with the `-fn' option or the `Font' X resource.
5633
5634 Emacs creates a standard fontset automatically according to the value
5635 of standard-fontset-spec. This fontset's short name is
5636 `fontset-standard'. Bold, italic, and bold-italic variants of the
5637 standard fontset are created automatically.
5638
5639 If you specify a default ASCII font with the `Font' resource or `-fn'
5640 argument, a fontset is generated from it. This works by replacing the
5641 FOUNDARY, FAMILY, ADD_STYLE, and AVERAGE_WIDTH fields of the font name
5642 with `*' then using this to specify a fontset. This fontset's short
5643 name is `fontset-startup'.
5644
5645 Emacs checks resources of the form Fontset-N where N is 0, 1, 2...
5646 The resource value should have this form:
5647 FONTSET-NAME, [CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME]...
5648 FONTSET-NAME should have the form of a standard X font name, except:
5649 * most fields should be just the wild card "*".
5650 * the CHARSET_REGISTRY field should be "fontset"
5651 * the CHARSET_ENCODING field can be any nickname of the fontset.
5652 The construct CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME can be repeated any number
5653 of times; each time specifies the font for one character set.
5654 CHARSET-NAME should be the name name of a character set, and
5655 FONT-NAME should specify an actual font to use for that character set.
5656
5657 Each of these fontsets has an alias which is made from the
5658 last two font name fields, CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING.
5659 You can refer to the fontset by that alias or by its full name.
5660
5661 For any character sets that you don't mention, Emacs tries to choose a
5662 font by substituting into FONTSET-NAME. For instance, with the
5663 following resource,
5664 Emacs*Fontset-0: -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24
5665 the font for ASCII is generated as below:
5666 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-ISO8859-1
5667 Here is the substitution rule:
5668 Change CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING to that of the charset
5669 defined in the variable x-charset-registries. For instance, ASCII has
5670 the entry (ascii . "ISO8859-1") in this variable. Then, reduce
5671 sequences of wild cards -*-...-*- with a single wildcard -*-.
5672 (This is to prevent use of auto-scaled fonts.)
5673
5674 The function which processes the fontset resource value to create the
5675 fontset is called create-fontset-from-fontset-spec. You can also call
5676 that function explicitly to create a fontset.
5677
5678 With the X resource Emacs.Font, you can specify a fontset name just
5679 like an actual font name. But be careful not to specify a fontset
5680 name in a wildcard resource like Emacs*Font--that tries to specify the
5681 fontset for other purposes including menus, and they cannot handle
5682 fontsets.
5683
5684 *** The command M-x set-language-environment sets certain global Emacs
5685 defaults for a particular choice of language.
5686
5687 Selecting a language environment typically specifies a default input
5688 method and which coding systems to recognize automatically when
5689 visiting files. However, it does not try to reread files you have
5690 already visited; the text in those buffers is not affected. The
5691 language environment may also specify a default choice of coding
5692 system for new files that you create.
5693
5694 It makes no difference which buffer is current when you use
5695 set-language-environment, because these defaults apply globally to the
5696 whole Emacs session.
5697
5698 For example, M-x set-language-environment RET Latin-1 RET
5699 chooses the Latin-1 character set. In the .emacs file, you can do this
5700 with (set-language-environment "Latin-1").
5701
5702 *** The command C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system)
5703 specifies the file coding system for the current buffer. This
5704 specifies what sort of character code translation to do when saving
5705 the file. As an argument, you must specify the name of one of the
5706 coding systems that Emacs supports.
5707
5708 *** The command C-x RET c (universal-coding-system-argument)
5709 lets you specify a coding system when you read or write a file.
5710 This command uses the minibuffer to read a coding system name.
5711 After you exit the minibuffer, the specified coding system
5712 is used for *the immediately following command*.
5713
5714 So if the immediately following command is a command to read or
5715 write a file, it uses the specified coding system for that file.
5716
5717 If the immediately following command does not use the coding system,
5718 then C-x RET c ultimately has no effect.
5719
5720 For example, C-x RET c iso-8859-1 RET C-x C-f temp RET
5721 visits the file `temp' treating it as ISO Latin-1.
5722
5723 *** You can specify the coding system for a file using the -*-
5724 construct. Include `coding: CODINGSYSTEM;' inside the -*-...-*-
5725 to specify use of coding system CODINGSYSTEM. You can also
5726 specify the coding system in a local variable list at the end
5727 of the file.
5728
5729 *** The command C-x RET t (set-terminal-coding-system) specifies
5730 the coding system for terminal output. If you specify a character
5731 code for terminal output, all characters output to the terminal are
5732 translated into that character code.
5733
5734 This feature is useful for certain character-only terminals built in
5735 various countries to support the languages of those countries.
5736
5737 By default, output to the terminal is not translated at all.
5738
5739 *** The command C-x RET k (set-keyboard-coding-system) specifies
5740 the coding system for keyboard input.
5741
5742 Character code translation of keyboard input is useful for terminals
5743 with keys that send non-ASCII graphic characters--for example,
5744 some terminals designed for ISO Latin-1 or subsets of it.
5745
5746 By default, keyboard input is not translated at all.
5747
5748 Character code translation of keyboard input is similar to using an
5749 input method, in that both define sequences of keyboard input that
5750 translate into single characters. However, input methods are designed
5751 to be convenient for interactive use, while the code translations are
5752 designed to work with terminals.
5753
5754 *** The command C-x RET p (set-buffer-process-coding-system)
5755 specifies the coding system for input and output to a subprocess.
5756 This command applies to the current buffer; normally, each subprocess
5757 has its own buffer, and thus you can use this command to specify
5758 translation to and from a particular subprocess by giving the command
5759 in the corresponding buffer.
5760
5761 By default, process input and output are not translated at all.
5762
5763 *** The variable file-name-coding-system specifies the coding system
5764 to use for encoding file names before operating on them.
5765 It is also used for decoding file names obtained from the system.
5766
5767 *** The command C-\ (toggle-input-method) activates or deactivates
5768 an input method. If no input method has been selected before, the
5769 command prompts for you to specify the language and input method you
5770 want to use.
5771
5772 C-u C-\ (select-input-method) lets you switch to a different input
5773 method. C-h C-\ (or C-h I) describes the current input method.
5774
5775 *** Some input methods remap the keyboard to emulate various keyboard
5776 layouts commonly used for particular scripts. How to do this
5777 remapping properly depends on your actual keyboard layout. To specify
5778 which layout your keyboard has, use M-x quail-set-keyboard-layout.
5779
5780 *** The command C-h C (describe-coding-system) displays
5781 the coding systems currently selected for various purposes, plus
5782 related information.
5783
5784 *** The command C-h h (view-hello-file) displays a file called
5785 HELLO, which has examples of text in many languages, using various
5786 scripts.
5787
5788 *** The command C-h L (describe-language-support) displays
5789 information about the support for a particular language.
5790 You specify the language as an argument.
5791
5792 *** The mode line now contains a letter or character that identifies
5793 the coding system used in the visited file. It normally follows the
5794 first dash.
5795
5796 A dash indicates the default state of affairs: no code conversion
5797 (except CRLF => newline if appropriate). `=' means no conversion
5798 whatsoever. The ISO 8859 coding systems are represented by digits
5799 1 through 9. Other coding systems are represented by letters:
5800
5801 A alternativnyj (Russian)
5802 B big5 (Chinese)
5803 C cn-gb-2312 (Chinese)
5804 C iso-2022-cn (Chinese)
5805 D in-is13194-devanagari (Indian languages)
5806 E euc-japan (Japanese)
5807 I iso-2022-cjk or iso-2022-ss2 (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
5808 J junet (iso-2022-7) or old-jis (iso-2022-jp-1978-irv) (Japanese)
5809 K euc-korea (Korean)
5810 R koi8 (Russian)
5811 Q tibetan
5812 S shift_jis (Japanese)
5813 T lao
5814 T tis620 (Thai)
5815 V viscii or vscii (Vietnamese)
5816 i iso-2022-lock (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
5817 k iso-2022-kr (Korean)
5818 v viqr (Vietnamese)
5819 z hz (Chinese)
5820
5821 When you are using a character-only terminal (not a window system),
5822 two additional characters appear in between the dash and the file
5823 coding system. These two characters describe the coding system for
5824 keyboard input, and the coding system for terminal output.
5825
5826 *** The new variable rmail-file-coding-system specifies the code
5827 conversion to use for RMAIL files. The default value is nil.
5828
5829 When you read mail with Rmail, each message is decoded automatically
5830 into Emacs' internal format. This has nothing to do with
5831 rmail-file-coding-system. That variable controls reading and writing
5832 Rmail files themselves.
5833
5834 *** The new variable sendmail-coding-system specifies the code
5835 conversion for outgoing mail. The default value is nil.
5836
5837 Actually, there are three different ways of specifying the coding system
5838 for sending mail:
5839
5840 - If you use C-x RET f in the mail buffer, that takes priority.
5841 - Otherwise, if you set sendmail-coding-system non-nil, that specifies it.
5842 - Otherwise, the default coding system for new files is used,
5843 if that is non-nil. That comes from your language environment.
5844 - Otherwise, Latin-1 is used.
5845
5846 *** The command C-h t (help-with-tutorial) accepts a prefix argument
5847 to specify the language for the tutorial file. Currently, English,
5848 Japanese, Korean and Thai are supported. We welcome additional
5849 translations.
5850
5851 ** An easy new way to visit a file with no code or format conversion
5852 of any kind: Use M-x find-file-literally. There is also a command
5853 insert-file-literally which inserts a file into the current buffer
5854 without any conversion.
5855
5856 ** C-q's handling of octal character codes is changed.
5857 You can now specify any number of octal digits.
5858 RET terminates the digits and is discarded;
5859 any other non-digit terminates the digits and is then used as input.
5860
5861 ** There are new commands for looking up Info documentation for
5862 functions, variables and file names used in your programs.
5863
5864 Type M-x info-lookup-symbol to look up a symbol in the buffer at point.
5865 Type M-x info-lookup-file to look up a file in the buffer at point.
5866
5867 Precisely which Info files are used to look it up depends on the major
5868 mode. For example, in C mode, the GNU libc manual is used.
5869
5870 ** M-TAB in most programming language modes now runs the command
5871 complete-symbol. This command performs completion on the symbol name
5872 in the buffer before point.
5873
5874 With a numeric argument, it performs completion based on the set of
5875 symbols documented in the Info files for the programming language that
5876 you are using.
5877
5878 With no argument, it does completion based on the current tags tables,
5879 just like the old binding of M-TAB (complete-tag).
5880
5881 ** File locking works with NFS now.
5882
5883 The lock file for FILENAME is now a symbolic link named .#FILENAME,
5884 in the same directory as FILENAME.
5885
5886 This means that collision detection between two different machines now
5887 works reasonably well; it also means that no file server or directory
5888 can become a bottleneck.
5889
5890 The new method does have drawbacks. It means that collision detection
5891 does not operate when you edit a file in a directory where you cannot
5892 create new files. Collision detection also doesn't operate when the
5893 file server does not support symbolic links. But these conditions are
5894 rare, and the ability to have collision detection while using NFS is
5895 so useful that the change is worth while.
5896
5897 When Emacs or a system crashes, this may leave behind lock files which
5898 are stale. So you may occasionally get warnings about spurious
5899 collisions. When you determine that the collision is spurious, just
5900 tell Emacs to go ahead anyway.
5901
5902 ** If you wish to use Show Paren mode to display matching parentheses,
5903 it is no longer sufficient to load paren.el. Instead you must call
5904 show-paren-mode.
5905
5906 ** If you wish to use Delete Selection mode to replace a highlighted
5907 selection when you insert new text, it is no longer sufficient to load
5908 delsel.el. Instead you must call the function delete-selection-mode.
5909
5910 ** If you wish to use Partial Completion mode to complete partial words
5911 within symbols or filenames, it is no longer sufficient to load
5912 complete.el. Instead you must call the function partial-completion-mode.
5913
5914 ** If you wish to use uniquify to rename buffers for you,
5915 it is no longer sufficient to load uniquify.el. You must also
5916 set uniquify-buffer-name-style to one of the non-nil legitimate values.
5917
5918 ** Changes in View mode.
5919
5920 *** Several new commands are available in View mode.
5921 Do H in view mode for a list of commands.
5922
5923 *** There are two new commands for entering View mode:
5924 view-file-other-frame and view-buffer-other-frame.
5925
5926 *** Exiting View mode does a better job of restoring windows to their
5927 previous state.
5928
5929 *** New customization variable view-scroll-auto-exit. If non-nil,
5930 scrolling past end of buffer makes view mode exit.
5931
5932 *** New customization variable view-exits-all-viewing-windows. If
5933 non-nil, view-mode will at exit restore all windows viewing buffer,
5934 not just the selected window.
5935
5936 *** New customization variable view-read-only. If non-nil, visiting a
5937 read-only file automatically enters View mode, and toggle-read-only
5938 turns View mode on or off.
5939
5940 *** New customization variable view-remove-frame-by-deleting controls
5941 how to remove a not needed frame at view mode exit. If non-nil,
5942 delete the frame, if nil make an icon of it.
5943
5944 ** C-x v l, the command to print a file's version control log,
5945 now positions point at the entry for the file's current branch version.
5946
5947 ** C-x v =, the command to compare a file with the last checked-in version,
5948 has a new feature. If the file is currently not locked, so that it is
5949 presumably identical to the last checked-in version, the command now asks
5950 which version to compare with.
5951
5952 ** When using hideshow.el, incremental search can temporarily show hidden
5953 blocks if a match is inside the block.
5954
5955 The block is hidden again if the search is continued and the next match
5956 is outside the block. By customizing the variable
5957 isearch-hide-immediately you can choose to hide all the temporarily
5958 shown blocks only when exiting from incremental search.
5959
5960 By customizing the variable hs-isearch-open you can choose what kind
5961 of blocks to temporarily show during isearch: comment blocks, code
5962 blocks, all of them or none.
5963
5964 ** The new command C-x 4 0 (kill-buffer-and-window) kills the
5965 current buffer and deletes the selected window. It asks for
5966 confirmation first.
5967
5968 ** C-x C-w, which saves the buffer into a specified file name,
5969 now changes the major mode according to that file name.
5970 However, the mode will not be changed if
5971 (1) a local variables list or the `-*-' line specifies a major mode, or
5972 (2) the current major mode is a "special" mode,
5973 not suitable for ordinary files, or
5974 (3) the new file name does not particularly specify any mode.
5975
5976 This applies to M-x set-visited-file-name as well.
5977
5978 However, if you set change-major-mode-with-file-name to nil, then
5979 these commands do not change the major mode.
5980
5981 ** M-x occur changes.
5982
5983 *** If the argument to M-x occur contains upper case letters,
5984 it performs a case-sensitive search.
5985
5986 *** In the *Occur* buffer made by M-x occur,
5987 if you type g or M-x revert-buffer, this repeats the search
5988 using the same regular expression and the same buffer as before.
5989
5990 ** In Transient Mark mode, the region in any one buffer is highlighted
5991 in just one window at a time. At first, it is highlighted in the
5992 window where you set the mark. The buffer's highlighting remains in
5993 that window unless you select to another window which shows the same
5994 buffer--then the highlighting moves to that window.
5995
5996 ** The feature to suggest key bindings when you use M-x now operates
5997 after the command finishes. The message suggesting key bindings
5998 appears temporarily in the echo area. The previous echo area contents
5999 come back after a few seconds, in case they contain useful information.
6000
6001 ** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
6002 selected buffers, so that the default for C-x b is now based on the
6003 buffers recently selected in the selected frame.
6004
6005 ** Outline mode changes.
6006
6007 *** Outline mode now uses overlays (this is the former noutline.el).
6008
6009 *** Incremental searches skip over invisible text in Outline mode.
6010
6011 ** When a minibuffer window is active but not the selected window, if
6012 you try to use the minibuffer, you used to get a nested minibuffer.
6013 Now, this not only gives an error, it also cancels the minibuffer that
6014 was already active.
6015
6016 The motive for this change is so that beginning users do not
6017 unknowingly move away from minibuffers, leaving them active, and then
6018 get confused by it.
6019
6020 If you want to be able to have recursive minibuffers, you must
6021 set enable-recursive-minibuffers to non-nil.
6022
6023 ** Changes in dynamic abbrevs.
6024
6025 *** Expanding dynamic abbrevs with M-/ is now smarter about case
6026 conversion. If the expansion has mixed case not counting the first
6027 character, and the abbreviation matches the beginning of the expansion
6028 including case, then the expansion is copied verbatim.
6029
6030 The expansion is also copied verbatim if the abbreviation itself has
6031 mixed case. And using SPC M-/ to copy an additional word always
6032 copies it verbatim except when the previous copied word is all caps.
6033
6034 *** The values of `dabbrev-case-replace' and `dabbrev-case-fold-search'
6035 are no longer Lisp expressions. They have simply three possible
6036 values.
6037
6038 `dabbrev-case-replace' has these three values: nil (don't preserve
6039 case), t (do), or `case-replace' (do like M-x query-replace).
6040 `dabbrev-case-fold-search' has these three values: nil (don't ignore
6041 case), t (do), or `case-fold-search' (do like search).
6042
6043 ** Minibuffer history lists are truncated automatically now to a
6044 certain length. The variable history-length specifies how long they
6045 can be. The default value is 30.
6046
6047 ** Changes in Mail mode.
6048
6049 *** The key C-x m no longer runs the `mail' command directly.
6050 Instead, it runs the command `compose-mail', which invokes the mail
6051 composition mechanism you have selected with the variable
6052 `mail-user-agent'. The default choice of user agent is
6053 `sendmail-user-agent', which gives behavior compatible with the old
6054 behavior.
6055
6056 C-x 4 m now runs compose-mail-other-window, and C-x 5 m runs
6057 compose-mail-other-frame.
6058
6059 *** While composing a reply to a mail message, from Rmail, you can use
6060 the command C-c C-r to cite just the region from the message you are
6061 replying to. This copies the text which is the selected region in the
6062 buffer that shows the original message.
6063
6064 *** The command C-c C-i inserts a file at the end of the message,
6065 with separator lines around the contents.
6066
6067 *** The command M-x expand-mail-aliases expands all mail aliases
6068 in suitable mail headers. Emacs automatically extracts mail alias
6069 definitions from your mail alias file (e.g., ~/.mailrc). You do not
6070 need to expand mail aliases yourself before sending mail.
6071
6072 *** New features in the mail-complete command.
6073
6074 **** The mail-complete command now inserts the user's full name,
6075 for local users or if that is known. The variable mail-complete-style
6076 controls the style to use, and whether to do this at all.
6077 Its values are like those of mail-from-style.
6078
6079 **** The variable mail-passwd-command lets you specify a shell command
6080 to run to fetch a set of password-entries that add to the ones in
6081 /etc/passwd.
6082
6083 **** The variable mail-passwd-file now specifies a list of files to read
6084 to get the list of user ids. By default, one file is used:
6085 /etc/passwd.
6086
6087 ** You can "quote" a file name to inhibit special significance of
6088 special syntax, by adding `/:' to the beginning. Thus, if you have a
6089 directory named `/foo:', you can prevent it from being treated as a
6090 reference to a remote host named `foo' by writing it as `/:/foo:'.
6091
6092 Emacs uses this new construct automatically when necessary, such as
6093 when you start it with a working directory whose name might otherwise
6094 be taken to be magic.
6095
6096 ** There is a new command M-x grep-find which uses find to select
6097 files to search through, and grep to scan them. The output is
6098 available in a Compile mode buffer, as with M-x grep.
6099
6100 M-x grep now uses the -e option if the grep program supports that.
6101 (-e prevents problems if the search pattern starts with a dash.)
6102
6103 ** In Dired, the & command now flags for deletion the files whose names
6104 suggest they are probably not needed in the long run.
6105
6106 In Dired, * is now a prefix key for mark-related commands.
6107
6108 new key dired.el binding old key
6109 ------- ---------------- -------
6110 * c dired-change-marks c
6111 * m dired-mark m
6112 * * dired-mark-executables * (binding deleted)
6113 * / dired-mark-directories / (binding deleted)
6114 * @ dired-mark-symlinks @ (binding deleted)
6115 * u dired-unmark u
6116 * DEL dired-unmark-backward DEL
6117 * ? dired-unmark-all-files M-C-?
6118 * ! dired-unmark-all-marks
6119 * % dired-mark-files-regexp % m
6120 * C-n dired-next-marked-file M-}
6121 * C-p dired-prev-marked-file M-{
6122
6123 ** Rmail changes.
6124
6125 *** When Rmail cannot convert your incoming mail into Babyl format, it
6126 saves the new mail in the file RMAILOSE.n, where n is an integer
6127 chosen to make a unique name. This way, Rmail will not keep crashing
6128 each time you run it.
6129
6130 *** In Rmail, the variable rmail-summary-line-count-flag now controls
6131 whether to include the line count in the summary. Non-nil means yes.
6132
6133 *** In Rmail summary buffers, d and C-d (the commands to delete
6134 messages) now take repeat counts as arguments. A negative argument
6135 means to move in the opposite direction.
6136
6137 *** In Rmail, the t command now takes an optional argument which lets
6138 you specify whether to show the message headers in full or pruned.
6139
6140 *** In Rmail, the new command w (rmail-output-body-to-file) writes
6141 just the body of the current message into a file, without the headers.
6142 It takes the file name from the message subject, by default, but you
6143 can edit that file name in the minibuffer before it is actually used
6144 for output.
6145
6146 ** Gnus changes.
6147
6148 *** nntp.el has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
6149
6150 *** Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
6151 Gnus.
6152
6153 *** Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like
6154 `and', `or', `not', and parent redirection.
6155
6156 *** Article washing status can be displayed in the
6157 article mode line.
6158
6159 *** gnus.el has been split into many smaller files.
6160
6161 *** Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID.
6162
6163 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
6164
6165 *** New variables for specifying what score and adapt files
6166 are to be considered home score and adapt files. See
6167 `gnus-home-score-file' and `gnus-home-adapt-files'.
6168
6169 *** Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics.
6170
6171 *** Article editing has been revamped and is now usable.
6172
6173 *** Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions.
6174 See `gnus-signature-separator' and `gnus-signature-limit'.
6175
6176 *** Summary pick mode has been made to look more nn-like.
6177 Line numbers are displayed and the `.' command can be
6178 used to pick articles.
6179
6180 *** Commands for moving the .newsrc.eld from one server to
6181 another have been added.
6182
6183 `M-x gnus-change-server'
6184
6185 *** A way to specify that "uninteresting" fields be suppressed when
6186 generating lines in buffers.
6187
6188 *** Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with
6189 `M-C-_'.
6190
6191 *** Scoring can be done on words using the new score type `w'.
6192
6193 *** Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis:
6194
6195 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
6196
6197 *** Scores can be decayed.
6198
6199 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
6200
6201 *** Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The
6202 Date is normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first.
6203
6204 *** A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
6205 the native server.
6206
6207 `M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups'
6208
6209 *** A new command for reading collections of documents
6210 (nndoc with nnvirtual on top) has been added -- `M-C-d'.
6211
6212 *** Process mark sets can be pushed and popped.
6213
6214 *** A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post
6215 even when the NNTP server doesn't allow posting.
6216
6217 *** A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
6218 (DejaNews, Alta Vista, InReference) has been added.
6219
6220 Use the `G w' command in the group buffer to create such
6221 a group.
6222
6223 *** Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard
6224 sorting functions, and each topic can be sorted independently.
6225
6226 See the commands under the `T S' submap.
6227
6228 *** Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently.
6229
6230 See the commands under the `G P' submap.
6231
6232 *** Cached articles can be pulled into the groups.
6233
6234 Use the `Y c' command.
6235
6236 *** Score files are now applied in a more reliable order.
6237
6238 *** Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated.
6239
6240 `M-x nnmail-split-history'
6241
6242 *** More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk
6243 from incoming mail before saving the mail.
6244
6245 See `nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook'.
6246
6247 *** The nnml mail backend now understands compressed article files.
6248
6249 *** To enable Gnus to read/post multi-lingual articles, you must execute
6250 the following code, for instance, in your .emacs.
6251
6252 (add-hook 'gnus-startup-hook 'gnus-mule-initialize)
6253
6254 Then, when you start Gnus, it will decode non-ASCII text automatically
6255 and show appropriate characters. (Note: if you are using gnus-mime
6256 from the SEMI package, formerly known as TM, you should NOT add this
6257 hook to gnus-startup-hook; gnus-mime has its own method of handling
6258 this issue.)
6259
6260 Since it is impossible to distinguish all coding systems
6261 automatically, you may need to specify a choice of coding system for a
6262 particular news group. This can be done by:
6263
6264 (gnus-mule-add-group NEWSGROUP 'CODING-SYSTEM)
6265
6266 Here NEWSGROUP should be a string which names a newsgroup or a tree
6267 of newsgroups. If NEWSGROUP is "XXX.YYY", all news groups under
6268 "XXX.YYY" (including "XXX.YYY.ZZZ") will use the specified coding
6269 system. CODING-SYSTEM specifies which coding system to use (for both
6270 for reading and posting).
6271
6272 CODING-SYSTEM can also be a cons cell of the form
6273 (READ-CODING-SYSTEM . POST-CODING-SYSTEM)
6274 Then READ-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you read messages from the
6275 newsgroups, while POST-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you post messages
6276 there.
6277
6278 Emacs knows the right coding systems for certain newsgroups by
6279 default. Here are some of these default settings:
6280
6281 (gnus-mule-add-group "fj" 'iso-2022-7)
6282 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text" 'hz-gb-2312)
6283 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.hk" 'hz-gb-2312)
6284 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text.big5" 'cn-big5)
6285 (gnus-mule-add-group "soc.culture.vietnamese" '(nil . viqr))
6286
6287 When you reply by mail to an article, these settings are ignored;
6288 the mail is encoded according to sendmail-coding-system, as usual.
6289
6290 ** CC mode changes.
6291
6292 *** If you edit primarily one style of C (or C++, Objective-C, Java)
6293 code, you may want to make the CC Mode style variables have global
6294 values so that you can set them directly in your .emacs file. To do
6295 this, set c-style-variables-are-local-p to nil in your .emacs file.
6296 Note that this only takes effect if you do it *before* cc-mode.el is
6297 loaded.
6298
6299 If you typically edit more than one style of C (or C++, Objective-C,
6300 Java) code in a single Emacs session, you may want to make the CC Mode
6301 style variables have buffer local values. By default, all buffers
6302 share the same style variable settings; to make them buffer local, set
6303 c-style-variables-are-local-p to t in your .emacs file. Note that you
6304 must do this *before* CC Mode is loaded.
6305
6306 *** The new variable c-indentation-style holds the C style name
6307 of the current buffer.
6308
6309 *** The variable c-block-comments-indent-p has been deleted, because
6310 it is no longer necessary. C mode now handles all the supported styles
6311 of block comments, with no need to say which one you will use.
6312
6313 *** There is a new indentation style "python", which specifies the C
6314 style that the Python developers like.
6315
6316 *** There is a new c-cleanup-list option: brace-elseif-brace.
6317 This says to put ...} else if (...) {... on one line,
6318 just as brace-else-brace says to put ...} else {... on one line.
6319
6320 ** VC Changes [new]
6321
6322 ** In vc-retrieve-snapshot (C-x v r), if you don't specify a snapshot
6323 name, it retrieves the *latest* versions of all files in the current
6324 directory and its subdirectories (aside from files already locked).
6325
6326 This feature is useful if your RCS directory is a link to a common
6327 master directory, and you want to pick up changes made by other
6328 developers.
6329
6330 You can do the same thing for an individual file by typing C-u C-x C-q
6331 RET in a buffer visiting that file.
6332
6333 *** VC can now handle files under CVS that are being "watched" by
6334 other developers. Such files are made read-only by CVS. To get a
6335 writable copy, type C-x C-q in a buffer visiting such a file. VC then
6336 calls "cvs edit", which notifies the other developers of it.
6337
6338 *** vc-version-diff (C-u C-x v =) now suggests reasonable defaults for
6339 version numbers, based on the current state of the file.
6340
6341 ** Calendar changes.
6342
6343 A new function, list-holidays, allows you list holidays or subclasses
6344 of holidays for ranges of years. Related menu items allow you do this
6345 for the year of the selected date, or the following/previous years.
6346
6347 ** ps-print changes
6348
6349 There are some new user variables for customizing the page layout.
6350
6351 *** Paper size, paper orientation, columns
6352
6353 The variable `ps-paper-type' determines the size of paper ps-print
6354 formats for; it should contain one of the symbols:
6355 `a4' `a3' `letter' `legal' `letter-small' `tabloid'
6356 `ledger' `statement' `executive' `a4small' `b4' `b5'
6357 It defaults to `letter'.
6358 If you need other sizes, see the variable `ps-page-dimensions-database'.
6359
6360 The variable `ps-landscape-mode' determines the orientation
6361 of the printing on the page. nil, the default, means "portrait" mode,
6362 non-nil means "landscape" mode.
6363
6364 The variable `ps-number-of-columns' must be a positive integer.
6365 It determines the number of columns both in landscape and portrait mode.
6366 It defaults to 1.
6367
6368 *** Horizontal layout
6369
6370 The horizontal layout is determined by the variables
6371 `ps-left-margin', `ps-inter-column', and `ps-right-margin'.
6372 All are measured in points.
6373
6374 *** Vertical layout
6375
6376 The vertical layout is determined by the variables
6377 `ps-bottom-margin', `ps-top-margin', and `ps-header-offset'.
6378 All are measured in points.
6379
6380 *** Headers
6381
6382 If the variable `ps-print-header' is nil, no header is printed. Then
6383 `ps-header-offset' is not relevant and `ps-top-margin' represents the
6384 margin above the text.
6385
6386 If the variable `ps-print-header-frame' is non-nil, a gaudy
6387 framing box is printed around the header.
6388
6389 The contents of the header are determined by `ps-header-lines',
6390 `ps-show-n-of-n', `ps-left-header' and `ps-right-header'.
6391
6392 The height of the header is determined by `ps-header-line-pad',
6393 `ps-header-font-family', `ps-header-title-font-size' and
6394 `ps-header-font-size'.
6395
6396 *** Font managing
6397
6398 The variable `ps-font-family' determines which font family is to be
6399 used for ordinary text. Its value must be a key symbol in the alist
6400 `ps-font-info-database'. You can add other font families by adding
6401 elements to this alist.
6402
6403 The variable `ps-font-size' determines the size of the font
6404 for ordinary text. It defaults to 8.5 points.
6405
6406 ** hideshow changes.
6407
6408 *** now supports hiding of blocks of single line comments (like // for
6409 C++, ; for lisp).
6410
6411 *** Support for java-mode added.
6412
6413 *** When doing `hs-hide-all' it is now possible to also hide the comments
6414 in the file if `hs-hide-comments-when-hiding-all' is set.
6415
6416 *** The new function `hs-hide-initial-comment' hides the the comments at
6417 the beginning of the files. Finally those huge RCS logs don't stay in your
6418 way! This is run by default when entering the `hs-minor-mode'.
6419
6420 *** Now uses overlays instead of `selective-display', so is more
6421 robust and a lot faster.
6422
6423 *** A block beginning can span multiple lines.
6424
6425 *** The new variable `hs-show-hidden-short-form' if t, directs hideshow
6426 to show only the beginning of a block when it is hidden. See the
6427 documentation for more details.
6428
6429 ** Changes in Enriched mode.
6430
6431 *** When you visit a file in enriched-mode, Emacs will make sure it is
6432 filled to the current fill-column. This behavior is now independent
6433 of the size of the window. When you save the file, the fill-column in
6434 use is stored as well, so that the whole buffer need not be refilled
6435 the next time unless the fill-column is different.
6436
6437 *** use-hard-newlines is now a minor mode. When it is enabled, Emacs
6438 distinguishes between hard and soft newlines, and treats hard newlines
6439 as paragraph boundaries. Otherwise all newlines inserted are marked
6440 as soft, and paragraph boundaries are determined solely from the text.
6441
6442 ** Font Lock mode
6443
6444 *** Custom support
6445
6446 The variables font-lock-face-attributes, font-lock-display-type and
6447 font-lock-background-mode are now obsolete; the recommended way to specify the
6448 faces to use for Font Lock mode is with M-x customize-group on the new custom
6449 group font-lock-highlighting-faces. If you set font-lock-face-attributes in
6450 your ~/.emacs file, Font Lock mode will respect its value. However, you should
6451 consider converting from setting that variable to using M-x customize.
6452
6453 You can still use X resources to specify Font Lock face appearances.
6454
6455 *** Maximum decoration
6456
6457 Fontification now uses the maximum level of decoration supported by
6458 default. Previously, fontification used a mode-specific default level
6459 of decoration, which is typically the minimum level of decoration
6460 supported. You can set font-lock-maximum-decoration to nil
6461 to get the old behavior.
6462
6463 *** New support
6464
6465 Support is now provided for Java, Objective-C, AWK and SIMULA modes.
6466
6467 Note that Font Lock mode can be turned on without knowing exactly what modes
6468 support Font Lock mode, via the command global-font-lock-mode.
6469
6470 *** Configurable support
6471
6472 Support for C, C++, Objective-C and Java can be more easily configured for
6473 additional types and classes via the new variables c-font-lock-extra-types,
6474 c++-font-lock-extra-types, objc-font-lock-extra-types and, you guessed it,
6475 java-font-lock-extra-types. These value of each of these variables should be a
6476 list of regexps matching the extra type names. For example, the default value
6477 of c-font-lock-extra-types is ("\\sw+_t") which means fontification follows the
6478 convention that C type names end in _t. This results in slower fontification.
6479
6480 Of course, you can change the variables that specify fontification in whatever
6481 way you wish, typically by adding regexps. However, these new variables make
6482 it easier to make specific and common changes for the fontification of types.
6483
6484 *** Adding highlighting patterns to existing support
6485
6486 You can use the new function font-lock-add-keywords to add your own
6487 highlighting patterns, such as for project-local or user-specific constructs,
6488 for any mode.
6489
6490 For example, to highlight `FIXME:' words in C comments, put:
6491
6492 (font-lock-add-keywords 'c-mode '(("\\<FIXME:" 0 font-lock-warning-face t)))
6493
6494 in your ~/.emacs.
6495
6496 *** New faces
6497
6498 Font Lock now defines two new faces, font-lock-builtin-face and
6499 font-lock-warning-face. These are intended to highlight builtin keywords,
6500 distinct from a language's normal keywords, and objects that should be brought
6501 to user attention, respectively. Various modes now use these new faces.
6502
6503 *** Changes to fast-lock support mode
6504
6505 The fast-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now process
6506 cache files silently. You can use the new variable fast-lock-verbose, in the
6507 same way as font-lock-verbose, to control this feature.
6508
6509 *** Changes to lazy-lock support mode
6510
6511 The lazy-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now fontify
6512 according to the true syntactic context relative to other lines. You can use
6513 the new variable lazy-lock-defer-contextually to control this feature. If
6514 non-nil, changes to the buffer will cause subsequent lines in the buffer to be
6515 refontified after lazy-lock-defer-time seconds of idle time. If nil, then only
6516 the modified lines will be refontified; this is the same as the previous Lazy
6517 Lock mode behaviour and the behaviour of Font Lock mode.
6518
6519 This feature is useful in modes where strings or comments can span lines.
6520 For example, if a string or comment terminating character is deleted, then if
6521 this feature is enabled subsequent lines in the buffer will be correctly
6522 refontified to reflect their new syntactic context. Previously, only the line
6523 containing the deleted character would be refontified and you would have to use
6524 the command M-g M-g (font-lock-fontify-block) to refontify some lines.
6525
6526 As a consequence of this new feature, two other variables have changed:
6527
6528 Variable `lazy-lock-defer-driven' is renamed `lazy-lock-defer-on-scrolling'.
6529 Variable `lazy-lock-defer-time' can now only be a time, i.e., a number.
6530 Buffer modes for which on-the-fly deferral applies can be specified via the
6531 new variable `lazy-lock-defer-on-the-fly'.
6532
6533 If you set these variables in your ~/.emacs, then you may have to change those
6534 settings.
6535
6536 ** Ada mode changes.
6537
6538 *** There is now better support for using find-file.el with Ada mode.
6539 If you switch between spec and body, the cursor stays in the same
6540 procedure (modulo overloading). If a spec has no body file yet, but
6541 you try to switch to its body file, Ada mode now generates procedure
6542 stubs.
6543
6544 *** There are two new commands:
6545 - `ada-make-local' : invokes gnatmake on the current buffer
6546 - `ada-check-syntax' : check syntax of current buffer.
6547
6548 The user options `ada-compiler-make', `ada-make-options',
6549 `ada-language-version', `ada-compiler-syntax-check', and
6550 `ada-compile-options' are used within these commands.
6551
6552 *** Ada mode can now work with Outline minor mode. The outline level
6553 is calculated from the indenting, not from syntactic constructs.
6554 Outlining does not work if your code is not correctly indented.
6555
6556 *** The new function `ada-gnat-style' converts the buffer to the style of
6557 formatting used in GNAT. It places two blanks after a comment start,
6558 places one blank between a word end and an opening '(', and puts one
6559 space between a comma and the beginning of a word.
6560
6561 ** Scheme mode changes.
6562
6563 *** Scheme mode indentation now uses many of the facilities of Lisp
6564 mode; therefore, the variables to customize it are the variables used
6565 for Lisp mode which have names starting with `lisp-'. The variables
6566 with names starting with `scheme-' which used to do this no longer
6567 have any effect.
6568
6569 If you want to use different indentation for Scheme and Lisp, this is
6570 still possible, but now you must do it by adding a hook to
6571 scheme-mode-hook, which could work by setting the `lisp-' indentation
6572 variables as buffer-local variables.
6573
6574 *** DSSSL mode is a variant of Scheme mode, for editing DSSSL scripts.
6575 Use M-x dsssl-mode.
6576
6577 ** Changes to the emacsclient program
6578
6579 *** If a socket can't be found, and environment variables LOGNAME or
6580 USER are set, emacsclient now looks for a socket based on the UID
6581 associated with the name. That is an emacsclient running as root
6582 can connect to an Emacs server started by a non-root user.
6583
6584 *** The emacsclient program now accepts an option --no-wait which tells
6585 it to return immediately without waiting for you to "finish" the
6586 buffer in Emacs.
6587
6588 *** The new option --alternate-editor allows to specify an editor to
6589 use if Emacs is not running. The environment variable
6590 ALTERNATE_EDITOR can be used for the same effect; the command line
6591 option takes precedence.
6592
6593 ** M-x eldoc-mode enables a minor mode in which the echo area
6594 constantly shows the parameter list for function being called at point
6595 (in Emacs Lisp and Lisp Interaction modes only).
6596
6597 ** C-x n d now runs the new command narrow-to-defun,
6598 which narrows the accessible parts of the buffer to just
6599 the current defun.
6600
6601 ** Emacs now handles the `--' argument in the standard way; all
6602 following arguments are treated as ordinary file names.
6603
6604 ** On MSDOS and Windows, the bookmark file is now called _emacs.bmk,
6605 and the saved desktop file is now called _emacs.desktop (truncated if
6606 necessary).
6607
6608 ** When you kill a buffer that visits a file,
6609 if there are any registers that save positions in the file,
6610 these register values no longer become completely useless.
6611 If you try to go to such a register with C-x j, then you are
6612 asked whether to visit the file again. If you say yes,
6613 it visits the file and then goes to the same position.
6614
6615 ** When you visit a file that changes frequently outside Emacs--for
6616 example, a log of output from a process that continues to run--it may
6617 be useful for Emacs to revert the file without querying you whenever
6618 you visit the file afresh with C-x C-f.
6619
6620 You can request this behavior for certain files by setting the
6621 variable revert-without-query to a list of regular expressions. If a
6622 file's name matches any of these regular expressions, find-file and
6623 revert-buffer revert the buffer without asking for permission--but
6624 only if you have not edited the buffer text yourself.
6625
6626 ** set-default-font has been renamed to set-frame-font
6627 since it applies only to the current frame.
6628
6629 ** In TeX mode, you can use the variable tex-main-file to specify the
6630 file for tex-file to run TeX on. (By default, tex-main-file is nil,
6631 and tex-file runs TeX on the current visited file.)
6632
6633 This is useful when you are editing a document that consists of
6634 multiple files. In each of the included files, you can set up a local
6635 variable list which specifies the top-level file of your document for
6636 tex-main-file. Then tex-file will run TeX on the whole document
6637 instead of just the file you are editing.
6638
6639 ** RefTeX mode
6640
6641 RefTeX mode is a new minor mode with special support for \label, \ref
6642 and \cite macros in LaTeX documents. RefTeX distinguishes labels of
6643 different environments (equation, figure, ...) and has full support for
6644 multifile documents. To use it, select a buffer with a LaTeX document and
6645 turn the mode on with M-x reftex-mode. Here are the main user commands:
6646
6647 C-c ( reftex-label
6648 Creates a label semi-automatically. RefTeX is context sensitive and
6649 knows which kind of label is needed.
6650
6651 C-c ) reftex-reference
6652 Offers in a menu all labels in the document, along with context of the
6653 label definition. The selected label is referenced as \ref{LABEL}.
6654
6655 C-c [ reftex-citation
6656 Prompts for a regular expression and displays a list of matching BibTeX
6657 database entries. The selected entry is cited with a \cite{KEY} macro.
6658
6659 C-c & reftex-view-crossref
6660 Views the cross reference of a \ref or \cite command near point.
6661
6662 C-c = reftex-toc
6663 Shows a table of contents of the (multifile) document. From there you
6664 can quickly jump to every section.
6665
6666 Under X, RefTeX installs a "Ref" menu in the menu bar, with additional
6667 commands. Press `?' to get help when a prompt mentions this feature.
6668 Full documentation and customization examples are in the file
6669 reftex.el. You can use the finder to view the file documentation:
6670 C-h p --> tex --> reftex.el
6671
6672 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
6673
6674 *** Info documentation is now available.
6675
6676 *** Don't allow parentheses in string constants anymore. This confused
6677 both the BibTeX program and Emacs BibTeX mode.
6678
6679 *** Renamed variable bibtex-mode-user-optional-fields to
6680 bibtex-user-optional-fields.
6681
6682 *** Removed variable bibtex-include-OPTannote
6683 (use bibtex-user-optional-fields instead).
6684
6685 *** New interactive functions to copy and kill fields and complete
6686 entries to the BibTeX kill ring, from where they can be yanked back by
6687 appropriate functions.
6688
6689 *** New interactive functions for repositioning and marking of
6690 entries. They are bound by default to M-C-l and M-C-h.
6691
6692 *** New hook bibtex-clean-entry-hook. It is called after entry has
6693 been cleaned.
6694
6695 *** New variable bibtex-field-delimiters, which replaces variables
6696 bibtex-field-{left|right}-delimiter.
6697
6698 *** New variable bibtex-entry-delimiters to determine how entries
6699 shall be delimited.
6700
6701 *** Allow preinitialization of fields. See documentation of
6702 bibtex-user-optional-fields, bibtex-entry-field-alist, and
6703 bibtex-include-OPTkey for details.
6704
6705 *** Book and InBook entries require either an author or an editor
6706 field. This is now supported by bibtex.el. Alternative fields are
6707 prefixed with `ALT'.
6708
6709 *** New variable bibtex-entry-format, which replaces variable
6710 bibtex-clean-entry-zap-empty-opts and allows specification of many
6711 formatting options performed on cleaning an entry (see variable
6712 documentation).
6713
6714 *** Even more control on how automatic keys are generated. See
6715 documentation of bibtex-generate-autokey for details. Transcriptions
6716 for foreign languages other than German are now handled, too.
6717
6718 *** New boolean user option bibtex-comma-after-last-field to decide if
6719 comma should be inserted at end of last field.
6720
6721 *** New boolean user option bibtex-align-at-equal-sign to determine if
6722 alignment should be made at left side of field contents or at equal
6723 signs. New user options to control entry layout (e.g. indentation).
6724
6725 *** New function bibtex-fill-entry to realign entries.
6726
6727 *** New function bibtex-reformat to reformat region or buffer.
6728
6729 *** New function bibtex-convert-alien to convert a BibTeX database
6730 from alien sources.
6731
6732 *** New function bibtex-complete-key (similar to bibtex-complete-string)
6733 to complete prefix to a key defined in buffer. Mainly useful in
6734 crossref entries.
6735
6736 *** New function bibtex-count-entries to count entries in buffer or
6737 region.
6738
6739 *** Added support for imenu.
6740
6741 *** The function `bibtex-validate' now checks current region instead
6742 of buffer if mark is active. Now it shows all errors of buffer in a
6743 `compilation mode' buffer. You can use the normal commands (e.g.
6744 `next-error') for compilation modes to jump to errors.
6745
6746 *** New variable `bibtex-string-file-path' to determine where the files
6747 from `bibtex-string-files' are searched.
6748
6749 ** Iso Accents mode now supports Latin-3 as an alternative.
6750
6751 ** The command next-error now opens blocks hidden by hideshow.
6752
6753 ** The function using-unix-filesystems has been replaced by the
6754 functions add-untranslated-filesystem and remove-untranslated-filesystem.
6755 Each of these functions takes the name of a drive letter or directory
6756 as an argument.
6757
6758 When a filesystem is added as untranslated, all files on it are read
6759 and written in binary mode (no cr/lf translation is performed).
6760
6761 ** browse-url changes
6762
6763 *** New methods for: Grail (browse-url-generic), MMM (browse-url-mmm),
6764 Lynx in a separate xterm (browse-url-lynx-xterm) or in an Emacs window
6765 (browse-url-lynx-emacs), remote W3 (browse-url-w3-gnudoit), generic
6766 non-remote-controlled browsers (browse-url-generic) and associated
6767 customization variables.
6768
6769 *** New commands `browse-url-of-region' and `browse-url'.
6770
6771 *** URLs marked up with <URL:...> (RFC1738) work if broken across
6772 lines. Browsing methods can be associated with URL regexps
6773 (e.g. mailto: URLs) via `browse-url-browser-function'.
6774
6775 ** Changes in Ediff
6776
6777 *** Clicking Mouse-2 on a brief command description in Ediff control panel
6778 pops up the Info file for this command.
6779
6780 *** There is now a variable, ediff-autostore-merges, which controls whether
6781 the result of a merge is saved in a file. By default, this is done only when
6782 merge is done from a session group (eg, when merging files in two different
6783 directories).
6784
6785 *** Since Emacs 19.31 (this hasn't been announced before), Ediff can compare
6786 and merge groups of files residing in different directories, or revisions of
6787 files in the same directory.
6788
6789 *** Since Emacs 19.31, Ediff can apply multi-file patches interactively.
6790 The patches must be in the context format or GNU unified format. (The bug
6791 related to the GNU format has now been fixed.)
6792
6793 ** Changes in Viper
6794
6795 *** The startup file is now .viper instead of .vip
6796 *** All variable/function names have been changed to start with viper-
6797 instead of vip-.
6798 *** C-\ now simulates the meta-key in all Viper states.
6799 *** C-z in Insert state now escapes to Vi for the duration of the next
6800 Viper command. In Vi and Insert states, C-z behaves as before.
6801 *** C-c \ escapes to Vi for one command if Viper is in Insert or Emacs states.
6802 *** _ is no longer the meta-key in Vi state.
6803 *** The variable viper-insert-state-cursor-color can be used to change cursor
6804 color when Viper is in insert state.
6805 *** If search lands the cursor near the top or the bottom of the window,
6806 Viper pulls the window up or down to expose more context. The variable
6807 viper-adjust-window-after-search controls this behavior.
6808
6809 ** Etags changes.
6810
6811 *** In C, C++, Objective C and Java, Etags tags global variables by
6812 default. The resulting tags files are inflated by 30% on average.
6813 Use --no-globals to turn this feature off. Etags can also tag
6814 variables which are members of structure-like constructs, but it does
6815 not by default. Use --members to turn this feature on.
6816
6817 *** C++ member functions are now recognized as tags.
6818
6819 *** Java is tagged like C++. In addition, "extends" and "implements"
6820 constructs are tagged. Files are recognised by the extension .java.
6821
6822 *** Etags can now handle programs written in Postscript. Files are
6823 recognised by the extensions .ps and .pdb (Postscript with C syntax).
6824 In Postscript, tags are lines that start with a slash.
6825
6826 *** Etags now handles Objective C and Objective C++ code. The usual C and
6827 C++ tags are recognized in these languages; in addition, etags
6828 recognizes special Objective C syntax for classes, class categories,
6829 methods and protocols.
6830
6831 *** Etags also handles Cobol. Files are recognised by the extension
6832 .cobol. The tagged lines are those containing a word that begins in
6833 column 8 and ends in a full stop, i.e. anything that could be a
6834 paragraph name.
6835
6836 *** Regexps in Etags now support intervals, as in ed or grep. The syntax of
6837 an interval is \{M,N\}, and it means to match the preceding expression
6838 at least M times and as many as N times.
6839
6840 ** The format for specifying a custom format for time-stamp to insert
6841 in files has changed slightly.
6842
6843 With the new enhancements to the functionality of format-time-string,
6844 time-stamp-format will change to be eventually compatible with it.
6845 This conversion is being done in two steps to maintain compatibility
6846 with old time-stamp-format values.
6847
6848 In the new scheme, alternate case is signified by the number-sign
6849 (`#') modifier, rather than changing the case of the format character.
6850 This feature is as yet incompletely implemented for compatibility
6851 reasons.
6852
6853 In the old time-stamp-format, all numeric fields defaulted to their
6854 natural width. (With format-time-string, each format has a
6855 fixed-width default.) In this version, you can specify the colon
6856 (`:') modifier to a numeric conversion to mean "give me the historical
6857 time-stamp-format width default." Do not use colon if you are
6858 specifying an explicit width, as in "%02d".
6859
6860 Numbers are no longer truncated to the requested width, except in the
6861 case of "%02y", which continues to give a two-digit year. Digit
6862 truncation probably wasn't being used for anything else anyway.
6863
6864 The new formats will work with old versions of Emacs. New formats are
6865 being recommended now to allow time-stamp-format to change in the
6866 future to be compatible with format-time-string. The new forms being
6867 recommended now will continue to work then.
6868
6869 See the documentation string for the variable time-stamp-format for
6870 details.
6871
6872 ** There are some additional major modes:
6873
6874 dcl-mode, for editing VMS DCL files.
6875 m4-mode, for editing files of m4 input.
6876 meta-mode, for editing MetaFont and MetaPost source files.
6877
6878 ** In Shell mode, the command shell-copy-environment-variable lets you
6879 copy the value of a specified environment variable from the subshell
6880 into Emacs.
6881
6882 ** New Lisp packages include:
6883
6884 *** battery.el displays battery status for laptops.
6885
6886 *** M-x bruce (named after Lenny Bruce) is a program that might
6887 be used for adding some indecent words to your email.
6888
6889 *** M-x crisp-mode enables an emulation for the CRiSP editor.
6890
6891 *** M-x dirtrack arranges for better tracking of directory changes
6892 in shell buffers.
6893
6894 *** The new library elint.el provides for linting of Emacs Lisp code.
6895 See the documentation for `elint-initialize', `elint-current-buffer'
6896 and `elint-defun'.
6897
6898 *** M-x expand-add-abbrevs defines a special kind of abbrev which is
6899 meant for programming constructs. These abbrevs expand like ordinary
6900 ones, when you type SPC, but only at the end of a line and not within
6901 strings or comments.
6902
6903 These abbrevs can act as templates: you can define places within an
6904 abbrev for insertion of additional text. Once you expand the abbrev,
6905 you can then use C-x a p and C-x a n to move back and forth to these
6906 insertion points. Thus you can conveniently insert additional text
6907 at these points.
6908
6909 *** filecache.el remembers the location of files so that you
6910 can visit them by short forms of their names.
6911
6912 *** find-func.el lets you find the definition of the user-loaded
6913 Emacs Lisp function at point.
6914
6915 *** M-x handwrite converts text to a "handwritten" picture.
6916
6917 *** M-x iswitchb-buffer is a command for switching to a buffer, much like
6918 switch-buffer, but it reads the argument in a more helpful way.
6919
6920 *** M-x landmark implements a neural network for landmark learning.
6921
6922 *** M-x locate provides a convenient interface to the `locate' program.
6923
6924 *** M4 mode is a new mode for editing files of m4 input.
6925
6926 *** mantemp.el creates C++ manual template instantiations
6927 from the GCC error messages which indicate which instantiations are needed.
6928
6929 *** mouse-copy.el provides a one-click copy and move feature.
6930 You can drag a region with M-mouse-1, and it is automatically
6931 inserted at point. M-Shift-mouse-1 deletes the text from its
6932 original place after inserting the copy.
6933
6934 *** mouse-drag.el lets you do scrolling by dragging Mouse-2
6935 on the buffer.
6936
6937 You click the mouse and move; that distance either translates into the
6938 velocity to scroll (with mouse-drag-throw) or the distance to scroll
6939 (with mouse-drag-drag). Horizontal scrolling is enabled when needed.
6940
6941 Enable mouse-drag with:
6942 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-throw)
6943 -or-
6944 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-drag)
6945
6946 *** mspools.el is useful for determining which mail folders have
6947 mail waiting to be read in them. It works with procmail.
6948
6949 *** Octave mode is a major mode for editing files of input for Octave.
6950 It comes with a facility for communicating with an Octave subprocess.
6951
6952 *** ogonek
6953
6954 The ogonek package provides functions for changing the coding of
6955 Polish diacritic characters in buffers. Codings known from various
6956 platforms are supported such as ISO8859-2, Mazovia, IBM Latin2, and
6957 TeX. For example, you can change the coding from Mazovia to
6958 ISO8859-2. Another example is a change of coding from ISO8859-2 to
6959 prefix notation (in which `/a' stands for the aogonek character, for
6960 instance) and vice versa.
6961
6962 To use this package load it using
6963 M-x load-library [enter] ogonek
6964 Then, you may get an explanation by calling one of
6965 M-x ogonek-jak -- in Polish
6966 M-x ogonek-how -- in English
6967 The info specifies the commands and variables provided as well as the
6968 ways of customization in `.emacs'.
6969
6970 *** Interface to ph.
6971
6972 Emacs provides a client interface to CCSO Nameservers (ph/qi)
6973
6974 The CCSO nameserver is used in many universities to provide directory
6975 services about people. ph.el provides a convenient Emacs interface to
6976 these servers.
6977
6978 *** uce.el is useful for replying to unsolicited commercial email.
6979
6980 *** vcursor.el implements a "virtual cursor" feature.
6981 You can move the virtual cursor with special commands
6982 while the real cursor does not move.
6983
6984 *** webjump.el is a "hot list" package which you can set up
6985 for visiting your favorite web sites.
6986
6987 *** M-x winner-mode is a minor mode which saves window configurations,
6988 so you can move back to other configurations that you have recently used.
6989
6990 ** movemail change
6991
6992 Movemail no longer needs to be installed setuid root in order for POP
6993 mail retrieval to function properly. This is because it no longer
6994 supports the RPOP (reserved-port POP) protocol; instead, it uses the
6995 user's POP password to authenticate to the mail server.
6996
6997 This change was made earlier, but not reported in NEWS before.
6998 \f
6999 * Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows.
7000
7001 ** Changes in handling MS-DOS/MS-Windows text files.
7002
7003 Emacs handles three different conventions for representing
7004 end-of-line: CRLF for MSDOS, LF for Unix and GNU, and CR (used on the
7005 Macintosh). Emacs determines which convention is used in a specific
7006 file based on the contents of that file (except for certain special
7007 file names), and when it saves the file, it uses the same convention.
7008
7009 To save the file and change the end-of-line convention, you can use
7010 C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system) to specify a different
7011 coding system for the buffer. Then, when you save the file, the newly
7012 specified coding system will take effect. For example, to save with
7013 LF, specify undecided-unix (or some other ...-unix coding system); to
7014 save with CRLF, specify undecided-dos.
7015 \f
7016 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 20.1
7017
7018 ** Byte-compiled files made with Emacs 20 will, in general, work in
7019 Emacs 19 as well, as long as the source code runs in Emacs 19. And
7020 vice versa: byte-compiled files made with Emacs 19 should also run in
7021 Emacs 20, as long as the program itself works in Emacs 20.
7022
7023 ** Windows-specific functions and variables have been renamed
7024 to start with w32- instead of win32-.
7025
7026 In hacker language, calling something a "win" is a form of praise. We
7027 don't want to praise a non-free Microsoft system, so we don't call it
7028 "win".
7029
7030 ** Basic Lisp changes
7031
7032 *** A symbol whose name starts with a colon now automatically
7033 evaluates to itself. Therefore such a symbol can be used as a constant.
7034
7035 *** The defined purpose of `defconst' has been changed. It should now
7036 be used only for values that should not be changed whether by a program
7037 or by the user.
7038
7039 The actual behavior of defconst has not been changed.
7040
7041 *** There are new macros `when' and `unless'
7042
7043 (when CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION (progn BODY...))
7044 (unless CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION nil BODY...)
7045
7046 *** Emacs now defines functions caar, cadr, cdar and cddr with their
7047 usual Lisp meanings. For example, caar returns the car of the car of
7048 its argument.
7049
7050 *** equal, when comparing strings, now ignores their text properties.
7051
7052 *** The new function `functionp' tests whether an object is a function.
7053
7054 *** arrayp now returns t for char-tables and bool-vectors.
7055
7056 *** Certain primitives which use characters (as integers) now get an
7057 error if the integer is not a valid character code. These primitives
7058 include insert-char, char-to-string, and the %c construct in the
7059 `format' function.
7060
7061 *** The `require' function now insists on adding a suffix, either .el
7062 or .elc, to the file name. Thus, (require 'foo) will not use a file
7063 whose name is just foo. It insists on foo.el or foo.elc.
7064
7065 *** The `autoload' function, when the file name does not contain
7066 either a directory name or the suffix .el or .elc, insists on
7067 adding one of these suffixes.
7068
7069 *** string-to-number now takes an optional second argument BASE
7070 which specifies the base to use when converting an integer.
7071 If BASE is omitted, base 10 is used.
7072
7073 We have not implemented other radices for floating point numbers,
7074 because that would be much more work and does not seem useful.
7075
7076 *** substring now handles vectors as well as strings.
7077
7078 *** The Common Lisp function eql is no longer defined normally.
7079 You must load the `cl' library to define it.
7080
7081 *** The new macro `with-current-buffer' lets you evaluate an expression
7082 conveniently with a different current buffer. It looks like this:
7083
7084 (with-current-buffer BUFFER BODY-FORMS...)
7085
7086 BUFFER is the expression that says which buffer to use.
7087 BODY-FORMS say what to do in that buffer.
7088
7089 *** The new primitive `save-current-buffer' saves and restores the
7090 choice of current buffer, like `save-excursion', but without saving or
7091 restoring the value of point or the mark. `with-current-buffer'
7092 works using `save-current-buffer'.
7093
7094 *** The new macro `with-temp-file' lets you do some work in a new buffer and
7095 write the output to a specified file. Like `progn', it returns the value
7096 of the last form.
7097
7098 *** The new macro `with-temp-buffer' lets you do some work in a new buffer,
7099 which is discarded after use. Like `progn', it returns the value of the
7100 last form. If you wish to return the buffer contents, use (buffer-string)
7101 as the last form.
7102
7103 *** The new function split-string takes a string, splits it at certain
7104 characters, and returns a list of the substrings in between the
7105 matches.
7106
7107 For example, (split-string "foo bar lose" " +") returns ("foo" "bar" "lose").
7108
7109 *** The new macro with-output-to-string executes some Lisp expressions
7110 with standard-output set up so that all output feeds into a string.
7111 Then it returns that string.
7112
7113 For example, if the current buffer name is `foo',
7114
7115 (with-output-to-string
7116 (princ "The buffer is ")
7117 (princ (buffer-name)))
7118
7119 returns "The buffer is foo".
7120
7121 ** Non-ASCII characters are now supported, if enable-multibyte-characters
7122 is non-nil.
7123
7124 These characters have character codes above 256. When inserted in the
7125 buffer or stored in a string, they are represented as multibyte
7126 characters that occupy several buffer positions each.
7127
7128 *** When enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, a single character in
7129 a buffer or string can be two or more bytes (as many as four).
7130
7131 Buffers and strings are still made up of unibyte elements;
7132 character positions and string indices are always measured in bytes.
7133 Therefore, moving forward one character can increase the buffer
7134 position by 2, 3 or 4. The function forward-char moves by whole
7135 characters, and therefore is no longer equivalent to
7136 (lambda (n) (goto-char (+ (point) n))).
7137
7138 ASCII characters (codes 0 through 127) are still single bytes, always.
7139 Sequences of byte values 128 through 255 are used to represent
7140 non-ASCII characters. These sequences are called "multibyte
7141 characters".
7142
7143 The first byte of a multibyte character is always in the range 128
7144 through 159 (octal 0200 through 0237). These values are called
7145 "leading codes". The second and subsequent bytes are always in the
7146 range 160 through 255 (octal 0240 through 0377). The first byte, the
7147 leading code, determines how many bytes long the sequence is.
7148
7149 *** The function forward-char moves over characters, and therefore
7150 (forward-char 1) may increase point by more than 1 if it moves over a
7151 multibyte character. Likewise, delete-char always deletes a
7152 character, which may be more than one buffer position.
7153
7154 This means that some Lisp programs, which assume that a character is
7155 always one buffer position, need to be changed.
7156
7157 However, all ASCII characters are always one buffer position.
7158
7159 *** The regexp [\200-\377] no longer matches all non-ASCII characters,
7160 because when enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, these characters
7161 have codes that are not in the range octal 200 to octal 377. However,
7162 the regexp [^\000-\177] does match all non-ASCII characters,
7163 guaranteed.
7164
7165 *** The function char-boundary-p returns non-nil if position POS is
7166 between two characters in the buffer (not in the middle of a
7167 character).
7168
7169 When the value is non-nil, it says what kind of character follows POS:
7170
7171 0 if POS is at an ASCII character or at the end of range,
7172 1 if POS is before a 2-byte length multi-byte form,
7173 2 if POS is at a head of 3-byte length multi-byte form,
7174 3 if POS is at a head of 4-byte length multi-byte form,
7175 4 if POS is at a head of multi-byte form of a composite character.
7176
7177 *** The function char-bytes returns how many bytes the character CHAR uses.
7178
7179 *** Strings can contain multibyte characters. The function
7180 `length' returns the string length counting bytes, which may be
7181 more than the number of characters.
7182
7183 You can include a multibyte character in a string constant by writing
7184 it literally. You can also represent it with a hex escape,
7185 \xNNNNNNN..., using as many digits as necessary. Any character which
7186 is not a valid hex digit terminates this construct. If you want to
7187 follow it with a character that is a hex digit, write backslash and
7188 newline in between; that will terminate the hex escape.
7189
7190 *** The function concat-chars takes arguments which are characters
7191 and returns a string containing those characters.
7192
7193 *** The function sref access a multibyte character in a string.
7194 (sref STRING INDX) returns the character in STRING at INDEX. INDEX
7195 counts from zero. If INDEX is at a position in the middle of a
7196 character, sref signals an error.
7197
7198 *** The function chars-in-string returns the number of characters
7199 in a string. This is less than the length of the string, if the
7200 string contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
7201
7202 *** The function chars-in-region returns the number of characters
7203 in a region from BEG to END. This is less than (- END BEG) if the
7204 region contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
7205
7206 *** The function string-to-list converts a string to a list of
7207 the characters in it. string-to-vector converts a string
7208 to a vector of the characters in it.
7209
7210 *** The function store-substring alters part of the contents
7211 of a string. You call it as follows:
7212
7213 (store-substring STRING IDX OBJ)
7214
7215 This says to alter STRING, by storing OBJ starting at index IDX in
7216 STRING. OBJ may be either a character or a (smaller) string.
7217 This function really does alter the contents of STRING.
7218 Since it is impossible to change the length of an existing string,
7219 it is an error if OBJ doesn't fit within STRING's actual length.
7220
7221 *** char-width returns the width (in columns) of the character CHAR,
7222 if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
7223
7224 *** string-width returns the width (in columns) of the text in STRING,
7225 if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
7226
7227 *** truncate-string-to-width shortens a string, if necessary,
7228 to fit within a certain number of columns. (Of course, it does
7229 not alter the string that you give it; it returns a new string
7230 which contains all or just part of the existing string.)
7231
7232 (truncate-string-to-width STR END-COLUMN &optional START-COLUMN PADDING)
7233
7234 This returns the part of STR up to column END-COLUMN.
7235
7236 The optional argument START-COLUMN specifies the starting column.
7237 If this is non-nil, then the first START-COLUMN columns of the string
7238 are not included in the resulting value.
7239
7240 The optional argument PADDING, if non-nil, is a padding character to be added
7241 at the beginning and end the resulting string, to extend it to exactly
7242 WIDTH columns. If PADDING is nil, that means do not pad; then, if STRING
7243 is narrower than WIDTH, the value is equal to STRING.
7244
7245 If PADDING and START-COLUMN are both non-nil, and if there is no clean
7246 place in STRING that corresponds to START-COLUMN (because one
7247 character extends across that column), then the padding character
7248 PADDING is added one or more times at the beginning of the result
7249 string, so that its columns line up as if it really did start at
7250 column START-COLUMN.
7251
7252 *** When the functions in the list after-change-functions are called,
7253 the third argument is the number of bytes in the pre-change text, not
7254 necessarily the number of characters. It is, in effect, the
7255 difference in buffer position between the beginning and the end of the
7256 changed text, before the change.
7257
7258 *** The characters Emacs uses are classified in various character
7259 sets, each of which has a name which is a symbol. In general there is
7260 one character set for each script, not for each language.
7261
7262 **** The function charsetp tests whether an object is a character set name.
7263
7264 **** The variable charset-list holds a list of character set names.
7265
7266 **** char-charset, given a character code, returns the name of the character
7267 set that the character belongs to. (The value is a symbol.)
7268
7269 **** split-char, given a character code, returns a list containing the
7270 name of the character set, followed by one or two byte-values
7271 which identify the character within that character set.
7272
7273 **** make-char, given a character set name and one or two subsequent
7274 byte-values, constructs a character code. This is roughly the
7275 opposite of split-char.
7276
7277 **** find-charset-region returns a list of the character sets
7278 of all the characters between BEG and END.
7279
7280 **** find-charset-string returns a list of the character sets
7281 of all the characters in a string.
7282
7283 *** Here are the Lisp facilities for working with coding systems
7284 and specifying coding systems.
7285
7286 **** The function coding-system-list returns a list of all coding
7287 system names (symbols). With optional argument t, it returns a list
7288 of all distinct base coding systems, not including variants.
7289 (Variant coding systems are those like latin-1-dos, latin-1-unix
7290 and latin-1-mac which specify the end-of-line conversion as well
7291 as what to do about code conversion.)
7292
7293 **** coding-system-p tests a symbol to see if it is a coding system
7294 name. It returns t if so, nil if not.
7295
7296 **** file-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
7297 for certain file names. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
7298 except that the PATTERN is matched against the file name.
7299
7300 Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
7301 which file names the element applies to. PATTERN should be a regexp
7302 to match against a file name.
7303
7304 VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
7305 a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
7306 decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
7307 to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
7308 systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
7309 specifies the coding system for encoding.
7310
7311 If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
7312 or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
7313
7314 **** The variable network-coding-system-alist specifies
7315 the coding system to use for network sockets.
7316
7317 Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
7318 which network sockets the element applies to. PATTERN should be
7319 either a port number or a regular expression matching some network
7320 service names.
7321
7322 VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
7323 a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
7324 decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
7325 to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
7326 systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
7327 specifies the coding system for encoding.
7328
7329 If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
7330 or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
7331
7332 **** process-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
7333 for certain subprocess. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
7334 except that the PATTERN is matched against the program name used to
7335 start the subprocess.
7336
7337 **** The variable default-process-coding-system specifies the coding
7338 systems to use for subprocess (and net connection) input and output,
7339 when nothing else specifies what to do. The value is a cons cell
7340 (OUTPUT-CODING . INPUT-CODING). OUTPUT-CODING applies to output
7341 to the subprocess, and INPUT-CODING applies to input from it.
7342
7343 **** The variable coding-system-for-write, if non-nil, specifies the
7344 coding system to use for writing a file, or for output to a synchronous
7345 subprocess.
7346
7347 It also applies to any asynchronous subprocess or network connection,
7348 but in a different way: the value of coding-system-for-write when you
7349 start the subprocess or connection affects that subprocess or
7350 connection permanently or until overridden.
7351
7352 The variable coding-system-for-write takes precedence over
7353 file-coding-system-alist, process-coding-system-alist and
7354 network-coding-system-alist, and all other methods of specifying a
7355 coding system for output. But most of the time this variable is nil.
7356 It exists so that Lisp programs can bind it to a specific coding
7357 system for one operation at a time.
7358
7359 **** coding-system-for-read applies similarly to input from
7360 files, subprocesses or network connections.
7361
7362 **** The function process-coding-system tells you what
7363 coding systems(s) an existing subprocess is using.
7364 The value is a cons cell,
7365 (DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM . ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM)
7366 where DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for decoding output from
7367 the subprocess, and ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for encoding
7368 input to the subprocess.
7369
7370 **** The function set-process-coding-system can be used to
7371 change the coding systems in use for an existing subprocess.
7372
7373 ** Emacs has a new facility to help users manage the many
7374 customization options. To make a Lisp program work with this facility,
7375 you need to use the new macros defgroup and defcustom.
7376
7377 You use defcustom instead of defvar, for defining a user option
7378 variable. The difference is that you specify two additional pieces of
7379 information (usually): the "type" which says what values are
7380 legitimate, and the "group" which specifies the hierarchy for
7381 customization.
7382
7383 Thus, instead of writing
7384
7385 (defvar foo-blurgoze nil
7386 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely.")
7387
7388 you would now write this:
7389
7390 (defcustom foo-blurgoze nil
7391 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely."
7392 :type 'boolean
7393 :group foo)
7394
7395 The type `boolean' means that this variable has only
7396 two meaningful states: nil and non-nil. Other type values
7397 describe other possibilities; see the manual for Custom
7398 for a description of them.
7399
7400 The "group" argument is used to specify a group which the option
7401 should belong to. You define a new group like this:
7402
7403 (defgroup ispell nil
7404 "Spell checking using Ispell."
7405 :group 'processes)
7406
7407 The "group" argument in defgroup specifies the parent group. The root
7408 group is called `emacs'; it should not contain any variables itself,
7409 but only other groups. The immediate subgroups of `emacs' correspond
7410 to the keywords used by C-h p. Under these subgroups come
7411 second-level subgroups that belong to individual packages.
7412
7413 Each Emacs package should have its own set of groups. A simple
7414 package should have just one group; a more complex package should
7415 have a hierarchy of its own groups. The sole or root group of a
7416 package should be a subgroup of one or more of the "keyword"
7417 first-level subgroups.
7418
7419 ** New `widget' library for inserting UI components in buffers.
7420
7421 This library, used by the new custom library, is documented in a
7422 separate manual that accompanies Emacs.
7423
7424 ** easy-mmode
7425
7426 The easy-mmode package provides macros and functions that make
7427 developing minor modes easier. Roughly, the programmer has to code
7428 only the functionality of the minor mode. All the rest--toggles,
7429 predicate, and documentation--can be done in one call to the macro
7430 `easy-mmode-define-minor-mode' (see the documentation). See also
7431 `easy-mmode-define-keymap'.
7432
7433 ** Text property changes
7434
7435 *** The `intangible' property now works on overlays as well as on a
7436 text property.
7437
7438 *** The new functions next-char-property-change and
7439 previous-char-property-change scan through the buffer looking for a
7440 place where either a text property or an overlay might change. The
7441 functions take two arguments, POSITION and LIMIT. POSITION is the
7442 starting position for the scan. LIMIT says where to stop the scan.
7443
7444 If no property change is found before LIMIT, the value is LIMIT. If
7445 LIMIT is nil, scan goes to the beginning or end of the accessible part
7446 of the buffer. If no property change is found, the value is the
7447 position of the beginning or end of the buffer.
7448
7449 *** In the `local-map' text property or overlay property, the property
7450 value can now be a symbol whose function definition is a keymap. This
7451 is an alternative to using the keymap itself.
7452
7453 ** Changes in invisibility features
7454
7455 *** Isearch can now temporarily show parts of the buffer which are
7456 hidden by an overlay with a invisible property, when the search match
7457 is inside that portion of the buffer. To enable this the overlay
7458 should have a isearch-open-invisible property which is a function that
7459 would be called having the overlay as an argument, the function should
7460 make the overlay visible.
7461
7462 During incremental search the overlays are shown by modifying the
7463 invisible and intangible properties, if beside this more actions are
7464 needed the overlay should have a isearch-open-invisible-temporary
7465 which is a function. The function is called with 2 arguments: one is
7466 the overlay and the second is nil when it should show the overlay and
7467 t when it should hide it.
7468
7469 *** add-to-invisibility-spec, remove-from-invisibility-spec
7470
7471 Modes that use overlays to hide portions of a buffer should set the
7472 invisible property of the overlay to the mode's name (or another symbol)
7473 and modify the `buffer-invisibility-spec' to include that symbol.
7474 Use `add-to-invisibility-spec' and `remove-from-invisibility-spec' to
7475 manipulate the `buffer-invisibility-spec'.
7476 Here is an example of how to do this:
7477
7478 ;; If we want to display an ellipsis:
7479 (add-to-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
7480 ;; If you don't want ellipsis:
7481 (add-to-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
7482
7483 ...
7484 (overlay-put (make-overlay beginning end) 'invisible 'my-symbol)
7485
7486 ...
7487 ;; When done with the overlays:
7488 (remove-from-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
7489 ;; Or respectively:
7490 (remove-from-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
7491
7492 ** Changes in syntax parsing.
7493
7494 *** The syntax-directed buffer-scan functions (such as
7495 `parse-partial-sexp', `forward-word' and similar functions) can now
7496 obey syntax information specified by text properties, if the variable
7497 `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil.
7498
7499 If the value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is nil, the behavior
7500 is as before: the syntax-table of the current buffer is always
7501 used to determine the syntax of the character at the position.
7502
7503 When `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil, the syntax of a
7504 character in the buffer is calculated thus:
7505
7506 a) if the `syntax-table' text-property of that character
7507 is a cons, this cons becomes the syntax-type;
7508
7509 Valid values of `syntax-table' text-property are: nil, a valid
7510 syntax-table, and a valid syntax-table element, i.e.,
7511 a cons cell of the form (SYNTAX-CODE . MATCHING-CHAR).
7512
7513 b) if the character's `syntax-table' text-property
7514 is a syntax table, this syntax table is used
7515 (instead of the syntax-table of the current buffer) to
7516 determine the syntax type of the character.
7517
7518 c) otherwise the syntax-type is determined by the syntax-table
7519 of the current buffer.
7520
7521 *** The meaning of \s in regular expressions is also affected by the
7522 value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties'. The details are the same as
7523 for the syntax-directed buffer-scan functions.
7524
7525 *** There are two new syntax-codes, `!' and `|' (numeric values 14
7526 and 15). A character with a code `!' starts a comment which is ended
7527 only by another character with the same code (unless quoted). A
7528 character with a code `|' starts a string which is ended only by
7529 another character with the same code (unless quoted).
7530
7531 These codes are mainly meant for use as values of the `syntax-table'
7532 text property.
7533
7534 *** The function `parse-partial-sexp' has new semantics for the sixth
7535 arg COMMENTSTOP. If it is `syntax-table', parse stops after the start
7536 of a comment or a string, or after end of a comment or a string.
7537
7538 *** The state-list which the return value from `parse-partial-sexp'
7539 (and can also be used as an argument) now has an optional ninth
7540 element: the character address of the start of last comment or string;
7541 nil if none. The fourth and eighth elements have special values if the
7542 string/comment is started by a "!" or "|" syntax-code.
7543
7544 *** Since new features of `parse-partial-sexp' allow a complete
7545 syntactic parsing, `font-lock' no longer supports
7546 `font-lock-comment-start-regexp'.
7547
7548 ** Changes in face features
7549
7550 *** The face functions are now unconditionally defined in Emacs, even
7551 if it does not support displaying on a device that supports faces.
7552
7553 *** The function face-documentation returns the documentation string
7554 of a face (or nil if it doesn't have one).
7555
7556 *** The function face-bold-p returns t if a face should be bold.
7557 set-face-bold-p sets that flag.
7558
7559 *** The function face-italic-p returns t if a face should be italic.
7560 set-face-italic-p sets that flag.
7561
7562 *** You can now specify foreground and background colors for text
7563 by adding elements of the form (foreground-color . COLOR-NAME)
7564 and (background-color . COLOR-NAME) to the list of faces in
7565 the `face' property (either the character's text property or an
7566 overlay property).
7567
7568 This means that you no longer need to create named faces to use
7569 arbitrary colors in a Lisp package.
7570
7571 ** Changes in file-handling functions
7572
7573 *** File-access primitive functions no longer discard an extra redundant
7574 directory name from the beginning of the file name. In other words,
7575 they no longer do anything special with // or /~. That conversion
7576 is now done only in substitute-in-file-name.
7577
7578 This makes it possible for a Lisp program to open a file whose name
7579 begins with ~.
7580
7581 *** If copy-file is unable to set the date of the output file,
7582 it now signals an error with the condition file-date-error.
7583
7584 *** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
7585 the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a list of integers.
7586
7587 *** insert-file-contents can now read from a special file,
7588 as long as the arguments VISIT and REPLACE are nil.
7589
7590 *** The RAWFILE arg to find-file-noselect, if non-nil, now suppresses
7591 character code conversion as well as other things.
7592
7593 Meanwhile, this feature does work with remote file names
7594 (formerly it did not).
7595
7596 *** Lisp packages which create temporary files should use the TMPDIR
7597 environment variable to decide which directory to put them in.
7598
7599 *** interpreter-mode-alist elements now specify regexps
7600 instead of constant strings.
7601
7602 *** expand-file-name no longer treats `//' or `/~' specially. It used
7603 to delete all the text of a file name up through the first slash of
7604 any `//' or `/~' sequence. Now it passes them straight through.
7605
7606 substitute-in-file-name continues to treat those sequences specially,
7607 in the same way as before.
7608
7609 *** The variable `format-alist' is more general now.
7610 The FROM-FN and TO-FN in a format definition can now be strings
7611 which specify shell commands to use as filters to perform conversion.
7612
7613 *** The new function access-file tries to open a file, and signals an
7614 error if that fails. If the open succeeds, access-file does nothing
7615 else, and returns nil.
7616
7617 *** The function insert-directory now signals an error if the specified
7618 directory cannot be listed.
7619
7620 ** Changes in minibuffer input
7621
7622 *** The functions read-buffer, read-variable, read-command, read-string
7623 read-file-name, read-from-minibuffer and completing-read now take an
7624 additional argument which specifies the default value. If this
7625 argument is non-nil, it should be a string; that string is used in two
7626 ways:
7627
7628 It is returned if the user enters empty input.
7629 It is available through the history command M-n.
7630
7631 *** The functions read-string, read-from-minibuffer,
7632 read-no-blanks-input and completing-read now take an additional
7633 argument INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. If this is non-nil, then the
7634 minibuffer inherits the current input method and the setting of
7635 enable-multibyte-characters from the previously current buffer.
7636
7637 In an interactive spec, you can use M instead of s to read an
7638 argument in this way.
7639
7640 *** All minibuffer input functions discard text properties
7641 from the text you enter in the minibuffer, unless the variable
7642 minibuffer-allow-text-properties is non-nil.
7643
7644 ** Echo area features
7645
7646 *** Clearing the echo area now runs the normal hook
7647 echo-area-clear-hook. Note that the echo area can be used while the
7648 minibuffer is active; in that case, the minibuffer is still active
7649 after the echo area is cleared.
7650
7651 *** The function current-message returns the message currently displayed
7652 in the echo area, or nil if there is none.
7653
7654 ** Keyboard input features
7655
7656 *** tty-erase-char is a new variable that reports which character was
7657 set up as the terminal's erase character when time Emacs was started.
7658
7659 *** num-nonmacro-input-events is the total number of input events
7660 received so far from the terminal. It does not count those generated
7661 by keyboard macros.
7662
7663 ** Frame-related changes
7664
7665 *** make-frame runs the normal hook before-make-frame-hook just before
7666 creating a frame, and just after creating a frame it runs the abnormal
7667 hook after-make-frame-functions with the new frame as arg.
7668
7669 *** The new hook window-configuration-change-hook is now run every time
7670 the window configuration has changed. The frame whose configuration
7671 has changed is the selected frame when the hook is run.
7672
7673 *** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
7674 selected buffers, in its buffer-list frame parameter, so that the
7675 value of other-buffer is now based on the buffers recently displayed
7676 in the selected frame.
7677
7678 *** The value of the frame parameter vertical-scroll-bars
7679 is now `left', `right' or nil. A non-nil value specifies
7680 which side of the window to put the scroll bars on.
7681
7682 ** X Windows features
7683
7684 *** You can examine X resources for other applications by binding
7685 x-resource-class around a call to x-get-resource. The usual value of
7686 x-resource-class is "Emacs", which is the correct value for Emacs.
7687
7688 *** In menus, checkboxes and radio buttons now actually work.
7689 The menu displays the current status of the box or button.
7690
7691 *** The function x-list-fonts now takes an optional fourth argument
7692 MAXIMUM which sets a limit on how many matching fonts to return.
7693 A smaller value of MAXIMUM makes the function faster.
7694
7695 If the only question is whether *any* font matches the pattern,
7696 it is good to supply 1 for this argument.
7697
7698 ** Subprocess features
7699
7700 *** A reminder: it is no longer necessary for subprocess filter
7701 functions and sentinels to do save-match-data, because Emacs does this
7702 automatically.
7703
7704 *** The new function shell-command-to-string executes a shell command
7705 and returns the output from the command as a string.
7706
7707 *** The new function process-contact returns t for a child process,
7708 and (HOSTNAME SERVICE) for a net connection.
7709
7710 ** An error in running pre-command-hook or post-command-hook
7711 does clear the variable to nil. The documentation was wrong before.
7712
7713 ** In define-key-after, if AFTER is t, the new binding now always goes
7714 at the end of the keymap. If the keymap is a menu, this means it
7715 goes after the other menu items.
7716
7717 ** If you have a program that makes several changes in the same area
7718 of the buffer, you can use the macro combine-after-change-calls
7719 around that Lisp code to make it faster when after-change hooks
7720 are in use.
7721
7722 The macro arranges to call the after-change functions just once for a
7723 series of several changes--if that seems safe.
7724
7725 Don't alter the variables after-change-functions and
7726 after-change-function within the body of a combine-after-change-calls
7727 form.
7728
7729 ** If you define an abbrev (with define-abbrev) whose EXPANSION
7730 is not a string, then the abbrev does not expand in the usual sense,
7731 but its hook is still run.
7732
7733 ** Normally, the Lisp debugger is not used (even if you have enabled it)
7734 for errors that are handled by condition-case.
7735
7736 If you set debug-on-signal to a non-nil value, then the debugger is called
7737 regardless of whether there is a handler for the condition. This is
7738 useful for debugging problems that happen inside of a condition-case.
7739
7740 This mode of operation seems to be unreliable in other ways. Errors that
7741 are normal and ought to be handled, perhaps in timers or process
7742 filters, will instead invoke the debugger. So don't say you weren't
7743 warned.
7744
7745 ** The new variable ring-bell-function lets you specify your own
7746 way for Emacs to "ring the bell".
7747
7748 ** If run-at-time's TIME argument is t, the action is repeated at
7749 integral multiples of REPEAT from the epoch; this is useful for
7750 functions like display-time.
7751
7752 ** You can use the function locate-library to find the precise file
7753 name of a Lisp library. This isn't new, but wasn't documented before.
7754
7755 ** Commands for entering view mode have new optional arguments that
7756 can be used from Lisp. Low-level entrance to and exit from view mode
7757 is done by functions view-mode-enter and view-mode-exit.
7758
7759 ** batch-byte-compile-file now makes Emacs return a nonzero status code
7760 if there is an error in compilation.
7761
7762 ** pop-to-buffer, switch-to-buffer-other-window and
7763 switch-to-buffer-other-frame now accept an additional optional
7764 argument NORECORD, much like switch-to-buffer. If it is non-nil,
7765 they don't put the buffer at the front of the buffer list.
7766
7767 ** If your .emacs file leaves the *scratch* buffer non-empty,
7768 Emacs does not display the startup message, so as to avoid changing
7769 the *scratch* buffer.
7770
7771 ** The new function regexp-opt returns an efficient regexp to match a string.
7772 The arguments are STRINGS and (optionally) PAREN. This function can be used
7773 where regexp matching or searching is intensively used and speed is important,
7774 e.g., in Font Lock mode.
7775
7776 ** The variable buffer-display-count is local to each buffer,
7777 and is incremented each time the buffer is displayed in a window.
7778 It starts at 0 when the buffer is created.
7779
7780 ** The new function compose-mail starts composing a mail message
7781 using the user's chosen mail composition agent (specified with the
7782 variable mail-user-agent). It has variants compose-mail-other-window
7783 and compose-mail-other-frame.
7784
7785 ** The `user-full-name' function now takes an optional parameter which
7786 can either be a number (the UID) or a string (the login name). The
7787 full name of the specified user will be returned.
7788
7789 ** Lisp packages that load files of customizations, or any other sort
7790 of user profile, should obey the variable init-file-user in deciding
7791 where to find it. They should load the profile of the user name found
7792 in that variable. If init-file-user is nil, meaning that the -q
7793 option was used, then Lisp packages should not load the customization
7794 files at all.
7795
7796 ** format-time-string now allows you to specify the field width
7797 and type of padding. This works as in printf: you write the field
7798 width as digits in the middle of a %-construct. If you start
7799 the field width with 0, it means to pad with zeros.
7800
7801 For example, %S normally specifies the number of seconds since the
7802 minute; %03S means to pad this with zeros to 3 positions, %_3S to pad
7803 with spaces to 3 positions. Plain %3S pads with zeros, because that
7804 is how %S normally pads to two positions.
7805
7806 ** thing-at-point now supports a new kind of "thing": url.
7807
7808 ** imenu.el changes.
7809
7810 You can now specify a function to be run when selecting an
7811 item from menu created by imenu.
7812
7813 An example of using this feature: if we define imenu items for the
7814 #include directives in a C file, we can open the included file when we
7815 select one of those items.
7816 \f
7817 * Emacs 19.34 is a bug-fix release with no user-visible changes.
7818 \f
7819 * Changes in Emacs 19.33.
7820
7821 ** Bibtex mode no longer turns on Auto Fill automatically. (No major
7822 mode should do that--it is the user's choice.)
7823
7824 ** The variable normal-auto-fill-function specifies the function to
7825 use for auto-fill-function, if and when Auto Fill is turned on.
7826 Major modes can set this locally to alter how Auto Fill works.
7827 \f
7828 * Editing Changes in Emacs 19.32
7829
7830 ** C-x f with no argument now signals an error.
7831 To set the fill column at the current column, use C-u C-x f.
7832
7833 ** Expanding dynamic abbrevs with M-/ is now smarter about case
7834 conversion. If you type the abbreviation with mixed case, and it
7835 matches the beginning of the expansion including case, then the
7836 expansion is copied verbatim. Using SPC M-/ to copy an additional
7837 word always copies it verbatim except when the previous copied word is
7838 all caps.
7839
7840 ** On a non-windowing terminal, which can display only one Emacs frame
7841 at a time, creating a new frame with C-x 5 2 also selects that frame.
7842
7843 When using a display that can show multiple frames at once, C-x 5 2
7844 does make the frame visible, but does not select it. This is the same
7845 as in previous Emacs versions.
7846
7847 ** You can use C-x 5 2 to create multiple frames on MSDOS, just as on a
7848 non-X terminal on Unix. Of course, only one frame is visible at any
7849 time, since your terminal doesn't have the ability to display multiple
7850 frames.
7851
7852 ** On Windows, set win32-pass-alt-to-system to a non-nil value
7853 if you would like tapping the Alt key to invoke the Windows menu.
7854 This feature is not enabled by default; since the Alt key is also the
7855 Meta key, it is too easy and painful to activate this feature by
7856 accident.
7857
7858 ** The command apply-macro-to-region-lines repeats the last defined
7859 keyboard macro once for each complete line within the current region.
7860 It does this line by line, by moving point to the beginning of that
7861 line and then executing the macro.
7862
7863 This command is not new, but was never documented before.
7864
7865 ** You can now use Mouse-1 to place the region around a string constant
7866 (something surrounded by doublequote characters or other delimiter
7867 characters of like syntax) by double-clicking on one of the delimiting
7868 characters.
7869
7870 ** Font Lock mode
7871
7872 *** Font Lock support modes
7873
7874 Font Lock can be configured to use Fast Lock mode and Lazy Lock mode (see
7875 below) in a flexible way. Rather than adding the appropriate function to the
7876 hook font-lock-mode-hook, you can use the new variable font-lock-support-mode
7877 to control which modes have Fast Lock mode or Lazy Lock mode turned on when
7878 Font Lock mode is enabled.
7879
7880 For example, to use Fast Lock mode when Font Lock mode is turned on, put:
7881
7882 (setq font-lock-support-mode 'fast-lock-mode)
7883
7884 in your ~/.emacs.
7885
7886 *** lazy-lock
7887
7888 The lazy-lock package speeds up Font Lock mode by making fontification occur
7889 only when necessary, such as when a previously unfontified part of the buffer
7890 becomes visible in a window. When you create a buffer with Font Lock mode and
7891 Lazy Lock mode turned on, the buffer is not fontified. When certain events
7892 occur (such as scrolling), Lazy Lock makes sure that the visible parts of the
7893 buffer are fontified. Lazy Lock also defers on-the-fly fontification until
7894 Emacs has been idle for a given amount of time.
7895
7896 To use this package, put in your ~/.emacs:
7897
7898 (setq font-lock-support-mode 'lazy-lock-mode)
7899
7900 To control the package behaviour, see the documentation for `lazy-lock-mode'.
7901
7902 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
7903
7904 *** For all entries allow spaces and tabs between opening brace or
7905 paren and key.
7906
7907 *** Non-escaped double-quoted characters (as in `Sch"of') are now
7908 supported.
7909
7910 ** Gnus changes.
7911
7912 Gnus, the Emacs news reader, has undergone further rewriting. Many new
7913 commands and variables have been added. There should be no
7914 significant incompatibilities between this Gnus version and the
7915 previously released version, except in the message composition area.
7916
7917 Below is a list of the more user-visible changes. Coding changes
7918 between Gnus 5.1 and 5.2 are more extensive.
7919
7920 *** A new message composition mode is used. All old customization
7921 variables for mail-mode, rnews-reply-mode and gnus-msg are now
7922 obsolete.
7923
7924 *** Gnus is now able to generate "sparse" threads -- threads where
7925 missing articles are represented by empty nodes.
7926
7927 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
7928
7929 *** Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server.
7930
7931 To disable this: (setq gnus-message-archive-group nil)
7932
7933 *** Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
7934 referred.
7935
7936 *** Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions:
7937
7938 (setq gnus-use-grouplens t)
7939
7940 *** A trn-line tree buffer can be displayed.
7941
7942 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
7943
7944 *** An nn-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
7945 buffers.
7946
7947 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7948
7949 *** In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode:
7950
7951 `M-x gnus-binary-mode'
7952
7953 *** Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy.
7954
7955 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
7956
7957 *** Gnus can re-send and bounce mail.
7958
7959 Use the `S D r' and `S D b'.
7960
7961 *** Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
7962 is possible.
7963
7964 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
7965
7966 *** Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
7967 groups of groups.
7968
7969 *** Caching is possible in virtual groups.
7970
7971 *** nndoc now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews news
7972 batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything else.
7973
7974 *** Gnus has a new backend (nnsoup) to create/read SOUP packets.
7975
7976 *** The Gnus cache is much faster.
7977
7978 *** Groups can be sorted according to many criteria.
7979
7980 For instance: (setq gnus-group-sort-function 'gnus-group-sort-by-rank)
7981
7982 *** New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
7983 expiration times.
7984
7985 *** All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used.
7986
7987 *** There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on
7988 process marked articles on the `M P' submap.
7989
7990 *** The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
7991 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
7992 bound to keys on the `/' submap.
7993
7994 *** Articles can be made persistent -- as an alternative to saving
7995 articles with the `*' command.
7996
7997 *** All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
7998
7999 *** Article headers can be buttonized.
8000
8001 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
8002
8003 *** All mail backends support fetching articles by Message-ID.
8004
8005 *** Duplicate mail can now be treated properly. See the
8006 `nnmail-treat-duplicates' variable.
8007
8008 *** All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
8009 buffer.
8010
8011 *** Frames can be part of `gnus-buffer-configuration'.
8012
8013 *** Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process.
8014
8015 *** Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to filter spam.
8016
8017 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
8018
8019 *** Groups can be made permanently visible.
8020
8021 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
8022
8023 *** Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
8024
8025 *** Gnus respects the Mail-Copies-To header.
8026
8027 *** Threads can be gathered by looking at the References header.
8028
8029 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
8030 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
8031
8032 *** Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
8033 refetching.
8034
8035 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
8036
8037 *** A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
8038 buffer to allow easier treatment.
8039
8040 *** Gnus can suggest where to save articles. See `gnus-split-methods'.
8041
8042 *** Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving.
8043
8044 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
8045
8046 *** gnus-uu can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
8047 articles.
8048
8049 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
8050
8051 *** Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text.
8052
8053 *** Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
8054 cited text to hide is now customizable.
8055
8056 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
8057
8058 *** Boring headers can be hidden.
8059
8060 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers)
8061
8062 *** Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
8063
8064 *** Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
8065
8066 The Gnus manual has been expanded. It explains all these new features
8067 in greater detail.
8068 \f
8069 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 19.32
8070
8071 ** The function set-visited-file-name now accepts an optional
8072 second argument NO-QUERY. If it is non-nil, then the user is not
8073 asked for confirmation in the case where the specified file already
8074 exists.
8075
8076 ** The variable print-length applies to printing vectors and bitvectors,
8077 as well as lists.
8078
8079 ** The new function keymap-parent returns the parent keymap
8080 of a given keymap.
8081
8082 ** The new function set-keymap-parent specifies a new parent for a
8083 given keymap. The arguments are KEYMAP and PARENT. PARENT must be a
8084 keymap or nil.
8085
8086 ** Sometimes menu keymaps use a command name, a symbol, which is really
8087 an automatically generated alias for some other command, the "real"
8088 name. In such a case, you should give that alias symbol a non-nil
8089 menu-alias property. That property tells the menu system to look for
8090 equivalent keys for the real name instead of equivalent keys for the
8091 alias.
8092 \f
8093 * Editing Changes in Emacs 19.31
8094
8095 ** Freedom of the press restricted in the United States.
8096
8097 Emacs has been censored in accord with the Communications Decency Act.
8098 This includes removing some features of the doctor program. That law
8099 was described by its supporters as a ban on pornography, but it bans
8100 far more than that. The Emacs distribution has never contained any
8101 pornography, but parts of it were nonetheless prohibited.
8102
8103 For information on US government censorship of the Internet, and what
8104 you can do to bring back freedom of the press, see the web site
8105 `http://www.vtw.org/'.
8106
8107 ** A note about C mode indentation customization.
8108
8109 The old (Emacs 19.29) ways of specifying a C indentation style
8110 do not normally work in the new implementation of C mode.
8111 It has its own methods of customizing indentation, which are
8112 much more powerful than the old C mode. See the Editing Programs
8113 chapter of the manual for details.
8114
8115 However, you can load the library cc-compat to make the old
8116 customization variables take effect.
8117
8118 ** Marking with the mouse.
8119
8120 When you mark a region with the mouse, the region now remains
8121 highlighted until the next input event, regardless of whether you are
8122 using M-x transient-mark-mode.
8123
8124 ** Improved Windows NT/95 support.
8125
8126 *** Emacs now supports scroll bars on Windows NT and Windows 95.
8127
8128 *** Emacs now supports subprocesses on Windows 95. (Subprocesses used
8129 to work on NT only and not on 95.)
8130
8131 *** There are difficulties with subprocesses, though, due to problems
8132 in Windows, beyond the control of Emacs. They work fine as long as
8133 you run Windows applications. The problems arise when you run a DOS
8134 application in a subprocesses. Since current shells run as DOS
8135 applications, these problems are significant.
8136
8137 If you run a DOS application in a subprocess, then the application is
8138 likely to busy-wait, which means that your machine will be 100% busy.
8139 However, if you don't mind the temporary heavy load, the subprocess
8140 will work OK as long as you tell it to terminate before you start any
8141 other DOS application as a subprocess.
8142
8143 Emacs is unable to terminate or interrupt a DOS subprocess.
8144 You have to do this by providing input directly to the subprocess.
8145
8146 If you run two DOS applications at the same time in two separate
8147 subprocesses, even if one of them is asynchronous, you will probably
8148 have to reboot your machine--until then, it will remain 100% busy.
8149 Windows simply does not cope when one Windows process tries to run two
8150 separate DOS subprocesses. Typing CTL-ALT-DEL and then choosing
8151 Shutdown seems to work although it may take a few minutes.
8152
8153 ** M-x resize-minibuffer-mode.
8154
8155 This command, not previously mentioned in NEWS, toggles a mode in
8156 which the minibuffer window expands to show as many lines as the
8157 minibuffer contains.
8158
8159 ** `title' frame parameter and resource.
8160
8161 The `title' X resource now specifies just the frame title, nothing else.
8162 It does not affect the name used for looking up other X resources.
8163 It works by setting the new `title' frame parameter, which likewise
8164 affects just the displayed title of the frame.
8165
8166 The `name' parameter continues to do what it used to do:
8167 it specifies the frame name for looking up X resources,
8168 and also serves as the default for the displayed title
8169 when the `title' parameter is unspecified or nil.
8170
8171 ** Emacs now uses the X toolkit by default, if you have a new
8172 enough version of X installed (X11R5 or newer).
8173
8174 ** When you compile Emacs with the Motif widget set, Motif handles the
8175 F10 key by activating the menu bar. To avoid confusion, the usual
8176 Emacs binding of F10 is replaced with a no-op when using Motif.
8177
8178 If you want to be able to use F10 in Emacs, you can rebind the Motif
8179 menubar to some other key which you don't use. To do so, add
8180 something like this to your X resources file. This example rebinds
8181 the Motif menu bar activation key to S-F12:
8182
8183 Emacs*defaultVirtualBindings: osfMenuBar : Shift<Key>F12
8184
8185 ** In overwrite mode, DEL now inserts spaces in most cases
8186 to replace the characters it "deletes".
8187
8188 ** The Rmail summary now shows the number of lines in each message.
8189
8190 ** Rmail has a new command M-x unforward-rmail-message, which extracts
8191 a forwarded message from the message that forwarded it. To use it,
8192 select a message which contains a forwarded message and then type the command.
8193 It inserts the forwarded message as a separate Rmail message
8194 immediately after the selected one.
8195
8196 This command also undoes the textual modifications that are standardly
8197 made, as part of forwarding, by Rmail and other mail reader programs.
8198
8199 ** Turning off saving of .saves-... files in your home directory.
8200
8201 Each Emacs session writes a file named .saves-... in your home
8202 directory to record which files M-x recover-session should recover.
8203 If you exit Emacs normally with C-x C-c, it deletes that file. If
8204 Emacs or the operating system crashes, the file remains for M-x
8205 recover-session.
8206
8207 You can turn off the writing of these files by setting
8208 auto-save-list-file-name to nil. If you do this, M-x recover-session
8209 will not work.
8210
8211 Some previous Emacs versions failed to delete these files even on
8212 normal exit. This is fixed now. If you are thinking of turning off
8213 this feature because of past experiences with versions that had this
8214 bug, it would make sense to check whether you still want to do so
8215 now that the bug is fixed.
8216
8217 ** Changes to Version Control (VC)
8218
8219 There is a new variable, vc-follow-symlinks. It indicates what to do
8220 when you visit a link to a file that is under version control.
8221 Editing the file through the link bypasses the version control system,
8222 which is dangerous and probably not what you want.
8223
8224 If this variable is t, VC follows the link and visits the real file,
8225 telling you about it in the echo area. If it is `ask' (the default),
8226 VC asks for confirmation whether it should follow the link. If nil,
8227 the link is visited and a warning displayed.
8228
8229 ** iso-acc.el now lets you specify a choice of language.
8230 Languages include "latin-1" (the default) and "latin-2" (which
8231 is designed for entering ISO Latin-2 characters).
8232
8233 There are also choices for specific human languages such as French and
8234 Portuguese. These are subsets of Latin-1, which differ in that they
8235 enable only the accent characters needed for particular language.
8236 The other accent characters, not needed for the chosen language,
8237 remain normal.
8238
8239 ** Posting articles and sending mail now has M-TAB completion on various
8240 header fields (Newsgroups, To, CC, ...).
8241
8242 Completion in the Newsgroups header depends on the list of groups
8243 known to your news reader. Completion in the Followup-To header
8244 offers those groups which are in the Newsgroups header, since
8245 Followup-To usually just holds one of those.
8246
8247 Completion in fields that hold mail addresses works based on the list
8248 of local users plus your aliases. Additionally, if your site provides
8249 a mail directory or a specific host to use for any unrecognized user
8250 name, you can arrange to query that host for completion also. (See the
8251 documentation of variables `mail-directory-process' and
8252 `mail-directory-stream'.)
8253
8254 ** A greatly extended sgml-mode offers new features such as (to be configured)
8255 skeletons with completing read for tags and attributes, typing named
8256 characters including optionally all 8bit characters, making tags invisible
8257 with optional alternate display text, skipping and deleting tag(pair)s.
8258
8259 Note: since Emacs' syntax feature cannot limit the special meaning of ', " and
8260 - to inside <>, for some texts the result, especially of font locking, may be
8261 wrong (see `sgml-specials' if you get wrong results).
8262
8263 The derived html-mode configures this with tags and attributes more or
8264 less HTML3ish. It also offers optional quick keys like C-c 1 for
8265 headline or C-c u for unordered list (see `html-quick-keys'). Edit /
8266 Text Properties / Face or M-g combinations create tags as applicable.
8267 Outline minor mode is supported and level 1 font-locking tries to
8268 fontify tag contents (which only works when they fit on one line, due
8269 to a limitation in font-lock).
8270
8271 External viewing via browse-url can occur automatically upon saving.
8272
8273 ** M-x imenu-add-to-menubar now adds to the menu bar for the current
8274 buffer only. If you want to put an Imenu item in the menu bar for all
8275 buffers that use a particular major mode, use the mode hook, as in
8276 this example:
8277
8278 (add-hook 'emacs-lisp-mode-hook
8279 '(lambda () (imenu-add-to-menubar "Index")))
8280
8281 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
8282
8283 *** Field names may now contain digits, hyphens, and underscores.
8284
8285 *** Font Lock mode is now supported.
8286
8287 *** bibtex-make-optional-field is no longer interactive.
8288
8289 *** If bibtex-maintain-sorted-entries is non-nil, inserting new
8290 entries is now done with a faster algorithm. However, inserting
8291 will fail in this case if the buffer contains invalid entries or
8292 isn't in sorted order, so you should finish each entry with C-c C-c
8293 (bibtex-close-entry) after you have inserted or modified it.
8294 The default value of bibtex-maintain-sorted-entries is nil.
8295
8296 *** Function `show-all' is no longer bound to a key, since C-u C-c C-q
8297 does the same job.
8298
8299 *** Entries with quotes inside quote-delimited fields (as `author =
8300 "Stefan Sch{\"o}f"') are now supported.
8301
8302 *** Case in field names doesn't matter anymore when searching for help
8303 text.
8304
8305 ** Font Lock mode
8306
8307 *** Global Font Lock mode
8308
8309 Font Lock mode can be turned on globally, in buffers that support it, by the
8310 new command global-font-lock-mode. You can use the new variable
8311 font-lock-global-modes to control which modes have Font Lock mode automagically
8312 turned on. By default, this variable is set so that Font Lock mode is turned
8313 on globally where the buffer mode supports it.
8314
8315 For example, to automagically turn on Font Lock mode where supported, put:
8316
8317 (global-font-lock-mode t)
8318
8319 in your ~/.emacs.
8320
8321 *** Local Refontification
8322
8323 In Font Lock mode, editing a line automatically refontifies that line only.
8324 However, if your change alters the syntactic context for following lines,
8325 those lines remain incorrectly fontified. To refontify them, use the new
8326 command M-g M-g (font-lock-fontify-block).
8327
8328 In certain major modes, M-g M-g refontifies the entire current function.
8329 (The variable font-lock-mark-block-function controls how to find the
8330 current function.) In other major modes, M-g M-g refontifies 16 lines
8331 above and below point.
8332
8333 With a prefix argument N, M-g M-g refontifies N lines above and below point.
8334
8335 ** Follow mode
8336
8337 Follow mode is a new minor mode combining windows showing the same
8338 buffer into one tall "virtual window". The windows are typically two
8339 side-by-side windows. Follow mode makes them scroll together as if
8340 they were a unit. To use it, go to a frame with just one window,
8341 split it into two side-by-side windows using C-x 3, and then type M-x
8342 follow-mode.
8343
8344 M-x follow-mode turns off Follow mode if it is already enabled.
8345
8346 To display two side-by-side windows and activate Follow mode, use the
8347 command M-x follow-delete-other-windows-and-split.
8348
8349 ** hide-show changes.
8350
8351 The hooks hs-hide-hooks and hs-show-hooks have been renamed
8352 to hs-hide-hook and hs-show-hook, to follow the convention for
8353 normal hooks.
8354
8355 ** Simula mode now has a menu containing the most important commands.
8356 The new command simula-indent-exp is bound to C-M-q.
8357
8358 ** etags can now handle programs written in Erlang. Files are
8359 recognised by the extensions .erl and .hrl. The tagged lines are
8360 those that begin a function, record, or macro.
8361
8362 ** MSDOS Changes
8363
8364 *** It is now possible to compile Emacs with the version 2 of DJGPP.
8365 Compilation with DJGPP version 1 also still works.
8366
8367 *** The documentation of DOS-specific aspects of Emacs was rewritten
8368 and expanded; see the ``MS-DOS'' node in the on-line docs.
8369
8370 *** Emacs now uses ~ for backup file names, not .bak.
8371
8372 *** You can simulate mouse-3 on two-button mice by simultaneously
8373 pressing both mouse buttons.
8374
8375 *** A number of packages and commands which previously failed or had
8376 restricted functionality on MS-DOS, now work. The most important ones
8377 are:
8378
8379 **** Printing (both with `M-x lpr-buffer' and with `ps-print' package)
8380 now works.
8381
8382 **** `Ediff' works (in a single-frame mode).
8383
8384 **** `M-x display-time' can be used on MS-DOS (due to the new
8385 implementation of Emacs timers, see below).
8386
8387 **** `Dired' supports Unix-style shell wildcards.
8388
8389 **** The `c-macro-expand' command now works as on other platforms.
8390
8391 **** `M-x recover-session' works.
8392
8393 **** `M-x list-colors-display' displays all the available colors.
8394
8395 **** The `TPU-EDT' package works.
8396 \f
8397 * Lisp changes in Emacs 19.31.
8398
8399 ** The function using-unix-filesystems on Windows NT and Windows 95
8400 tells Emacs to read and write files assuming that they reside on a
8401 remote Unix filesystem. No CR/LF translation is done on any files in
8402 this case. Invoking using-unix-filesystems with t activates this
8403 behavior, and invoking it with any other value deactivates it.
8404
8405 ** Change in system-type and system-configuration values.
8406
8407 The value of system-type on a Linux-based GNU system is now `lignux',
8408 not `linux'. This means that some programs which use `system-type'
8409 need to be changed. The value of `system-configuration' will also
8410 be different.
8411
8412 It is generally recommended to use `system-configuration' rather
8413 than `system-type'.
8414
8415 See the file LINUX-GNU in this directory for more about this.
8416
8417 ** The functions shell-command and dired-call-process
8418 now run file name handlers for default-directory, if it has them.
8419
8420 ** Undoing the deletion of text now restores the positions of markers
8421 that pointed into or next to the deleted text.
8422
8423 ** Timers created with run-at-time now work internally to Emacs, and
8424 no longer use a separate process. Therefore, they now work more
8425 reliably and can be used for shorter time delays.
8426
8427 The new function run-with-timer is a convenient way to set up a timer
8428 to run a specified amount of time after the present. A call looks
8429 like this:
8430
8431 (run-with-timer SECS REPEAT FUNCTION ARGS...)
8432
8433 SECS says how many seconds should elapse before the timer happens.
8434 It may be an integer or a floating point number. When the timer
8435 becomes ripe, the action is to call FUNCTION with arguments ARGS.
8436
8437 REPEAT gives the interval for repeating the timer (measured in
8438 seconds). It may be an integer or a floating point number. nil or 0
8439 means don't repeat at all--call FUNCTION just once.
8440
8441 *** with-timeout provides an easy way to do something but give
8442 up if too much time passes.
8443
8444 (with-timeout (SECONDS TIMEOUT-FORMS...) BODY...)
8445
8446 This executes BODY, but gives up after SECONDS seconds.
8447 If it gives up, it runs the TIMEOUT-FORMS and returns the value
8448 of the last one of them. Normally it returns the value of the last
8449 form in BODY.
8450
8451 *** You can now arrange to call a function whenever Emacs is idle for
8452 a certain length of time. To do this, call run-with-idle-timer. A
8453 call looks like this:
8454
8455 (run-with-idle-timer SECS REPEAT FUNCTION ARGS...)
8456
8457 SECS says how many seconds of idleness should elapse before the timer
8458 runs. It may be an integer or a floating point number. When the
8459 timer becomes ripe, the action is to call FUNCTION with arguments
8460 ARGS.
8461
8462 Emacs becomes idle whenever it finishes executing a keyboard or mouse
8463 command. It remains idle until it receives another keyboard or mouse
8464 command.
8465
8466 REPEAT, if non-nil, means this timer should be activated again each
8467 time Emacs becomes idle and remains idle for SECS seconds The timer
8468 does not repeat if Emacs *remains* idle; it runs at most once after
8469 each time Emacs becomes idle.
8470
8471 If REPEAT is nil, the timer runs just once, the first time Emacs is
8472 idle for SECS seconds.
8473
8474 *** post-command-idle-hook is now obsolete; you shouldn't use it at
8475 all, because it interferes with the idle timer mechanism. If your
8476 programs use post-command-idle-hook, convert them to use idle timers
8477 instead.
8478
8479 *** y-or-n-p-with-timeout lets you ask a question but give up if
8480 there is no answer within a certain time.
8481
8482 (y-or-n-p-with-timeout PROMPT SECONDS DEFAULT-VALUE)
8483
8484 asks the question PROMPT (just like y-or-n-p). If the user answers
8485 within SECONDS seconds, it returns the answer that the user gave.
8486 Otherwise it gives up after SECONDS seconds, and returns DEFAULT-VALUE.
8487
8488 ** Minor change to `encode-time': you can now pass more than seven
8489 arguments. If you do that, the first six arguments have the usual
8490 meaning, the last argument is interpreted as the time zone, and the
8491 arguments in between are ignored.
8492
8493 This means that it works to use the list returned by `decode-time' as
8494 the list of arguments for `encode-time'.
8495
8496 ** The default value of load-path now includes the directory
8497 /usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp In addition to
8498 /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp. You can use this new directory for
8499 site-specific Lisp packages that belong with a particular Emacs
8500 version.
8501
8502 It is not unusual for a Lisp package that works well in one Emacs
8503 version to cause trouble in another. Sometimes packages need updating
8504 for incompatible changes; sometimes they look at internal data that
8505 has changed; sometimes the package has been installed in Emacs itself
8506 and the installed version should be used. Whatever the reason for the
8507 problem, this new feature makes it easier to solve.
8508
8509 ** When your program contains a fixed file name (like .completions or
8510 .abbrev.defs), the file name usually needs to be different on operating
8511 systems with limited file name syntax.
8512
8513 Now you can avoid ad-hoc conditionals by using the function
8514 convert-standard-filename to convert the file name to a proper form
8515 for each operating system. Here is an example of use, from the file
8516 completions.el:
8517
8518 (defvar save-completions-file-name
8519 (convert-standard-filename "~/.completions")
8520 "*The filename to save completions to.")
8521
8522 This sets the variable save-completions-file-name to a value that
8523 depends on the operating system, because the definition of
8524 convert-standard-filename depends on the operating system. On
8525 Unix-like systems, it returns the specified file name unchanged. On
8526 MS-DOS, it adapts the name to fit the limitations of that system.
8527
8528 ** The interactive spec N now returns the numeric prefix argument
8529 rather than the raw prefix argument. (It still reads a number using the
8530 minibuffer if there is no prefix argument at all.)
8531
8532 ** When a process is deleted, this no longer disconnects the process
8533 marker from its buffer position.
8534
8535 ** The variable garbage-collection-messages now controls whether
8536 Emacs displays a message at the beginning and end of garbage collection.
8537 The default is nil, meaning there are no messages.
8538
8539 ** The variable debug-ignored-errors specifies certain kinds of errors
8540 that should not enter the debugger. Its value is a list of error
8541 condition symbols and/or regular expressions. If the error has any
8542 of the condition symbols listed, or if any of the regular expressions
8543 matches the error message, then that error does not enter the debugger,
8544 regardless of the value of debug-on-error.
8545
8546 This variable is initialized to match certain common but uninteresting
8547 errors that happen often during editing.
8548
8549 ** The new function error-message-string converts an error datum
8550 into its error message. The error datum is what condition-case
8551 puts into the variable, to describe the error that happened.
8552
8553 ** Anything that changes which buffer appears in a given window
8554 now runs the window-scroll-functions for that window.
8555
8556 ** The new function get-buffer-window-list returns a list of windows displaying
8557 a buffer. The function is called with the buffer (a buffer object or a buffer
8558 name) and two optional arguments specifying the minibuffer windows and frames
8559 to search. Therefore this function takes optional args like next-window etc.,
8560 and not get-buffer-window.
8561
8562 ** buffer-substring now runs the hook buffer-access-fontify-functions,
8563 calling each function with two arguments--the range of the buffer
8564 being accessed. buffer-substring-no-properties does not call them.
8565
8566 If you use this feature, you should set the variable
8567 buffer-access-fontified-property to a non-nil symbol, which is a
8568 property name. Then, if all the characters in the buffer range have a
8569 non-nil value for that property, the buffer-access-fontify-functions
8570 are not called. When called, these functions should put a non-nil
8571 property on the text that they fontify, so that they won't get called
8572 over and over for the same text.
8573
8574 ** Changes in lisp-mnt.el
8575
8576 *** The lisp-mnt package can now recognize file headers that are written
8577 in the formats used by the `what' command and the RCS `ident' command:
8578
8579 ;; @(#) HEADER: text
8580 ;; $HEADER: text $
8581
8582 in addition to the normal
8583
8584 ;; HEADER: text
8585
8586 *** The commands lm-verify and lm-synopsis are now interactive. lm-verify
8587 checks that the library file has proper sections and headers, and
8588 lm-synopsis extracts first line "synopsis'"information.
8589
8590
8591 \f
8592 * For older news, see the file ONEWS
8593
8594 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
8595 Copyright information:
8596
8597 Copyright (C) 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
8598
8599 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
8600 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
8601 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
8602 thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
8603
8604 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
8605 of this document, or of portions of it,
8606 under the above conditions, provided also that they
8607 carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
8608 \f
8609 Local variables:
8610 mode: outline
8611 paragraph-separate: "[ \f]*$"
8612 end: