@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
-@c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+@c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,1997,2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
@node Screen, User Input, Acknowledgments, Top
@chapter The Organization of the Screen
row of icons that perform editing commands if you click on them.
Below this, the window begins. The last line is a special @dfn{echo
area} or @dfn{minibuffer window}, where prompts appear and where you
-can enter information when Emacs asks for it. See below for more
+enter information when Emacs asks for it. See below for more
information about these special lines.
You can subdivide the large text window horizontally or vertically
file (@pxref{Windows}). In this manual, the word ``window'' always
refers to the subdivisions of a frame within Emacs.
- The window that the cursor is in is the @dfn{selected window}, in
-which editing takes place. Most Emacs commands implicitly apply to the
-text in the selected window (though mouse commands generally operate on
-whatever window you click them in, whether selected or not). The other
-windows display text for reference only, unless/until you select them.
-If you use multiple frames under the X Window System, then giving the
-input focus to a particular frame selects a window in that frame.
+ At any time, one window is the @dfn{selected window}; the most
+prominent cursor indicates which window is selected. Most Emacs
+commands implicitly apply to the text in the selected window (though
+mouse commands generally operate on whatever window you click them in,
+whether selected or not). The other windows display text for
+reference only, unless/until you select them. If you use multiple
+frames under the X Window System, then giving the input focus to a
+particular frame selects a window in that frame.
Each window's last line is a @dfn{mode line}, which describes what
is going on in that window. It appears in inverse video, if the
Sometimes people speak of ``the cursor'' when they mean ``point,'' or
speak of commands that move point as ``cursor motion'' commands.
- Text-only terminals have only one cursor, and when output is in
-progress it must appear where the output is being displayed. This
-does not mean that point is moving. It is only that Emacs has no way
-to show you the location of point except when the terminal is idle.
-
If you are editing several files in Emacs, each in its own buffer,
-each buffer has its own point location. A buffer that is not currently
-displayed remembers where point is in case you display it again later.
-
- When Emacs displays multiple windows, each window has its own point
-location. On text-only terminals, the cursor shows the location of
-point in the selected window. On graphical terminals, Emacs shows a
-cursor in each window; the selected window's cursor is solid, and the
-other cursors are hollow. Either way, the cursor or cursors tell you
-which window is selected. If the same buffer appears in more than one
+each buffer has its own point location. A buffer that is not
+currently displayed remembers its point location in case you display
+it again later. When Emacs displays multiple windows, each window has
+its own point location. If the same buffer appears in more than one
window, each window has its own position for point in that buffer, and
(when possible) its own cursor.
+ A text-only terminal has just one cursor, so Emacs puts it
+in the selected window. The other windows do not show a cursor, even
+though they do have a location of point. When Emacs updates the
+screen on a text-only terminal, it has to put the cursor temporarily
+at the place the output goes. This doesn't mean point is there,
+though. Once display updating finishes, Emacs puts the cursor where
+point is.
+
+ On graphical terminals, Emacs shows a cursor in each window; the
+selected window's cursor is solid or blinking, and the other cursors
+are just hollow. Thus, the most striking cursor always shows you
+the selected window, on all kinds of terminals.
+
@xref{Cursor Display}, for customization options that control display
of the cursor or cursors.
@node Echo Area
@section The Echo Area
@cindex echo area
-@c
+@c
The line at the bottom of the frame (below the mode line) is the
@dfn{echo area}. It is used to display small amounts of text for
ahead.
Some commands display informative messages in the echo area. These
-messages look much like error messages, but they are not announced with
-a beep and do not throw away input. Sometimes the message tells you
-what the command has done, when this is not obvious from looking at the
-text being edited. Sometimes the sole purpose of a command is to show
-you a message giving you specific information---for example, @kbd{C-x =}
-displays a message describing the character position of point in the text
-and its current column in the window. Commands that take a long time
-often display messages ending in @samp{...} while they are working, and
-add @samp{done} at the end when they are finished.
+messages look much like error messages, but they are not announced
+with a beep and do not throw away input. Sometimes the message tells
+you what the command has done, when this is not obvious from looking
+at the text being edited. Sometimes the sole purpose of a command is
+to show you a message giving you specific information---for example,
+@kbd{C-x =} (hold down @key{CTRL} and type @kbd{x}, then let go of
+@key{CTRL} and type @kbd{=}) displays a message describing the
+character position of point in the text and its current column in the
+window. Commands that take a long time often display messages ending
+in @samp{...} while they are working, and add @samp{done} at the end
+when they are finished.
@cindex @samp{*Messages*} buffer
@cindex saved echo area messages
next-to-last line in the frame. The mode line starts and ends with
dashes. On a text-mode display, the mode line is in inverse video if
the terminal supports that; on a graphics display, the mode line has a
-3D box appearence to help it stand out.
+3D box appearance to help it stand out. The mode line of the
+selected window has a slightly different appearance than those of
+other windows; see @ref{Optional Mode Line}, for more about this.
Normally, the mode line looks like this:
@example
--@var{cs}:@var{ch} @var{buf} (@var{major} @var{minor})--@var{line}--@var{pos}------
+-@var{cs}:@var{ch} @var{buf} @var{pos} @var{line} (@var{major} @var{minor})------
@end example
@noindent
takes place in. When we speak of what some command does to ``the
buffer,'' we are talking about the current buffer.
- @var{line} is @samp{L} followed by the current line number of point.
-This is present when Line Number mode is enabled (which it normally is).
-You can optionally display the current column number too, by turning on
-Column Number mode (which is not enabled by default because it is
-somewhat slower). @xref{Optional Mode Line}.
-
@var{pos} tells you whether there is additional text above the top of
the window, or below the bottom. If your buffer is small and it is all
visible in the window, @var{pos} is @samp{All}. Otherwise, it is
@samp{Top} if you are looking at the beginning of the buffer, @samp{Bot}
if you are looking at the end of the buffer, or @samp{@var{nn}%}, where
-@var{nn} is the percentage of the buffer above the top of the
-window.@refill
+@var{nn} is the percentage of the buffer above the top of the window.
+With Size Indication mode, you can display the size of the buffer as
+well. @xref{Optional Mode Line}.
+
+ @var{line} is @samp{L} followed by the current line number of point.
+This is present when Line Number mode is enabled (which it normally is).
+You can optionally display the current column number too, by turning on
+Column Number mode (which is not enabled by default because it is
+somewhat slower). @xref{Optional Mode Line}.
@var{major} is the name of the @dfn{major mode} in effect in the
buffer. At any time, each buffer is in one and only one of the possible
@xref{Variables}, for an explanation of how to set variables.
@xref{Optional Mode Line}, for features that add other handy
-information to the mode line, such as the current column number of
-point, the current time, and whether new mail for you has arrived.
+information to the mode line, such as the size of the buffer, the
+current column number of point, the current time, and whether new mail
+for you has arrived.
The mode line is mouse-sensitive; when you move the mouse across
various parts of it, Emacs displays help text to say what a click in
Some of the commands in the menu bar have ordinary key bindings as
well; if so, the menu lists one equivalent key binding in parentheses
after the item itself.
+
+@ignore
+ arch-tag: 104ba40e-d972-4866-a542-a98be94bdf2f
+@end ignore