- On a text-only terminal, the Emacs display occupies the whole screen.
-On the X Window System, Emacs creates its own X windows to use. We use
-the term @dfn{frame} to mean an entire text-only screen or an entire X
-window used by Emacs. Emacs uses both kinds of frames in the same way
-to display your editing. Emacs normally starts out with just one frame,
-but you can create additional frames if you wish. @xref{Frames}.
-
- When you start Emacs, the entire frame except for the top and bottom
-is devoted to the text you are editing. This area is called the
-@dfn{window}. At the top there is normally a @dfn{menu bar} where you
-can access a series of menus; then there may be a @dfn{tool bar}, a
-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
-information about these special lines.
-
- You can subdivide the large text window horizontally or vertically
-into multiple text windows, each of which can be used for a different
-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.
+ On a text-only terminal, the Emacs display occupies the whole
+screen. On a graphical display, such as on GNU/Linux using the X
+Window System, Emacs creates its own windows to use. We use the term
+@dfn{frame} to mean the entire text-only screen or an entire
+system-level window used by Emacs. Emacs uses both kinds of frames,
+in the same way, to display your editing. Emacs normally starts out
+with just one frame, but you can create additional frames if you wish.
+@xref{Frames}.
+
+ When you start Emacs, the main central area of the frame, all except
+for the top and bottom and sides, displays the text you are editing.
+This area is called @dfn{the window}. At the top there is normally a
+@dfn{menu bar} where you can access a series of menus; then there may
+be a @dfn{tool bar}, a row of icons that perform editing commands if
+you click on them. Below this, the window begins, often with a
+@dfn{scroll bar} on one side. Below the window comes the last line of
+the frame, a special @dfn{echo area} or @dfn{minibuffer window}, where
+prompts appear and you enter information when Emacs asks for it. See
+following sections for more information about these special lines.
+
+ You can subdivide the window horizontally or vertically to make
+multiple text windows, each of which can independently display some
+file or text (@pxref{Windows}). In this manual, the word ``window''
+refers to the initial large window if not subdivided, or any one of
+the multiple windows you have subdivided it into.
+
+ At any time, one window is the @dfn{selected window}. On graphical
+displays, the selected window normally shows a more prominent cursor
+(usually solid and blinking) while other windows show a weaker cursor
+(such as a hollow box). Text terminals have just one cursor, so it
+always appears in the selected window.
+
+ Most Emacs commands implicitly apply to the text in the selected
+window; the text in unselected windows is mostly visible for
+reference. However, mouse commands generally operate on whatever
+window you click them in, whether selected or not. If you use
+multiple frames on a graphical display, then giving the input focus to
+a particular frame selects a window in that frame.