@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
-@c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,1997,2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+@c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,97,2001,03,2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
-@node Command Arguments, X Resources, Service, Top
+@node Command Arguments, X Resources, GNU Free Documentation License, Top
@appendix Command Line Arguments
@cindex command line arguments
@cindex arguments (command line)
@cindex initial options (command line)
@cindex action options (command line)
+@vindex command-line-args
Most options specify how to initialize Emacs, or set parameters for
the Emacs session. We call them @dfn{initial options}. A few options
specify things to do: for example, load libraries, call functions, or
terminate Emacs. These are called @dfn{action options}. These and file
names together are called @dfn{action arguments}. Emacs processes all
-the action arguments in the order they are written.
+the action arguments in the order they are written. The @file{.emacs} file
+can access the values of the action arguments as the elements of a list in
+the variable @code{command-line-args}.
+
+
@menu
-* Action Arguments:: Arguments to visit files, load libraries,
- and call functions.
+* Action Arguments:: Arguments to visit files, load libraries,
+ and call functions.
* Initial Options:: Arguments that take effect while starting Emacs.
* Command Example:: Examples of using command line arguments.
-* Resume Arguments:: Specifying arguments when you resume a running Emacs.
+* Resume Arguments:: Specifying arguments when you resume a running Emacs.
* Environment:: Environment variables that Emacs uses.
* Display X:: Changing the default display and using remote login.
-* Font X:: Choosing a font for text, under X.
-* Colors:: Choosing display colors.
+* Font X:: Choosing a font for text, under X.
+* Colors:: Choosing display colors.
* Window Size X:: Start-up window size, under X.
-* Borders X:: Internal and external borders, under X.
+* Borders X:: Internal and external borders, under X.
* Title X:: Specifying the initial frame's title.
* Icons X:: Choosing what sort of icon to use, under X.
+* Misc X:: Other display options.
@end menu
@node Action Arguments
@table @samp
@item @var{file}
-@opindex --visit
-@itemx --visit=@var{file}
@opindex --file
@itemx --file=@var{file}
+@opindex --find-file
+@itemx --find-file=@var{file}
+@opindex --visit
+@itemx --visit=@var{file}
@cindex visiting files, command-line argument
@vindex inhibit-startup-buffer-menu
Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}. @xref{Visiting}.
directory, or in the Emacs library search path as specified
with @env{EMACSLOADPATH} (@pxref{General Variables}).
+@item -L @var{dir}
+@opindex -L
+@itemx --directory=@var{dir}
+@opindex --directory
+Add directory @var{dir} to the variable @code{load-path}.
+
@item -f @var{function}
@opindex -f
@itemx --funcall=@var{function}
@opindex --funcall
@cindex call Lisp functions, command-line argument
-Call Lisp function @var{function} with no arguments.
+Call Lisp function @var{function}. If it is an interactive function
+(a command), it reads the arguments interactively just as if you had
+called the same function with a key sequence. Otherwise, it calls the
+function with no arguments.
@item --eval=@var{expression}
@opindex --eval
@item --kill
@opindex --kill
Exit from Emacs without asking for confirmation.
-@end table
-@vindex command-line-args
- The init file can access the values of the action arguments as the
-elements of a list in the variable @code{command-line-args}. The init
-file can override the normal processing of the action arguments, or
-define new ones, by reading and setting this variable.
+@item --help
+@opindex --help
+Print a usage message listing all available options, then exit
+successfully.
+
+@item --version
+@opindex --version
+Print Emacs version, then exit successfully.
+@end table
@node Initial Options
@appendixsec Initial Options
@opindex --terminal
@cindex device for Emacs terminal I/O
Use @var{device} as the device for terminal input and output.
+@samp{--terminal} implies @samp{--no-window-system}.
@item -d @var{display}
@opindex -d
or @samp{-f} option will be used as well, to invoke a Lisp program
to do the batch processing.
-@samp{-batch} implies @samp{-q} (do not load an init file). It also
+@samp{--batch} implies @samp{-q} (do not load an init file). It also
causes Emacs to exit after processing all the command options. In
addition, it disables auto-saving except in buffers for which it has
been explicitly requested.
+@item --script @var{file}
+@opindex --script
+@cindex script mode
+Run Emacs in batch mode, like @samp{--batch}, and then read and
+execute the Lisp code in @var{file}.
+
+The normal use of this option is in executable script files that run
+Emacs. They can start with this text on the first line
+
+@example
+#!/usr/bin/emacs --script
+@end example
+
+@noindent
+which will invoke Emacs with @samp{--script} and supply the name of
+the script file as @var{file}. Emacs Lisp then treats @samp{#!} as a
+comment delimiter.
+
@item -q
@opindex -q
@itemx --no-init-file
@opindex --no-init-file
-@cindex bypassing init and site-start file
+@cindex bypassing init and @file{default.el} file
@cindex init file, not loading
@cindex @file{default.el} file, not loading
Do not load your Emacs init file @file{~/.emacs}, or @file{default.el}
-either. When invoked like this, Emacs does not allow saving options
+either. Regardless of this switch, @file{site-start.el} is still loaded.
+When invoked like this, Emacs does not allow saving options
changed with the @kbd{M-x customize} command and its variants.
@xref{Easy Customization}.
@opindex --no-site-file
@cindex @file{site-start.el} file, not loading
Do not load @file{site-start.el}. The options @samp{-q}, @samp{-u}
-and @samp{-batch} have no effect on the loading of this file---this is
+and @samp{--batch} have no effect on the loading of this file---this is
the only option that blocks it.
+@item -Q
+@opindex -Q
+Start emacs with minimum customizations and window decorations.
+This is like using @samp{-q} and @samp{--no-site-file}, but in
+addition it also disables the menu-bar, the tool-bar, the scroll-bars,
+tool tips, the blinking cursor, and the fancy startup screen.
+
@item --no-splash
@opindex --no-splash
@vindex inhibit-startup-message
Do not display a splash screen on startup; this is equivalent to
setting the variable @code{inhibit-startup-message} to non-@code{nil}.
+@item --no-desktop
+@opindex --no-desktop
+Do not reload any saved desktop. @xref{Saving Emacs Sessions}.
+
@item -u @var{user}
@opindex -u
@itemx --user=@var{user}
@item --unibyte
@opindex --unibyte
+@itemx --no-multibyte
+@opindex --no-multibyte
@cindex unibyte operation, command-line argument
Do almost everything with single-byte buffers and strings.
All buffers and strings are unibyte unless you (or a Lisp program)
@item --multibyte
@opindex --multibyte
+@itemx --no-unibyte
+@opindex --no-unibyte
Inhibit the effect of @env{EMACS_UNIBYTE}, so that Emacs
uses multibyte characters by default, as usual.
@end table
This says to visit @file{foo.c}, load @file{hack-c.el} (which makes
changes in the visited file), save @file{foo.c} (note that
@code{save-buffer} is the function that @kbd{C-x C-s} is bound to), and
-then exit back to the shell (because of @samp{-batch}). @samp{-batch}
+then exit back to the shell (because of @samp{--batch}). @samp{--batch}
also guarantees there will be no problem redirecting output to
@file{log}, because Emacs will not assume that it has a display terminal
to work with.
@findex getenv
Inside Emacs, the command @kbd{M-x getenv} gets the value of an
environment variable. @kbd{M-x setenv} sets a variable in the Emacs
-environment. The way to set environment variables outside of Emacs
-depends on the operating system, and especially the shell that you are
-using. For example, here's how to set the environment variable
-@env{ORGANIZATION} to @samp{not very much} using Bash:
+environment. (Environment variable substitutions with @samp{$} work
+in the value just as in file names; see @ref{File Names with $}.)
+
+ The way to set environment variables outside of Emacs depends on the
+operating system, and especially the shell that you are using. For
+example, here's how to set the environment variable @env{ORGANIZATION}
+to @samp{not very much} using Bash:
@example
export ORGANIZATION="not very much"
setenv ORGANIZATION "not very much"
@end example
- When Emacs uses the X Window System, it inherits the use
-of a large number of environment variables from the X libraries. See
-the X documentation for more information.
+ When Emacs is using the X Window System, various environment
+variables that control X work for Emacs as well. See the X
+documentation for more information.
@menu
* General Variables:: Environment variables that all versions of Emacs use.
of @env{HOME} is @file{C:/}, the root directory of drive @file{C:}.
@item HOSTNAME
The name of the machine that Emacs is running on.
-@item INCPATH
+@item INCPATH
A colon-separated list of directories. Used by the @code{complete} package
to search for files.
@item INFOPATH
The user's login name. See also @env{USER}.
@item MAIL
The name of the user's system mail inbox.
-@item MAILRC
-Name of file containing mail aliases. (The default is
-@file{~/.mailrc}.)
@item MH
Name of setup file for the mh system. (The default is @file{~/.mh_profile}.)
@item NAME
@item SHELL
The name of an interpreter used to parse and execute programs run from
inside Emacs.
+@item SMTPSERVER
+The name of the outgoing mail server. Used by the SMTP library
+(@pxref{Top,,Sending mail via SMTP,smtpmail}).
@cindex background mode, on @command{xterm}
@item TERM
The type of the terminal that Emacs is using. This variable must be
override machine wide settings.
@node Display X
-@appendixsec Specifying the Display Name
+@appendixsec Specifying the Display Name
@cindex display name (X Window System)
@cindex @env{DISPLAY} environment variable
@end smallexample
You can inhibit the direct use of the window system and GUI with the
-@samp{-nw} option. It tells Emacs to display using ordinary ASCII on
+@samp{-nw} option. It tells Emacs to display using ordinary @acronym{ASCII} on
its controlling terminal. This is also an initial option.
Sometimes, security arrangements prevent a program on a remote system
@appendixsec Font Specification Options
@cindex font name (X Window System)
- By default, Emacs displays text in the font named @samp{9x15}, which
-makes each character nine pixels wide and fifteen pixels high. You can
-specify a different font on your command line through the option
-@samp{-fn @var{name}} (or @samp{--font}, which is an alias for
-@samp{-fn}).
+ By default, Emacs displays text in a twelve point Courier font (when
+using X). You can specify a different font on your command line
+through the option @samp{-fn @var{name}} (or @samp{--font}, which is
+an alias for @samp{-fn}).
@table @samp
@item -fn @var{name}
Use font @var{name} as the default font.
@end table
- Under X, each font has a long name which consists of eleven words or
-numbers, separated by dashes. Some fonts also have shorter
-nicknames---@samp{9x15} is such a nickname. You can use either kind of
-name. You can use wildcard patterns for the font name; then Emacs lets
-X choose one of the fonts that match the pattern. Here is an example,
-which happens to specify the font whose nickname is @samp{6x13}:
+ Under X, each font has a long name which consists of fourteen words
+or numbers, separated by dashes. Some fonts also have shorter
+nicknames. For instance, @samp{9x15} is such a nickname. This font
+makes each character nine pixels wide and fifteen pixels high. You
+can use either kind of name. Case is insignificant in both kinds.
+You can use wildcard patterns for the font name; then Emacs lets X
+choose one of the fonts that match the pattern. The wildcard
+character @samp{*} matches any sequence of characters (including none)
+and @samp{?} matches any single character. However, matching is
+implementation-dependent, and can be inaccurate when wildcards match
+dashes in a long name. For reliable results, supply all 14 dashes and
+use wildcards only within a field. Here is an example, which happens
+to specify the font whose nickname is @samp{6x13}:
@smallexample
emacs -fn \
@smallexample
emacs.font: -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1
+@end smallexample
+
+ Note that if you use a wildcard pattern on the command line, you
+need to enclose it in single or double quotes, to prevent the shell
+from accidentally expanding it into a list of file names. On the
+other hand, you should not quote the name in the @file{.Xdefaults}
+file.
+
+The default font used by Emacs (under X) is:
+
+@smallexample
+-adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
@end smallexample
A long font name has the following form:
@smallexample
-@var{maker}-@var{family}-@var{weight}-@var{slant}-@var{widthtype}-@var{style}@dots{}
-@dots{}-@var{pixels}-@var{height}-@var{horiz}-@var{vert}-@var{spacing}-@var{width}-@var{charset}
+@dots{}-@var{pixels}-@var{height}-@var{horiz}-@var{vert}-@var{spacing}-@var{width}-@var{registry}-@var{encoding}
@end smallexample
@table @var
(character cell).
@item width
This is the average character width, in pixels, multiplied by ten.
-@item charset
-This is the character set that the font depicts.
-Normally you should use @samp{iso8859-1}.
+@item registry
+@itemx encoding
+These together make up the X font character set that the font depicts.
+(X font character sets are not the same as Emacs charsets, but they
+are solutions for the same problem.) You can use the
+@command{xfontsel} program to check which choices you have. However,
+normally you should use @samp{iso8859} for @var{registry} and @samp{1}
+for @var{encoding}.
@end table
@cindex listing system fonts
@cindex specifying fullscreen for Emacs frame
Here is a list of the command-line options for specifying size and
-position of the initial Emacs frame:
+position of the initial Emacs frame:
@table @samp
@item -g @var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
@opindex -g
-Specify window size @var{width} and @var{height} (measured in character
-columns and lines), and positions @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}
-(measured in pixels).
-
-@item --geometry=@var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
+@itemx --geometry=@var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
@opindex --geometry
-This is another way of writing the same thing.
+@cindex geometry, command-line argument
+Specify the size @var{width} and @var{height} (measured in character
+columns and lines), and positions @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}
+(measured in pixels). This applies to all frames.
@item -fs
@opindex -fs
font, Emacs uses its maximum bounds width as the width unit.) The
@var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset} are measured in pixels.
- Since the mode line and the echo area occupy the last 2 lines of the
-frame, the height of the initial text window is 2 less than the height
-specified in your geometry. In non-X-toolkit versions of Emacs, the
-menu bar also takes one line of the specified number. But in the X
-toolkit version, the menu bar is additional and does not count against
-the specified height. The tool bar, if present, is also additional.
-
You do not have to specify all of the fields in the geometry
-specification.
-
- If you omit both @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}, the window manager
-decides where to put the Emacs frame, possibly by letting you place
-it with the mouse. For example, @samp{164x55} specifies a window 164
-columns wide, enough for two ordinary width windows side by side, and 55
-lines tall.
+specification. If you omit both @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}, the
+window manager decides where to put the Emacs frame, possibly by
+letting you place it with the mouse. For example, @samp{164x55}
+specifies a window 164 columns wide, enough for two ordinary width
+windows side by side, and 55 lines tall.
The default width for Emacs is 80 characters and the default height is
40 lines. You can omit either the width or the height or both. If
@file{.Xdefaults} file, and then override selected fields with a
@samp{--geometry} option.
+ Since the mode line and the echo area occupy the last 2 lines of the
+frame, the height of the initial text window is 2 less than the height
+specified in your geometry. In non-X-toolkit versions of Emacs, the
+menu bar also takes one line of the specified number. But in the X
+toolkit version, the menu bar is additional and does not count against
+the specified height. The tool bar, if present, is also additional.
- When using one of @samp{--fullscreen}, @samp{--fullwidth} or
+ Enabling or disabling the menu bar or tool bar alters the amount of
+space available for ordinary text. Therefore, if Emacs starts up with
+a tool bar (which is the default), and handles the geometry
+specification assuming there is a tool bar, and then your
+@file{~/.emacs} file disables the tool bar, you will end up with a
+frame geometry different from what you asked for. To get the intended
+size with no tool bar, use an X resource to specify ``no tool bar''
+(@pxref{Table of Resources}); then Emacs will already know there's no
+tool bar when it processes the specified geometry.
+
+ When using one of @samp{--fullscreen}, @samp{--fullwidth} or
@samp{--fullheight} there may be some space around the frame
anyway. That is because Emacs rounds the sizes so they are an
even number of character heights and widths.
@opindex -ib
@itemx --internal-border=@var{width}
@opindex --internal-border
-@cindex border width, command-line argument
-Specify @var{width} as the width of the internal border, in pixels.
+@cindex internal border width, command-line argument
+Specify @var{width} as the width of the internal border (between the text
+and the main border), in pixels.
@item -bw @var{width}
@opindex -bw
@itemx --border-width=@var{width}
@opindex --border-width
+@cindex main border width, command-line argument
Specify @var{width} as the width of the main border, in pixels.
@end table
line option:
@table @samp
-@item -title @var{title}
-@opindex --title
-@itemx --title=@var{title}
-@itemx -T @var{title}
+@item -T @var{title}
@opindex -T
+@itemx --title=@var{title}
+@opindex --title
@cindex frame title, command-line argument
Specify @var{title} as the title for the initial Emacs frame.
@end table
rather than showing a frame right away. In this situation, the icon
is the only indication that Emacs has started; the text frame doesn't
appear until you deiconify it.
+
+@node Misc X
+@appendixsec Other Display Options
+
+@table @samp
+@item -hb
+@opindex -hb
+@itemx --horizontal-scroll-bars
+@opindex --horizontal-scroll-bars
+@cindex horizontal scroll bars, command-line argument
+Enable horizontal scroll bars.
+
+@item -vb
+@opindex -vb
+@itemx --vertical-scroll-bars
+@opindex --vertical-scroll-bars
+@cindex vertical scroll bars, command-line argument
+Enable vertical scroll bars.
+
+@item -lsp @var{pixels}
+@opindex -lsp
+@itemx --line-spacing=@var{pixels}
+@opindex --line-spacing
+@cindex line spacing, command-line argument
+Specify @var{pixels} as additional space to put between lines, in pixels.
+@end table
+
+ The @samp{--xrm} option (@pxref{Resources}) specifies additional
+X resource values.
+
+@ignore
+ arch-tag: fffecd9e-7329-4a51-a3cc-dd4a9889340e
+@end ignore