@cindex sticky text properties
@cindex inheritance, text property
- Self-inserting characters normally take on the same properties as the
-preceding character. This is called @dfn{inheritance} of properties.
+ Self-inserting characters, the ones that get inserted into a buffer
+when the user types them (@pxref{Commands for Insertion}), normally
+take on the same properties as the preceding character. This is
+called @dfn{inheritance} of properties.
- A Lisp program can do insertion with inheritance or without,
+ By contrast, a Lisp program can do insertion with inheritance or without,
depending on the choice of insertion primitive. The ordinary text
insertion functions, such as @code{insert}, do not inherit any
properties. They insert text with precisely the properties of the