1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001,
3 @c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5 @node Display, Search, Registers, Top
6 @chapter Controlling the Display
8 Since only part of a large buffer fits in the window, Emacs tries to
9 show a part that is likely to be interesting. Display-control
10 commands allow you to specify which part of the text you want to see,
11 and how to display it. Many variables also affect the details of
12 redisplay. Unless otherwise stated, the variables described in this
13 chapter have their effect by customizing redisplay itself; therefore,
14 their values only make a difference at the time of redisplay.
17 * Scrolling:: Commands to move text up and down in a window.
18 * Auto Scrolling:: Redisplay scrolls text automatically when needed.
19 * Horizontal Scrolling:: Moving text left and right in a window.
20 * Follow Mode:: Follow mode lets two windows scroll as one.
21 * Faces:: How to change the display style using faces.
22 * Standard Faces:: Emacs' predefined faces.
23 * Font Lock:: Minor mode for syntactic highlighting using faces.
24 * Highlight Interactively:: Tell Emacs what text to highlight.
25 * Fringes:: Enabling or disabling window fringes.
26 * Displaying Boundaries:: Displaying top and bottom of the buffer.
27 * Useless Whitespace:: Showing possibly-spurious trailing whitespace.
28 * Selective Display:: Hiding lines with lots of indentation.
29 * Optional Mode Line:: Optional mode line display features.
30 * Text Display:: How text characters are normally displayed.
31 * Cursor Display:: Features for displaying the cursor.
32 * Line Truncation:: Truncating lines to fit the screen width instead
33 of continuing them to multiple screen lines.
34 * Display Custom:: Information on variables for customizing display.
40 If a buffer contains text that is too large to fit entirely within a
41 window that is displaying the buffer, Emacs shows a contiguous portion of
42 the text. The portion shown always contains point.
45 @dfn{Scrolling} means moving text up or down in the window so that
46 different parts of the text are visible. Scrolling ``forward'' or
47 ``up'' means that text moves up, and new text appears at the bottom.
48 Scrolling ``backward'' or ``down'' moves text down, and new text
51 Scrolling happens automatically if you move point past the bottom or
52 top of the window. You can also scroll explicitly with the commands
57 Clear screen and redisplay, scrolling the selected window to center
58 point vertically within it (@code{recenter}).
60 Scroll forward (a windowful or a specified number of lines) (@code{scroll-up}).
63 Likewise, scroll forward.
65 Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}).
68 Likewise, scroll backward.
70 Scroll so point is on line @var{arg} (@code{recenter}).
72 Scroll heuristically to bring useful information onto the screen
73 (@code{reposition-window}).
78 The most basic scrolling command is @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter}) with
79 no argument. It scrolls the selected window so that point is halfway
80 down from the top of the window. On a text terminal, it also clears
81 the screen and redisplays all windows. That is useful in case the
82 screen is garbled (@pxref{Screen Garbled}).
92 To read the buffer a windowful at a time, use @kbd{C-v}
93 (@code{scroll-up}) with no argument. This scrolls forward by nearly
94 the whole window height. The effect is to take the two lines at the
95 bottom of the window and put them at the top, followed by nearly a
96 whole windowful of lines that were not previously visible. If point
97 was in the text that scrolled off the top, it ends up at the new top
100 @vindex next-screen-context-lines
101 @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down}) with no argument scrolls backward in
102 a similar way, also with overlap. The number of lines of overlap that
103 the @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v} commands leave is controlled by the
104 variable @code{next-screen-context-lines}; by default, it is 2. The
105 function keys @key{NEXT} and @key{PRIOR}, or @key{PAGEDOWN} and
106 @key{PAGEUP}, are equivalent to @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v}.
108 The commands @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} with a numeric argument scroll
109 the text in the selected window up or down a few lines. @kbd{C-v}
110 with an argument moves the text and point up, together, that many
111 lines; it brings the same number of new lines into view at the bottom
112 of the window. @kbd{M-v} with numeric argument scrolls the text
113 downward, bringing that many new lines into view at the top of the
114 window. @kbd{C-v} with a negative argument is like @kbd{M-v} and vice
117 The names of scroll commands are based on the direction that the
118 text moves in the window. Thus, the command to scroll forward is
119 called @code{scroll-up} because it moves the text upward on the
120 screen. The keys @key{PAGEDOWN} and @key{PAGEUP} derive their names
121 and customary meanings from a different convention that developed
122 elsewhere; hence the strange result that @key{PAGEDOWN} runs
125 @vindex scroll-preserve-screen-position
126 Some users like the full-screen scroll commands to keep point at the
127 same screen line. To enable this behavior, set the variable
128 @code{scroll-preserve-screen-position} to a non-@code{nil} value. In
129 this mode, when these commands would scroll the text around point off
130 the screen, or within @code{scroll-margin} lines of the edge, they
131 move point to keep the same vertical position within the window.
132 This mode is convenient for browsing through a file by scrolling by
133 screenfuls; if you come back to the screen where you started, point
134 goes back to the line where it started. However, this mode is
135 inconvenient when you move to the next screen in order to move point
138 Another way to do scrolling is with @kbd{C-l} with a numeric argument.
139 @kbd{C-l} does not clear the screen when given an argument; it only scrolls
140 the selected window. With a positive argument @var{n}, it repositions text
141 to put point @var{n} lines down from the top. An argument of zero puts
142 point on the very top line. Point does not move with respect to the text;
143 rather, the text and point move rigidly on the screen. @kbd{C-l} with a
144 negative argument puts point that many lines from the bottom of the window.
145 For example, @kbd{C-u - 1 C-l} puts point on the bottom line, and @kbd{C-u
146 - 5 C-l} puts it five lines from the bottom. @kbd{C-u C-l} scrolls to put
147 point at the center (vertically) of the selected window.
150 @findex reposition-window
151 The @kbd{C-M-l} command (@code{reposition-window}) scrolls the current
152 window heuristically in a way designed to get useful information onto
153 the screen. For example, in a Lisp file, this command tries to get the
154 entire current defun onto the screen if possible.
157 @section Automatic Scrolling
159 @vindex scroll-conservatively
160 Redisplay scrolls the buffer automatically when point moves out of
161 the visible portion of the text. The purpose of automatic scrolling
162 is to make point visible, but you can customize many aspects of how
165 Normally, automatic scrolling centers point vertically within the
166 window. However, if you set @code{scroll-conservatively} to a small
167 number @var{n}, then if you move point just a little off the
168 screen---less than @var{n} lines---then Emacs scrolls the text just
169 far enough to bring point back on screen. By default,
170 @code{scroll-conservatively} is@tie{}0.
172 @cindex aggressive scrolling
173 @vindex scroll-up-aggressively
174 @vindex scroll-down-aggressively
175 When the window does scroll by a longer distance, you can control
176 how aggressively it scrolls, by setting the variables
177 @code{scroll-up-aggressively} and @code{scroll-down-aggressively}.
178 The value of @code{scroll-up-aggressively} should be either
179 @code{nil}, or a fraction @var{f} between 0 and 1. A fraction
180 specifies where on the screen to put point when scrolling upward.
181 More precisely, when a window scrolls up because point is above the
182 window start, the new start position is chosen to put point @var{f}
183 part of the window height from the top. The larger @var{f}, the more
184 aggressive the scrolling.
186 @code{nil}, which is the default, scrolls to put point at the center.
187 So it is equivalent to .5.
189 Likewise, @code{scroll-down-aggressively} is used for scrolling
190 down. The value, @var{f}, specifies how far point should be placed
191 from the bottom of the window; thus, as with
192 @code{scroll-up-aggressively}, a larger value is more aggressive.
194 @vindex scroll-margin
195 The variable @code{scroll-margin} restricts how close point can come
196 to the top or bottom of a window. Its value is a number of screen
197 lines; if point comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the
198 window, Emacs recenters the window. By default, @code{scroll-margin} is
201 @node Horizontal Scrolling
202 @section Horizontal Scrolling
203 @cindex horizontal scrolling
205 @dfn{Horizontal scrolling} means shifting all the lines sideways
206 within a window---so that some of the text near the left margin is not
207 displayed at all. When the text in a window is scrolled horizontally,
208 text lines are truncated rather than continued (@pxref{Line
209 Truncation}). Whenever a window shows truncated lines, Emacs
210 automatically updates its horizontal scrolling whenever point moves
211 off the left or right edge of the screen. You can also use these
212 commands to do explicit horizontal scrolling.
216 Scroll text in current window to the left (@code{scroll-left}).
218 Scroll to the right (@code{scroll-right}).
225 The command @kbd{C-x <} (@code{scroll-left}) scrolls the selected
226 window to the left by @var{n} columns with argument @var{n}. This moves
227 part of the beginning of each line off the left edge of the window.
228 With no argument, it scrolls by almost the full width of the window (two
229 columns less, to be precise).
231 @kbd{C-x >} (@code{scroll-right}) scrolls similarly to the right. The
232 window cannot be scrolled any farther to the right once it is displayed
233 normally (with each line starting at the window's left margin);
234 attempting to do so has no effect. This means that you don't have to
235 calculate the argument precisely for @w{@kbd{C-x >}}; any sufficiently large
236 argument will restore the normal display.
238 If you use those commands to scroll a window horizontally, that sets
239 a lower bound for automatic horizontal scrolling. Automatic scrolling
240 will continue to scroll the window, but never farther to the right
241 than the amount you previously set by @code{scroll-left}.
243 @vindex hscroll-margin
244 The value of the variable @code{hscroll-margin} controls how close
245 to the window's edges point is allowed to get before the window will
246 be automatically scrolled. It is measured in columns. If the value
247 is 5, then moving point within 5 columns of the edge causes horizontal
248 scrolling away from that edge.
251 The variable @code{hscroll-step} determines how many columns to
252 scroll the window when point gets too close to the edge. If it's
253 zero, horizontal scrolling centers point horizontally within the
254 window. If it's a positive integer, it specifies the number of
255 columns to scroll by. If it's a floating-point number, it specifies
256 the fraction of the window's width to scroll by. The default is zero.
258 @vindex auto-hscroll-mode
259 To disable automatic horizontal scrolling, set the variable
260 @code{auto-hscroll-mode} to @code{nil}.
267 @cindex windows, synchronizing
268 @cindex synchronizing windows
270 @dfn{Follow mode} is a minor mode that makes two windows, both
271 showing the same buffer, scroll as a single tall ``virtual window.''
272 To use Follow mode, go to a frame with just one window, split it into
273 two side-by-side windows using @kbd{C-x 3}, and then type @kbd{M-x
274 follow-mode}. From then on, you can edit the buffer in either of the
275 two windows, or scroll either one; the other window follows it.
277 In Follow mode, if you move point outside the portion visible in one
278 window and into the portion visible in the other window, that selects
279 the other window---again, treating the two as if they were parts of
282 To turn off Follow mode, type @kbd{M-x follow-mode} a second time.
285 @section Using Multiple Typefaces
288 You can specify various styles for displaying text using
289 @dfn{faces}. Each face can specify various @dfn{face attributes},
290 such as the font family, the height, weight and slant of the
291 characters, the foreground and background color, and underlining or
292 overlining. A face does not have to specify all of these attributes;
293 often it inherits most of them from another face.
295 On graphical display, all the Emacs face attributes are meaningful.
296 On a text-only terminal, only some of them work. Some text-only
297 terminals support inverse video, bold, and underline attributes; some
298 support colors. Text-only terminals generally do not support changing
299 the height and width or the font family.
301 Emacs uses faces automatically for highlighting, through the work of
302 Font Lock mode. @xref{Font Lock}, for more information about Font
303 Lock mode and syntactic highlighting. You can print out the buffer
304 with the highlighting that appears on your screen using the command
305 @code{ps-print-buffer-with-faces}. @xref{PostScript}.
307 You control the appearance of a part of the text in the buffer by
308 specifying the face or faces to use for it. The style of display used
309 for any given character is determined by combining the attributes of
310 all the applicable faces specified for that character. Any attribute
311 that isn't specified by these faces is taken from the @code{default} face,
312 whose attributes reflect the default settings of the frame itself.
314 Enriched mode, the mode for editing formatted text, includes several
315 commands and menus for specifying faces for text in the buffer.
316 @xref{Format Faces}, for how to specify the font for text in the
317 buffer. @xref{Format Colors}, for how to specify the foreground and
320 @cindex face colors, setting
321 @findex set-face-foreground
322 @findex set-face-background
323 To alter the appearance of a face, use the customization buffer.
324 @xref{Face Customization}. You can also use X resources to specify
325 attributes of particular faces (@pxref{Resources}). Alternatively,
326 you can change the foreground and background colors of a specific face
327 with @kbd{M-x set-face-foreground} and @kbd{M-x set-face-background}.
328 These commands prompt in the minibuffer for a face name and a color
329 name, with completion, and then set that face to use the specified
330 color. Changing the colors of the @code{default} face also changes
331 the foreground and background colors on all frames, both existing and
332 those to be created in the future. (You can also set foreground and
333 background colors for the current frame only; see @ref{Frame
336 If you want to alter the appearance of all Emacs frames, you need to
337 customize the frame parameters in the variable
338 @code{default-frame-alist}; see @ref{Creating Frames,
339 default-frame-alist}.
341 Emacs can correctly display variable-width fonts, but Emacs commands
342 that calculate width and indentation do not know how to calculate
343 variable widths. This can sometimes lead to incorrect results when
344 you use variable-width fonts. In particular, indentation commands can
345 give inconsistent results, so we recommend you avoid variable-width
346 fonts for editing program source code. Filling will sometimes make
347 lines too long or too short. We plan to address these issues in
348 future Emacs versions.
351 @section Standard Faces
353 @findex list-faces-display
354 To see what faces are currently defined, and what they look like,
355 type @kbd{M-x list-faces-display}. It's possible for a given face to
356 look different in different frames; this command shows the appearance
357 in the frame in which you type it. With a prefix argument, this
358 prompts for a regular expression, and displays only faces with names
359 matching that regular expression.
361 Here are the standard faces for specifying text appearance. You can
362 apply them to specific text when you want the effects they produce.
366 This face is used for ordinary text that doesn't specify any face.
368 This face uses a bold variant of the default font, if it has one.
369 It's up to you to choose a default font that has a bold variant,
370 if you want to use one.
372 This face uses an italic variant of the default font, if it has one.
374 This face uses a bold italic variant of the default font, if it has one.
376 This face underlines text.
378 This face forces use of a particular fixed-width font.
380 This face forces use of a particular variable-width font. It's
381 reasonable to customize this face to use a different variable-width font,
382 if you like, but you should not make it a fixed-width font.
384 This face is used for making the text less noticeable than the surrounding
385 ordinary text. Usually this can be achieved by using shades of gray in
386 contrast with either black or white default foreground color.
389 Here's an incomplete list of faces used to highlight parts of the
390 text temporarily for specific purposes. (Many other modes define
391 their own faces for this purpose.)
395 This face is used for highlighting portions of text, in various modes.
396 For example, mouse-sensitive text is highlighted using this face.
398 This face is used for highlighting the current Isearch match.
400 This face is used for highlighting the current Query Replace match.
402 This face is used for lazy highlighting of Isearch and Query Replace
403 matches other than the current one.
405 This face is used for displaying a selected region (when Transient Mark
406 mode is enabled---see below).
407 @item secondary-selection
408 This face is used for displaying a secondary X selection (@pxref{Secondary
410 @item trailing-whitespace
411 The face for highlighting excess spaces and tabs at the end of a line
412 when @code{show-trailing-whitespace} is non-@code{nil}; see
413 @ref{Useless Whitespace}.
415 The face for displaying the character ``nobreak space.''
417 The face for highlighting the @samp{\} or @samp{^} that indicates
418 a control character. It's also used when @samp{\} indicates a
419 nobreak space or nobreak (soft) hyphen.
422 @cindex @code{region} face
423 When Transient Mark mode is enabled, the text of the region is
424 highlighted when the mark is active. This uses the face named
425 @code{region}; you can control the style of highlighting by changing the
426 style of this face (@pxref{Face Customization}). @xref{Transient Mark},
427 for more information about Transient Mark mode and activation and
428 deactivation of the mark.
430 These faces control the appearance of parts of the Emacs frame.
431 They exist as faces to provide a consistent way to customize the
432 appearance of these parts of the frame.
437 This face is used for the mode line of the currently selected window,
438 and for menu bars when toolkit menus are not used. By default, it's
439 drawn with shadows for a ``raised'' effect on graphical displays, and
440 drawn as the inverse of the default face on non-windowed terminals.
441 @code{modeline} is an alias for the @code{mode-line} face, for
442 compatibility with old Emacs versions.
443 @item mode-line-inactive
444 Like @code{mode-line}, but used for mode lines of the windows other
445 than the selected one (if @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} is
446 non-@code{nil}). This face inherits from @code{mode-line}, so changes
447 in that face affect mode lines in all windows.
448 @item mode-line-highlight
449 Like @code{highlight}, but used for portions of text on mode lines.
450 @item mode-line-buffer-id
451 This face is used for buffer identification parts in the mode line.
453 Similar to @code{mode-line} for a window's header line, which appears
454 at the top of a window just as the mode line appears at the bottom.
455 Most windows do not have a header line---only some special modes, such
456 Info mode, create one.
457 @item vertical-border
458 This face is used for the vertical divider between windows.
459 By default this face inherits from the @code{mode-line-inactive} face
460 on character terminals. On graphical displays the foreground color of
461 this face is used for the vertical line between windows without
463 @item minibuffer-prompt
464 @cindex @code{minibuffer-prompt} face
465 @vindex minibuffer-prompt-properties
466 This face is used for the prompt strings displayed in the minibuffer.
467 By default, Emacs automatically adds this face to the value of
468 @code{minibuffer-prompt-properties}, which is a list of text
469 properties used to display the prompt text. (This variable takes
470 effect when you enter the minibuffer.)
472 @cindex @code{fringe} face
473 The face for the fringes to the left and right of windows on graphic
474 displays. (The fringes are the narrow portions of the Emacs frame
475 between the text area and the window's right and left borders.)
478 This face determines the visual appearance of the scroll bar.
481 This face determines the color of the frame border.
483 This face determines the color of the cursor.
485 This face determines the color of the mouse pointer.
487 This face determines the color of tool bar icons. @xref{Tool Bars}.
489 This face is used for tooltips. @xref{Tooltips}.
491 @cindex menu bar appearance
492 @cindex @code{menu} face, no effect if customized
493 @cindex customization of @code{menu} face
494 This face determines the colors and font of Emacs's menus. @xref{Menu
495 Bars}. Setting the font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not
496 supported; attempts to set the font are ignored in this case.
497 Likewise, attempts to customize this face in Emacs built with GTK and
498 in the MS-Windows/Mac ports are ignored by the respective GUI toolkits;
499 you need to use system-wide styles and options to change the
500 appearance of the menus.
504 @section Font Lock mode
505 @cindex Font Lock mode
506 @cindex mode, Font Lock
507 @cindex syntax highlighting and coloring
509 Font Lock mode is a minor mode, always local to a particular buffer,
510 which highlights (or ``fontifies'') the buffer contents according to
511 the syntax of the text you are editing. It can recognize comments and
512 strings in most languages; in several languages, it can also recognize
513 and properly highlight various other important constructs---for
514 example, names of functions being defined or reserved keywords.
515 Some special modes, such as Occur mode and Info mode, have completely
516 specialized ways of assigning fonts for Font Lock mode.
518 @findex font-lock-mode
519 Font Lock mode is turned on by default in all modes which support it.
520 You can toggle font-lock for each buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
521 font-lock-mode}. Using a positive argument unconditionally turns Font
522 Lock mode on, and a negative or zero argument turns it off.
524 @findex global-font-lock-mode
525 @vindex global-font-lock-mode
526 If you do not wish Font Lock mode to be turned on by default,
527 customize the variable @code{global-font-lock-mode} using the Customize
528 interface (@pxref{Easy Customization}), or use the function
529 @code{global-font-lock-mode} in your @file{.emacs} file, like this:
532 (global-font-lock-mode 0)
536 This variable, like all the variables that control Font Lock mode,
537 take effect whenever fontification is done; that is, potentially at
540 @findex turn-on-font-lock
541 If you have disabled Global Font Lock mode, you can still enable Font
542 Lock for specific major modes by adding the function
543 @code{turn-on-font-lock} to the mode hooks (@pxref{Hooks}). For
544 example, to enable Font Lock mode for editing C files, you can do this:
547 (add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
550 Font Lock mode uses several specifically named faces to do its job,
551 including @code{font-lock-string-face}, @code{font-lock-comment-face},
552 and others. The easiest way to find them all is to use @kbd{M-x
553 customize-group @key{RET} font-lock-faces @key{RET}}. You can then
554 use that customization buffer to customize the appearance of these
555 faces. @xref{Face Customization}.
557 You can also customize these faces using @kbd{M-x
558 set-face-foreground} or @kbd{M-x set-face-background}. @xref{Faces}.
560 @vindex font-lock-maximum-decoration
561 The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-decoration} specifies the
562 preferred level of fontification, for modes that provide multiple
563 levels. Level 1 is the least amount of fontification; some modes
564 support levels as high as 3. The normal default is ``as high as
565 possible.'' You can specify an integer, which applies to all modes, or
566 you can specify different numbers for particular major modes; for
567 example, to use level 1 for C/C++ modes, and the default level
571 (setq font-lock-maximum-decoration
572 '((c-mode . 1) (c++-mode . 1)))
575 @vindex font-lock-maximum-size
576 Fontification can be too slow for large buffers, so you can suppress
577 it for buffers above a certain size. The variable
578 @code{font-lock-maximum-size} specifies a buffer size, beyond which
579 buffer fontification is suppressed.
581 @c @w is used below to prevent a bad page-break.
582 @vindex font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function
583 @cindex incorrect fontification
584 @cindex parenthesis in column zero and fontification
585 @cindex brace in column zero and fontification
586 Comment and string fontification (or ``syntactic'' fontification)
587 relies on analysis of the syntactic structure of the buffer text. For
588 the sake of speed, some modes, including Lisp mode, rely on a special
589 convention: an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
590 always defines the @w{beginning} of a defun, and is thus always
591 outside any string or comment. (@xref{Left Margin Paren}.) If you
592 don't follow this convention, Font Lock mode can misfontify the text
593 that follows an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
594 that is inside a string or comment.
596 @cindex slow display during scrolling
597 The variable @code{font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function} (always
598 buffer-local) specifies how Font Lock mode can find a position
599 guaranteed to be outside any comment or string. In modes which use the
600 leftmost column parenthesis convention, the default value of the variable
601 is @code{beginning-of-defun}---that tells Font Lock mode to use the
602 convention. If you set this variable to @code{nil}, Font Lock no longer
603 relies on the convention. This avoids incorrect results, but the price
604 is that, in some cases, fontification for a changed text must rescan
605 buffer text from the beginning of the buffer. This can considerably
606 slow down redisplay while scrolling, particularly if you are close to
607 the end of a large buffer.
609 @findex font-lock-add-keywords
610 Font Lock highlighting patterns already exist for many modes, but you
611 may want to fontify additional patterns. You can use the function
612 @code{font-lock-add-keywords}, to add your own highlighting patterns for
613 a particular mode. For example, to highlight @samp{FIXME:} words in C
617 (font-lock-add-keywords
619 '(("\\<\\(FIXME\\):" 1 font-lock-warning-face t)))
622 @findex font-lock-remove-keywords
623 To remove keywords from the font-lock highlighting patterns, use the
624 function @code{font-lock-remove-keywords}. @xref{Search-based
625 Fontification,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}, for
626 documentation of the format of this list.
628 @cindex just-in-time (JIT) font-lock
629 @cindex background syntax highlighting
630 Fontifying large buffers can take a long time. To avoid large
631 delays when a file is visited, Emacs fontifies only the visible
632 portion of a buffer. As you scroll through the buffer, each portion
633 that becomes visible is fontified as soon as it is displayed. The
634 parts of the buffer that are not displayed are fontified
635 ``stealthily,'' in the background, i.e.@: when Emacs is idle. You can
636 control this background fontification, also called @dfn{Just-In-Time}
637 (or @dfn{JIT}) Lock, by customizing variables in the customization
638 group @samp{jit-lock}. @xref{Specific Customization}.
640 @node Highlight Interactively
641 @section Interactive Highlighting
642 @cindex highlighting by matching
643 @cindex interactive highlighting
644 @cindex Highlight Changes mode
646 @findex highlight-changes-mode
647 Use @kbd{M-x highlight-changes-mode} to enable (or disable)
648 Highlight Changes mode, a minor mode that uses faces (colors,
649 typically) to indicate which parts of the buffer were changed most
654 Hi Lock mode highlights text that matches regular expressions you
655 specify. For example, you might wish to see all the references to a
656 certain variable in a program source file, highlight certain parts in
657 a voluminous output of some program, or make certain names stand out
658 in an article. Use the @kbd{M-x hi-lock-mode} command to enable (or
659 disable) Hi Lock mode. To enable Hi Lock mode for all buffers, use
660 @kbd{M-x global-hi-lock-mode} or place @code{(global-hi-lock-mode 1)}
661 in your @file{.emacs} file.
663 Hi Lock mode works like Font Lock mode (@pxref{Font Lock}), except
664 that you specify explicitly the regular expressions to highlight. You
665 control them with these commands:
668 @item C-x w h @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
670 @findex highlight-regexp
671 Highlight text that matches @var{regexp} using face @var{face}
672 (@code{highlight-regexp}). The highlighting will remain as long as
673 the buffer is loaded. For example, to highlight all occurrences of
674 the word ``whim'' using the default face (a yellow background)
675 @kbd{C-x w h whim @key{RET} @key{RET}}. Any face can be used for
676 highlighting, Hi Lock provides several of its own and these are
677 pre-loaded into a history list. While being prompted for a face use
678 @kbd{M-p} and @kbd{M-n} to cycle through them.
680 You can use this command multiple times, specifying various regular
681 expressions to highlight in different ways.
683 @item C-x w r @var{regexp} @key{RET}
685 @findex unhighlight-regexp
686 Unhighlight @var{regexp} (@code{unhighlight-regexp}).
688 If you invoke this from the menu, you select the expression to
689 unhighlight from a list. If you invoke this from the keyboard, you
690 use the minibuffer. It will show the most recently added regular
691 expression; use @kbd{M-p} to show the next older expression and
692 @kbd{M-n} to select the next newer expression. (You can also type the
693 expression by hand, with completion.) When the expression you want to
694 unhighlight appears in the minibuffer, press @kbd{@key{RET}} to exit
695 the minibuffer and unhighlight it.
697 @item C-x w l @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
699 @findex highlight-lines-matching-regexp
700 @cindex lines, highlighting
701 @cindex highlighting lines of text
702 Highlight entire lines containing a match for @var{regexp}, using face
703 @var{face} (@code{highlight-lines-matching-regexp}).
707 @findex hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns
708 Insert all the current highlighting regexp/face pairs into the buffer
709 at point, with comment delimiters to prevent them from changing your
710 program. (This key binding runs the
711 @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns} command.)
713 These patterns are extracted from the comments, if appropriate, if you
714 invoke @kbd{M-x hi-lock-find-patterns}, or if you visit the file while
715 Hi Lock mode is enabled (since that runs @code{hi-lock-find-patterns}).
719 @findex hi-lock-find-patterns
720 Extract regexp/face pairs from comments in the current buffer
721 (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}). Thus, you can enter patterns
722 interactively with @code{highlight-regexp}, store them into the file
723 with @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns}, edit them (perhaps
724 including different faces for different parenthesized parts of the
725 match), and finally use this command (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}) to
726 have Hi Lock highlight the edited patterns.
728 @vindex hi-lock-file-patterns-policy
729 The variable @code{hi-lock-file-patterns-policy} controls whether Hi
730 Lock mode should automatically extract and highlight patterns found in
731 a file when it is visited. Its value can be @code{nil} (never
732 highlight), @code{t} (highlight the patterns), @code{ask} (query the
733 user), or a function. If it is a function,
734 @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} calls it with the patterns as argument;
735 if the function returns non-@code{nil}, the patterns are used. The
736 default is @code{nil}. Note that patterns are always highlighted if
737 you call @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} directly, regardless of the
738 value of this variable.
740 @vindex hi-lock-exclude-modes
741 Also, @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} does nothing if the current major
742 mode's symbol is a member of the list @code{hi-lock-exclude-modes}.
746 @section Window Fringes
749 On a graphical display, each Emacs window normally has narrow
750 @dfn{fringes} on the left and right edges. The fringes display
751 indications about the text in the window.
753 The most common use of the fringes is to indicate a continuation
754 line, when one line of text is split into multiple lines on the
755 screen. The left fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line
756 except the first, indicating that ``this is not the real beginning.''
757 The right fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line except the
758 last, indicating that ``this is not the real end.''
760 The fringes indicate line truncation with short horizontal arrows
761 meaning ``there's more text on this line which is scrolled
762 horizontally out of view;'' clicking the mouse on one of the arrows
763 scrolls the display horizontally in the direction of the arrow. The
764 fringes can also indicate other things, such as empty lines, or where a
765 program you are debugging is executing (@pxref{Debuggers}).
767 @findex set-fringe-style
769 You can enable and disable the fringes for all frames using
770 @kbd{M-x fringe-mode}. To enable and disable the fringes
771 for the selected frame, use @kbd{M-x set-fringe-style}.
773 @node Displaying Boundaries
774 @section Displaying Boundaries
776 @vindex indicate-buffer-boundaries
777 On a graphical display, Emacs can indicate the buffer boundaries in
778 the fringes. It indicates the first line and the last line with
779 angle images in the fringes. This can be combined with up and down
780 arrow images which say whether it is possible to scroll the window up
783 The buffer-local variable @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} controls
784 how the buffer boundaries and window scrolling is indicated in the
785 fringes. If the value is @code{left} or @code{right}, both angle and
786 arrow bitmaps are displayed in the left or right fringe, respectively.
788 If value is an alist, each element @code{(@var{indicator} .
789 @var{position})} specifies the position of one of the indicators.
790 The @var{indicator} must be one of @code{top}, @code{bottom},
791 @code{up}, @code{down}, or @code{t} which specifies the default
792 position for the indicators not present in the alist.
793 The @var{position} is one of @code{left}, @code{right}, or @code{nil}
794 which specifies not to show this indicator.
796 For example, @code{((top . left) (t . right))} places the top angle
797 bitmap in left fringe, the bottom angle bitmap in right fringe, and
798 both arrow bitmaps in right fringe. To show just the angle bitmaps in
799 the left fringe, but no arrow bitmaps, use @code{((top . left)
802 @vindex default-indicate-buffer-boundaries
803 The value of the variable @code{default-indicate-buffer-boundaries}
804 is the default value for @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} in buffers
805 that do not override it.
807 @node Useless Whitespace
808 @section Useless Whitespace
810 @cindex trailing whitespace
811 @cindex whitespace, trailing
812 @vindex show-trailing-whitespace
813 It is easy to leave unnecessary spaces at the end of a line, or
814 empty lines at the end of a file, without realizing it. In most
815 cases, this @dfn{trailing whitespace} has no effect, but there are
816 special circumstances where it matters. It can also be a nuisance
817 that the line has ``changed,'' when the change is just spaces added or
820 You can make trailing whitespace at the end of a line visible on the
821 screen by setting the buffer-local variable
822 @code{show-trailing-whitespace} to @code{t}. Then Emacs displays
823 trailing whitespace in the face @code{trailing-whitespace}.
825 This feature does not apply when point is at the end of the line
826 containing the whitespace. Strictly speaking, that is ``trailing
827 whitespace'' nonetheless, but displaying it specially in that case
828 looks ugly while you are typing in new text. In this special case,
829 the location of point is enough to show you that the spaces are
832 @findex delete-trailing-whitespace
833 To delete all trailing whitespace within the current buffer's
834 accessible portion (@pxref{Narrowing}), type @kbd{M-x
835 delete-trailing-whitespace @key{RET}}. (This command does not remove
836 the form-feed characters.)
838 @vindex indicate-empty-lines
839 @vindex default-indicate-empty-lines
841 @cindex fringes, and unused line indication
842 Emacs can indicate unused lines at the end of the window with a
843 small image in the left fringe (@pxref{Fringes}). The image appears
844 for window lines that do not correspond to any buffer text. Blank
845 lines at the end of the buffer then stand out because they do not have
846 this image in the fringe.
848 To enable this feature, set the buffer-local variable
849 @code{indicate-empty-lines} to a non-@code{nil} value. The default
850 value of this variable is controlled by the variable
851 @code{default-indicate-empty-lines}; by setting that variable, you
852 can enable or disable this feature for all new buffers. (This feature
853 currently doesn't work on text-only terminals.)
855 @node Selective Display
856 @section Selective Display
857 @cindex selective display
858 @findex set-selective-display
861 Emacs has the ability to hide lines indented more than a certain number
862 of columns (you specify how many columns). You can use this to get an
863 overview of a part of a program.
865 To hide lines in the current buffer, type @kbd{C-x $}
866 (@code{set-selective-display}) with a numeric argument @var{n}. Then
867 lines with at least @var{n} columns of indentation disappear from the
868 screen. The only indication of their presence is that three dots
869 (@samp{@dots{}}) appear at the end of each visible line that is
870 followed by one or more hidden ones.
872 The commands @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} move across the hidden lines as
873 if they were not there.
875 The hidden lines are still present in the buffer, and most editing
876 commands see them as usual, so you may find point in the middle of the
877 hidden text. When this happens, the cursor appears at the end of the
878 previous line, after the three dots. If point is at the end of the
879 visible line, before the newline that ends it, the cursor appears before
882 To make all lines visible again, type @kbd{C-x $} with no argument.
884 @vindex selective-display-ellipses
885 If you set the variable @code{selective-display-ellipses} to
886 @code{nil}, the three dots do not appear at the end of a line that
887 precedes hidden lines. Then there is no visible indication of the
888 hidden lines. This variable becomes local automatically when set.
890 See also @ref{Outline Mode} for another way to hide part of
891 the text in a buffer.
893 @node Optional Mode Line
894 @section Optional Mode Line Features
896 @cindex buffer size display
897 @cindex display of buffer size
898 @findex size-indication-mode
899 The buffer percentage @var{pos} indicates the percentage of the
900 buffer above the top of the window. You can additionally display the
901 size of the buffer by typing @kbd{M-x size-indication-mode} to turn on
902 Size Indication mode. The size will be displayed immediately
903 following the buffer percentage like this:
906 @var{POS} of @var{SIZE}
910 Here @var{SIZE} is the human readable representation of the number of
911 characters in the buffer, which means that @samp{k} for 10^3, @samp{M}
912 for 10^6, @samp{G} for 10^9, etc., are used to abbreviate.
914 @cindex narrowing, and buffer size display
915 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the size of the
916 accessible part of the buffer is shown.
918 @cindex line number display
919 @cindex display of line number
920 @findex line-number-mode
921 The current line number of point appears in the mode line when Line
922 Number mode is enabled. Use the command @kbd{M-x line-number-mode} to
923 turn this mode on and off; normally it is on. The line number appears
924 after the buffer percentage @var{pos}, with the letter @samp{L} to
925 indicate what it is. @xref{Minor Modes}, for more information about
926 minor modes and about how to use this command.
928 @cindex narrowing, and line number display
929 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the displayed
930 line number is relative to the accessible portion of the buffer.
931 Thus, it isn't suitable as an argument to @code{goto-line}. (Use
932 @code{what-line} command to see the line number relative to the whole
935 @vindex line-number-display-limit
936 If the buffer is very large (larger than the value of
937 @code{line-number-display-limit}), then the line number doesn't appear.
938 Emacs doesn't compute the line number when the buffer is large, because
939 that would be too slow. Set it to @code{nil} to remove the limit.
941 @vindex line-number-display-limit-width
942 Line-number computation can also be slow if the lines in the buffer
943 are too long. For this reason, Emacs normally doesn't display line
944 numbers if the average width, in characters, of lines near point is
945 larger than the value of the variable
946 @code{line-number-display-limit-width}. The default value is 200
949 @cindex Column Number mode
950 @cindex mode, Column Number
951 @findex column-number-mode
952 You can also display the current column number by turning on Column
953 Number mode. It displays the current column number preceded by the
954 letter @samp{C}. Type @kbd{M-x column-number-mode} to toggle this mode.
957 @cindex time (on mode line)
958 Emacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode
959 lines. To enable this feature, type @kbd{M-x display-time} or customize
960 the option @code{display-time-mode}. The information added to the mode
961 line usually appears after the buffer name, before the mode names and
962 their parentheses. It looks like this:
965 @var{hh}:@var{mm}pm @var{l.ll}
969 @vindex display-time-24hr-format
970 Here @var{hh} and @var{mm} are the hour and minute, followed always by
971 @samp{am} or @samp{pm}. @var{l.ll} is the average number of running
972 processes in the whole system recently. (Some fields may be missing if
973 your operating system cannot support them.) If you prefer time display
974 in 24-hour format, set the variable @code{display-time-24hr-format}
977 @cindex mail (on mode line)
978 @vindex display-time-use-mail-icon
979 @vindex display-time-mail-face
980 @vindex display-time-mail-file
981 @vindex display-time-mail-directory
982 The word @samp{Mail} appears after the load level if there is mail
983 for you that you have not read yet. On a graphical display you can use
984 an icon instead of @samp{Mail} by customizing
985 @code{display-time-use-mail-icon}; this may save some space on the mode
986 line. You can customize @code{display-time-mail-face} to make the mail
987 indicator prominent. Use @code{display-time-mail-file} to specify
988 the mail file to check, or set @code{display-time-mail-directory}
989 to specify the directory to check for incoming mail (any nonempty regular
990 file in the directory is considered as ``newly arrived mail'').
992 @cindex mode line, 3D appearance
993 @cindex attributes of mode line, changing
994 @cindex non-integral number of lines in a window
995 By default, the mode line is drawn on graphics displays with
996 3D-style highlighting, like that of a button when it is not being
997 pressed. If you don't like this effect, you can disable the 3D
998 highlighting of the mode line, by customizing the attributes of the
999 @code{mode-line} face. @xref{Face Customization}.
1001 @cindex non-selected windows, mode line appearance
1002 By default, the mode line of nonselected windows is displayed in a
1003 different face, called @code{mode-line-inactive}. Only the selected
1004 window is displayed in the @code{mode-line} face. This helps show
1005 which window is selected. When the minibuffer is selected, since
1006 it has no mode line, the window from which you activated the minibuffer
1007 has its mode line displayed using @code{mode-line}; as a result,
1008 ordinary entry to the minibuffer does not change any mode lines.
1010 @vindex mode-line-in-non-selected-windows
1011 You can disable use of @code{mode-line-inactive} by setting variable
1012 @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} to @code{nil}; then all mode
1013 lines are displayed in the @code{mode-line} face.
1015 @vindex eol-mnemonic-unix
1016 @vindex eol-mnemonic-dos
1017 @vindex eol-mnemonic-mac
1018 @vindex eol-mnemonic-undecided
1019 You can customize the mode line display for each of the end-of-line
1020 formats by setting each of the variables @code{eol-mnemonic-unix},
1021 @code{eol-mnemonic-dos}, @code{eol-mnemonic-mac}, and
1022 @code{eol-mnemonic-undecided} to the strings you prefer.
1025 @section How Text Is Displayed
1026 @cindex characters (in text)
1028 @acronym{ASCII} printing characters (octal codes 040 through 0176) in Emacs
1029 buffers are displayed with their graphics, as are non-ASCII multibyte
1030 printing characters (octal codes above 0400).
1032 Some @acronym{ASCII} control characters are displayed in special ways. The
1033 newline character (octal code 012) is displayed by starting a new line.
1034 The tab character (octal code 011) is displayed by moving to the next
1035 tab stop column (normally every 8 columns).
1037 Other @acronym{ASCII} control characters are normally displayed as a caret
1038 (@samp{^}) followed by the non-control version of the character; thus,
1039 control-A is displayed as @samp{^A}. The caret appears in face
1040 @code{escape-glyph}.
1042 Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters 0200 through 0237 (octal) are
1043 displayed with octal escape sequences; thus, character code 0230
1044 (octal) is displayed as @samp{\230}. The backslash appears in face
1045 @code{escape-glyph}.
1048 If the variable @code{ctl-arrow} is @code{nil}, control characters in
1049 the buffer are displayed with octal escape sequences, except for newline
1050 and tab. Altering the value of @code{ctl-arrow} makes it local to the
1051 current buffer; until that time, the default value is in effect. The
1052 default is initially @code{t}.
1054 The display of character codes 0240 through 0377 (octal) may be
1055 either as escape sequences or as graphics. They do not normally occur
1056 in multibyte buffers, but if they do, they are displayed as Latin-1
1057 graphics. In unibyte mode, if you enable European display they are
1058 displayed using their graphics (assuming your terminal supports them),
1059 otherwise as escape sequences. @xref{Unibyte Mode}.
1061 @vindex nobreak-char-display
1062 @cindex no-break space, display
1063 @cindex no-break hyphen, display
1064 @cindex soft hyphen, display
1065 Some character sets define ``no-break'' versions of the space and
1066 hyphen characters, which are used where a line should not be broken.
1067 Emacs normally displays these characters with special faces
1068 (respectively, @code{nobreak-space} and @code{escape-glyph}) to
1069 distinguish them from ordinary spaces and hyphens. You can turn off
1070 this feature by setting the variable @code{nobreak-char-display} to
1071 @code{nil}. If you set the variable to any other value, that means to
1072 prefix these characters with an escape character.
1075 @vindex default-tab-width
1076 Normally, a tab character in the buffer is displayed as whitespace which
1077 extends to the next display tab stop position, and display tab stops come
1078 at intervals equal to eight spaces. The number of spaces per tab is
1079 controlled by the variable @code{tab-width}, which is made local by
1080 changing it. Note that how the tab character
1081 in the buffer is displayed has nothing to do with the definition of
1082 @key{TAB} as a command. The variable @code{tab-width} must have an
1083 integer value between 1 and 1000, inclusive. The variable
1084 @code{default-tab-width} controls the default value of this variable
1085 for buffers where you have not set it locally.
1087 You can customize the way any particular character code is displayed
1088 by means of a display table. @xref{Display Tables,, Display Tables,
1089 elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1091 @node Cursor Display
1092 @section Displaying the Cursor
1094 @findex blink-cursor-mode
1095 @vindex blink-cursor-alist
1096 @cindex cursor, locating visually
1097 @cindex cursor, blinking
1098 You can customize the cursor's color, and whether it blinks, using
1099 the @code{cursor} Custom group (@pxref{Easy Customization}). On
1100 a graphical display, the command @kbd{M-x blink-cursor-mode} enables
1101 or disables the blinking of the cursor. (On text terminals, the
1102 terminal itself blinks the cursor, and Emacs has no control over it.)
1103 You can control how the cursor appears when it blinks off by setting
1104 the variable @code{blink-cursor-alist}.
1106 @vindex visible-cursor
1107 Some text terminals offer two different cursors: the normal cursor
1108 and the very visible cursor, where the latter may be e.g. bigger or
1109 blinking. By default Emacs uses the very visible cursor, and switches
1110 to it when you start or resume Emacs. If the variable
1111 @code{visible-cursor} is @code{nil} when Emacs starts or resumes, it
1112 doesn't switch, so it uses the normal cursor.
1114 @cindex cursor in non-selected windows
1115 @vindex cursor-in-non-selected-windows
1116 Normally, the cursor appears in non-selected windows in the ``off''
1117 state, with the same appearance as when the blinking cursor blinks
1118 ``off.'' For a box cursor, this is a hollow box; for a bar cursor,
1119 this is a thinner bar. To turn off cursors in non-selected windows,
1120 customize the variable @code{cursor-in-non-selected-windows} and assign
1121 it a @code{nil} value.
1123 @vindex x-stretch-cursor
1124 @cindex wide block cursor
1125 On graphical displays, Emacs can optionally draw the block cursor
1126 as wide as the character under the cursor---for example, if the cursor
1127 is on a tab character, it would cover the full width occupied by that
1128 tab character. To enable this feature, set the variable
1129 @code{x-stretch-cursor} to a non-@code{nil} value.
1131 @findex hl-line-mode
1132 @findex global-hl-line-mode
1133 @cindex highlight current line
1134 To make the cursor even more visible, you can use HL Line mode, a
1135 minor mode that highlights the line containing point. Use @kbd{M-x
1136 hl-line-mode} to enable or disable it in the current buffer. @kbd{M-x
1137 global-hl-line-mode} enables or disables the same mode globally.
1139 @node Line Truncation
1140 @section Truncation of Lines
1143 @cindex line truncation, and fringes
1144 As an alternative to continuation, Emacs can display long lines by
1145 @dfn{truncation}. This means that all the characters that do not fit
1146 in the width of the screen or window do not appear at all. On
1147 graphical displays, a small straight arrow in the fringe indicates
1148 truncation at either end of the line. On text-only terminals, @samp{$}
1149 appears in the first column when there is text truncated to the left,
1150 and in the last column when there is text truncated to the right.
1152 @vindex truncate-lines
1153 @findex toggle-truncate-lines
1154 Horizontal scrolling automatically causes line truncation
1155 (@pxref{Horizontal Scrolling}). You can explicitly enable line
1156 truncation for a particular buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
1157 toggle-truncate-lines}. This works by locally changing the variable
1158 @code{truncate-lines}. If that variable is non-@code{nil}, long lines
1159 are truncated; if it is @code{nil}, they are continued onto multiple
1160 screen lines. Setting the variable @code{truncate-lines} in any way
1161 makes it local to the current buffer; until that time, the default
1162 value is in effect. The default value is normally @code{nil}.
1164 @c @vindex truncate-partial-width-windows @c Idx entry is in Split Windows.
1165 If the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is
1166 non-@code{nil}, it forces truncation rather than continuation in any
1167 window less than the full width of the screen or frame, regardless of
1168 the value of @code{truncate-lines}. For information about side-by-side
1169 windows, see @ref{Split Window}. See also @ref{Display,, Display,
1170 elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1172 @vindex overflow-newline-into-fringe
1173 If the variable @code{overflow-newline-into-fringe} is
1174 non-@code{nil} on a graphical display, then Emacs does not continue or
1175 truncate a line which is exactly as wide as the window. Instead, the
1176 newline overflows into the right fringe, and the cursor appears in the
1177 fringe when positioned on that newline.
1179 @node Display Custom
1180 @section Customization of Display
1182 This section describes variables (@pxref{Variables}) that you can
1183 change to customize how Emacs displays. Beginning users can skip
1185 @c the reason for that pxref is because an xref early in the
1186 @c ``echo area'' section leads here.
1188 @vindex inverse-video
1189 If the variable @code{inverse-video} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
1190 to invert all the lines of the display from what they normally are.
1192 @vindex visible-bell
1193 If the variable @code{visible-bell} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
1194 to make the whole screen blink when it would normally make an audible bell
1195 sound. This variable has no effect if your terminal does not have a way
1196 to make the screen blink.
1198 @vindex echo-keystrokes
1199 The variable @code{echo-keystrokes} controls the echoing of multi-character
1200 keys; its value is the number of seconds of pause required to cause echoing
1201 to start, or zero, meaning don't echo at all. The value takes effect when
1202 there is someting to echo. @xref{Echo Area}.
1205 The variable @anchor{baud-rate}@code{baud-rate} holds the output
1206 speed of the terminal, as far as Emacs knows. Setting this variable
1207 does not change the speed of actual data transmission, but the value
1208 is used for calculations. On text-only terminals, it affects padding,
1209 and decisions about whether to scroll part of the screen or redraw it
1210 instead. It also affects the behavior of incremental search.
1212 On graphical displays, @code{baud-rate} is only used to determine
1213 how frequently to look for pending input during display updating. A
1214 higher value of @code{baud-rate} means that check for pending input
1215 will be done less frequently.
1217 @cindex hourglass pointer display
1218 @vindex hourglass-delay
1219 On graphical display, Emacs can optionally display the mouse pointer
1220 in a special shape to say that Emacs is busy. To turn this feature on
1221 or off, customize the group @code{cursor}. You can also control the
1222 amount of time Emacs must remain busy before the busy indicator is
1223 displayed, by setting the variable @code{hourglass-delay}.
1225 @vindex overline-margin
1226 On graphical display, this variables specifies the vertical position
1227 of an overline above the text, including the height of the overline
1228 itself (1 pixel). The default value is 2 pixels.
1230 @vindex x-underline-at-descent-line
1231 On graphical display, Emacs normally draws an underline at the
1232 baseline level of the font. If @code{x-underline-at-descent-line} is
1233 non-@code{nil}, Emacs draws the underline at the same height as the
1234 font's descent line.
1236 @findex tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors
1237 On some text-only terminals, bold face and inverse video together
1238 result in text that is hard to read. Call the function
1239 @code{tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors} with a non-@code{nil}
1240 argument to suppress the effect of bold-face in this case.
1242 @vindex no-redraw-on-reenter
1243 On a text-only terminal, when you reenter Emacs after suspending, Emacs
1244 normally clears the screen and redraws the entire display. On some
1245 terminals with more than one page of memory, it is possible to arrange
1246 the termcap entry so that the @samp{ti} and @samp{te} strings (output
1247 to the terminal when Emacs is entered and exited, respectively) switch
1248 between pages of memory so as to use one page for Emacs and another
1249 page for other output. On such terminals, you might want to set the variable
1250 @code{no-redraw-on-reenter} non-@code{nil}; this tells Emacs to
1251 assume, when resumed, that the screen page it is using still contains
1252 what Emacs last wrote there.
1255 arch-tag: 2219f910-2ff0-4521-b059-1bd231a536c4