1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,1997,2001, 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
4 @node Command Arguments, X Resources, Service, Top
5 @appendix Command Line Arguments
6 @cindex command line arguments
7 @cindex arguments (command line)
8 @cindex options (command line)
9 @cindex switches (command line)
10 @cindex startup (command line arguments)
12 GNU Emacs supports command line arguments to request various actions
13 when invoking Emacs. These are for compatibility with other editors and
14 for sophisticated activities. We don't recommend using them for
17 Arguments starting with @samp{-} are @dfn{options}. Other arguments
18 specify files to visit. Emacs visits the specified files while it
19 starts up. The last file name on your command line becomes the
20 current buffer; the other files are also visited in other buffers. If
21 there are two files, they are both displayed; otherwise the last file
22 is displayed along with a buffer list that shows what other buffers
23 there are. As with most programs, the special argument @samp{--} says
24 that all subsequent arguments are file names, not options, even if
25 they start with @samp{-}.
27 Emacs command options can specify many things, such as the size and
28 position of the X window Emacs uses, its colors, and so on. A few
29 options support advanced usage, such as running Lisp functions on files
30 in batch mode. The sections of this chapter describe the available
31 options, arranged according to their purpose.
33 There are two ways of writing options: the short forms that start with
34 a single @samp{-}, and the long forms that start with @samp{--}. For
35 example, @samp{-d} is a short form and @samp{--display} is the
36 corresponding long form.
38 The long forms with @samp{--} are easier to remember, but longer to
39 type. However, you don't have to spell out the whole option name; any
40 unambiguous abbreviation is enough. When a long option takes an
41 argument, you can use either a space or an equal sign to separate the
42 option name and the argument. Thus, you can write either
43 @samp{--display sugar-bombs:0.0} or @samp{--display=sugar-bombs:0.0}.
44 We recommend an equal sign because it makes the relationship clearer,
45 and the tables below always show an equal sign.
47 @cindex initial options (command line)
48 @cindex action options (command line)
49 Most options specify how to initialize Emacs, or set parameters for
50 the Emacs session. We call them @dfn{initial options}. A few options
51 specify things to do: for example, load libraries, call functions, or
52 terminate Emacs. These are called @dfn{action options}. These and file
53 names together are called @dfn{action arguments}. Emacs processes all
54 the action arguments in the order they are written.
57 * Action Arguments:: Arguments to visit files, load libraries,
59 * Initial Options:: Arguments that take effect while starting Emacs.
60 * Command Example:: Examples of using command line arguments.
61 * Resume Arguments:: Specifying arguments when you resume a running Emacs.
62 * Environment:: Environment variables that Emacs uses.
63 * Display X:: Changing the default display and using remote login.
64 * Font X:: Choosing a font for text, under X.
65 * Colors:: Choosing display colors.
66 * Window Size X:: Start-up window size, under X.
67 * Borders X:: Internal and external borders, under X.
68 * Title X:: Specifying the initial frame's title.
69 * Icons X:: Choosing what sort of icon to use, under X.
72 @node Action Arguments
73 @appendixsec Action Arguments
75 Here is a table of the action arguments and options:
80 @itemx --visit=@var{file}
82 @itemx --file=@var{file}
83 @cindex visiting files, command-line argument
84 @vindex inhibit-startup-buffer-menu
85 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}. @xref{Visiting}.
86 If you visit several files at startup in this way, Emacs
87 also displays a Buffer Menu buffer to show you what files it
88 has visited. You can inhibit that by setting @code{inhibit-startup-buffer-menu} to @code{t}.
90 @item +@var{linenum} @var{file}
91 @opindex +@var{linenum}
92 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}, then go to line number
95 @item +@var{linenum}:@var{columnnum} @var{file}
96 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}, then go to line number
97 @var{linenum} and put point at column number @var{columnnum}.
102 @itemx --load=@var{file}
104 @cindex loading Lisp libraries, command-line argument
105 Load a Lisp library named @var{file} with the function @code{load}.
106 @xref{Lisp Libraries}. The library can be found either in the current
107 directory, or in the Emacs library search path as specified
108 with @env{EMACSLOADPATH} (@pxref{General Variables}).
110 @item -f @var{function}
112 @itemx --funcall=@var{function}
114 @cindex call Lisp functions, command-line argument
115 Call Lisp function @var{function} with no arguments.
117 @item --eval=@var{expression}
119 @itemx --execute=@var{expression}
121 @cindex evaluate expression, command-line argument
122 Evaluate Lisp expression @var{expression}.
124 @item --insert=@var{file}
126 @cindex insert file contents, command-line argument
127 Insert the contents of @var{file} into the current buffer. This is like
128 what @kbd{M-x insert-file} does. @xref{Misc File Ops}.
132 Exit from Emacs without asking for confirmation.
135 @vindex command-line-args
136 The init file can access the values of the action arguments as the
137 elements of a list in the variable @code{command-line-args}. The init
138 file can override the normal processing of the action arguments, or
139 define new ones, by reading and setting this variable.
141 @node Initial Options
142 @appendixsec Initial Options
144 The initial options specify parameters for the Emacs session. This
145 section describes the more general initial options; some other options
146 specifically related to the X Window System appear in the following
149 Some initial options affect the loading of init files. The normal
150 actions of Emacs are to first load @file{site-start.el} if it exists,
151 then your own init file @file{~/.emacs} if it exists, and finally
152 @file{default.el} if it exists; certain options prevent loading of some
153 of these files or substitute other files for them.
156 @item -t @var{device}
158 @itemx --terminal=@var{device}
160 @cindex device for Emacs terminal I/O
161 Use @var{device} as the device for terminal input and output.
163 @item -d @var{display}
165 @itemx --display=@var{display}
167 @cindex display for Emacs frame
168 Use the X Window System and use the display named @var{display} to open
169 the initial Emacs frame. @xref{Display X}, for more details.
173 @itemx --no-window-system
174 @opindex --no-window-system
175 @cindex disable window system
176 Don't communicate directly with the window system, disregarding the
177 @env{DISPLAY} environment variable even if it is set. This means that
178 Emacs uses the terminal from which it was launched for all its display
186 Run Emacs in @dfn{batch mode}, which means that the text being edited is
187 not displayed and the standard terminal interrupt characters such as
188 @kbd{C-z} and @kbd{C-c} continue to have their normal effect. Emacs in
189 batch mode outputs to @code{stderr} only what would normally be displayed
190 in the echo area under program control, and functions which would
191 normally read from the minibuffer take their input from @code{stdin}.
193 Batch mode is used for running programs written in Emacs Lisp from
194 shell scripts, makefiles, and so on. Normally the @samp{-l} option
195 or @samp{-f} option will be used as well, to invoke a Lisp program
196 to do the batch processing.
198 @samp{--batch} implies @samp{-q} (do not load an init file). It also
199 causes Emacs to exit after processing all the command options. In
200 addition, it disables auto-saving except in buffers for which it has
201 been explicitly requested.
203 @item --script @var{file}
205 Run Emacs in batch mode, like @samp{--batch}, and then read and
206 execute the Lisp code in @var{file}.
208 The normal use of this option is in executable script files that run
209 Emacs. They can start with this text on the first line
212 #!/usr/bin/emacs --script
216 which will invoke Emacs with @samp{--script} and supply the name of
217 the script file as @var{file}. Emacs Lisp then treats @samp{#!} as a
222 @itemx --no-init-file
223 @opindex --no-init-file
224 @cindex bypassing init and site-start file
225 @cindex init file, not loading
226 @cindex @file{default.el} file, not loading
227 Do not load your Emacs init file @file{~/.emacs}, or @file{default.el}
228 either. When invoked like this, Emacs does not allow saving options
229 changed with the @kbd{M-x customize} command and its variants.
230 @xref{Easy Customization}.
233 @opindex --no-site-file
234 @cindex @file{site-start.el} file, not loading
235 Do not load @file{site-start.el}. The options @samp{-q}, @samp{-u}
236 and @samp{-batch} have no effect on the loading of this file---this is
237 the only option that blocks it.
241 @vindex inhibit-startup-message
242 Do not display a splash screen on startup; this is equivalent to
243 setting the variable @code{inhibit-startup-message} to non-@code{nil}.
247 @itemx --user=@var{user}
249 @cindex load init file of another user
250 Load @var{user}'s Emacs init file @file{~@var{user}/.emacs} instead of
254 @opindex --debug-init
255 @cindex errors in init file
256 Enable the Emacs Lisp debugger for errors in the init file.
260 @cindex unibyte operation, command-line argument
261 Do almost everything with single-byte buffers and strings.
262 All buffers and strings are unibyte unless you (or a Lisp program)
263 explicitly ask for a multibyte buffer or string. (Note that Emacs
264 always loads Lisp files in multibyte mode, even if @samp{--unibyte} is
265 specified; see @ref{Enabling Multibyte}.) Setting the environment
266 variable @env{EMACS_UNIBYTE} has the same effect.
270 Inhibit the effect of @env{EMACS_UNIBYTE}, so that Emacs
271 uses multibyte characters by default, as usual.
274 @node Command Example
275 @appendixsec Command Argument Example
277 Here is an example of using Emacs with arguments and options. It
278 assumes you have a Lisp program file called @file{hack-c.el} which, when
279 loaded, performs some useful operation on the current buffer, expected
283 emacs -batch foo.c -l hack-c -f save-buffer >& log
287 This says to visit @file{foo.c}, load @file{hack-c.el} (which makes
288 changes in the visited file), save @file{foo.c} (note that
289 @code{save-buffer} is the function that @kbd{C-x C-s} is bound to), and
290 then exit back to the shell (because of @samp{-batch}). @samp{-batch}
291 also guarantees there will be no problem redirecting output to
292 @file{log}, because Emacs will not assume that it has a display terminal
295 @node Resume Arguments
296 @appendixsec Resuming Emacs with Arguments
298 You can specify action arguments for Emacs when you resume it after
299 a suspension. To prepare for this, put the following code in your
300 @file{.emacs} file (@pxref{Hooks}):
302 @c `resume-suspend-hook' is correct. It is the name of a function.
304 (add-hook 'suspend-hook 'resume-suspend-hook)
305 (add-hook 'suspend-resume-hook 'resume-process-args)
308 As further preparation, you must execute the shell script
309 @file{emacs.csh} (if you use csh as your shell) or @file{emacs.bash}
310 (if you use bash as your shell). These scripts define an alias named
311 @code{edit}, which will resume Emacs giving it new command line
312 arguments such as files to visit. The scripts are found in the
313 @file{etc} subdirectory of the Emacs distribution.
315 Only action arguments work properly when you resume Emacs. Initial
316 arguments are not recognized---it's too late to execute them anyway.
318 Note that resuming Emacs (with or without arguments) must be done from
319 within the shell that is the parent of the Emacs job. This is why
320 @code{edit} is an alias rather than a program or a shell script. It is
321 not possible to implement a resumption command that could be run from
322 other subjobs of the shell; there is no way to define a command that could
323 be made the value of @env{EDITOR}, for example. Therefore, this feature
324 does not take the place of the Emacs Server feature (@pxref{Emacs
327 The aliases use the Emacs Server feature if you appear to have a
328 server Emacs running. However, they cannot determine this with complete
329 accuracy. They may think that a server is still running when in
330 actuality you have killed that Emacs, because the file
331 @file{/tmp/esrv@dots{}} still exists. If this happens, find that
335 @appendixsec Environment Variables
336 @cindex environment variables
338 The @dfn{environment} is a feature of the operating system; it
339 consists of a collection of variables with names and values. Each
340 variable is called an @dfn{environment variable}; environment variable
341 names are case-sensitive, and it is conventional to use upper case
342 letters only. The values are all text strings.
344 What makes the environment useful is that subprocesses inherit the
345 environment automatically from their parent process. This means you
346 can set up an environment variable in your login shell, and all the
347 programs you run (including Emacs) will automatically see it.
348 Subprocesses of Emacs (such as shells, compilers, and version-control
349 software) inherit the environment from Emacs, too.
353 Inside Emacs, the command @kbd{M-x getenv} gets the value of an
354 environment variable. @kbd{M-x setenv} sets a variable in the Emacs
355 environment. (Environment variable substitutions with @samp{$} work
356 in the value just as in file names; see @ref{File Names with $}.)
358 The way to set environment variables outside of Emacs depends on the
359 operating system, and especially the shell that you are using. For
360 example, here's how to set the environment variable @env{ORGANIZATION}
361 to @samp{not very much} using Bash:
364 export ORGANIZATION="not very much"
368 and here's how to do it in csh or tcsh:
371 setenv ORGANIZATION "not very much"
374 When Emacs is using the X Window System, various environment
375 variables that control X work for Emacs as well. See the X
376 documentation for more information.
379 * General Variables:: Environment variables that all versions of Emacs use.
380 * Misc Variables:: Certain system-specific variables.
381 * MS-Windows Registry:: An alternative to the environment on MS-Windows.
384 @node General Variables
385 @appendixsubsec General Variables
387 Here is an alphabetical list of specific environment variables that
388 have special meanings in Emacs, giving the name of each variable and
389 its meaning. Most of these variables are also used by some other
390 programs. Emacs does not require any of these environment variables
391 to be set, but it uses their values if they are set.
395 Used by the @code{cd} command to search for the directory you specify,
396 when you specify a relative directory name.
398 @cindex unibyte operation, environment variable
399 Defining this environment variable with a nonempty value directs Emacs
400 to do almost everything with single-byte buffers and strings. It is
401 equivalent to using the @samp{--unibyte} command-line option on each
402 invocation. @xref{Initial Options}.
404 Directory for the architecture-independent files that come with Emacs.
405 This is used to initialize the Lisp variable @code{data-directory}.
407 Directory for the documentation string file,
408 @file{DOC-@var{emacsversion}}. This is used to initialize the Lisp
409 variable @code{doc-directory}.
411 A colon-separated list of directories@footnote{
412 Here and below, whenever we say ``colon-separated list of directories'',
413 it pertains to Unix and GNU/Linux systems. On MS-DOS and MS-Windows,
414 the directories are separated by semi-colons instead, since DOS/Windows
415 file names might include a colon after a drive letter.}
416 to search for Emacs Lisp files---used to initialize @code{load-path}.
418 A colon-separated list of directories to search for executable
419 files---used to initialize @code{exec-path}.
421 Used for shell-mode to override the @env{SHELL} environment variable.
423 The name of the file that shell commands are saved in between logins.
424 This variable defaults to @file{~/.bash_history} if you use Bash, to
425 @file{~/.sh_history} if you use ksh, and to @file{~/.history}
428 The location of the user's files in the directory tree; used for
429 expansion of file names starting with a tilde (@file{~}). On MS-DOS, it
430 defaults to the directory from which Emacs was started, with @samp{/bin}
431 removed from the end if it was present. On Windows, the default value
432 of @env{HOME} is @file{C:/}, the root directory of drive @file{C:}.
434 The name of the machine that Emacs is running on.
436 A colon-separated list of directories. Used by the @code{complete} package
439 A colon-separated list of directories in which to search for Info files.
448 The user's preferred locale. The locale has six categories, specified
449 by the environment variables @env{LC_COLLATE} for sorting,
450 @env{LC_CTYPE} for character encoding, @env{LC_MESSAGES} for system
451 messages, @env{LC_MONETARY} for monetary formats, @env{LC_NUMERIC} for
452 numbers, and @env{LC_TIME} for dates and times. If one of these
453 variables is not set, the category defaults to the value of the
454 @env{LANG} environment variable, or to the default @samp{C} locale if
455 @env{LANG} is not set. But if @env{LC_ALL} is specified, it overrides
456 the settings of all the other locale environment variables.
458 On MS-Windows, if @env{LANG} is not already set in the environment
459 when Emacs starts, Emacs sets it based on the system-wide default
460 language, which you can set in the @samp{Regional Settings} Control Panel
461 on some versions of MS-Windows.
463 The value of the @env{LC_CTYPE} category is
464 matched against entries in @code{locale-language-names},
465 @code{locale-charset-language-names}, and
466 @code{locale-preferred-coding-systems}, to select a default language
467 environment and coding system. @xref{Language Environments}.
469 The user's login name. See also @env{USER}.
471 The name of the user's system mail inbox.
473 Name of file containing mail aliases. (The default is
476 Name of setup file for the mh system. (The default is @file{~/.mh_profile}.)
478 The real-world name of the user.
480 The name of the news server. Used by the mh and Gnus packages.
482 The name of the organization to which you belong. Used for setting the
483 `Organization:' header in your posts from the Gnus package.
485 A colon-separated list of directories in which executables reside. This
486 is used to initialize the Emacs Lisp variable @code{exec-path}.
488 If set, this should be the default directory when Emacs was started.
490 If set, this specifies an initial value for the variable
491 @code{mail-default-reply-to}. @xref{Mail Headers}.
493 The name of a directory in which news articles are saved by default.
494 Used by the Gnus package.
496 The name of an interpreter used to parse and execute programs run from
499 The name of the outgoing mail server. Used by the SMTP library
500 (@pxref{Sending mail via SMTP,,,smtpmail}).
501 @cindex background mode, on @command{xterm}
503 The type of the terminal that Emacs is using. This variable must be
504 set unless Emacs is run in batch mode. On MS-DOS, it defaults to
505 @samp{internal}, which specifies a built-in terminal emulation that
506 handles the machine's own display. If the value of @env{TERM} indicates
507 that Emacs runs in non-windowed mode from @command{xterm} or a similar
508 terminal emulator, the background mode defaults to @samp{light}, and
509 Emacs will choose colors that are appropriate for a light background.
511 The name of the termcap library file describing how to program the
512 terminal specified by the @env{TERM} variable. This defaults to
515 Used by the Emerge package as a prefix for temporary files.
517 This specifies the current time zone and possibly also daylight
518 saving time information. On MS-DOS, if @env{TZ} is not set in the
519 environment when Emacs starts, Emacs defines a default value as
520 appropriate for the country code returned by DOS. On MS-Windows, Emacs
521 does not use @env{TZ} at all.
523 The user's login name. See also @env{LOGNAME}. On MS-DOS, this
524 defaults to @samp{root}.
525 @item VERSION_CONTROL
526 Used to initialize the @code{version-control} variable (@pxref{Backup
531 @appendixsubsec Miscellaneous Variables
533 These variables are used only on particular configurations:
537 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows, the name of the command interpreter to use
538 when invoking batch files and commands internal to the shell. On MS-DOS
539 this is also used to make a default value for the @env{SHELL} environment
543 On MS-DOS, this variable defaults to the value of the @env{USER}
548 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows, these specify the name of the directory for
549 storing temporary files in.
552 On MS-DOS, this specifies a file to use to log the operation of the
553 internal terminal emulator. This feature is useful for submitting bug
557 On MS-DOS, this specifies the screen colors. It is useful to set them
558 this way, since otherwise Emacs would display the default colors
559 momentarily when it starts up.
561 The value of this variable should be the two-character encoding of the
562 foreground (the first character) and the background (the second
563 character) colors of the default face. Each character should be the
564 hexadecimal code for the desired color on a standard PC text-mode
565 display. For example, to get blue text on a light gray background,
566 specify @samp{EMACSCOLORS=17}, since 1 is the code of the blue color and
567 7 is the code of the light gray color.
569 The PC display usually supports only eight background colors. However,
570 Emacs switches the DOS display to a mode where all 16 colors can be used
571 for the background, so all four bits of the background color are
575 Used when initializing the Sun windows system.
577 @item PRELOAD_WINSOCK
578 On MS-Windows, if you set this variable, Emacs will load and initialize
579 the network library at startup, instead of waiting until the first
583 On MS-Windows, @env{emacs_dir} is a special environment variable, which
584 indicates the full path of the directory in which Emacs is installed.
585 If Emacs is installed in the standard directory structure, it
586 calculates this value automatically. It is not much use setting this
587 variable yourself unless your installation is non-standard, since
588 unlike other environment variables, it will be overridden by Emacs at
589 startup. When setting other environment variables, such as
590 @env{EMACSLOADPATH}, you may find it useful to use @env{emacs_dir}
591 rather than hard-coding an absolute path. This allows multiple
592 versions of Emacs to share the same environment variable settings, and
593 it allows you to move the Emacs installation directory, without
594 changing any environment or registry settings.
597 @node MS-Windows Registry
598 @appendixsubsec The MS-Windows System Registry
599 @pindex addpm, MS-Windows installation program
600 @cindex registry, setting environment variables and resources on MS-Windows
602 On MS-Windows, the installation program @command{addpm.exe} adds values
603 for @env{emacs_dir}, @env{EMACSLOADPATH}, @env{EMACSDATA},
604 @env{EMACSPATH}, @env{EMACSDOC}, @env{SHELL} and @env{TERM} to the
605 @file{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE} section of the system registry, under
606 @file{/Software/GNU/Emacs}. It does this because there is no standard
607 place to set environment variables across different versions of
608 Windows. Running @command{addpm.exe} is no longer strictly
609 necessary in recent versions of Emacs, but if you are upgrading from
610 an older version, running @command{addpm.exe} ensures that you do not have
611 older registry entries from a previous installation, which may not be
612 compatible with the latest version of Emacs.
614 When Emacs starts, as well as checking the environment, it also checks
615 the System Registry for those variables and for @env{HOME}, @env{LANG}
616 and @env{PRELOAD_WINSOCK}.
618 To determine the value of those variables, Emacs goes through the
619 following procedure. First, the environment is checked. If the
620 variable is not found there, Emacs looks for registry keys by that
621 name under @file{/Software/GNU/Emacs}; first in the
622 @file{HKEY_CURRENT_USER} section of the registry, and if not found
623 there, in the @file{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE} section. Finally, if Emacs
624 still cannot determine the values, compiled-in defaults are used.
626 In addition to the environment variables above, you can also add many
627 of the settings which on X belong in the @file{.Xdefaults} file
628 (@pxref{X Resources}) to the @file{/Software/GNU/Emacs} registry key.
629 Settings you add to the @file{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE} section will affect
630 all users of the machine. Settings you add to the
631 @file{HKEY_CURRENT_USER} section will only affect you, and will
632 override machine wide settings.
635 @appendixsec Specifying the Display Name
636 @cindex display name (X Window System)
637 @cindex @env{DISPLAY} environment variable
639 The environment variable @env{DISPLAY} tells all X clients, including
640 Emacs, where to display their windows. Its value is set by default
641 in ordinary circumstances, when you start an X server and run jobs
642 locally. Occasionally you may need to specify the display yourself; for
643 example, if you do a remote login and want to run a client program
644 remotely, displaying on your local screen.
646 With Emacs, the main reason people change the default display is to
647 let them log into another system, run Emacs on that system, but have the
648 window displayed at their local terminal. You might need to log in
649 to another system because the files you want to edit are there, or
650 because the Emacs executable file you want to run is there.
652 The syntax of the @env{DISPLAY} environment variable is
653 @samp{@var{host}:@var{display}.@var{screen}}, where @var{host} is the
654 host name of the X Window System server machine, @var{display} is an
655 arbitrarily-assigned number that distinguishes your server (X terminal)
656 from other servers on the same machine, and @var{screen} is a
657 rarely-used field that allows an X server to control multiple terminal
658 screens. The period and the @var{screen} field are optional. If
659 included, @var{screen} is usually zero.
661 For example, if your host is named @samp{glasperle} and your server is
662 the first (or perhaps the only) server listed in the configuration, your
663 @env{DISPLAY} is @samp{glasperle:0.0}.
665 You can specify the display name explicitly when you run Emacs, either
666 by changing the @env{DISPLAY} variable, or with the option @samp{-d
667 @var{display}} or @samp{--display=@var{display}}. Here is an example:
670 emacs --display=glasperle:0 &
673 You can inhibit the direct use of the window system and GUI with the
674 @samp{-nw} option. It tells Emacs to display using ordinary ASCII on
675 its controlling terminal. This is also an initial option.
677 Sometimes, security arrangements prevent a program on a remote system
678 from displaying on your local system. In this case, trying to run Emacs
679 produces messages like this:
682 Xlib: connection to "glasperle:0.0" refused by server
686 You might be able to overcome this problem by using the @command{xhost}
687 command on the local system to give permission for access from your
691 @appendixsec Font Specification Options
692 @cindex font name (X Window System)
694 By default, Emacs displays text in the font named @samp{9x15}, which
695 makes each character nine pixels wide and fifteen pixels high. You can
696 specify a different font on your command line through the option
697 @samp{-fn @var{name}} (or @samp{--font}, which is an alias for
703 @itemx --font=@var{name}
705 @cindex specify default font from the command line
706 Use font @var{name} as the default font.
709 Under X, each font has a long name which consists of eleven words or
710 numbers, separated by dashes. Some fonts also have shorter
711 nicknames---@samp{9x15} is such a nickname. You can use either kind of
712 name. You can use wildcard patterns for the font name; then Emacs lets
713 X choose one of the fonts that match the pattern. Here is an example,
714 which happens to specify the font whose nickname is @samp{6x13}:
718 "-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1" &
722 You can also specify the font in your @file{.Xdefaults} file:
725 emacs.font: -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1
728 A long font name has the following form:
731 -@var{maker}-@var{family}-@var{weight}-@var{slant}-@var{widthtype}-@var{style}@dots{}
732 @dots{}-@var{pixels}-@var{height}-@var{horiz}-@var{vert}-@var{spacing}-@var{width}-@var{charset}
737 This is the name of the font manufacturer.
739 This is the name of the font family---for example, @samp{courier}.
741 This is normally @samp{bold}, @samp{medium} or @samp{light}. Other
742 words may appear here in some font names.
744 This is @samp{r} (roman), @samp{i} (italic), @samp{o} (oblique),
745 @samp{ri} (reverse italic), or @samp{ot} (other).
747 This is normally @samp{condensed}, @samp{extended}, @samp{semicondensed}
748 or @samp{normal}. Other words may appear here in some font names.
750 This is an optional additional style name. Usually it is empty---most
751 long font names have two hyphens in a row at this point.
753 This is the font height, in pixels.
755 This is the font height on the screen, measured in tenths of a printer's
756 point---approximately 1/720 of an inch. In other words, it is the point
757 size of the font, times ten. For a given vertical resolution,
758 @var{height} and @var{pixels} are proportional; therefore, it is common
759 to specify just one of them and use @samp{*} for the other.
761 This is the horizontal resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
762 which the font is intended.
764 This is the vertical resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
765 which the font is intended. Normally the resolution of the fonts on
766 your system is the right value for your screen; therefore, you normally
767 specify @samp{*} for this and @var{horiz}.
769 This is @samp{m} (monospace), @samp{p} (proportional) or @samp{c}
772 This is the average character width, in pixels, multiplied by ten.
774 This is the character set that the font depicts.
775 Normally you should use @samp{iso8859-1}.
778 @cindex listing system fonts
779 You will probably want to use a fixed-width default font---that is,
780 a font in which all characters have the same width. Any font with
781 @samp{m} or @samp{c} in the @var{spacing} field of the long name is a
782 fixed-width font. Here's how to use the @command{xlsfonts} program to
783 list all the fixed-width fonts available on your system:
786 xlsfonts -fn '*x*' | egrep "^[0-9]+x[0-9]+"
787 xlsfonts -fn '*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-m*'
788 xlsfonts -fn '*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-c*'
792 To see what a particular font looks like, use the @command{xfd} command.
800 displays the entire font @samp{6x13}.
802 While running Emacs, you can set the font of the current frame
803 (@pxref{Frame Parameters}) or for a specific kind of text
807 @appendixsec Window Color Options
808 @cindex color of window
809 @cindex text colors, from command line
811 @findex list-colors-display
812 @cindex available colors
813 On a color display, you can specify which color to use for various
814 parts of the Emacs display. To find out what colors are available on
815 your system, type @kbd{M-x list-colors-display}, or press
816 @kbd{C-Mouse-2} and select @samp{Display Colors} from the pop-up menu.
817 If you do not specify colors, on windowed displays the default for the
818 background is white and the default for all other colors is black. On a
819 monochrome display, the foreground is black, the background is white,
820 and the border is gray if the display supports that. On terminals, the
821 background is usually black and the foreground is white.
823 Here is a list of the command-line options for specifying colors:
826 @item -fg @var{color}
828 @itemx --foreground-color=@var{color}
829 @opindex --foreground-color
830 @cindex foreground color, command-line argument
831 Specify the foreground color. @var{color} should be a standard color
832 name, or a numeric specification of the color's red, green, and blue
833 components as in @samp{#4682B4} or @samp{RGB:46/82/B4}.
834 @item -bg @var{color}
836 @itemx --background-color=@var{color}
837 @opindex --background-color
838 @cindex background color, command-line argument
839 Specify the background color.
840 @item -bd @var{color}
842 @itemx --border-color=@var{color}
843 @opindex --border-color
844 @cindex border color, command-line argument
845 Specify the color of the border of the X window.
846 @item -cr @var{color}
848 @itemx --cursor-color=@var{color}
849 @opindex --cursor-color
850 @cindex cursor color, command-line argument
851 Specify the color of the Emacs cursor which indicates where point is.
852 @item -ms @var{color}
854 @itemx --mouse-color=@var{color}
855 @opindex --mouse-color
856 @cindex mouse pointer color, command-line argument
857 Specify the color for the mouse cursor when the mouse is in the Emacs window.
862 @itemx --reverse-video
863 @opindex --reverse-video
864 @cindex reverse video, command-line argument
865 Reverse video---swap the foreground and background colors.
866 @item --color=@var{mode}
868 @cindex standard colors on a character terminal
869 For a character terminal only, specify the mode of color support. The
870 parameter @var{mode} can be one of the following:
874 Don't use colors even if the terminal's capabilities specify color
878 Same as when @option{--color} is not used at all: Emacs detects at
879 startup whether the terminal supports colors, and if it does, turns on
884 Turn on the color support unconditionally, and use color commands
885 specified by the ANSI escape sequences for the 8 standard colors.
887 Use color mode for @var{num} colors. If @var{num} is -1, turn off
888 color support (equivalent to @samp{never}); if it is 0, use the
889 default color support for this terminal (equivalent to @samp{auto});
890 otherwise use an appropriate standard mode for @var{num} colors. If
891 there is no mode that supports @var{num} colors, Emacs acts as if
892 @var{num} were 0, i.e.@: it uses the terminal's default color support
895 If @var{mode} is omitted, it defaults to @var{ansi8}.
898 For example, to use a coral mouse cursor and a slate blue text cursor,
902 emacs -ms coral -cr 'slate blue' &
905 You can reverse the foreground and background colors through the
906 @samp{-rv} option or with the X resource @samp{reverseVideo}.
908 The @samp{-fg}, @samp{-bg}, and @samp{-rv} options function on
909 text-only terminals as well as on window systems.
912 @appendixsec Options for Window Size and Position
913 @cindex geometry of Emacs window
914 @cindex position and size of Emacs frame
915 @cindex width and height of Emacs frame
916 @cindex specifying fullscreen for Emacs frame
918 Here is a list of the command-line options for specifying size and
919 position of the initial Emacs frame:
922 @item -g @var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
924 Specify the size @var{width} and @var{height} (measured in character
925 columns and lines), and positions @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}
926 (measured in pixels). This applies to all frames.
928 @item --geometry=@var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
930 This is another way of writing the same thing.
935 @opindex --fullscreen
936 @cindex fullscreen, command-line argument
937 Specify that width and height shall be the size of the screen.
942 @opindex --fullheight
943 @cindex fullheight, command-line argument
944 Specify that the height shall be the height of the screen.
950 @cindex fullwidth, command-line argument
951 Specify that the width shall be the width of the screen.
956 In the @samp{--geometry} option, @code{@r{@{}+-@r{@}}} means either a plus
957 sign or a minus sign. A plus
958 sign before @var{xoffset} means it is the distance from the left side of
959 the screen; a minus sign means it counts from the right side. A plus
960 sign before @var{yoffset} means it is the distance from the top of the
961 screen, and a minus sign there indicates the distance from the bottom.
962 The values @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset} may themselves be positive or
963 negative, but that doesn't change their meaning, only their direction.
965 Emacs uses the same units as @command{xterm} does to interpret the geometry.
966 The @var{width} and @var{height} are measured in characters, so a large font
967 creates a larger frame than a small font. (If you specify a proportional
968 font, Emacs uses its maximum bounds width as the width unit.) The
969 @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset} are measured in pixels.
971 You do not have to specify all of the fields in the geometry
972 specification. If you omit both @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}, the
973 window manager decides where to put the Emacs frame, possibly by
974 letting you place it with the mouse. For example, @samp{164x55}
975 specifies a window 164 columns wide, enough for two ordinary width
976 windows side by side, and 55 lines tall.
978 The default width for Emacs is 80 characters and the default height is
979 40 lines. You can omit either the width or the height or both. If
980 you start the geometry with an integer, Emacs interprets it as the
981 width. If you start with an @samp{x} followed by an integer, Emacs
982 interprets it as the height. Thus, @samp{81} specifies just the width;
983 @samp{x45} specifies just the height.
985 If you start with @samp{+} or @samp{-}, that introduces an offset,
986 which means both sizes are omitted. Thus, @samp{-3} specifies the
987 @var{xoffset} only. (If you give just one offset, it is always
988 @var{xoffset}.) @samp{+3-3} specifies both the @var{xoffset} and the
989 @var{yoffset}, placing the frame near the bottom left of the screen.
991 You can specify a default for any or all of the fields in
992 @file{.Xdefaults} file, and then override selected fields with a
993 @samp{--geometry} option.
995 Since the mode line and the echo area occupy the last 2 lines of the
996 frame, the height of the initial text window is 2 less than the height
997 specified in your geometry. In non-X-toolkit versions of Emacs, the
998 menu bar also takes one line of the specified number. But in the X
999 toolkit version, the menu bar is additional and does not count against
1000 the specified height. The tool bar, if present, is also additional.
1002 Enabling or disabling the menu bar or tool bar alters the amount of
1003 space available for ordinary text. Therefore, if Emacs starts up with
1004 a tool bar (which is the default), and handles the geometry
1005 specification assuming there is a tool bar, and then your
1006 @file{~/.emacs} file disables the tool bar, you will end up with a
1007 frame geometry different from what you asked for. To get the intended
1008 size with no tool bar, use an X resource to specify ``no tool bar''
1009 (@pxref{Table of Resources});then Emacs will already know there's no
1010 tool bar when it processes the specified geometry.
1012 When using one of @samp{--fullscreen}, @samp{--fullwidth} or
1013 @samp{--fullheight} there may be some space around the frame
1014 anyway. That is because Emacs rounds the sizes so they are an
1015 even number of character heights and widths.
1017 Some window managers have options that can make them ignore both
1018 program-specified and user-specified positions (sawfish is one).
1019 If these are set, Emacs fails to position the window correctly.
1022 @appendixsec Internal and External Borders
1023 @cindex borders (X Window System)
1025 An Emacs frame has an internal border and an external border. The
1026 internal border is an extra strip of the background color around the
1027 text portion of the frame. Emacs itself draws the internal border.
1028 The external border is added by the window manager outside the frame;
1029 depending on the window manager you use, it may contain various boxes
1030 you can click on to move or iconify the window.
1033 @item -ib @var{width}
1035 @itemx --internal-border=@var{width}
1036 @opindex --internal-border
1037 @cindex border width, command-line argument
1038 Specify @var{width} as the width of the internal border, in pixels.
1040 @item -bw @var{width}
1042 @itemx --border-width=@var{width}
1043 @opindex --border-width
1044 Specify @var{width} as the width of the main border, in pixels.
1047 When you specify the size of the frame, that does not count the
1048 borders. The frame's position is measured from the outside edge of the
1051 Use the @samp{-ib @var{n}} option to specify an internal border
1052 @var{n} pixels wide. The default is 1. Use @samp{-bw @var{n}} to
1053 specify the width of the external border (though the window manager may
1054 not pay attention to what you specify). The default width of the
1055 external border is 2.
1058 @appendixsec Frame Titles
1060 An Emacs frame may or may not have a specified title. The frame
1061 title, if specified, appears in window decorations and icons as the
1062 name of the frame. If an Emacs frame has no specified title, the
1063 default title has the form @samp{@var{invocation-name}@@@var{machine}}
1064 (if there is only one frame) or the selected window's buffer name (if
1065 there is more than one frame).
1067 You can specify a title for the initial Emacs frame with a command
1071 @item -title @var{title}
1073 @itemx --title=@var{title}
1074 @itemx -T @var{title}
1076 @cindex frame title, command-line argument
1077 Specify @var{title} as the title for the initial Emacs frame.
1080 The @samp{--name} option (@pxref{Resources}) also specifies the title
1081 for the initial Emacs frame.
1085 @cindex icons (X Window System)
1087 Most window managers allow the user to ``iconify'' a frame, removing
1088 it from sight, and leaving a small, distinctive ``icon'' window in its
1089 place. Clicking on the icon window makes the frame itself appear again.
1090 If you have many clients running at once, you can avoid cluttering up
1091 the screen by iconifying most of the clients.
1097 @opindex --icon-type
1098 @cindex Emacs icon, a gnu
1099 Use a picture of a gnu as the Emacs icon.
1104 @cindex start iconified, command-line argument
1105 Start Emacs in iconified state.
1108 The @samp{-i} or @samp{--icon-type} option tells Emacs to use an icon
1109 window containing a picture of the GNU gnu. If omitted, Emacs lets the
1110 window manager choose what sort of icon to use---usually just a small
1111 rectangle containing the frame's title.
1113 The @samp{-iconic} option tells Emacs to begin running as an icon,
1114 rather than showing a frame right away. In this situation, the icon
1115 is the only indication that Emacs has started; the text frame doesn't
1116 appear until you deiconify it.