1 Emacs for Windows NT and Windows 95/98/2000/XP
7 This README file describes how to set up and run a precompiled version
8 of GNU Emacs for Windows NT and Windows 95/98/2000/XP. This
9 distribution can be found on the ftp.gnu.org server and its mirrors:
11 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/windows/emacs/latest/
13 This server contains other distributions, including the full Emacs
14 source distribution and the lisp source distribution, as well as older
15 releases of Emacs for Windows.
17 Answers to frequently asked questions, and further information about
18 this port of GNU Emacs and related software packages can be found via
21 http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/windows/ntemacs.html
22 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/windows/emacs/docs/ntemacs.html
26 Along with this file should be six subdirectories (bin, etc, info,
27 lisp, lock, site-lisp). Depending on which distribution you have
28 installed, the lisp subdirectory might contain both the lisp source
29 (*.el) and compiled lisp files (*.elc), or just the compiled lisp
30 files. If you don't have the lisp source files, you can obtain them
31 by downloading the lisp source distribution or the full source
32 distribution from the ftp site mentioned above.
36 To install Emacs, simply unpack all the files into a directory of your
37 choice, but note that you might encounter minor problems if there is a
38 space anywhere in the directory name. To complete the installation
39 process, you can optionally run the program addpm.exe in the bin
40 subdirectory. This will add some entries to the registry that tell
41 Emacs where to find its support files, and put an icon for Emacs in
42 the Start Menu under "Start -> Programs -> Gnu Emacs -> Emacs".
44 Some users have reported that the Start Menu item is not created for
45 them. If this happens, just create your own shortcut to runemacs.exe,
46 eg. by dragging it on to the desktop or the Start button.
48 Note that running addpm is now an optional step; Emacs is able to
49 locate all of its files without needing the information to be set in
50 the environment or the registry, although such settings will still be
51 obeyed if present. This is convenient for running Emacs on a machine
52 which disallows registry changes, or on which software should not be
53 installed. For instance, you can now run Emacs directly from a CD
54 without copying or installing anything on the machine itself.
58 To run Emacs, simply select Emacs from the Start Menu, or invoke
59 runemacs.exe directly from Explorer or a command prompt. This will
60 start Emacs in its default GUI mode, ready to use. If you have never
61 used Emacs before, you should follow the tutorial at this point
62 (select Emacs Tutorial from the Help menu), since Emacs is quite
63 different from ordinary Windows applications in many respects.
65 If you want to use Emacs in tty or character mode within a command
66 window, you can start it by typing "emacs -nw" at the command prompt.
67 (Obviously, you need to ensure that the Emacs bin subdirectory is in
68 your PATH first, or specify the path to emacs.exe.) The -nw
69 (non-windowed) mode of operation is most useful if you have a telnet
70 server on your machine, allowing you to run Emacs remotely.
74 If you should need to uninstall Emacs, simply delete all the files and
75 subdirectories from the directory where it was unpacked (Emacs does
76 not install or update any files in system directories or anywhere
77 else). If you ran the addpm.exe program to create the registry
78 entries and the Start menu icon, then you can remove the registry
79 entries using regedit. All of the settings are written under the
80 Software\GNU\Emacs key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, or if you didn't have
81 administrator privileges, the same key in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Just
82 delete the Software\GNU\Emacs key.
84 The Start menu entry can be removed by right-clicking on the Task bar
85 and selecting Properties, then using the Remove option on the Start
86 Menu Programs page. (If you installed under an account with
87 administrator privileges, then you need to click the Advanced button
88 and look for the Gnu Emacs menu item under All Users.)
92 Unpacking the distributions
94 If you encounter trouble trying to run Emacs, there are a number of
95 possible causes. If you didn't use the versions of tar and gunzip (or
96 djtarnt) on the above ftp site, it is possible that the distribution
97 became corrupted while it was being unpacked. Check the following for
98 indications that the distribution was not corrupted:
100 * Be sure to disable the CR/LF translation or the executables will
101 be unusable. Older versions of WinZipNT would enable this
102 translation by default. If you are using WinZipNT, disable it.
103 (I don't have WinZipNT myself, and I do not know the specific
104 commands necessary to disable it.)
106 * Check that filenames were not truncated to 8.3. For example,
107 there should be a file lisp\abbrevlist.elc; if this has been
108 truncated to abbrevli.elc, your distribution has been corrupted
109 while unpacking and Emacs will not start.
111 * Users have said that some utilities (WinZip again?) don't create
112 the lock subdirectory. You can create the lock directory by hand
113 (it is normally empty).
115 * Users have also reported that the gnu-win32 tar corrupts the
116 executables. Use the version of tar or djtarnt on the ftp.gnu.org
119 If you believe you have unpacked the distributions correctly and are
120 still encountering problems, see the section on Further Information
125 Some virus scanners interfere with Emacs' use of subprocesses. If you
126 are unable to use subprocesses and you use Dr. Solomon's WinGuard or
127 McAfee's Vshield, turn off "Scan all files" (WinGuard) or "boot sector
128 scanning" (McAfee exclusion properties).
130 * Further information
132 If you have access to the World Wide Web, I would recommend pointing
133 your favorite web browser to following the document (if you haven't
136 http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/windows/ntemacs.html
138 This document serves as an FAQ and a source for further information
139 about the Windows port and related software packages.
141 In addition to the FAQ, there is a mailing list for discussing issues
142 related to the Windows port of Emacs. For information about the
143 list, see this Web page:
145 http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-emacs-windows
147 To ask questions on the mailing list, send email to
148 help-emacs-windows@gnu.org. (You don't need to subscribe for that.)
149 To subscribe to the list or unsubscribe from it, fill the form you
150 find at http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-emacs-windows as
153 Another valuable source of information and help which should not be
154 overlooked is the various Usenet news groups dedicated to Emacs.
155 These are particuarly good for help with general issues which aren't
156 specific to the Windows port of Emacs. The main news groups to use
157 for seeking help are:
162 There are also fairly regular postings and announcements of new or
163 updated Emacs packages on this group:
169 If you encounter a bug in this port of Emacs, we would like to hear
170 about it. First check the FAQ on the web page above to see if the bug
171 is already known and if there are any workarounds. Then check whether
172 the bug has something to do with code in your .emacs file, e.g. by
173 invoking Emacs with the "-q --no-site-file" options.
175 If you decide that it is a bug in Emacs that might be specific to the
176 Windows port, send a message to the ntemacs-users@cs.washington.edu
177 mailing list describing the bug, the version of Emacs that you are
178 using, and the operating system that you are running on (Windows NT,
179 2000, 95 or 98 including service pack level if known). If the bug is
180 related to subprocesses, also specify which shell you are using (e.g.,
181 include the values of `shell-file-name' and `shell-explicit-file-name'
184 If you think the bug is not specific to the Windows port of Emacs,
185 then it is better to mail the bug report to bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org so
186 that it will be seen by the right people. If Emacs has been set up to
187 send mail, you can use the command M-x report-emacs-bug to create and
188 send the bug report, but in some cases there is a function to report
189 bugs in a specific package; e.g. M-x gnus-bug for Gnus, M-x
190 c-submit-bug-report for C/C++/Java mode, etc.