1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002,
3 @c 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5 @node Emacs Invocation, X Resources, GNU Free Documentation License, Top
6 @appendix Command Line Arguments for Emacs Invocation
7 @cindex command line arguments
8 @cindex arguments (command line)
9 @cindex options (command line)
10 @cindex switches (command line)
11 @cindex startup (command line arguments)
12 @cindex invocation (command line arguments)
14 GNU Emacs supports command line arguments to request various actions
15 when invoking Emacs. These are for compatibility with other editors and
16 for sophisticated activities. We don't recommend using them for
19 Arguments starting with @samp{-} are @dfn{options}, and so is
20 @samp{+@var{linenum}}. All other arguments specify files to visit.
21 Emacs visits the specified files while it starts up. The last file
22 name on your command line becomes the current buffer; the other files
23 are also visited in other buffers. If there are two files, they are
24 both displayed; otherwise the last file is displayed along with a
25 buffer list that shows what other buffers there are. As with most
26 programs, the special argument @samp{--} says that all subsequent
27 arguments are file names, not options, even if they start with
30 Emacs command options can specify many things, such as the size and
31 position of the X window Emacs uses, its colors, and so on. A few
32 options support advanced usage, such as running Lisp functions on files
33 in batch mode. The sections of this chapter describe the available
34 options, arranged according to their purpose.
36 There are two ways of writing options: the short forms that start with
37 a single @samp{-}, and the long forms that start with @samp{--}. For
38 example, @samp{-d} is a short form and @samp{--display} is the
39 corresponding long form.
41 The long forms with @samp{--} are easier to remember, but longer to
42 type. However, you don't have to spell out the whole option name; any
43 unambiguous abbreviation is enough. When a long option takes an
44 argument, you can use either a space or an equal sign to separate the
45 option name and the argument. Thus, you can write either
46 @samp{--display sugar-bombs:0.0} or @samp{--display=sugar-bombs:0.0}.
47 We recommend an equal sign because it makes the relationship clearer,
48 and the tables below always show an equal sign.
50 @cindex initial options (command line)
51 @cindex action options (command line)
52 @vindex command-line-args
53 Most options specify how to initialize Emacs, or set parameters for
54 the Emacs session. We call them @dfn{initial options}. A few options
55 specify things to do: for example, load libraries, call functions, or
56 terminate Emacs. These are called @dfn{action options}. These and file
57 names together are called @dfn{action arguments}. Emacs processes all
58 the action arguments in the order they are written. The @file{.emacs} file
59 can access the values of the action arguments as the elements of a list in
60 the variable @code{command-line-args}.
65 * Action Arguments:: Arguments to visit files, load libraries,
67 * Initial Options:: Arguments that take effect while starting Emacs.
68 * Command Example:: Examples of using command line arguments.
69 * Resume Arguments:: Specifying arguments when you resume a running Emacs.
70 * Environment:: Environment variables that Emacs uses.
71 * Display X:: Changing the default display and using remote login.
72 * Font X:: Choosing a font for text, under X.
73 * Colors:: Choosing display colors.
74 * Window Size X:: Start-up window size, under X.
75 * Borders X:: Internal and external borders, under X.
76 * Title X:: Specifying the initial frame's title.
77 * Icons X:: Choosing what sort of icon to use, under X.
78 * Misc X:: Other display options.
81 @node Action Arguments
82 @appendixsec Action Arguments
84 Here is a table of the action arguments and options:
89 @itemx --file=@var{file}
91 @itemx --find-file=@var{file}
93 @itemx --visit=@var{file}
94 @cindex visiting files, command-line argument
95 @vindex inhibit-startup-buffer-menu
96 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}. @xref{Visiting}.
97 If you visit several files at startup in this way, Emacs
98 also displays a Buffer Menu buffer to show you what files it
99 has visited. You can inhibit that by setting @code{inhibit-startup-buffer-menu} to @code{t}.
101 @item +@var{linenum} @var{file}
102 @opindex +@var{linenum}
103 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}, then go to line number
106 @item +@var{linenum}:@var{columnnum} @var{file}
107 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}, then go to line number
108 @var{linenum} and put point at column number @var{columnnum}.
113 @itemx --load=@var{file}
115 @cindex loading Lisp libraries, command-line argument
116 Load a Lisp library named @var{file} with the function @code{load}.
117 @xref{Lisp Libraries}. If @var{file} is not an absolute file name,
118 the library can be found either in the current directory, or in the
119 Emacs library search path as specified with @env{EMACSLOADPATH}
120 (@pxref{General Variables}).
122 @strong{Warning:} If previous command-line arguments have visited
123 files, the current directory is the directory of the last file
128 @itemx --directory=@var{dir}
130 Add directory @var{dir} to the variable @code{load-path}.
132 @item -f @var{function}
134 @itemx --funcall=@var{function}
136 @cindex call Lisp functions, command-line argument
137 Call Lisp function @var{function}. If it is an interactive function
138 (a command), it reads the arguments interactively just as if you had
139 called the same function with a key sequence. Otherwise, it calls the
140 function with no arguments.
142 @item --eval=@var{expression}
144 @itemx --execute=@var{expression}
146 @cindex evaluate expression, command-line argument
147 Evaluate Lisp expression @var{expression}.
149 @item --insert=@var{file}
151 @cindex insert file contents, command-line argument
152 Insert the contents of @var{file} into the current buffer. This is like
153 what @kbd{M-x insert-file} does. @xref{Misc File Ops}.
157 Exit from Emacs without asking for confirmation.
161 Print a usage message listing all available options, then exit
166 Print Emacs version, then exit successfully.
169 @node Initial Options
170 @appendixsec Initial Options
172 The initial options specify parameters for the Emacs session. This
173 section describes the more general initial options; some other options
174 specifically related to the X Window System appear in the following
177 Some initial options affect the loading of init files. The normal
178 actions of Emacs are to first load @file{site-start.el} if it exists,
179 then your own init file @file{~/.emacs} if it exists, and finally
180 @file{default.el} if it exists. @xref{Init File}. Certain options
181 prevent loading of some of these files or substitute other files for
185 @item -t @var{device}
187 @itemx --terminal=@var{device}
189 @cindex device for Emacs terminal I/O
190 Use @var{device} as the device for terminal input and output.
191 @samp{--terminal} implies @samp{--no-window-system}.
193 @item -d @var{display}
195 @itemx --display=@var{display}
197 @cindex display for Emacs frame
198 Use the X Window System and use the display named @var{display} to open
199 the initial Emacs frame. @xref{Display X}, for more details.
203 @itemx --no-window-system
204 @opindex --no-window-system
205 @cindex disable window system
206 Don't communicate directly with the window system, disregarding the
207 @env{DISPLAY} environment variable even if it is set. This means that
208 Emacs uses the terminal from which it was launched for all its display
216 Run Emacs in @dfn{batch mode}. Batch mode is used for running
217 programs written in Emacs Lisp from shell scripts, makefiles, and so
218 on. You should also use the @samp{-l} option or @samp{-f} option, to
219 invoke a Lisp program to do batch processing.
221 In batch mode, Emacs does not display the text being edited, and the
222 standard terminal interrupt characters such as @kbd{C-z} and @kbd{C-c}
223 continue to have their normal effect. The functions @code{prin1},
224 @code{princ} and @code{print} output to @code{stdout} instead of the
225 echo area, while @code{message} and error messages output to
226 @code{stderr}. Functions that would normally read from the minibuffer
227 take their input from @code{stdin} instead.
229 @samp{--batch} implies @samp{-q} (do not load an init file), but
230 @file{site-start.el} is loaded nonetheless. It also causes Emacs to
231 exit after processing all the command options. In addition, it
232 disables auto-saving except in buffers for which it has been
233 explicitly requested.
235 @item --script @var{file}
238 Run Emacs in batch mode, like @samp{--batch}, and then read and
239 execute the Lisp code in @var{file}.
241 The normal use of this option is in executable script files that run
242 Emacs. They can start with this text on the first line
245 #!/usr/bin/emacs --script
249 which will invoke Emacs with @samp{--script} and supply the name of
250 the script file as @var{file}. Emacs Lisp then treats @samp{#!} as a
255 @itemx --no-init-file
256 @opindex --no-init-file
257 @cindex bypassing init and @file{default.el} file
258 @cindex init file, not loading
259 @cindex @file{default.el} file, not loading
260 Do not load your Emacs init file @file{~/.emacs}, or @file{default.el}
261 either. Regardless of this switch, @file{site-start.el} is still loaded.
262 When invoked like this, Emacs does not allow saving options
263 changed with the @kbd{M-x customize} command and its variants.
264 @xref{Easy Customization}.
267 @opindex --no-site-file
268 @cindex @file{site-start.el} file, not loading
269 Do not load @file{site-start.el}. The options @samp{-q}, @samp{-u}
270 and @samp{--batch} have no effect on the loading of this file---this
271 option and @samp{-Q} are the only options that block it.
277 Start emacs with minimum customizations. This is like using @samp{-q}
278 and @samp{--no-site-file}, but also disables the startup screen.
282 @vindex inhibit-startup-message
283 Do not display a splash screen on startup; this is equivalent to
284 setting the variable @code{inhibit-startup-message} to non-@code{nil}.
287 @opindex --no-desktop
288 Do not reload any saved desktop. @xref{Saving Emacs Sessions}.
292 @itemx --user=@var{user}
294 @cindex load init file of another user
295 Load @var{user}'s Emacs init file @file{~@var{user}/.emacs} instead of
299 @opindex --debug-init
300 @cindex errors in init file
301 Enable the Emacs Lisp debugger for errors in the init file.
302 @xref{Error Debugging,, Entering the Debugger on an Error, elisp, The
303 GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
307 @itemx --no-multibyte
308 @opindex --no-multibyte
309 @cindex unibyte operation, command-line argument
310 Do almost everything with single-byte buffers and strings.
311 All buffers and strings are unibyte unless you (or a Lisp program)
312 explicitly ask for a multibyte buffer or string. (Note that Emacs
313 always loads Lisp files in multibyte mode, even if @samp{--unibyte} is
314 specified; see @ref{Enabling Multibyte}.) Setting the environment
315 variable @env{EMACS_UNIBYTE} has the same effect
316 (@pxref{General Variables}).
321 @opindex --no-unibyte
322 Inhibit the effect of @env{EMACS_UNIBYTE}, so that Emacs
323 uses multibyte characters by default, as usual.
326 @node Command Example
327 @appendixsec Command Argument Example
329 Here is an example of using Emacs with arguments and options. It
330 assumes you have a Lisp program file called @file{hack-c.el} which, when
331 loaded, performs some useful operation on the current buffer, expected
335 emacs --batch foo.c -l hack-c -f save-buffer >& log
339 This says to visit @file{foo.c}, load @file{hack-c.el} (which makes
340 changes in the visited file), save @file{foo.c} (note that
341 @code{save-buffer} is the function that @kbd{C-x C-s} is bound to), and
342 then exit back to the shell (because of @samp{--batch}). @samp{--batch}
343 also guarantees there will be no problem redirecting output to
344 @file{log}, because Emacs will not assume that it has a display terminal
347 @node Resume Arguments
348 @appendixsec Resuming Emacs with Arguments
350 You can specify action arguments for Emacs when you resume it after
351 a suspension. To prepare for this, put the following code in your
352 @file{.emacs} file (@pxref{Hooks}):
354 @c `resume-suspend-hook' is correct. It is the name of a function.
356 (add-hook 'suspend-hook 'resume-suspend-hook)
357 (add-hook 'suspend-resume-hook 'resume-process-args)
360 As further preparation, you must execute the shell script
361 @file{emacs.csh} (if you use csh as your shell) or @file{emacs.bash}
362 (if you use bash as your shell). These scripts define an alias named
363 @code{edit}, which will resume Emacs giving it new command line
364 arguments such as files to visit. The scripts are found in the
365 @file{etc} subdirectory of the Emacs distribution.
367 Only action arguments work properly when you resume Emacs. Initial
368 arguments are not recognized---it's too late to execute them anyway.
370 Note that resuming Emacs (with or without arguments) must be done from
371 within the shell that is the parent of the Emacs job. This is why
372 @code{edit} is an alias rather than a program or a shell script. It is
373 not possible to implement a resumption command that could be run from
374 other subjobs of the shell; there is no way to define a command that could
375 be made the value of @env{EDITOR}, for example. Therefore, this feature
376 does not take the place of the Emacs Server feature (@pxref{Emacs
379 The aliases use the Emacs Server feature if you appear to have a
380 server Emacs running. However, they cannot determine this with complete
381 accuracy. They may think that a server is still running when in
382 actuality you have killed that Emacs, because the file
383 @file{/tmp/esrv@dots{}} still exists. If this happens, find that
387 @appendixsec Environment Variables
388 @cindex environment variables
390 The @dfn{environment} is a feature of the operating system; it
391 consists of a collection of variables with names and values. Each
392 variable is called an @dfn{environment variable}; environment variable
393 names are case-sensitive, and it is conventional to use upper case
394 letters only. The values are all text strings.
396 What makes the environment useful is that subprocesses inherit the
397 environment automatically from their parent process. This means you
398 can set up an environment variable in your login shell, and all the
399 programs you run (including Emacs) will automatically see it.
400 Subprocesses of Emacs (such as shells, compilers, and version-control
401 software) inherit the environment from Emacs, too.
405 Inside Emacs, the command @kbd{M-x getenv} gets the value of an
406 environment variable. @kbd{M-x setenv} sets a variable in the Emacs
407 environment. (Environment variable substitutions with @samp{$} work
408 in the value just as in file names; see @ref{File Names with $}.)
410 The way to set environment variables outside of Emacs depends on the
411 operating system, and especially the shell that you are using. For
412 example, here's how to set the environment variable @env{ORGANIZATION}
413 to @samp{not very much} using Bash:
416 export ORGANIZATION="not very much"
420 and here's how to do it in csh or tcsh:
423 setenv ORGANIZATION "not very much"
426 When Emacs is using the X Window System, various environment
427 variables that control X work for Emacs as well. See the X
428 documentation for more information.
431 * General Variables:: Environment variables that all versions of Emacs use.
432 * Misc Variables:: Certain system-specific variables.
433 * MS-Windows Registry:: An alternative to the environment on MS-Windows.
436 @node General Variables
437 @appendixsubsec General Variables
439 Here is an alphabetical list of specific environment variables that
440 have special meanings in Emacs, giving the name of each variable and
441 its meaning. Most of these variables are also used by some other
442 programs. Emacs does not require any of these environment variables
443 to be set, but it uses their values if they are set.
447 Used by the @code{cd} command to search for the directory you specify,
448 when you specify a relative directory name.
450 @cindex unibyte operation, environment variable
451 Defining this environment variable with a nonempty value directs Emacs
452 to do almost everything with single-byte buffers and strings. It is
453 equivalent to using the @samp{--unibyte} command-line option on each
454 invocation. @xref{Initial Options}.
456 Directory for the architecture-independent files that come with Emacs.
457 This is used to initialize the Lisp variable @code{data-directory}.
459 Directory for the documentation string file,
460 @file{DOC-@var{emacsversion}}. This is used to initialize the Lisp
461 variable @code{doc-directory}.
463 A colon-separated list of directories@footnote{
464 Here and below, whenever we say ``colon-separated list of directories,''
465 it pertains to Unix and GNU/Linux systems. On MS-DOS and MS-Windows,
466 the directories are separated by semi-colons instead, since DOS/Windows
467 file names might include a colon after a drive letter.}
468 to search for Emacs Lisp files---used to initialize @code{load-path}.
470 A colon-separated list of directories to search for executable
471 files---used to initialize @code{exec-path}.
473 Used for shell-mode to override the @env{SHELL} environment variable.
475 The name of the file that shell commands are saved in between logins.
476 This variable defaults to @file{~/.bash_history} if you use Bash, to
477 @file{~/.sh_history} if you use ksh, and to @file{~/.history}
480 The location of your files in the directory tree; used for
481 expansion of file names starting with a tilde (@file{~}). On MS-DOS,
482 it defaults to the directory from which Emacs was started, with
483 @samp{/bin} removed from the end if it was present. On Windows, the
484 default value of @env{HOME} is the @file{Application Data}
485 subdirectory of the user profile directory (normally, this is
486 @file{C:/Documents and Settings/@var{username}/Application Data},
487 where @var{username} is your user name), though for backwards
488 compatibility @file{C:/} will be used instead if a @file{.emacs} file
491 The name of the machine that Emacs is running on.
493 A colon-separated list of directories. Used by the @code{complete} package
496 A colon-separated list of directories in which to search for Info files.
505 The user's preferred locale. The locale has six categories, specified
506 by the environment variables @env{LC_COLLATE} for sorting,
507 @env{LC_CTYPE} for character encoding, @env{LC_MESSAGES} for system
508 messages, @env{LC_MONETARY} for monetary formats, @env{LC_NUMERIC} for
509 numbers, and @env{LC_TIME} for dates and times. If one of these
510 variables is not set, the category defaults to the value of the
511 @env{LANG} environment variable, or to the default @samp{C} locale if
512 @env{LANG} is not set. But if @env{LC_ALL} is specified, it overrides
513 the settings of all the other locale environment variables.
515 On MS-Windows, if @env{LANG} is not already set in the environment
516 when Emacs starts, Emacs sets it based on the system-wide default
517 language, which you can set in the @samp{Regional Settings} Control Panel
518 on some versions of MS-Windows.
520 The value of the @env{LC_CTYPE} category is
521 matched against entries in @code{locale-language-names},
522 @code{locale-charset-language-names}, and
523 @code{locale-preferred-coding-systems}, to select a default language
524 environment and coding system. @xref{Language Environments}.
526 The user's login name. See also @env{USER}.
528 The name of your system mail inbox.
530 Name of setup file for the mh system. (The default is @file{~/.mh_profile}.)
532 Your real-world name.
534 The name of the news server. Used by the mh and Gnus packages.
536 The name of the organization to which you belong. Used for setting the
537 `Organization:' header in your posts from the Gnus package.
539 A colon-separated list of directories in which executables reside. This
540 is used to initialize the Emacs Lisp variable @code{exec-path}.
542 If set, this should be the default directory when Emacs was started.
544 If set, this specifies an initial value for the variable
545 @code{mail-default-reply-to}. @xref{Mail Headers}.
547 The name of a directory in which news articles are saved by default.
548 Used by the Gnus package.
550 The name of an interpreter used to parse and execute programs run from
553 The name of the outgoing mail server. Used by the SMTP library
554 (@pxref{Top,,Sending mail via SMTP,smtpmail}).
555 @cindex background mode, on @command{xterm}
557 The type of the terminal that Emacs is using. This variable must be
558 set unless Emacs is run in batch mode. On MS-DOS, it defaults to
559 @samp{internal}, which specifies a built-in terminal emulation that
560 handles the machine's own display. If the value of @env{TERM} indicates
561 that Emacs runs in non-windowed mode from @command{xterm} or a similar
562 terminal emulator, the background mode defaults to @samp{light}, and
563 Emacs will choose colors that are appropriate for a light background.
565 The name of the termcap library file describing how to program the
566 terminal specified by the @env{TERM} variable. This defaults to
569 Used by the Emerge package as a prefix for temporary files.
571 This specifies the current time zone and possibly also daylight
572 saving time information. On MS-DOS, if @env{TZ} is not set in the
573 environment when Emacs starts, Emacs defines a default value as
574 appropriate for the country code returned by DOS. On MS-Windows, Emacs
575 does not use @env{TZ} at all.
577 The user's login name. See also @env{LOGNAME}. On MS-DOS, this
578 defaults to @samp{root}.
579 @item VERSION_CONTROL
580 Used to initialize the @code{version-control} variable (@pxref{Numbered Backups}).
584 @appendixsubsec Miscellaneous Variables
586 These variables are used only on particular configurations:
590 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows, the name of the command interpreter to use
591 when invoking batch files and commands internal to the shell. On MS-DOS
592 this is also used to make a default value for the @env{SHELL} environment
596 On MS-DOS, this variable defaults to the value of the @env{USER}
601 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows, these specify the name of the directory for
602 storing temporary files in.
605 On MS-DOS, this specifies a file to use to log the operation of the
606 internal terminal emulator. This feature is useful for submitting bug
610 On MS-DOS, this specifies the screen colors. It is useful to set them
611 this way, since otherwise Emacs would display the default colors
612 momentarily when it starts up.
614 The value of this variable should be the two-character encoding of the
615 foreground (the first character) and the background (the second
616 character) colors of the default face. Each character should be the
617 hexadecimal code for the desired color on a standard PC text-mode
618 display. For example, to get blue text on a light gray background,
619 specify @samp{EMACSCOLORS=17}, since 1 is the code of the blue color and
620 7 is the code of the light gray color.
622 The PC display usually supports only eight background colors. However,
623 Emacs switches the DOS display to a mode where all 16 colors can be used
624 for the background, so all four bits of the background color are
628 Used when initializing the Sun windows system.
630 @item PRELOAD_WINSOCK
631 On MS-Windows, if you set this variable, Emacs will load and initialize
632 the network library at startup, instead of waiting until the first
636 On MS-Windows, @env{emacs_dir} is a special environment variable, which
637 indicates the full path of the directory in which Emacs is installed.
638 If Emacs is installed in the standard directory structure, it
639 calculates this value automatically. It is not much use setting this
640 variable yourself unless your installation is non-standard, since
641 unlike other environment variables, it will be overridden by Emacs at
642 startup. When setting other environment variables, such as
643 @env{EMACSLOADPATH}, you may find it useful to use @env{emacs_dir}
644 rather than hard-coding an absolute path. This allows multiple
645 versions of Emacs to share the same environment variable settings, and
646 it allows you to move the Emacs installation directory, without
647 changing any environment or registry settings.
650 @node MS-Windows Registry
651 @appendixsubsec The MS-Windows System Registry
652 @pindex addpm, MS-Windows installation program
653 @cindex registry, setting environment variables and resources on MS-Windows
655 On MS-Windows, the installation program @command{addpm.exe} adds values
656 for @env{emacs_dir}, @env{EMACSLOADPATH}, @env{EMACSDATA},
657 @env{EMACSPATH}, @env{EMACSDOC}, @env{SHELL} and @env{TERM} to the
658 @file{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE} section of the system registry, under
659 @file{/Software/GNU/Emacs}. It does this because there is no standard
660 place to set environment variables across different versions of
661 Windows. Running @command{addpm.exe} is no longer strictly
662 necessary in recent versions of Emacs, but if you are upgrading from
663 an older version, running @command{addpm.exe} ensures that you do not have
664 older registry entries from a previous installation, which may not be
665 compatible with the latest version of Emacs.
667 When Emacs starts, as well as checking the environment, it also checks
668 the System Registry for those variables and for @env{HOME}, @env{LANG}
669 and @env{PRELOAD_WINSOCK}.
671 To determine the value of those variables, Emacs goes through the
672 following procedure. First, the environment is checked. If the
673 variable is not found there, Emacs looks for registry keys by that
674 name under @file{/Software/GNU/Emacs}; first in the
675 @file{HKEY_CURRENT_USER} section of the registry, and if not found
676 there, in the @file{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE} section. Finally, if Emacs
677 still cannot determine the values, compiled-in defaults are used.
679 In addition to the environment variables above, you can also add many
680 of the settings which on X belong in the @file{.Xdefaults} file
681 (@pxref{X Resources}) to the @file{/Software/GNU/Emacs} registry key.
682 Settings you add to the @file{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE} section will affect
683 all users of the machine. Settings you add to the
684 @file{HKEY_CURRENT_USER} section will only affect you, and will
685 override machine wide settings.
688 @appendixsec Specifying the Display Name
689 @cindex display name (X Window System)
690 @cindex @env{DISPLAY} environment variable
692 The environment variable @env{DISPLAY} tells all X clients, including
693 Emacs, where to display their windows. Its value is set by default
694 in ordinary circumstances, when you start an X server and run jobs
695 locally. Occasionally you may need to specify the display yourself; for
696 example, if you do a remote login and want to run a client program
697 remotely, displaying on your local screen.
699 With Emacs, the main reason people change the default display is to
700 let them log into another system, run Emacs on that system, but have the
701 window displayed at their local terminal. You might need to log in
702 to another system because the files you want to edit are there, or
703 because the Emacs executable file you want to run is there.
705 The syntax of the @env{DISPLAY} environment variable is
706 @samp{@var{host}:@var{display}.@var{screen}}, where @var{host} is the
707 host name of the X Window System server machine, @var{display} is an
708 arbitrarily-assigned number that distinguishes your server (X terminal)
709 from other servers on the same machine, and @var{screen} is a
710 rarely-used field that allows an X server to control multiple terminal
711 screens. The period and the @var{screen} field are optional. If
712 included, @var{screen} is usually zero.
714 For example, if your host is named @samp{glasperle} and your server is
715 the first (or perhaps the only) server listed in the configuration, your
716 @env{DISPLAY} is @samp{glasperle:0.0}.
718 You can specify the display name explicitly when you run Emacs, either
719 by changing the @env{DISPLAY} variable, or with the option @samp{-d
720 @var{display}} or @samp{--display=@var{display}}. Here is an example:
723 emacs --display=glasperle:0 &
726 You can inhibit the direct use of the window system and GUI with the
727 @samp{-nw} option. It tells Emacs to display using ordinary @acronym{ASCII} on
728 its controlling terminal. This is also an initial option.
730 Sometimes, security arrangements prevent a program on a remote system
731 from displaying on your local system. In this case, trying to run Emacs
732 produces messages like this:
735 Xlib: connection to "glasperle:0.0" refused by server
739 You might be able to overcome this problem by using the @command{xhost}
740 command on the local system to give permission for access from your
744 @appendixsec Font Specification Options
745 @cindex font name (X Window System)
747 By default, Emacs displays text in a twelve point Courier font (when
748 using X). You can specify a different font on your command line
749 through the option @samp{-fn @var{name}} (or @samp{--font}, which is
750 an alias for @samp{-fn}).
755 @itemx --font=@var{name}
757 @cindex specify default font from the command line
758 Use font @var{name} as the default font.
761 Under X, each font has a long name which consists of fourteen words
762 or numbers, separated by dashes. Some fonts also have shorter
763 nicknames. For instance, @samp{9x15} is such a nickname. This font
764 makes each character nine pixels wide and fifteen pixels high. You
765 can use either kind of name. Case is insignificant in both kinds.
766 You can use wildcard patterns for the font name; then Emacs lets X
767 choose one of the fonts that match the pattern. The wildcard
768 character @samp{*} matches any sequence of characters (including none)
769 and @samp{?} matches any single character. However, matching is
770 implementation-dependent, and can be inaccurate when wildcards match
771 dashes in a long name. For reliable results, supply all 14 dashes and
772 use wildcards only within a field. Here is an example, which happens
773 to specify the font whose nickname is @samp{6x13}:
777 "-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1" &
781 You can also specify the font in your @file{.Xdefaults} file:
784 emacs.font: -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1
787 Note that if you use a wildcard pattern on the command line, you
788 need to enclose it in single or double quotes, to prevent the shell
789 from accidentally expanding it into a list of file names. On the
790 other hand, you should not quote the name in the @file{.Xdefaults}
793 The default font used by Emacs (under X) is:
796 -adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
799 A long font name has the following form:
802 -@var{maker}-@var{family}-@var{weight}-@var{slant}-@var{widthtype}-@var{style}@dots{}
803 @dots{}-@var{pixels}-@var{height}-@var{horiz}-@var{vert}-@var{spacing}-@var{width}-@var{registry}-@var{encoding}
808 This is the name of the font manufacturer.
810 This is the name of the font family---for example, @samp{courier}.
812 This is normally @samp{bold}, @samp{medium} or @samp{light}. Other
813 words may appear here in some font names.
815 This is @samp{r} (roman), @samp{i} (italic), @samp{o} (oblique),
816 @samp{ri} (reverse italic), or @samp{ot} (other).
818 This is normally @samp{condensed}, @samp{extended}, @samp{semicondensed}
819 or @samp{normal}. Other words may appear here in some font names.
821 This is an optional additional style name. Usually it is empty---most
822 long font names have two hyphens in a row at this point.
824 This is the font height, in pixels.
826 This is the font height on the screen, measured in tenths of a printer's
827 point---approximately 1/720 of an inch. In other words, it is the point
828 size of the font, times ten. For a given vertical resolution,
829 @var{height} and @var{pixels} are proportional; therefore, it is common
830 to specify just one of them and use @samp{*} for the other.
832 This is the horizontal resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
833 which the font is intended.
835 This is the vertical resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
836 which the font is intended. Normally the resolution of the fonts on
837 your system is the right value for your screen; therefore, you normally
838 specify @samp{*} for this and @var{horiz}.
840 This is @samp{m} (monospace), @samp{p} (proportional) or @samp{c}
843 This is the average character width, in pixels, multiplied by ten.
846 These together make up the X font character set that the font depicts.
847 (X font character sets are not the same as Emacs charsets, but they
848 are solutions for the same problem.) You can use the
849 @command{xfontsel} program to check which choices you have. However,
850 normally you should use @samp{iso8859} for @var{registry} and @samp{1}
854 @cindex listing system fonts
855 You will probably want to use a fixed-width default font---that is,
856 a font in which all characters have the same width. Any font with
857 @samp{m} or @samp{c} in the @var{spacing} field of the long name is a
858 fixed-width font. Here's how to use the @command{xlsfonts} program to
859 list all the fixed-width fonts available on your system:
862 xlsfonts -fn '*x*' | egrep "^[0-9]+x[0-9]+"
863 xlsfonts -fn '*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-m*'
864 xlsfonts -fn '*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-c*'
868 To see what a particular font looks like, use the @command{xfd} command.
876 displays the entire font @samp{6x13}.
878 While running Emacs, you can set the font of the current frame
879 (@pxref{Frame Parameters}) or for a specific kind of text
883 @appendixsec Window Color Options
884 @cindex color of window
885 @cindex text colors, from command line
887 @findex list-colors-display
888 @cindex available colors
889 On a color display, you can specify which color to use for various
890 parts of the Emacs display. To find out what colors are available on
891 your system, type @kbd{M-x list-colors-display}, or press
892 @kbd{C-Mouse-2} and select @samp{Display Colors} from the pop-up menu.
893 (A particular window system might support many more colors, but the
894 list displayed by @code{list-colors-display} shows their portable
895 subset that can be safely used on any display supported by Emacs.)
896 If you do not specify colors, on windowed displays the default for the
897 background is white and the default for all other colors is black. On a
898 monochrome display, the foreground is black, the background is white,
899 and the border is gray if the display supports that. On terminals, the
900 background is usually black and the foreground is white.
902 Here is a list of the command-line options for specifying colors:
905 @item -fg @var{color}
907 @itemx --foreground-color=@var{color}
908 @opindex --foreground-color
909 @cindex foreground color, command-line argument
910 Specify the foreground color. @var{color} should be a standard color
911 name, or a numeric specification of the color's red, green, and blue
912 components as in @samp{#4682B4} or @samp{RGB:46/82/B4}.
913 @item -bg @var{color}
915 @itemx --background-color=@var{color}
916 @opindex --background-color
917 @cindex background color, command-line argument
918 Specify the background color.
919 @item -bd @var{color}
921 @itemx --border-color=@var{color}
922 @opindex --border-color
923 @cindex border color, command-line argument
924 Specify the color of the border of the X window.
925 @item -cr @var{color}
927 @itemx --cursor-color=@var{color}
928 @opindex --cursor-color
929 @cindex cursor color, command-line argument
930 Specify the color of the Emacs cursor which indicates where point is.
931 @item -ms @var{color}
933 @itemx --mouse-color=@var{color}
934 @opindex --mouse-color
935 @cindex mouse pointer color, command-line argument
936 Specify the color for the mouse cursor when the mouse is in the Emacs window.
941 @itemx --reverse-video
942 @opindex --reverse-video
943 @cindex reverse video, command-line argument
944 Reverse video---swap the foreground and background colors.
945 @item --color=@var{mode}
947 @cindex standard colors on a character terminal
948 For a character terminal only, specify the mode of color support. The
949 parameter @var{mode} can be one of the following:
953 Don't use colors even if the terminal's capabilities specify color
957 Same as when @option{--color} is not used at all: Emacs detects at
958 startup whether the terminal supports colors, and if it does, turns on
963 Turn on the color support unconditionally, and use color commands
964 specified by the ANSI escape sequences for the 8 standard colors.
966 Use color mode for @var{num} colors. If @var{num} is -1, turn off
967 color support (equivalent to @samp{never}); if it is 0, use the
968 default color support for this terminal (equivalent to @samp{auto});
969 otherwise use an appropriate standard mode for @var{num} colors.
970 Depending on your terminal's capabilities, Emacs might be able to turn
971 on a color mode for 8, 16, 88, or 256 as the value of @var{num}. If
972 there is no mode that supports @var{num} colors, Emacs acts as if
973 @var{num} were 0, i.e.@: it uses the terminal's default color support
976 If @var{mode} is omitted, it defaults to @var{ansi8}.
979 For example, to use a coral mouse cursor and a slate blue text cursor,
983 emacs -ms coral -cr 'slate blue' &
986 You can reverse the foreground and background colors through the
987 @samp{-rv} option or with the X resource @samp{reverseVideo}.
989 The @samp{-fg}, @samp{-bg}, and @samp{-rv} options function on
990 text-only terminals as well as on graphical displays.
993 @appendixsec Options for Window Size and Position
994 @cindex geometry of Emacs window
995 @cindex position and size of Emacs frame
996 @cindex width and height of Emacs frame
997 @cindex specifying fullscreen for Emacs frame
999 Here is a list of the command-line options for specifying size and
1000 position of the initial Emacs frame:
1003 @item -g @var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
1005 @itemx --geometry=@var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
1007 @cindex geometry, command-line argument
1008 Specify the size @var{width} and @var{height} (measured in character
1009 columns and lines), and positions @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}
1010 (measured in pixels). This applies to all frames.
1015 @opindex --fullscreen
1016 @cindex fullscreen, command-line argument
1017 Specify that width and height shall be the size of the screen.
1022 @opindex --fullheight
1023 @cindex fullheight, command-line argument
1024 Specify that the height shall be the height of the screen.
1029 @opindex --fullwidth
1030 @cindex fullwidth, command-line argument
1031 Specify that the width shall be the width of the screen.
1036 In the @samp{--geometry} option, @code{@r{@{}+-@r{@}}} means either a plus
1037 sign or a minus sign. A plus
1038 sign before @var{xoffset} means it is the distance from the left side of
1039 the screen; a minus sign means it counts from the right side. A plus
1040 sign before @var{yoffset} means it is the distance from the top of the
1041 screen, and a minus sign there indicates the distance from the bottom.
1042 The values @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset} may themselves be positive or
1043 negative, but that doesn't change their meaning, only their direction.
1045 Emacs uses the same units as @command{xterm} does to interpret the geometry.
1046 The @var{width} and @var{height} are measured in characters, so a large font
1047 creates a larger frame than a small font. (If you specify a proportional
1048 font, Emacs uses its maximum bounds width as the width unit.) The
1049 @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset} are measured in pixels.
1051 You do not have to specify all of the fields in the geometry
1052 specification. If you omit both @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}, the
1053 window manager decides where to put the Emacs frame, possibly by
1054 letting you place it with the mouse. For example, @samp{164x55}
1055 specifies a window 164 columns wide, enough for two ordinary width
1056 windows side by side, and 55 lines tall.
1058 The default width for Emacs is 80 characters and the default height is
1059 40 lines. You can omit either the width or the height or both. If
1060 you start the geometry with an integer, Emacs interprets it as the
1061 width. If you start with an @samp{x} followed by an integer, Emacs
1062 interprets it as the height. Thus, @samp{81} specifies just the width;
1063 @samp{x45} specifies just the height.
1065 If you start with @samp{+} or @samp{-}, that introduces an offset,
1066 which means both sizes are omitted. Thus, @samp{-3} specifies the
1067 @var{xoffset} only. (If you give just one offset, it is always
1068 @var{xoffset}.) @samp{+3-3} specifies both the @var{xoffset} and the
1069 @var{yoffset}, placing the frame near the bottom left of the screen.
1071 You can specify a default for any or all of the fields in
1072 @file{.Xdefaults} file, and then override selected fields with a
1073 @samp{--geometry} option.
1075 Since the mode line and the echo area occupy the last 2 lines of the
1076 frame, the height of the initial text window is 2 less than the height
1077 specified in your geometry. In non-X-toolkit versions of Emacs, the
1078 menu bar also takes one line of the specified number. But in the X
1079 toolkit version, the menu bar is additional and does not count against
1080 the specified height. The tool bar, if present, is also additional.
1082 Enabling or disabling the menu bar or tool bar alters the amount of
1083 space available for ordinary text. Therefore, if Emacs starts up with
1084 a tool bar (which is the default), and handles the geometry
1085 specification assuming there is a tool bar, and then your
1086 @file{~/.emacs} file disables the tool bar, you will end up with a
1087 frame geometry different from what you asked for. To get the intended
1088 size with no tool bar, use an X resource to specify ``no tool bar''
1089 (@pxref{Table of Resources}); then Emacs will already know there's no
1090 tool bar when it processes the specified geometry.
1092 When using one of @samp{--fullscreen}, @samp{--fullwidth} or
1093 @samp{--fullheight} there may be some space around the frame
1094 anyway. That is because Emacs rounds the sizes so they are an
1095 even number of character heights and widths.
1097 Some window managers have options that can make them ignore both
1098 program-specified and user-specified positions (sawfish is one).
1099 If these are set, Emacs fails to position the window correctly.
1102 @appendixsec Internal and External Borders
1103 @cindex borders (X Window System)
1105 An Emacs frame has an internal border and an external border. The
1106 internal border is an extra strip of the background color around the
1107 text portion of the frame. Emacs itself draws the internal border.
1108 The external border is added by the window manager outside the frame;
1109 depending on the window manager you use, it may contain various boxes
1110 you can click on to move or iconify the window.
1113 @item -ib @var{width}
1115 @itemx --internal-border=@var{width}
1116 @opindex --internal-border
1117 @cindex internal border width, command-line argument
1118 Specify @var{width} as the width of the internal border (between the text
1119 and the main border), in pixels.
1121 @item -bw @var{width}
1123 @itemx --border-width=@var{width}
1124 @opindex --border-width
1125 @cindex main border width, command-line argument
1126 Specify @var{width} as the width of the main border, in pixels.
1129 When you specify the size of the frame, that does not count the
1130 borders. The frame's position is measured from the outside edge of the
1133 Use the @samp{-ib @var{n}} option to specify an internal border
1134 @var{n} pixels wide. The default is 1. Use @samp{-bw @var{n}} to
1135 specify the width of the external border (though the window manager may
1136 not pay attention to what you specify). The default width of the
1137 external border is 2.
1140 @appendixsec Frame Titles
1142 An Emacs frame may or may not have a specified title. The frame
1143 title, if specified, appears in window decorations and icons as the
1144 name of the frame. If an Emacs frame has no specified title, the
1145 default title has the form @samp{@var{invocation-name}@@@var{machine}}
1146 (if there is only one frame) or the selected window's buffer name (if
1147 there is more than one frame).
1149 You can specify a title for the initial Emacs frame with a command
1153 @item -T @var{title}
1155 @itemx --title=@var{title}
1157 @cindex frame title, command-line argument
1158 Specify @var{title} as the title for the initial Emacs frame.
1161 The @samp{--name} option (@pxref{Resources}) also specifies the title
1162 for the initial Emacs frame.
1166 @cindex icons (X Window System)
1168 Most window managers allow you to ``iconify'' a frame, removing
1169 it from sight, and leaving a small, distinctive ``icon'' window in its
1170 place. Clicking on the icon window makes the frame itself appear again.
1171 If you have many clients running at once, you can avoid cluttering up
1172 the screen by iconifying most of the clients.
1177 @itemx --no-bitmap-icon
1178 @opindex --no-bitmap-icon
1179 @cindex Emacs icon, a gnu
1180 Do not use a picture of a gnu as the Emacs icon.
1185 @cindex start iconified, command-line argument
1186 Start Emacs in iconified state.
1189 By default Emacs uses an icon window containing a picture of the GNU gnu.
1190 The @samp{-nbi} or @samp{--no-bitmap-icon} option tells Emacs to let the
1191 window manager choose what sort of icon to use---usually just a small
1192 rectangle containing the frame's title.
1194 The @samp{-iconic} option tells Emacs to begin running as an icon,
1195 rather than showing a frame right away. In this situation, the icon
1196 is the only indication that Emacs has started; the text frame doesn't
1197 appear until you deiconify it.
1200 @appendixsec Other Display Options
1205 @itemx --horizontal-scroll-bars
1206 @opindex --horizontal-scroll-bars
1207 @c @cindex horizontal scroll bars, command-line argument
1208 Enable horizontal scroll bars. Since horizontal scroll bars
1209 are not yet implemented, this actually does nothing.
1213 @itemx --vertical-scroll-bars
1214 @opindex --vertical-scroll-bars
1215 @cindex vertical scroll bars, command-line argument
1216 Enable vertical scroll bars.
1218 @item -lsp @var{pixels}
1220 @itemx --line-spacing=@var{pixels}
1221 @opindex --line-spacing
1222 @cindex line spacing, command-line argument
1223 Specify @var{pixels} as additional space to put between lines, in pixels.
1227 @itemx --no-blinking-cursor
1228 @opindex --no-blinking-cursor
1229 @cindex blinking cursor disable, command-line argument
1230 Disable the blinking cursor on graphical terminals.
1234 @itemx --basic-display
1235 @opindex --basic-display
1236 Disable the menu-bar, the tool-bar, the scroll-bars, and tool tips,
1237 and turn off the blinking cursor. This can be useful for making a
1238 test case that simplifies debugging of display problems.
1241 The @samp{--xrm} option (@pxref{Resources}) specifies additional
1245 arch-tag: fffecd9e-7329-4a51-a3cc-dd4a9889340e