1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,1997,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
4 @node Calendar/Diary, Gnus, Dired, Top
5 @chapter The Calendar and the Diary
9 Emacs provides the functions of a desk calendar, with a diary of
10 planned or past events. It also has facilities for managing your
11 appointments, and keeping track of how much time you spend working on
14 To enter the calendar, type @kbd{M-x calendar}; this displays a
15 three-month calendar centered on the current month, with point on the
16 current date. With a numeric argument, as in @kbd{C-u M-x calendar}, it
17 prompts you for the month and year to be the center of the three-month
18 calendar. The calendar uses its own buffer, whose major mode is
21 @kbd{Mouse-2} in the calendar brings up a menu of operations on a
22 particular date; @kbd{C-Mouse-3} brings up a menu of commonly used
23 calendar features that are independent of any particular date. To exit
24 the calendar, type @kbd{q}. @xref{Calendar, Customizing the Calendar
25 and Diary,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}, for customization
26 information about the calendar and diary.
29 * Calendar Motion:: Moving through the calendar; selecting a date.
30 * Scroll Calendar:: Bringing earlier or later months onto the screen.
31 * Counting Days:: How many days are there between two dates?
32 * General Calendar:: Exiting or recomputing the calendar.
33 * LaTeX Calendar:: Print a calendar using LaTeX.
34 * Holidays:: Displaying dates of holidays.
35 * Sunrise/Sunset:: Displaying local times of sunrise and sunset.
36 * Lunar Phases:: Displaying phases of the moon.
37 * Other Calendars:: Converting dates to other calendar systems.
38 * Diary:: Displaying events from your diary.
39 * Appointments:: Reminders when it's time to do something.
40 * Daylight Savings:: How to specify when daylight savings time is active.
41 * Time Intervals:: Keeping track of time intervals.
45 @section Movement in the Calendar
47 @cindex moving inside the calendar
48 Calendar mode lets you move through the calendar in logical units of
49 time such as days, weeks, months, and years. If you move outside the
50 three months originally displayed, the calendar display ``scrolls''
51 automatically through time to make the selected date visible. Moving to
52 a date lets you view its holidays or diary entries, or convert it to other
53 calendars; moving longer time periods is also useful simply to scroll the
57 * Calendar Unit Motion:: Moving by days, weeks, months, and years.
58 * Move to Beginning or End:: Moving to start/end of weeks, months, and years.
59 * Specified Dates:: Moving to the current date or another
63 @node Calendar Unit Motion
64 @subsection Motion by Standard Lengths of Time
66 The commands for movement in the calendar buffer parallel the
67 commands for movement in text. You can move forward and backward by
68 days, weeks, months, and years.
72 Move point one day forward (@code{calendar-forward-day}).
74 Move point one day backward (@code{calendar-backward-day}).
76 Move point one week forward (@code{calendar-forward-week}).
78 Move point one week backward (@code{calendar-backward-week}).
80 Move point one month forward (@code{calendar-forward-month}).
82 Move point one month backward (@code{calendar-backward-month}).
84 Move point one year forward (@code{calendar-forward-year}).
86 Move point one year backward (@code{calendar-backward-year}).
89 @kindex C-f @r{(Calendar mode)}
90 @findex calendar-forward-day
91 @kindex C-b @r{(Calendar mode)}
92 @findex calendar-backward-day
93 @kindex C-n @r{(Calendar mode)}
94 @findex calendar-forward-week
95 @kindex C-p @r{(Calendar mode)}
96 @findex calendar-backward-week
97 The day and week commands are natural analogues of the usual Emacs
98 commands for moving by characters and by lines. Just as @kbd{C-n}
99 usually moves to the same column in the following line, in Calendar
100 mode it moves to the same day in the following week. And @kbd{C-p}
101 moves to the same day in the previous week.
103 The arrow keys are equivalent to @kbd{C-f}, @kbd{C-b}, @kbd{C-n} and
104 @kbd{C-p}, just as they normally are in other modes.
106 @kindex M-@} @r{(Calendar mode)}
107 @findex calendar-forward-month
108 @kindex M-@{ @r{(Calendar mode)}
109 @findex calendar-backward-month
110 @kindex C-x ] @r{(Calendar mode)}
111 @findex calendar-forward-year
112 @kindex C-x [ @r{(Calendar mode)}
113 @findex calendar-forward-year
114 The commands for motion by months and years work like those for
115 weeks, but move a larger distance. The month commands @kbd{M-@}} and
116 @kbd{M-@{} move forward or backward by an entire month's time. The
117 year commands @kbd{C-x ]} and @w{@kbd{C-x [}} move forward or backward a
120 The easiest way to remember these commands is to consider months and
121 years analogous to paragraphs and pages of text, respectively. But the
122 commands themselves are not quite analogous. The ordinary Emacs paragraph
123 commands move to the beginning or end of a paragraph, whereas these month
124 and year commands move by an entire month or an entire year, which usually
125 involves skipping across the end of a month or year.
127 All these commands accept a numeric argument as a repeat count.
128 For convenience, the digit keys and the minus sign specify numeric
129 arguments in Calendar mode even without the Meta modifier. For example,
130 @kbd{100 C-f} moves point 100 days forward from its present location.
132 @node Move to Beginning or End
133 @subsection Beginning or End of Week, Month or Year
135 A week (or month, or year) is not just a quantity of days; we think of
136 weeks (months, years) as starting on particular dates. So Calendar mode
137 provides commands to move to the beginning or end of a week, month or
141 @kindex C-a @r{(Calendar mode)}
142 @findex calendar-beginning-of-week
144 Move point to start of week (@code{calendar-beginning-of-week}).
145 @kindex C-e @r{(Calendar mode)}
146 @findex calendar-end-of-week
148 Move point to end of week (@code{calendar-end-of-week}).
149 @kindex M-a @r{(Calendar mode)}
150 @findex calendar-beginning-of-month
152 Move point to start of month (@code{calendar-beginning-of-month}).
153 @kindex M-e @r{(Calendar mode)}
154 @findex calendar-end-of-month
156 Move point to end of month (@code{calendar-end-of-month}).
157 @kindex M-< @r{(Calendar mode)}
158 @findex calendar-beginning-of-year
160 Move point to start of year (@code{calendar-beginning-of-year}).
161 @kindex M-> @r{(Calendar mode)}
162 @findex calendar-end-of-year
164 Move point to end of year (@code{calendar-end-of-year}).
167 These commands also take numeric arguments as repeat counts, with the
168 repeat count indicating how many weeks, months, or years to move
171 @vindex calendar-week-start-day
172 @cindex weeks, which day they start on
173 @cindex calendar, first day of week
174 By default, weeks begin on Sunday. To make them begin on Monday
175 instead, set the variable @code{calendar-week-start-day} to 1.
177 @node Specified Dates
178 @subsection Specified Dates
180 Calendar mode provides commands for moving to a particular date
181 specified in various ways.
185 Move point to specified date (@code{calendar-goto-date}).
187 Center calendar around specified month (@code{calendar-other-month}).
189 Move point to today's date (@code{calendar-goto-today}).
192 @kindex g d @r{(Calendar mode)}
193 @findex calendar-goto-date
194 @kbd{g d} (@code{calendar-goto-date}) prompts for a year, a month, and a day
195 of the month, and then moves to that date. Because the calendar includes all
196 dates from the beginning of the current era, you must type the year in its
197 entirety; that is, type @samp{1990}, not @samp{90}.
199 @kindex o @r{(Calendar mode)}
200 @findex calendar-other-month
201 @kbd{o} (@code{calendar-other-month}) prompts for a month and year,
202 then centers the three-month calendar around that month.
204 @kindex . @r{(Calendar mode)}
205 @findex calendar-goto-today
206 You can return to today's date with @kbd{.}@:
207 (@code{calendar-goto-today}).
209 @node Scroll Calendar
210 @section Scrolling in the Calendar
212 @cindex scrolling in the calendar
213 The calendar display scrolls automatically through time when you move out
214 of the visible portion. You can also scroll it manually. Imagine that the
215 calendar window contains a long strip of paper with the months on it.
216 Scrolling it means moving the strip so that new months become visible in
221 Scroll calendar one month forward (@code{scroll-calendar-left}).
223 Scroll calendar one month backward (@code{scroll-calendar-right}).
226 Scroll calendar three months forward
227 (@code{scroll-calendar-left-three-months}).
230 Scroll calendar three months backward
231 (@code{scroll-calendar-right-three-months}).
234 @kindex C-x < @r{(Calendar mode)}
235 @findex scroll-calendar-left
236 @kindex C-x > @r{(Calendar mode)}
237 @findex scroll-calendar-right
238 The most basic calendar scroll commands scroll by one month at a
239 time. This means that there are two months of overlap between the
240 display before the command and the display after. @kbd{C-x <} scrolls
241 the calendar contents one month to the left; that is, it moves the
242 display forward in time. @kbd{C-x >} scrolls the contents to the
243 right, which moves backwards in time.
245 @kindex C-v @r{(Calendar mode)}
246 @findex scroll-calendar-left-three-months
247 @kindex M-v @r{(Calendar mode)}
248 @findex scroll-calendar-right-three-months
249 The commands @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} scroll the calendar by an entire
250 ``screenful''---three months---in analogy with the usual meaning of
251 these commands. @kbd{C-v} makes later dates visible and @kbd{M-v} makes
252 earlier dates visible. These commands take a numeric argument as a
253 repeat count; in particular, since @kbd{C-u} multiplies the next command
254 by four, typing @kbd{C-u C-v} scrolls the calendar forward by a year and
255 typing @kbd{C-u M-v} scrolls the calendar backward by a year.
257 The function keys @key{NEXT} and @key{PRIOR} are equivalent to
258 @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v}, just as they are in other modes.
261 @section Counting Days
265 Display the number of days in the current region
266 (@code{calendar-count-days-region}).
269 @kindex M-= @r{(Calendar mode)}
270 @findex calendar-count-days-region
271 To determine the number of days in the region, type @kbd{M-=}
272 (@code{calendar-count-days-region}). The numbers of days printed is
273 @emph{inclusive}; that is, it includes the days specified by mark and
276 @node General Calendar
277 @section Miscellaneous Calendar Commands
281 Display day-in-year (@code{calendar-print-day-of-year}).
283 Regenerate the calendar window (@code{redraw-calendar}).
285 Scroll the next window (@code{scroll-other-window}).
287 Exit from calendar (@code{exit-calendar}).
290 @kindex p d @r{(Calendar mode)}
292 @findex calendar-print-day-of-year
293 To print the number of days elapsed since the start of the year, or
294 the number of days remaining in the year, type the @kbd{p d} command
295 (@code{calendar-print-day-of-year}). This displays both of those
296 numbers in the echo area. The number of days elapsed includes the
297 selected date. The number of days remaining does not include that
300 @kindex C-c C-l @r{(Calendar mode)}
301 @findex redraw-calendar
302 If the calendar window text gets corrupted, type @kbd{C-c C-l}
303 (@code{redraw-calendar}) to redraw it. (This can only happen if you use
304 non-Calendar-mode editing commands.)
306 @kindex SPC @r{(Calendar mode)}
307 In Calendar mode, you can use @kbd{SPC} (@code{scroll-other-window})
308 to scroll the other window. This is handy when you display a list of
309 holidays or diary entries in another window.
311 @kindex q @r{(Calendar mode)}
312 @findex exit-calendar
313 To exit from the calendar, type @kbd{q} (@code{exit-calendar}). This
314 buries all buffers related to the calendar, selecting other buffers.
315 (If a frame contains a dedicated calendar window, exiting from the
316 calendar iconifies that frame.)
319 @section LaTeX Calendar
320 @cindex calendar and La@TeX{}
322 The Calendar La@TeX{} commands produce a buffer of La@TeX{} code that
323 prints as a calendar. Depending on the command you use, the printed
324 calendar covers the day, week, month or year that point is in.
326 @kindex t @r{(Calendar mode)}
329 Generate a one-month calendar (@code{cal-tex-cursor-month}).
331 Generate a sideways-printing one-month calendar
332 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-month-landscape}).
334 Generate a one-day calendar
335 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-day}).
337 Generate a one-page calendar for one week
338 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-week}).
340 Generate a two-page calendar for one week
341 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-week2}).
343 Generate an ISO-style calendar for one week
344 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-week-iso}).
346 Generate a calendar for one Monday-starting week
347 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-week-monday}).
349 Generate a Filofax-style two-weeks-at-a-glance calendar
350 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-2week}).
352 Generate a Filofax-style one-week-at-a-glance calendar
353 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-week}).
355 Generate a calendar for one year
356 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-year}).
358 Generate a sideways-printing calendar for one year
359 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-year-landscape}).
361 Generate a Filofax-style calendar for one year
362 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-year}).
365 Some of these commands print the calendar sideways (in ``landscape
366 mode''), so it can be wider than it is long. Some of them use Filofax
367 paper size (3.75in x 6.75in). All of these commands accept a prefix
368 argument which specifies how many days, weeks, months or years to print
369 (starting always with the selected one).
371 If the variable @code{cal-tex-holidays} is non-@code{nil} (the default),
372 then the printed calendars show the holidays in @code{calendar-holidays}.
373 If the variable @code{cal-tex-diary} is non-@code{nil} (the default is
374 @code{nil}), diary entries are included also (in weekly and monthly
375 calendars only). If the variable @code{cal-tex-rules} is non-@code{nil}
376 (the default is @code{nil}), the calendar displays ruled pages
377 in styles that have sufficient room.
383 The Emacs calendar knows about all major and many minor holidays,
384 and can display them.
388 Display holidays for the selected date
389 (@code{calendar-cursor-holidays}).
390 @item Mouse-2 Holidays
391 Display any holidays for the date you click on.
393 Mark holidays in the calendar window (@code{mark-calendar-holidays}).
395 Unmark calendar window (@code{calendar-unmark}).
397 List all holidays for the displayed three months in another window
398 (@code{list-calendar-holidays}).
400 List all holidays for three months around today's date in another
402 @item M-x list-holidays
403 List holidays in another window for a specified range of years.
406 @kindex h @r{(Calendar mode)}
407 @findex calendar-cursor-holidays
408 To see if any holidays fall on a given date, position point on that
409 date in the calendar window and use the @kbd{h} command. Alternatively,
410 click on that date with @kbd{Mouse-2} and then choose @kbd{Holidays}
411 from the menu that appears. Either way, this displays the holidays for
412 that date, in the echo area if they fit there, otherwise in a separate
415 @kindex x @r{(Calendar mode)}
416 @findex mark-calendar-holidays
417 @kindex u @r{(Calendar mode)}
418 @findex calendar-unmark
419 To view the distribution of holidays for all the dates shown in the
420 calendar, use the @kbd{x} command. This displays the dates that are
421 holidays in a different face (or places a @samp{*} after these dates, if
422 display with multiple faces is not available). The command applies both
423 to the currently visible months and to other months that subsequently
424 become visible by scrolling. To turn marking off and erase the current
425 marks, type @kbd{u}, which also erases any diary marks (@pxref{Diary}).
427 @kindex a @r{(Calendar mode)}
428 @findex list-calendar-holidays
429 To get even more detailed information, use the @kbd{a} command, which
430 displays a separate buffer containing a list of all holidays in the
431 current three-month range. You can use @key{SPC} in the calendar window
435 The command @kbd{M-x holidays} displays the list of holidays for the
436 current month and the preceding and succeeding months; this works even
437 if you don't have a calendar window. If you want the list of holidays
438 centered around a different month, use @kbd{C-u M-x holidays}, which
439 prompts for the month and year.
441 The holidays known to Emacs include United States holidays and the
442 major Christian, Jewish, and Islamic holidays; also the solstices and
445 @findex list-holidays
446 The command @kbd{M-x list-holidays} displays the list of holidays for
447 a range of years. This function asks you for the starting and stopping
448 years, and allows you to choose all the holidays or one of several
449 categories of holidays. You can use this command even if you don't have
452 The dates used by Emacs for holidays are based on @emph{current
453 practice}, not historical fact. Historically, for instance, the start
454 of daylight savings time and even its existence have varied from year to
455 year, but present United States law mandates that daylight savings time
456 begins on the first Sunday in April. When the daylight savings rules
457 are set up for the United States, Emacs always uses the present
458 definition, even though it is wrong for some prior years.
461 @section Times of Sunrise and Sunset
462 @cindex sunrise and sunset
464 Special calendar commands can tell you, to within a minute or two, the
465 times of sunrise and sunset for any date.
469 Display times of sunrise and sunset for the selected date
470 (@code{calendar-sunrise-sunset}).
471 @item Mouse-2 Sunrise/Sunset
472 Display times of sunrise and sunset for the date you click on.
473 @item M-x sunrise-sunset
474 Display times of sunrise and sunset for today's date.
475 @item C-u M-x sunrise-sunset
476 Display times of sunrise and sunset for a specified date.
479 @kindex S @r{(Calendar mode)}
480 @findex calendar-sunrise-sunset
481 @findex sunrise-sunset
482 Within the calendar, to display the @emph{local times} of sunrise and
483 sunset in the echo area, move point to the date you want, and type
484 @kbd{S}. Alternatively, click @kbd{Mouse-2} on the date, then choose
485 @kbd{Sunrise/Sunset} from the menu that appears. The command @kbd{M-x
486 sunrise-sunset} is available outside the calendar to display this
487 information for today's date or a specified date. To specify a date
488 other than today, use @kbd{C-u M-x sunrise-sunset}, which prompts for
489 the year, month, and day.
491 You can display the times of sunrise and sunset for any location and
492 any date with @kbd{C-u C-u M-x sunrise-sunset}. This asks you for a
493 longitude, latitude, number of minutes difference from Coordinated
494 Universal Time, and date, and then tells you the times of sunrise and
495 sunset for that location on that date.
497 Because the times of sunrise and sunset depend on the location on
498 earth, you need to tell Emacs your latitude, longitude, and location
499 name before using these commands. Here is an example of what to set:
501 @vindex calendar-location-name
502 @vindex calendar-longitude
503 @vindex calendar-latitude
505 (setq calendar-latitude 40.1)
506 (setq calendar-longitude -88.2)
507 (setq calendar-location-name "Urbana, IL")
511 Use one decimal place in the values of @code{calendar-latitude} and
512 @code{calendar-longitude}.
514 Your time zone also affects the local time of sunrise and sunset.
515 Emacs usually gets time zone information from the operating system, but
516 if these values are not what you want (or if the operating system does
517 not supply them), you must set them yourself. Here is an example:
519 @vindex calendar-time-zone
520 @vindex calendar-standard-time-zone-name
521 @vindex calendar-daylight-time-zone-name
523 (setq calendar-time-zone -360)
524 (setq calendar-standard-time-zone-name "CST")
525 (setq calendar-daylight-time-zone-name "CDT")
529 The value of @code{calendar-time-zone} is the number of minutes
530 difference between your local standard time and Coordinated Universal
531 Time (Greenwich time). The values of
532 @code{calendar-standard-time-zone-name} and
533 @code{calendar-daylight-time-zone-name} are the abbreviations used in
534 your time zone. Emacs displays the times of sunrise and sunset
535 @emph{corrected for daylight savings time}. @xref{Daylight Savings},
536 for how daylight savings time is determined.
538 As a user, you might find it convenient to set the calendar location
539 variables for your usual physical location in your @file{.emacs} file.
540 And when you install Emacs on a machine, you can create a
541 @file{default.el} file which sets them properly for the typical location
542 of most users of that machine. @xref{Init File}.
545 @section Phases of the Moon
546 @cindex phases of the moon
547 @cindex moon, phases of
549 These calendar commands display the dates and times of the phases of
550 the moon (new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter). This
551 feature is useful for debugging problems that ``depend on the phase of
556 Display the dates and times for all the quarters of the moon for the
557 three-month period shown (@code{calendar-phases-of-moon}).
558 @item M-x phases-of-moon
559 Display dates and times of the quarters of the moon for three months around
563 @kindex M @r{(Calendar mode)}
564 @findex calendar-phases-of-moon
565 Within the calendar, use the @kbd{M} command to display a separate
566 buffer of the phases of the moon for the current three-month range. The
567 dates and times listed are accurate to within a few minutes.
569 @findex phases-of-moon
570 Outside the calendar, use the command @kbd{M-x phases-of-moon} to
571 display the list of the phases of the moon for the current month and the
572 preceding and succeeding months. For information about a different
573 month, use @kbd{C-u M-x phases-of-moon}, which prompts for the month and
576 The dates and times given for the phases of the moon are given in
577 local time (corrected for daylight savings, when appropriate); but if
578 the variable @code{calendar-time-zone} is void, Coordinated Universal
579 Time (the Greenwich time zone) is used. @xref{Daylight Savings}.
581 @node Other Calendars
582 @section Conversion To and From Other Calendars
584 @cindex Gregorian calendar
585 The Emacs calendar displayed is @emph{always} the Gregorian calendar,
586 sometimes called the ``new style'' calendar, which is used in most of
587 the world today. However, this calendar did not exist before the
588 sixteenth century and was not widely used before the eighteenth century;
589 it did not fully displace the Julian calendar and gain universal
590 acceptance until the early twentieth century. The Emacs calendar can
591 display any month since January, year 1 of the current era, but the
592 calendar displayed is the Gregorian, even for a date at which the
593 Gregorian calendar did not exist.
595 While Emacs cannot display other calendars, it can convert dates to
596 and from several other calendars.
599 * Calendar Systems:: The calendars Emacs understands
600 (aside from Gregorian).
601 * To Other Calendar:: Converting the selected date to various calendars.
602 * From Other Calendar:: Moving to a date specified in another calendar.
603 * Mayan Calendar:: Moving to a date specified in a Mayan calendar.
606 @node Calendar Systems
607 @subsection Supported Calendar Systems
609 @cindex ISO commercial calendar
610 The ISO commercial calendar is used largely in Europe.
612 @cindex Julian calendar
613 The Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar, was the one used in Europe
614 throughout medieval times, and in many countries up until the nineteenth
617 @cindex Julian day numbers
618 @cindex astronomical day numbers
619 Astronomers use a simple counting of days elapsed since noon, Monday,
620 January 1, 4713 B.C. on the Julian calendar. The number of days elapsed
621 is called the @dfn{Julian day number} or the @dfn{Astronomical day number}.
623 @cindex Hebrew calendar
624 The Hebrew calendar is used by tradition in the Jewish religion. The
625 Emacs calendar program uses the Hebrew calendar to determine the dates
626 of Jewish holidays. Hebrew calendar dates begin and end at sunset.
628 @cindex Islamic calendar
629 The Islamic calendar is used in many predominantly Islamic countries.
630 Emacs uses it to determine the dates of Islamic holidays. There is no
631 universal agreement in the Islamic world about the calendar; Emacs uses
632 a widely accepted version, but the precise dates of Islamic holidays
633 often depend on proclamation by religious authorities, not on
634 calculations. As a consequence, the actual dates of observance can vary
635 slightly from the dates computed by Emacs. Islamic calendar dates begin
638 @cindex French Revolutionary calendar
639 The French Revolutionary calendar was created by the Jacobins after the 1789
640 revolution, to represent a more secular and nature-based view of the annual
641 cycle, and to install a 10-day week in a rationalization measure similar to
642 the metric system. The French government officially abandoned this
643 calendar at the end of 1805.
645 @cindex Mayan calendar
646 The Maya of Central America used three separate, overlapping calendar
647 systems, the @emph{long count}, the @emph{tzolkin}, and the @emph{haab}.
648 Emacs knows about all three of these calendars. Experts dispute the
649 exact correlation between the Mayan calendar and our calendar; Emacs uses the
650 Goodman-Martinez-Thompson correlation in its calculations.
652 @cindex Coptic calendar
653 @cindex Ethiopic calendar
654 The Copts use a calendar based on the ancient Egyptian solar calendar.
655 Their calendar consists of twelve 30-day months followed by an extra
656 five-day period. Once every fourth year they add a leap day to this
657 extra period to make it six days. The Ethiopic calendar is identical in
658 structure, but has different year numbers and month names.
660 @cindex Persian calendar
661 The Persians use a solar calendar based on a design of Omar Khayyam.
662 Their calendar consists of twelve months of which the first six have 31
663 days, the next five have 30 days, and the last has 29 in ordinary years
664 and 30 in leap years. Leap years occur in a complicated pattern every
667 @cindex Chinese calendar
668 The Chinese calendar is a complicated system of lunar months arranged
669 into solar years. The years go in cycles of sixty, each year containing
670 either twelve months in an ordinary year or thirteen months in a leap
671 year; each month has either 29 or 30 days. Years, ordinary months, and
672 days are named by combining one of ten ``celestial stems'' with one of
673 twelve ``terrestrial branches'' for a total of sixty names that are
674 repeated in a cycle of sixty.
676 @node To Other Calendar
677 @subsection Converting To Other Calendars
679 The following commands describe the selected date (the date at point)
680 in various other calendar systems:
683 @item Mouse-2 Other Calendars
684 Display the date that you click on, expressed in various other calendars.
685 @kindex p @r{(Calendar mode)}
686 @findex calendar-print-iso-date
688 Display ISO commercial calendar equivalent for selected day
689 (@code{calendar-print-iso-date}).
690 @findex calendar-print-julian-date
692 Display Julian date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-julian-date}).
693 @findex calendar-print-astro-day-number
695 Display astronomical (Julian) day number for selected day
696 (@code{calendar-print-astro-day-number}).
697 @findex calendar-print-hebrew-date
699 Display Hebrew date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-hebrew-date}).
700 @findex calendar-print-islamic-date
702 Display Islamic date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-islamic-date}).
703 @findex calendar-print-french-date
705 Display French Revolutionary date for selected day
706 (@code{calendar-print-french-date}).
707 @findex calendar-print-chinese-date
709 Display Chinese date for selected day
710 (@code{calendar-print-chinese-date}).
711 @findex calendar-print-coptic-date
713 Display Coptic date for selected day
714 (@code{calendar-print-coptic-date}).
715 @findex calendar-print-ethiopic-date
717 Display Ethiopic date for selected day
718 (@code{calendar-print-ethiopic-date}).
719 @findex calendar-print-persian-date
721 Display Persian date for selected day
722 (@code{calendar-print-persian-date}).
723 @findex calendar-print-mayan-date
725 Display Mayan date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-mayan-date}).
728 If you are using X, the easiest way to translate a date into other
729 calendars is to click on it with @kbd{Mouse-2}, then choose @kbd{Other
730 Calendars} from the menu that appears. This displays the equivalent
731 forms of the date in all the calendars Emacs understands, in the form of
732 a menu. (Choosing an alternative from this menu doesn't actually do
733 anything---the menu is used only for display.)
735 Put point on the desired date of the Gregorian calendar, then type the
736 appropriate keys. The @kbd{p} is a mnemonic for ``print'' since Emacs
737 ``prints'' the equivalent date in the echo area.
739 @node From Other Calendar
740 @subsection Converting From Other Calendars
742 You can use the other supported calendars to specify a date to move
743 to. This section describes the commands for doing this using calendars
744 other than Mayan; for the Mayan calendar, see the following section.
746 @kindex g @var{char} @r{(Calendar mode)}
747 @findex calendar-goto-iso-date
748 @findex calendar-goto-julian-date
749 @findex calendar-goto-astro-day-number
750 @findex calendar-goto-hebrew-date
751 @findex calendar-goto-islamic-date
752 @findex calendar-goto-french-date
753 @findex calendar-goto-chinese-date
754 @findex calendar-goto-persian-date
755 @findex calendar-goto-coptic-date
756 @findex calendar-goto-ethiopic-date
759 Move to a date specified in the ISO commercial calendar
760 (@code{calendar-goto-iso-date}).
762 Move to a date specified in the Julian calendar
763 (@code{calendar-goto-julian-date}).
765 Move to a date specified in astronomical (Julian) day number
766 (@code{calendar-goto-astro-day-number}).
768 Move to a date specified in the Hebrew calendar
769 (@code{calendar-goto-hebrew-date}).
771 Move to a date specified in the Islamic calendar
772 (@code{calendar-goto-islamic-date}).
774 Move to a date specified in the French Revolutionary calendar
775 (@code{calendar-goto-french-date}).
777 Move to a date specified in the Chinese calendar
778 (@code{calendar-goto-chinese-date}).
780 Move to a date specified in the Persian calendar
781 (@code{calendar-goto-persian-date}).
783 Move to a date specified in the Coptic calendar
784 (@code{calendar-goto-coptic-date}).
786 Move to a date specified in the Ethiopic calendar
787 (@code{calendar-goto-ethiopic-date}).
790 These commands ask you for a date on the other calendar, move point to
791 the Gregorian calendar date equivalent to that date, and display the
792 other calendar's date in the echo area. Emacs uses strict completion
793 (@pxref{Completion}) whenever it asks you to type a month name, so you
794 don't have to worry about the spelling of Hebrew, Islamic, or French names.
796 @findex list-yahrzeit-dates
798 One common question concerning the Hebrew calendar is the computation
799 of the anniversary of a date of death, called a ``yahrzeit.'' The Emacs
800 calendar includes a facility for such calculations. If you are in the
801 calendar, the command @kbd{M-x list-yahrzeit-dates} asks you for a
802 range of years and then displays a list of the yahrzeit dates for those
803 years for the date given by point. If you are not in the calendar,
804 this command first asks you for the date of death and the range of
805 years, and then displays the list of yahrzeit dates.
808 @subsection Converting from the Mayan Calendar
810 Here are the commands to select dates based on the Mayan calendar:
814 Move to a date specified by the long count calendar
815 (@code{calendar-goto-mayan-long-count-date}).
817 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
818 tzolkin calendar (@code{calendar-next-tzolkin-date}).
820 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
821 tzolkin calendar (@code{calendar-previous-tzolkin-date}).
823 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
824 haab calendar (@code{calendar-next-haab-date}).
826 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
827 haab calendar (@code{calendar-previous-haab-date}).
829 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
830 calendar round (@code{calendar-next-calendar-round-date}).
832 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
833 calendar round (@code{calendar-previous-calendar-round-date}).
836 @cindex Mayan long count
837 To understand these commands, you need to understand the Mayan calendars.
838 The @dfn{long count} is a counting of days with these units:
841 1 kin = 1 day@ @ @ 1 uinal = 20 kin@ @ @ 1 tun = 18 uinal
842 1 katun = 20 tun@ @ @ 1 baktun = 20 katun
845 @kindex g m @r{(Calendar mode)}
846 @findex calendar-goto-mayan-long-count-date
848 Thus, the long count date 12.16.11.16.6 means 12 baktun, 16 katun, 11
849 tun, 16 uinal, and 6 kin. The Emacs calendar can handle Mayan long
850 count dates as early as 7.17.18.13.1, but no earlier. When you use the
851 @kbd{g m l} command, type the Mayan long count date with the baktun,
852 katun, tun, uinal, and kin separated by periods.
854 @findex calendar-previous-tzolkin-date
855 @findex calendar-next-tzolkin-date
856 @cindex Mayan tzolkin calendar
857 The Mayan tzolkin calendar is a cycle of 260 days formed by a pair of
858 independent cycles of 13 and 20 days. Since this cycle repeats
859 endlessly, Emacs provides commands to move backward and forward to the
860 previous or next point in the cycle. Type @kbd{g m p t} to go to the
861 previous tzolkin date; Emacs asks you for a tzolkin date and moves point
862 to the previous occurrence of that date. Similarly, type @kbd{g m n t}
863 to go to the next occurrence of a tzolkin date.
865 @findex calendar-previous-haab-date
866 @findex calendar-next-haab-date
867 @cindex Mayan haab calendar
868 The Mayan haab calendar is a cycle of 365 days arranged as 18 months
869 of 20 days each, followed a 5-day monthless period. Like the tzolkin
870 cycle, this cycle repeats endlessly, and there are commands to move
871 backward and forward to the previous or next point in the cycle. Type
872 @kbd{g m p h} to go to the previous haab date; Emacs asks you for a haab
873 date and moves point to the previous occurrence of that date.
874 Similarly, type @kbd{g m n h} to go to the next occurrence of a haab
877 @c This is omitted because it is too long for smallbook format.
878 @c @findex calendar-previous-calendar-round-date
879 @findex calendar-next-calendar-round-date
880 @cindex Mayan calendar round
881 The Maya also used the combination of the tzolkin date and the haab
882 date. This combination is a cycle of about 52 years called a
883 @emph{calendar round}. If you type @kbd{g m p c}, Emacs asks you for
884 both a haab and a tzolkin date and then moves point to the previous
885 occurrence of that combination. Use @kbd{g m n c} to move point to the
886 next occurrence of a combination. These commands signal an error if the
887 haab/tzolkin date combination you have typed is impossible.
889 Emacs uses strict completion (@pxref{Strict Completion}) whenever it
890 asks you to type a Mayan name, so you don't have to worry about
897 The Emacs diary keeps track of appointments or other events on a daily
898 basis, in conjunction with the calendar. To use the diary feature, you
899 must first create a @dfn{diary file} containing a list of events and
900 their dates. Then Emacs can automatically pick out and display the
901 events for today, for the immediate future, or for any specified
904 By default, Emacs uses @file{~/diary} as the diary file. This is the
905 same file that the @code{calendar} utility uses. A sample
906 @file{~/diary} file is:
909 12/22/1988 Twentieth wedding anniversary!!
910 &1/1. Happy New Year!
911 10/22 Ruth's birthday.
913 Tuesday--weekly meeting with grad students at 10am
914 Supowit, Shen, Bitner, and Kapoor to attend.
915 1/13/89 Friday the thirteenth!!
916 &thu 4pm squash game with Lloyd.
917 mar 16 Dad's birthday
918 April 15, 1989 Income tax due.
919 &* 15 time cards due.
923 This example uses extra spaces to align the event descriptions of most
924 of the entries. Such formatting is purely a matter of taste.
926 Although you probably will start by creating a diary manually, Emacs
927 provides a number of commands to let you view, add, and change diary
931 * Diary Commands:: Viewing diary entries and associated calendar dates.
932 * Format of Diary File:: Entering events in your diary.
933 * Date Formats:: Various ways you can specify dates.
934 * Adding to Diary:: Commands to create diary entries.
935 * Special Diary Entries:: Anniversaries, blocks of dates, cyclic entries, etc.
939 @subsection Commands Displaying Diary Entries
941 Once you have created a @file{~/diary} file, you can use the calendar
942 to view it. You can also view today's events outside of Calendar mode.
946 Display all diary entries for the selected date
947 (@code{view-diary-entries}).
949 Display all diary entries for the date you click on.
951 Display the entire diary file (@code{show-all-diary-entries}).
953 Mark all visible dates that have diary entries
954 (@code{mark-diary-entries}).
956 Unmark the calendar window (@code{calendar-unmark}).
957 @item M-x print-diary-entries
958 Print hard copy of the diary display as it appears.
960 Display all diary entries for today's date.
961 @item M-x diary-mail-entries
962 Mail yourself email reminders about upcoming diary entries.
965 @kindex d @r{(Calendar mode)}
966 @findex view-diary-entries
967 Displaying the diary entries with @kbd{d} shows in a separate window
968 the diary entries for the selected date in the calendar. The mode line
969 of the new window shows the date of the diary entries and any holidays
970 that fall on that date. If you specify a numeric argument with @kbd{d},
971 it shows all the diary entries for that many successive days. Thus,
972 @kbd{2 d} displays all the entries for the selected date and for the
975 Another way to display the diary entries for a date is to click
976 @kbd{Mouse-2} on the date, and then choose @kbd{Diary} from the menu
979 @kindex m @r{(Calendar mode)}
980 @findex mark-diary-entries
981 To get a broader view of which days are mentioned in the diary, use
982 the @kbd{m} command. This displays the dates that have diary entries
983 in a different face (or places a @samp{+} after these dates, if
984 display with multiple faces is not available). The command applies both
985 to the currently visible months and to other months that subsequently
986 become visible by scrolling. To turn marking off and erase the current
987 marks, type @kbd{u}, which also turns off holiday marks
990 @kindex s @r{(Calendar mode)}
991 @findex show-all-diary-entries
992 To see the full diary file, rather than just some of the entries, use
995 Display of selected diary entries uses the selective display feature
996 to hide entries that don't apply.
998 The diary buffer as you see it is an illusion, so simply printing the
999 buffer does not print what you see on your screen. There is a special
1000 command to print hard copy of the diary buffer @emph{as it appears};
1001 this command is @kbd{M-x print-diary-entries}. It sends the data
1002 directly to the printer. You can customize it like @code{lpr-region}
1006 The command @kbd{M-x diary} displays the diary entries for the current
1007 date, independently of the calendar display, and optionally for the next
1008 few days as well; the variable @code{number-of-diary-entries} specifies
1009 how many days to include. @xref{Calendar, Customizing the Calendar
1010 and Diary,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1012 If you put @code{(diary)} in your @file{.emacs} file, this
1013 automatically displays a window with the day's diary entries, when you
1014 enter Emacs. The mode line of the displayed window shows the date and
1015 any holidays that fall on that date.
1017 @findex diary-mail-entries
1018 @vindex diary-mail-days
1019 Many users like to receive notice of events in their diary as email.
1020 To send such mail to yourself, use the command @kbd{M-x
1021 diary-mail-entries}. A prefix argument specifies how many days
1022 (starting with today) to check; otherwise, the variable
1023 @code{diary-mail-days} says how many days.
1025 @node Format of Diary File
1026 @subsection The Diary File
1030 Your @dfn{diary file} is a file that records events associated with
1031 particular dates. The name of the diary file is specified by the
1032 variable @code{diary-file}; @file{~/diary} is the default. The
1033 @code{calendar} utility program supports a subset of the format allowed
1034 by the Emacs diary facilities, so you can use that utility to view the
1035 diary file, with reasonable results aside from the entries it cannot
1038 Each entry in the diary file describes one event and consists of one
1039 or more lines. An entry always begins with a date specification at the
1040 left margin. The rest of the entry is simply text to describe the
1041 event. If the entry has more than one line, then the lines after the
1042 first must begin with whitespace to indicate they continue a previous
1043 entry. Lines that do not begin with valid dates and do not continue a
1044 preceding entry are ignored.
1046 You can inhibit the marking of certain diary entries in the calendar
1047 window; to do this, insert an ampersand (@samp{&}) at the beginning of
1048 the entry, before the date. This has no effect on display of the entry
1049 in the diary window; it affects only marks on dates in the calendar
1050 window. Nonmarking entries are especially useful for generic entries
1051 that would otherwise mark many different dates.
1053 If the first line of a diary entry consists only of the date or day
1054 name with no following blanks or punctuation, then the diary window
1055 display doesn't include that line; only the continuation lines appear.
1056 For example, this entry:
1060 Bill B. visits Princeton today
1061 2pm Cognitive Studies Committee meeting
1062 2:30-5:30 Liz at Lawrenceville
1064 7:30pm Dinner at George's
1065 8:00-10:00pm concert
1069 appears in the diary window without the date line at the beginning.
1070 This style of entry looks neater when you display just a single day's
1071 entries, but can cause confusion if you ask for more than one day's
1074 You can edit the diary entries as they appear in the window, but it is
1075 important to remember that the buffer displayed contains the @emph{entire}
1076 diary file, with portions of it concealed from view. This means, for
1077 instance, that the @kbd{C-f} (@code{forward-char}) command can put point
1078 at what appears to be the end of the line, but what is in reality the
1079 middle of some concealed line.
1081 @emph{Be careful when editing the diary entries!} Inserting
1082 additional lines or adding/deleting characters in the middle of a
1083 visible line cannot cause problems, but editing at the end of a line may
1084 not do what you expect. Deleting a line may delete other invisible
1085 entries that follow it. Before editing the diary, it is best to display
1086 the entire file with @kbd{s} (@code{show-all-diary-entries}).
1089 @subsection Date Formats
1091 Here are some sample diary entries, illustrating different ways of
1092 formatting a date. The examples all show dates in American order
1093 (month, day, year), but Calendar mode supports European order (day,
1094 month, year) as an option.
1097 4/20/93 Switch-over to new tabulation system
1098 apr. 25 Start tabulating annual results
1099 4/30 Results for April are due
1100 */25 Monthly cycle finishes
1101 Friday Don't leave without backing up files
1104 The first entry appears only once, on April 20, 1993. The second and
1105 third appear every year on the specified dates, and the fourth uses a
1106 wildcard (asterisk) for the month, so it appears on the 25th of every
1107 month. The final entry appears every week on Friday.
1109 You can use just numbers to express a date, as in
1110 @samp{@var{month}/@var{day}} or @samp{@var{month}/@var{day}/@var{year}}.
1111 This must be followed by a nondigit. In the date itself, @var{month}
1112 and @var{day} are numbers of one or two digits. The optional @var{year}
1113 is also a number, and may be abbreviated to the last two digits; that
1114 is, you can use @samp{11/12/1989} or @samp{11/12/89}.
1116 Dates can also have the form @samp{@var{monthname} @var{day}} or
1117 @samp{@var{monthname} @var{day}, @var{year}}, where the month's name can
1118 be spelled in full or abbreviated to three characters (with or without a
1119 period). Case is not significant.
1121 A date may be @dfn{generic}; that is, partially unspecified. Then the
1122 entry applies to all dates that match the specification. If the date
1123 does not contain a year, it is generic and applies to any year.
1124 Alternatively, @var{month}, @var{day}, or @var{year} can be a @samp{*};
1125 this matches any month, day, or year, respectively. Thus, a diary entry
1126 @samp{3/*/*} matches any day in March of any year; so does @samp{march
1129 @vindex european-calendar-style
1130 @findex european-calendar
1131 @findex american-calendar
1132 If you prefer the European style of writing dates---in which the day
1133 comes before the month---type @kbd{M-x european-calendar} while in the
1134 calendar, or set the variable @code{european-calendar-style} to @code{t}
1135 @emph{before} using any calendar or diary command. This mode interprets
1136 all dates in the diary in the European manner, and also uses European
1137 style for displaying diary dates. (Note that there is no comma after
1138 the @var{monthname} in the European style.) To go back to the (default)
1139 American style of writing dates, type @kbd{M-x american-calendar}.
1141 You can use the name of a day of the week as a generic date which
1142 applies to any date falling on that day of the week. You can abbreviate
1143 the day of the week to three letters (with or without a period) or spell
1144 it in full; case is not significant.
1146 @node Adding to Diary
1147 @subsection Commands to Add to the Diary
1149 While in the calendar, there are several commands to create diary
1154 Add a diary entry for the selected date (@code{insert-diary-entry}).
1156 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the week (@code{insert-weekly-diary-entry}).
1158 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the month (@code{insert-monthly-diary-entry}).
1160 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the year (@code{insert-yearly-diary-entry}).
1163 @kindex i d @r{(Calendar mode)}
1164 @findex insert-diary-entry
1165 You can make a diary entry for a specific date by selecting that date
1166 in the calendar window and typing the @kbd{i d} command. This command
1167 displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the
1168 date; you can then type the rest of the diary entry.
1170 @kindex i w @r{(Calendar mode)}
1171 @findex insert-weekly-diary-entry
1172 @kindex i m @r{(Calendar mode)}
1173 @findex insert-monthly-diary-entry
1174 @kindex i y @r{(Calendar mode)}
1175 @findex insert-yearly-diary-entry
1176 If you want to make a diary entry that applies to a specific day of
1177 the week, select that day of the week (any occurrence will do) and type
1178 @kbd{i w}. This inserts the day-of-week as a generic date; you can then
1179 type the rest of the diary entry. You can make a monthly diary entry in
1180 the same fashion. Select the day of the month, use the @kbd{i m}
1181 command, and type rest of the entry. Similarly, you can insert a yearly
1182 diary entry with the @kbd{i y} command.
1184 All of the above commands make marking diary entries by default. To
1185 make a nonmarking diary entry, give a numeric argument to the command.
1186 For example, @kbd{C-u i w} makes a nonmarking weekly diary entry.
1188 When you modify the diary file, be sure to save the file before
1191 @node Special Diary Entries
1192 @subsection Special Diary Entries
1194 In addition to entries based on calendar dates, the diary file can
1195 contain @dfn{sexp entries} for regular events such as anniversaries.
1196 These entries are based on Lisp expressions (sexps) that Emacs evaluates
1197 as it scans the diary file. Instead of a date, a sexp entry contains
1198 @samp{%%} followed by a Lisp expression which must begin and end with
1199 parentheses. The Lisp expression determines which dates the entry
1202 Calendar mode provides commands to insert certain commonly used
1207 Add an anniversary diary entry for the selected date
1208 (@code{insert-anniversary-diary-entry}).
1210 Add a block diary entry for the current region
1211 (@code{insert-block-diary-entry}).
1213 Add a cyclic diary entry starting at the date
1214 (@code{insert-cyclic-diary-entry}).
1217 @kindex i a @r{(Calendar mode)}
1218 @findex insert-anniversary-diary-entry
1219 If you want to make a diary entry that applies to the anniversary of a
1220 specific date, move point to that date and use the @kbd{i a} command.
1221 This displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts
1222 the anniversary description; you can then type the rest of the diary
1223 entry. The entry looks like this:
1225 @findex diary-anniversary
1227 %%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's birthday
1231 This entry applies to October 31 in any year after 1948; @samp{10 31
1232 1948} specifies the date. (If you are using the European calendar
1233 style, the month and day are interchanged.) The reason this expression
1234 requires a beginning year is that advanced diary functions can use it to
1235 calculate the number of elapsed years.
1237 A @dfn{block} diary entry applies to a specified range of consecutive
1238 dates. Here is a block diary entry that applies to all dates from June
1239 24, 1990 through July 10, 1990:
1243 %%(diary-block 6 24 1990 7 10 1990) Vacation
1247 The @samp{6 24 1990} indicates the starting date and the @samp{7 10 1990}
1248 indicates the stopping date. (Again, if you are using the European calendar
1249 style, the month and day are interchanged.)
1251 @kindex i b @r{(Calendar mode)}
1252 @findex insert-block-diary-entry
1253 To insert a block entry, place point and the mark on the two
1254 dates that begin and end the range, and type @kbd{i b}. This command
1255 displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the
1256 block description; you can then type the diary entry.
1258 @kindex i c @r{(Calendar mode)}
1259 @findex insert-cyclic-diary-entry
1260 @dfn{Cyclic} diary entries repeat after a fixed interval of days. To
1261 create one, select the starting date and use the @kbd{i c} command. The
1262 command prompts for the length of interval, then inserts the entry,
1263 which looks like this:
1265 @findex diary-cyclic
1267 %%(diary-cyclic 50 3 1 1990) Renew medication
1271 This entry applies to March 1, 1990 and every 50th day following;
1272 @samp{3 1 1990} specifies the starting date. (If you are using the
1273 European calendar style, the month and day are interchanged.)
1275 All three of these commands make marking diary entries. To insert a
1276 nonmarking entry, give a numeric argument to the command. For example,
1277 @kbd{C-u i a} makes a nonmarking anniversary diary entry.
1279 Marking sexp diary entries in the calendar is @emph{extremely}
1280 time-consuming, since every date visible in the calendar window must be
1281 individually checked. So it's a good idea to make sexp diary entries
1282 nonmarking (with @samp{&}) when possible.
1284 Another sophisticated kind of sexp entry, a @dfn{floating} diary entry,
1285 specifies a regularly occurring event by offsets specified in days,
1286 weeks, and months. It is comparable to a crontab entry interpreted by
1287 the @code{cron} utility. Here is a nonmarking, floating diary entry
1288 that applies to the last Thursday in November:
1292 &%%(diary-float 11 4 -1) American Thanksgiving
1296 The 11 specifies November (the eleventh month), the 4 specifies Thursday
1297 (the fourth day of the week, where Sunday is numbered zero), and the
1298 @minus{}1 specifies ``last'' (1 would mean ``first,'' 2 would mean
1299 ``second,'' @minus{}2 would mean ``second-to-last,'' and so on). The
1300 month can be a single month or a list of months. Thus you could change
1301 the 11 above to @samp{'(1 2 3)} and have the entry apply to the last
1302 Thursday of January, February, and March. If the month is @code{t}, the
1303 entry applies to all months of the year.@refill
1305 Most generally, sexp diary entries can perform arbitrary
1306 computations to determine when they apply. @xref{Sexp Diary Entries,,
1307 Sexp Diary Entries, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1310 @section Appointments
1311 @cindex appointment notification
1313 If you have a diary entry for an appointment, and that diary entry
1314 begins with a recognizable time of day, Emacs can warn you, several
1315 minutes beforehand, that that appointment is pending. Emacs alerts you
1316 to the appointment by displaying a message in the mode line.
1319 @findex appt-make-list
1320 To enable appointment notification, you must enable the time display
1321 feature of Emacs, @kbd{M-x display-time} (@pxref{Mode Line}). You must
1322 also add the function @code{appt-make-list} to the
1323 @code{diary-hook}, like this:
1326 (add-hook 'diary-hook 'appt-make-list)
1330 Adding this text to your @file{.emacs} file does the whole job:
1334 (add-hook 'diary-hook 'appt-make-list)
1338 With these preparations done, when you display the diary (either with
1339 the @kbd{d} command in the calendar window or with the @kbd{M-x diary}
1340 command), it sets up an appointment list of all the diary entries found
1341 with recognizable times of day, and reminds you just before each of
1344 For example, suppose the diary file contains these lines:
1353 Then on Mondays, after you have displayed the diary, you will be
1354 reminded at 9:20am about your coffee break and at 11:50am about lunch.
1356 You can write times in am/pm style (with @samp{12:00am} standing
1357 for midnight and @samp{12:00pm} standing for noon), or 24-hour
1358 European/military style. You need not be consistent; your diary file
1359 can have a mixture of the two styles.
1361 @vindex appt-display-diary
1362 Emacs updates the appointments list automatically just after
1363 midnight. This also displays the next day's diary entries in the diary
1364 buffer, unless you set @code{appt-display-diary} to @code{nil}.
1369 You can also use the appointment notification facility like an alarm
1370 clock. The command @kbd{M-x appt-add} adds entries to the appointment
1371 list without affecting your diary file. You delete entries from the
1372 appointment list with @kbd{M-x appt-delete}.
1374 @vindex appt-issue-message
1375 You can turn off the appointment notification feature at any time by
1376 setting @code{appt-issue-message} to @code{nil}.
1378 @node Daylight Savings
1379 @section Daylight Savings Time
1380 @cindex daylight savings time
1382 Emacs understands the difference between standard time and daylight
1383 savings time---the times given for sunrise, sunset, solstices,
1384 equinoxes, and the phases of the moon take that into account. The rules
1385 for daylight savings time vary from place to place and have also varied
1386 historically from year to year. To do the job properly, Emacs needs to
1387 know which rules to use.
1389 @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-starts
1390 @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-ends
1391 Some operating systems keep track of the rules that apply to the place
1392 where you are; on these systems, Emacs gets the information it needs
1393 from the system automatically. If some or all of this information is
1394 missing, Emacs fills in the gaps with the rules currently used in
1395 Cambridge, Massachusetts. If the resulting rules are not what you want,
1396 you can tell Emacs the rules to use by setting certain variables:
1397 @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} and
1398 @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends}.
1400 These values should be Lisp expressions that refer to the variable
1401 @code{year}, and evaluate to the Gregorian date on which daylight
1402 savings time starts or (respectively) ends, in the form of a list
1403 @code{(@var{month} @var{day} @var{year})}. The values should be
1404 @code{nil} if your area does not use daylight savings time.
1406 Emacs uses these expressions to determine the starting date of
1407 daylight savings time for the holiday list and for correcting times of
1408 day in the solar and lunar calculations.
1410 The values for Cambridge, Massachusetts are as follows:
1413 (calendar-nth-named-day 1 0 4 year)
1414 (calendar-nth-named-day -1 0 10 year)
1418 That is, the first 0th day (Sunday) of the fourth month (April) in
1419 the year specified by @code{year}, and the last Sunday of the tenth month
1420 (October) of that year. If daylight savings time were
1421 changed to start on October 1, you would set
1422 @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} to this:
1428 If there is no daylight savings time at your location, or if you want
1429 all times in standard time, set @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts}
1430 and @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends} to @code{nil}.
1432 @vindex calendar-daylight-time-offset
1433 The variable @code{calendar-daylight-time-offset} specifies the
1434 difference between daylight savings time and standard time, measured in
1435 minutes. The value for Cambridge, Massachusetts is 60.
1437 @c @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-starts-time too long!
1438 @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-ends-time
1439 The two variables @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts-time} and
1440 @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends-time} specify the number of minutes
1441 after midnight local time when the transition to and from daylight
1442 savings time should occur. For Cambridge, Massachusetts both variables'
1445 @node Time Intervals
1446 @section Summing Time Intervals
1447 @cindex time intervals, summing
1448 @cindex summing time intervals
1451 The timeclock feature adds up time intervals, so you can (for
1452 instance) keep track of how much time you spend working.
1454 @findex timeclock-in
1455 @findex timeclock-out
1456 @findex timeclock-workday-remaining
1457 @findex timeclock-when-to-leave
1458 Use the @kbd{M-x timeclock-in} command when you start working on a
1459 project, and @kbd{M-x timeclock-out} command when you're done. Each
1460 time you do this, it adds one time interval to the record of the project.
1462 Once you've collected data from a number of time intervals, you can use
1463 @kbd{M-x timeclock-workday-remaining} to see how much time is left to
1464 work today (assuming a typical average of 8 hours a day), and @kbd{M-x
1465 timeclock-when-to-leave} which will calculate when you're ``done.''
1467 @vindex timeclock-modeline-display
1468 @findex timeclock-modeline-display
1469 If you want Emacs to display the amount of time ``left'' of your
1470 workday in the mode line, either customize the
1471 @code{timeclock-modeline-display} variable and set its value to
1472 @code{t}, or invoke the @kbd{M-x timeclock-modeline-display} command.
1474 @vindex timeclock-ask-before-exiting
1475 Terminating the current Emacs session might or might not mean that
1476 you have stopped working on the project. If you'd like Emacs to ask
1477 you about this, set the value of the variable
1478 @code{timeclock-ask-before-exiting} to @code{t} (via @kbd{M-x
1479 customize}). By default, only an explicit @kbd{M-x timeclock-out}
1480 tells Emacs that the current interval is over.
1482 @cindex @file{.timelog} file
1483 @vindex timeclock-file
1484 @findex timeclock-reread-log
1485 The timeclock functions work by accumulating the data on a file
1486 called @file{.timelog} in your home directory. (On MS-DOS, this file
1487 is called @file{_timelog}, since an initial period is not allowed in
1488 file names on MS-DOS.) You can specify a different name for this file
1489 by customizing the variable @code{timeclock-file}. If you edit the
1490 timeclock file manually, or if you change the value of any of
1491 timeclock's customizable variables, you should run the command
1492 @kbd{M-x timeclock-reread-log} to update the data in Emacs from the