1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003,
3 @c 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5 @node X Resources, Antinews, Emacs Invocation, Top
6 @appendix X Options and Resources
8 You can customize some X-related aspects of Emacs behavior using X
9 resources, as is usual for programs that use X. On MS-Windows, you
10 can customize some of the same aspects using the system registry.
11 @xref{MS-Windows Registry}.
13 When Emacs is built using an ``X toolkit'', such as Lucid or
14 LessTif, you need to use X resources to customize the appearance of
15 the widgets, including the menu-bar, scroll-bar, and dialog boxes.
16 This is because the libraries that implement these don't provide for
17 customization through Emacs. GTK+ widgets use a separate system of
19 ``GTK resources'', which we will also describe.
22 ``GTK resources.'' In this chapter we describe the most commonly used
23 resource specifications. For full documentation, see the online
26 @c Add xref for LessTif/Motif menu resources.
31 * Resources:: Using X resources with Emacs (in general).
32 * Table of Resources:: Table of specific X resources that affect Emacs.
33 * Face Resources:: X resources for customizing faces.
34 * Lucid Resources:: X resources for Lucid menus.
35 * LessTif Resources:: X resources for LessTif and Motif menus.
36 * GTK resources:: Resources for GTK widgets.
40 @appendixsec X Resources
43 @cindex @file{~/.Xdefaults} file
44 @cindex @file{~/.Xresources} file
46 Programs running under the X Window System organize their user
47 options under a hierarchy of classes and resources. You can specify
48 default values for these options in your @dfn{X resource file},
49 usually named @file{~/.Xdefaults} or @file{~/.Xresources}. Changes in
50 this file do not take effect immediately, because the X server stores
51 its own list of resources; to update it, use the command
52 @command{xrdb}---for instance, @samp{xrdb ~/.Xdefaults}.
54 @cindex Registry (MS-Windows)
55 (MS-Windows systems do not support X resource files; on Windows,
56 Emacs looks for X resources in the Windows Registry, first under the
57 key @samp{HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\GNU\Emacs} and then under the key
58 @samp{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GNU\Emacs}. The menu and scroll
59 bars are native widgets on MS-Windows, so they are only customizable
60 via the system-wide settings in the Display Control Panel. You can
61 also set resources using the @samp{-xrm} command line option, as
64 Each line in the X resource file specifies a value for one option or
65 for a collection of related options. Each resource specification
66 consists of a @dfn{program name} and a @dfn{resource name}. Case
67 distinctions are significant in each of these names. Here is an
75 The program name is the name of the executable file to which the
76 resource applies. For Emacs, this is normally @samp{emacs}. To
77 specify a definition that applies to all instances of Emacs,
78 regardless of the name of the Emacs executable, use @samp{Emacs}.
80 The resource name is the name of a program setting. For instance,
81 Emacs recognizes a @samp{borderWidth} resource that controls the width
82 of the external border for graphical frames.
84 Resources are grouped into named classes. For instance, the
85 @samp{BorderWidth} class contains both the @samp{borderWidth} resource
86 (which we just described), as well as the @samp{internalBorder}
87 resource, which controls the width of the internal border for
88 graphical frames. Instead of using a resource name, you can use a
89 class name to specify the same value for all resources in that class.
96 If you specify a value for a class, it becomes the default for all
97 resources in that class. You can specify values for individual
98 resources as well; these override the class value, for those
99 particular resources. The following example specifies 2 as the
100 default width for all borders, but overrides this value with 4 for the
109 The order in which the lines appear in the file does not matter.
110 One way to experiment with the effect of different resource settings
111 is to use the @code{editres} program. See the @code{editres} man page
114 Emacs does not process X resources at all if you set the variable
115 @code{inhibit-x-resources} to a non-@code{nil} value, or if you
116 specify the @samp{-Q} (or @samp{--quick}) command-line argument
117 (@pxref{Initial Options}). (The @samp{-Q} argument automatically sets
118 @code{inhibit-x-resources} to @code{t}.)
121 In addition, you can use the following command-line options to
122 override the X resources file:
125 @item -name @var{name}
127 @itemx --name=@var{name}
128 @cindex resource name, command-line argument
129 This option sets the program name of the initial Emacs frame to
130 @var{name}. It also sets the title of the initial frame to
131 @var{name}. This option does not affect subsequent frames.
133 If you don't specify this option, the default is to use the Emacs
134 executable's name as the program name.
136 For consistency, @samp{-name} also specifies the name to use for other
137 resource values that do not belong to any particular frame.
139 The resources that name Emacs invocations also belong to a class,
140 named @samp{Emacs}. If you write @samp{Emacs} instead of
141 @samp{emacs}, the resource applies to all frames in all Emacs jobs,
142 regardless of frame titles and regardless of the name of the
145 @item -xrm @var{resource-values}
147 @itemx --xrm=@var{resource-values}
148 @cindex resource values, command-line argument
149 This option specifies X resource values for the present Emacs job.
151 @var{resource-values} should have the same format that you would use
152 inside a file of X resources. To include multiple resource
153 specifications in @var{resource-values}, put a newline between them,
154 just as you would in a file. You can also use @samp{#include
155 "@var{filename}"} to include a file full of resource specifications.
156 Resource values specified with @samp{-xrm} take precedence over all
157 other resource specifications.
161 @node Table of Resources
162 @appendixsec Table of X Resources for Emacs
164 This table lists the resource names that designate options for
165 Emacs, not counting those for the appearance of the menu bar, each
166 with the class that it belongs to:
169 @item @code{background} (class @code{Background})
170 Background color name.
173 @item @code{bitmapIcon} (class @code{BitmapIcon})
174 Use a bitmap icon (a picture of a gnu) if @samp{on}, let the window
175 manager choose an icon if @samp{off}.
178 @item @code{borderColor} (class @code{BorderColor})
179 Color name for the external border.
182 @item @code{borderWidth} (class @code{BorderWidth})
183 Width in pixels of the external border.
186 @item @code{cursorColor} (class @code{Foreground})
187 Color name for text cursor (point).
190 @item @code{cursorBlink} (class @code{CursorBlink})
191 Specifies whether to make the cursor blink. The default is @samp{on}. Use
192 @samp{off} or @samp{false} to turn cursor blinking off.
195 @item @code{font} (class @code{Font})
196 Font name for the @code{default} font. @xref{Fonts}. You can also
197 specify a fontset name (@pxref{Fontsets}).
199 @item @code{fontBackend} (class @code{FontBackend})
200 The backend(s) to use for drawing fonts; if multiple backends are
201 specified, they must be comma-delimited and given in order of
202 precedence. On X, for instance, the value @samp{x,xft} tells Emacs to
203 draw fonts using the X core font driver, falling back on the Xft font
204 driver if that fails. Normally, you can leave this resource unset, in
205 which case Emacs tries using all font backends available on your
208 @item @code{foreground} (class @code{Foreground})
211 @item @code{geometry} (class @code{Geometry})
212 Window size and position. Be careful not to specify this resource as
213 @samp{emacs*geometry}, because that may affect individual menus as well
214 as the Emacs frame itself.
216 If this resource specifies a position, that position applies only to the
217 initial Emacs frame (or, in the case of a resource for a specific frame
218 name, only that frame). However, the size, if specified here, applies to
222 @item @code{fullscreen} (class @code{Fullscreen})
223 The desired fullscreen size. The value can be one of @code{fullboth},
224 @code{maximized}, @code{fullwidth} or @code{fullheight}, which correspond to
225 the command-line options @samp{-fs}, @samp{-mm}, @samp{-fw}, and @samp{-fh}
226 (@pxref{Window Size X}).
228 Note that this applies to the initial frame only.
231 @item @code{iconName} (class @code{Title})
232 Name to display in the icon.
234 @item @code{internalBorder} (class @code{BorderWidth})
235 Width in pixels of the internal border.
237 @item @code{lineSpacing} (class @code{LineSpacing})
240 Additional space (@dfn{leading}) between lines, in pixels.
242 @item @code{menuBar} (class @code{MenuBar})
244 Give frames menu bars if @samp{on}; don't have menu bars if @samp{off}.
246 @xref{Lucid Resources}, and @ref{LessTif Resources},
249 @xref{Lucid Resources},
251 for how to control the appearance of the menu bar if you have one.
254 @item @code{minibuffer} (class @code{Minibuffer})
255 If @samp{none}, don't make a minibuffer in this frame.
256 It will use a separate minibuffer frame instead.
258 @item @code{paneFont} (class @code{Font})
259 @cindex font for menus
260 Font name for menu pane titles, in non-toolkit versions of Emacs.
263 @item @code{pointerColor} (class @code{Foreground})
264 Color of the mouse cursor.
267 @item @code{privateColormap} (class @code{PrivateColormap})
268 If @samp{on}, use a private color map, in the case where the ``default
269 visual'' of class PseudoColor and Emacs is using it.
271 @item @code{reverseVideo} (class @code{ReverseVideo})
272 Switch foreground and background default colors if @samp{on}, use colors as
273 specified if @samp{off}.
276 @item @code{screenGamma} (class @code{ScreenGamma})
277 @cindex gamma correction
278 Gamma correction for colors, equivalent to the frame parameter
281 @item @code{scrollBarWidth} (class @code{ScrollBarWidth})
282 @cindex scrollbar width
283 The scroll bar width in pixels, equivalent to the frame parameter
284 @code{scroll-bar-width}.
287 @item @code{selectionFont} (class @code{SelectionFont})
288 Font name for pop-up menu items, in non-toolkit versions of Emacs. (For
289 toolkit versions, see @ref{Lucid Resources}, also see @ref{LessTif
292 @item @code{selectionTimeout} (class @code{SelectionTimeout})
293 Number of milliseconds to wait for a selection reply.
294 If the selection owner doesn't reply in this time, we give up.
295 A value of 0 means wait as long as necessary.
297 @item @code{synchronous} (class @code{Synchronous})
298 @cindex debugging X problems
299 @cindex synchronous X mode
300 Run Emacs in synchronous mode if @samp{on}. Synchronous mode is
301 useful for debugging X problems.
304 @item @code{title} (class @code{Title})
305 Name to display in the title bar of the initial Emacs frame.
307 @item @code{toolBar} (class @code{ToolBar})
309 Number of lines to reserve for the tool bar. A zero value suppresses
310 the tool bar. For the Emacs tool bar (i.e. not Gtk+), if the value is
311 non-zero and @code{auto-resize-tool-bars} is non-@code{nil}, the tool bar's
312 size will be changed automatically so that all tool bar items are visible.
313 If the value of @code{auto-resize-tool-bars} is @code{grow-only},
314 the tool bar expands automatically, but does not contract automatically.
315 To contract the tool bar, you must redraw the frame by entering @kbd{C-l}.
316 For the Gtk+ tool bar, any non-zero value means on and
317 @code{auto-resize-tool-bars} has no effect.
319 @item @code{useXIM} (class @code{UseXIM})
321 @cindex X input methods
322 @cindex input methods, X
323 Turn off use of X input methods (XIM) if @samp{false} or @samp{off}.
324 This is only relevant if your Emacs is actually built with XIM
325 support. It is potentially useful to turn off XIM for efficiency,
326 especially slow X client/server links.
328 @item @code{verticalScrollBars} (class @code{ScrollBars})
329 Give frames scroll bars if @samp{on}; don't have scroll bars if
333 @item @code{visualClass} (class @code{VisualClass})
334 Specify the ``visual'' that X should use. This tells X how to handle
337 The value should start with one of @samp{TrueColor},
338 @samp{PseudoColor}, @samp{DirectColor}, @samp{StaticColor},
339 @samp{GrayScale}, and @samp{StaticGray}, followed by
340 @samp{-@var{depth}}, where @var{depth} is the number of color planes.
341 Most terminals only allow a few ``visuals,'' and the @samp{dpyinfo}
342 program outputs information saying which ones.
347 @appendixsec X Resources for Faces
349 You can use resources to customize the appearance of particular
350 faces (@pxref{Faces}):
353 @item @var{face}.attributeForeground
354 Foreground color for face @var{face}.
355 @item @var{face}.attributeBackground
356 Background color for face @var{face}.
357 @item @var{face}.attributeUnderline
358 Underline flag for face @var{face}. Use @samp{on} or @samp{true} for
360 @item @var{face}.attributeStrikeThrough
361 @itemx @var{face}.attributeOverline
362 @itemx @var{face}.attributeBox
363 @itemx @var{face}.attributeInverse
364 Likewise, for other boolean font attributes.
365 @item @var{face}.attributeStipple
366 The name of a pixmap data file to use for the stipple pattern, or
367 @code{false} to not use stipple for the face @var{face}.
368 @item @var{face}.attributeBackgroundPixmap
369 The background pixmap for the face @var{face}. Should be a name of a
370 pixmap file or @code{false}.
371 @item @var{face}.attributeFont
372 Font name (full XFD name or valid X abbreviation) for face @var{face}.
373 Instead of this, you can specify the font through separate attributes.
376 Instead of using @code{attributeFont} to specify a font name, you can
377 select a font through these separate attributes:
380 @item @var{face}.attributeFamily
381 Font family for face @var{face}.
382 @item @var{face}.attributeHeight
383 Height of the font to use for face @var{face}: either an integer
384 specifying the height in units of 1/10@dmn{pt}, or a floating point
385 number that specifies a scale factor to scale the underlying face's
386 default font, or a function to be called with the default height which
387 will return a new height.
388 @item @var{face}.attributeWidth
389 @itemx @var{face}.attributeWeight
390 @itemx @var{face}.attributeSlant
391 Each of these resources corresponds to a like-named font attribute,
392 and you write the resource value the same as the symbol you would use
393 for the font attribute value.
394 @item @var{face}.attributeBold
395 Bold flag for face @var{face}---instead of @code{attributeWeight}. Use @samp{on} or @samp{true} for
397 @item @var{face}.attributeItalic
398 Italic flag for face @var{face}---instead of @code{attributeSlant}.
401 @node Lucid Resources
402 @appendixsec Lucid Menu X Resources
403 @cindex Menu X Resources (Lucid widgets)
404 @cindex Lucid Widget X Resources
407 If the Emacs installed at your site was built to use the X toolkit
408 with the Lucid menu widgets, then the menu bar is a separate widget and
409 has its own resources. The resource names contain @samp{pane.menubar}
410 (following, as always, the name of the Emacs invocation, or @samp{Emacs},
411 which stands for all Emacs invocations). Specify them like this:
414 Emacs.pane.menubar.@var{resource}: @var{value}
418 For example, to specify the font @samp{8x16} for the menu-bar items,
422 If the Emacs installed at your site was built to use the X toolkit
423 with the Lucid menu widgets, then the menu bar is a separate widget
424 and has its own resources. The resource specifications start with
425 @samp{Emacs.pane.menubar}---for instance, to specify the font
426 @samp{8x16} for the menu-bar items, write this:
430 Emacs.pane.menubar.font: 8x16
434 Resources for @emph{non-menubar} toolkit pop-up menus have
435 @samp{menu*} instead of @samp{pane.menubar}. For example, to specify
436 the font @samp{8x16} for the pop-up menu items, write this:
439 Emacs.menu*.font: 8x16
443 For dialog boxes, use @samp{dialog*}:
446 Emacs.dialog*.font: 8x16
450 The Lucid menus can display multilingual text in your locale. For
451 more information about fontsets see the man page for
452 @code{XCreateFontSet}. To enable multilingual menu text you specify a
453 @code{fontSet} resource instead of the font resource. If both
454 @code{font} and @code{fontSet} resources are specified, the
455 @code{fontSet} resource is used.
457 Thus, to specify @samp{-*-helvetica-medium-r-*--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*,*}
458 for both the popup and menu bar menus, write this:
461 Emacs*menu*fontSet: -*-helvetica-medium-r-*--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*,*
465 The @samp{*menu*} as a wildcard matches @samp{pane.menubar} and
468 Experience shows that on some systems you may need to add
469 @samp{shell.}@: before the @samp{pane.menubar} or @samp{menu*}. On
470 some other systems, you must not add @samp{shell.}. The generic wildcard
471 approach should work on both kinds of systems.
473 Here is a list of the specific resources for menu bars and pop-up menus:
477 Font for menu item text.
479 Fontset for menu item text.
481 Color of the foreground.
483 Color of the background.
484 @item buttonForeground
485 In the menu bar, the color of the foreground for a selected item.
487 @item horizontalSpacing
488 Horizontal spacing in pixels between items. Default is 3.
489 @item verticalSpacing
490 Vertical spacing in pixels between items. Default is 2.
492 Horizontal spacing between the arrow (which indicates a submenu) and
493 the associated text. Default is 10.
494 @item shadowThickness
495 Thickness of shadow line around the widget. Default is 1.
497 Also determines the thickness of shadow lines around other objects,
498 for instance 3D buttons and arrows. If you have the impression that
499 the arrows in the menus do not stand out clearly enough or that the
500 difference between ``in'' and ``out'' buttons is difficult to see, set
501 this to 2. If you have no problems with visibility, the default
502 probably looks better. The background color may also have some effect
506 The margin of the menu bar, in characters. Default is 1.
510 @node LessTif Resources
511 @appendixsec LessTif Menu X Resources
512 @cindex Menu X Resources (LessTif widgets)
513 @cindex LessTif Widget X Resources
515 If the Emacs installed at your site was built to use the X toolkit
516 with the LessTif or Motif widgets, then the menu bar, the dialog
517 boxes, the pop-up menus, and the file-selection box are separate
518 widgets and have their own resources.
520 The resource names for the menu bar contain @samp{pane.menubar}
521 (following, as always, the name of the Emacs invocation, or
522 @samp{Emacs}, which stands for all Emacs invocations). Specify them
526 Emacs.pane.menubar.@var{subwidget}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
529 Each individual string in the menu bar is a subwidget; the subwidget's
530 name is the same as the menu item string. For example, the word
531 @samp{File} in the menu bar is part of a subwidget named
532 @samp{emacs.pane.menubar.File}. Most likely, you want to specify the
533 same resources for the whole menu bar. To do this, use @samp{*} instead
534 of a specific subwidget name. For example, to specify the font
535 @samp{8x16} for the menu-bar items, write this:
538 Emacs.pane.menubar.*.fontList: 8x16
542 This also specifies the resource value for submenus.
544 Each item in a submenu in the menu bar also has its own name for X
545 resources; for example, the @samp{File} submenu has an item named
546 @samp{Save (current buffer)}. A resource specification for a submenu
547 item looks like this:
550 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.@var{menu}.@var{item}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
554 For example, here's how to specify the font for the @samp{Save (current
558 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.File.Save (current buffer).fontList: 8x16
562 For an item in a second-level submenu, such as @samp{Complete Word}
563 under @samp{Spell Checking} under @samp{Tools}, the resource fits this
567 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.popup_*.@var{menu}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
574 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.popup_*.Spell Checking.Complete Word: @var{value}
578 (This should be one long line.)
580 It's impossible to specify a resource for all the menu-bar items
581 without also specifying it for the submenus as well. So if you want the
582 submenu items to look different from the menu bar itself, you must ask
583 for that in two steps. First, specify the resource for all of them;
584 then, override the value for submenus alone. Here is an example:
587 Emacs.pane.menubar.*.fontList: 8x16
588 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.fontList: 8x16
592 For LessTif pop-up menus, use @samp{menu*} instead of
593 @samp{pane.menubar}. For example, to specify the font @samp{8x16} for
594 the pop-up menu items, write this:
597 Emacs.menu*.fontList: 8x16
601 For LessTif dialog boxes, use @samp{dialog} instead of @samp{menu}:
604 Emacs.dialog*.fontList: 8x16
605 Emacs.dialog*.foreground: hotpink
608 To specify resources for the LessTif file-selection box, use
609 @samp{fsb*}, like this:
612 Emacs.fsb*.fontList: 8x16
618 Here is a list of the specific resources for LessTif menu bars and
623 The color to show in an armed button.
632 Amount of space to leave around the item, within the border.
634 The width of the border around the menu item, on all sides.
635 @item shadowThickness
636 The width of the border shadow.
637 @item bottomShadowColor
638 The color for the border shadow, on the bottom and the right.
640 The color for the border shadow, on the top and the left.
646 @appendixsec GTK resources
648 The most common way to customize the GTK widgets Emacs uses (menus, dialogs
649 tool bars and scroll bars) is by choosing an appropriate theme, for example
650 with the GNOME theme selector. You can also do Emacs specific customization
651 by inserting GTK style directives in the file @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}. Some GTK
652 themes ignore customizations in @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc} so not everything
653 works with all themes. To customize Emacs font, background, faces, etc., use
654 the normal X resources (@pxref{Resources}). We will present some examples of
655 customizations here, but for a more detailed description, see the online manual
657 The first example is just one line. It changes the font on all GTK widgets
658 to courier with size 12:
661 gtk-font-name = "courier 12"
664 The thing to note is that the font name is not an X font name, like
665 -*-helvetica-medium-r-*--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*, but a Pango font name. A Pango
666 font name is basically of the format "family style size", where the style
667 is optional as in the case above. A name with a style could be for example:
670 gtk-font-name = "helvetica bold 10"
673 To customize widgets you first define a style and then apply the style to
674 the widgets. Here is an example that sets the font for menus, but not
678 # @r{Define the style @samp{menufont}.}
681 font_name = "helvetica bold 14" # This is a Pango font name
684 # @r{Specify that widget type @samp{*emacs-menuitem*} uses @samp{menufont}.}
685 widget "*emacs-menuitem*" style "menufont"
688 The widget name in this example contains wildcards, so the style will be
689 applied to all widgets that match "*emacs-menuitem*". The widgets are
690 named by the way they are contained, from the outer widget to the inner widget.
691 So to apply the style "my_style" (not shown) with the full, absolute name, for
692 the menubar and the scroll bar in Emacs we use:
695 widget "Emacs.pane.menubar" style "my_style"
696 widget "Emacs.pane.emacs.verticalScrollBar" style "my_style"
699 But to avoid having to type it all, wildcards are often used. @samp{*}
700 matches zero or more characters and @samp{?} matches one character. So "*"
703 Each widget has a class (for example GtkMenuItem) and a name (emacs-menuitem).
704 You can assign styles by name or by class. In this example we have used the
710 font_name = "helvetica bold 14"
713 widget_class "*GtkMenuBar" style "menufont"
717 The names and classes for the GTK widgets Emacs uses are:
719 @multitable {@code{verticalScrollbar plus}} {@code{GtkFileSelection} and some}
720 @item @code{emacs-filedialog}
721 @tab @code{GtkFileSelection}
722 @item @code{emacs-dialog}
723 @tab @code{GtkDialog}
725 @tab @code{GtkWindow}
730 @item @code{verticalScrollBar}
731 @tab @code{GtkVScrollbar}
732 @item @code{emacs-toolbar}
733 @tab @code{GtkToolbar}
735 @tab @code{GtkMenuBar}
736 @item @code{emacs-menuitem}
737 @tab anything in menus
740 GTK absolute names are quite strange when it comes to menus
741 and dialogs. The names do not start with @samp{Emacs}, as they are
742 free-standing windows and not contained (in the GTK sense) by the
743 Emacs GtkWindow. To customize the dialogs and menus, use wildcards like this:
746 widget "*emacs-dialog*" style "my_dialog_style"
747 widget "*emacs-filedialog* style "my_file_style"
748 widget "*emacs-menuitem* style "my_menu_style"
751 If you specify a customization in @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}, then it
752 automatically applies only to Emacs, since other programs don't read
753 that file. For example, the drop down menu in the file dialog can not
754 be customized by any absolute widget name, only by an absolute class
755 name. This is because the widgets in the drop down menu do not
756 have names and the menu is not contained in the Emacs GtkWindow. To
757 have all menus in Emacs look the same, use this in
758 @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}:
761 widget_class "*Menu*" style "my_menu_style"
764 Here is a more elaborate example, showing how to change the parts of
770 fg[NORMAL] = "red"@ @ @ @ @ # @r{The arrow color.}
771 bg[NORMAL] = "yellow"@ @ # @r{The thumb and background around the arrow.}
772 bg[ACTIVE] = "blue"@ @ @ @ # @r{The trough color.}
773 bg[PRELIGHT] = "white"@ # @r{The thumb color when the mouse is over it.}
776 widget "*verticalScrollBar*" style "scroll"
781 @cindex GTK resources and customization
782 @cindex resource files for GTK
783 @cindex @file{~/.gtkrc-2.0} file
784 @cindex @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc} file
786 If Emacs was built to use the GTK widget set, then the menu bar, tool bar,
787 scroll bar and the dialogs are customized with the standard GTK
788 customization file, @file{~/.gtkrc-2.0}, or with the Emacs specific
789 file @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}. We recommend that you use
790 @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc} for customizations, since @file{~/.gtkrc-2.0}
791 seems to be ignored when running GConf with GNOME. These files apply
792 only to GTK widget features. To customize Emacs font, background,
793 faces, etc., use the normal X resources (@pxref{Resources}).
795 Some GTK themes override these mechanisms, which means that using
796 these mechanisms will not work to customize them.
798 In these files you first define a style and say what it means; then
799 you specify to apply the style to various widget types (@pxref{GTK
800 widget names}). Here is an example of how to change the font for
804 # @r{Define the style @samp{menufont}.}
807 font_name = "helvetica bold 14" # This is a Pango font name
810 # @r{Specify that widget type @samp{*emacs-menuitem*} uses @samp{menufont}.}
811 widget "*emacs-menuitem*" style "menufont"
814 Here is a more elaborate example, showing how to change the parts of
820 fg[NORMAL] = "red"@ @ @ @ @ # @r{The arrow color.}
821 bg[NORMAL] = "yellow"@ @ # @r{The thumb and background around the arrow.}
822 bg[ACTIVE] = "blue"@ @ @ @ # @r{The trough color.}
823 bg[PRELIGHT] = "white"@ # @r{The thumb color when the mouse is over it.}
826 widget "*verticalScrollBar*" style "scroll"
829 There are also parameters that affect GTK as a whole. For example,
830 the property @code{gtk-font-name} sets the default font for GTK. You
831 must use Pango font names (@pxref{GTK styles}). A GTK resources file
832 that just sets a default font looks like this:
835 gtk-font-name = "courier 12"
838 The GTK resources file is fully described in the GTK API document.
840 @file{@var{prefix}/share/gtk-doc/html/gtk/gtk-resource-files.html},
841 where @file{prefix} is the directory in which the GTK libraries were
842 installed (usually @file{/usr} or @file{/usr/local}). You can also
843 find the document online, at
844 @uref{http://developer.gnome.org/doc/API/2.0/gtk/gtk-Resource-Files.html}.
847 * GTK widget names:: How widgets in GTK are named in general.
848 * GTK Names in Emacs:: GTK widget names in Emacs.
849 * GTK styles:: What can be customized in a GTK widget.
852 @node GTK widget names
853 @appendixsubsec GTK widget names
854 @cindex GTK widget names
856 A GTK widget is specified by its @dfn{widget class} and
857 @dfn{widget name}. The widget class is the type of the widget: for
858 example, @code{GtkMenuBar}. The widget name is the name given to a
859 specific widget. A widget always has a class, but need not have a
862 @dfn{Absolute names} are sequences of widget names or widget
863 classes, corresponding to hierarchies of widgets embedded within
864 other widgets. For example, if a @code{GtkWindow} named @code{top}
865 contains a @code{GtkVBox} named @code{box}, which in turn contains
866 a @code{GtkMenuBar} called @code{menubar}, the absolute class name
867 of the menu-bar widget is @code{GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar}, and
868 its absolute widget name is @code{top.box.menubar}.
870 When assigning a style to a widget, you can use the absolute class
871 name or the absolute widget name.
873 There are two commands to specify changes for widgets:
876 @item @code{widget_class}
877 specifies a style for widgets based on the absolute class name.
880 specifies a style for widgets based on the absolute class name,
885 You must specify the class and the style in double-quotes, and put
886 these commands at the top level in the GTK customization file, like
892 font_name = "helvetica bold 14"
895 widget "top.box.menubar" style "menufont"
896 widget_class "GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar" style "menufont"
899 Matching of absolute names uses shell wildcard syntax: @samp{*}
900 matches zero or more characters and @samp{?} matches one character.
901 This example assigns @code{base_style} to all widgets:
904 widget "*" style "base_style"
907 Given the absolute class name @code{GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar}
908 and the corresponding absolute widget name @code{top.box.menubar}, all
909 these examples specify @code{my_style} for the menu bar:
912 widget_class "GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar" style "my_style"
913 widget_class "GtkWindow.*.GtkMenuBar" style "my_style"
914 widget_class "*GtkMenuBar" style "my_style"
915 widget "top.box.menubar" style "my_style"
916 widget "*box*menubar" style "my_style"
917 widget "*menubar" style "my_style"
918 widget "*menu*" style "my_style"
921 @node GTK Names in Emacs
922 @appendixsubsec GTK Widget Names in Emacs
923 @cindex GTK widget names
924 @cindex GTK widget classes
926 In Emacs, the top level widget for a frame is a @code{GtkWindow}
927 that contains a @code{GtkVBox}. The @code{GtkVBox} contains the
928 @code{GtkMenuBar} and a @code{GtkFixed} widget. The vertical scroll
929 bars, @code{GtkVScrollbar}, are contained in the @code{GtkFixed}
930 widget. The text you write in Emacs is drawn in the @code{GtkFixed}
933 Dialogs in Emacs are @code{GtkDialog} widgets. The file dialog is a
934 @code{GtkFileSelection} widget.
937 To set a style for the menu bar using the absolute class name, use:
940 widget_class "GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar" style "my_style"
944 For the scroll bar, the absolute class name is:
948 "GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkFixed.GtkVScrollbar"
953 The names for the emacs widgets, and their classes, are:
955 @multitable {@code{verticalScrollbar plus}} {@code{GtkFileSelection} and some}
956 @item @code{emacs-filedialog}
957 @tab @code{GtkFileSelection}
958 @item @code{emacs-dialog}
959 @tab @code{GtkDialog}
961 @tab @code{GtkWindow}
966 @item @code{verticalScrollBar}
967 @tab @code{GtkVScrollbar}
968 @item @code{emacs-toolbar}
969 @tab @code{GtkToolbar}
971 @tab @code{GtkMenuBar}
972 @item @code{emacs-menuitem}
973 @tab anything in menus
977 Thus, for Emacs you can write the two examples above as:
980 widget "Emacs.pane.menubar" style "my_style"
981 widget "Emacs.pane.emacs.verticalScrollBar" style "my_style"
984 GTK absolute names are quite strange when it comes to menus
985 and dialogs. The names do not start with @samp{Emacs}, as they are
986 free-standing windows and not contained (in the GTK sense) by the
987 Emacs GtkWindow. To customize the dialogs and menus, use wildcards like this:
990 widget "*emacs-dialog*" style "my_dialog_style"
991 widget "*emacs-filedialog* style "my_file_style"
992 widget "*emacs-menuitem* style "my_menu_style"
995 If you specify a customization in @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}, then it
996 automatically applies only to Emacs, since other programs don't read
997 that file. For example, the drop down menu in the file dialog can not
998 be customized by any absolute widget name, only by an absolute class
999 name. This is because the widgets in the drop down menu do not
1000 have names and the menu is not contained in the Emacs GtkWindow. To
1001 have all menus in Emacs look the same, use this in
1002 @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}:
1005 widget_class "*Menu*" style "my_menu_style"
1009 @appendixsubsec GTK styles
1012 In a GTK style you specify the appearance widgets shall have. You
1013 can specify foreground and background color, background pixmap and
1014 font. The edit widget (where you edit the text) in Emacs is a GTK
1015 widget, but trying to specify a style for the edit widget will have no
1016 effect. This is so that Emacs compiled for GTK is compatible with
1017 Emacs compiled for other X toolkits. The settings for foreground,
1018 background and font for the edit widget is taken from the X resources;
1019 @pxref{Resources}. Here is an example of two style declarations,
1020 @samp{default} and @samp{ruler}:
1023 pixmap_path "/usr/share/pixmaps:/usr/include/X11/pixmaps"
1027 font_name = "helvetica 12"
1029 bg[NORMAL] = @{ 0.83, 0.80, 0.73 @}
1030 bg[SELECTED] = @{ 0.0, 0.55, 0.55 @}
1031 bg[INSENSITIVE] = @{ 0.77, 0.77, 0.66 @}
1032 bg[ACTIVE] = @{ 0.0, 0.55, 0.55 @}
1033 bg[PRELIGHT] = @{ 0.0, 0.55, 0.55 @}
1035 fg[NORMAL] = "black"
1036 fg[SELECTED] = @{ 0.9, 0.9, 0.9 @}
1037 fg[ACTIVE] = "black"
1038 fg[PRELIGHT] = @{ 0.9, 0.9, 0.9 @}
1040 base[INSENSITIVE] = "#777766"
1041 text[INSENSITIVE] = @{ 0.60, 0.65, 0.57 @}
1043 bg_pixmap[NORMAL] = "background.xpm"
1044 bg_pixmap[INSENSITIVE] = "background.xpm"
1045 bg_pixmap[ACTIVE] = "background.xpm"
1046 bg_pixmap[PRELIGHT] = "<none>"
1050 style "ruler" = "default"
1052 font_name = "helvetica 8"
1057 The style @samp{ruler} inherits from @samp{default}. This way you can build
1058 on existing styles. The syntax for fonts and colors is described below.
1060 As this example shows, it is possible to specify several values for
1061 foreground and background depending on the widget's @dfn{state}. The
1062 possible states are:
1066 This is the default state for widgets.
1068 This is the state for a widget that is ready to do something. It is
1069 also for the trough of a scroll bar, i.e. @code{bg[ACTIVE] = "red"}
1070 sets the scroll bar trough to red. Buttons that have been pressed but
1071 not released yet (``armed'') are in this state.
1073 This is the state for a widget that can be manipulated, when the mouse
1074 pointer is over it---for example when the mouse is over the thumb in
1075 the scroll bar or over a menu item. When the mouse is over a button
1076 that is not pressed, the button is in this state.
1078 This is the state for data that has been selected by the user. It can
1079 be selected text or items selected in a list. This state is not used
1082 This is the state for widgets that are visible, but they can not be
1083 manipulated in the usual way---for example, buttons that can't be
1084 pressed, and disabled menu items. To display disabled menu items in
1085 yellow, use @code{fg[INSENSITIVE] = "yellow"}.
1088 Here are the things that can go in a style declaration:
1091 @item bg[@var{state}] = @var{color}
1092 This specifies the background color for the widget. Note that
1093 editable text doesn't use @code{bg}; it uses @code{base} instead.
1095 @item base[@var{state}] = @var{color}
1096 This specifies the background color for editable text. In Emacs, this
1097 color is used for the background of the text fields in the file
1100 @item bg_pixmap[@var{state}] = "@var{pixmap}"
1101 This specifies an image background (instead of a background color).
1102 @var{pixmap} should be the image file name. GTK can use a number of
1103 image file formats, including XPM, XBM, GIF, JPEG and PNG. If you
1104 want a widget to use the same image as its parent, use
1105 @samp{<parent>}. If you don't want any image, use @samp{<none>}.
1106 @samp{<none>} is the way to cancel a background image inherited from a
1109 You can't specify the file by its absolute file name. GTK looks for
1110 the pixmap file in directories specified in @code{pixmap_path}.
1111 @code{pixmap_path} is a colon-separated list of directories within
1112 double quotes, specified at the top level in a @file{gtkrc} file
1113 (i.e. not inside a style definition; see example above):
1116 pixmap_path "/usr/share/pixmaps:/usr/include/X11/pixmaps"
1119 @item fg[@var{state}] = @var{color}
1120 This specifies the foreground color for widgets to use. It is the
1121 color of text in menus and buttons, and the color for the arrows in
1122 the scroll bar. For editable text, use @code{text}.
1124 @item text[@var{state}] = @var{color}
1125 This is the color for editable text. In Emacs, this color is used for the
1126 text fields in the file dialog.
1128 @item font_name = "@var{font}"
1129 This specifies the font for text in the widget. @var{font} is a
1130 Pango font name, for example @samp{Sans Italic 10}, @samp{Helvetica
1131 Bold 12}, @samp{Courier 14}, @samp{Times 18}. See below for exact
1132 syntax. The names are case insensitive.
1135 There are three ways to specify a color: by name, in hexadecimal
1136 form, and with an RGB triplet.
1139 A color name is written within double quotes, for example @code{"red"}.
1142 Hexadecimal form is the same as in X:
1143 @code{#@var{rrrr}@var{gggg}@var{bbbb}}, where all three color specs
1144 must have the same number of hex digits (1, 2, 3 or 4).
1147 An RGB triplet looks like @code{@{ @var{r}, @var{g}, @var{b} @}},
1148 where @var{r}, @var{g} and @var{b} are either integers in the range
1149 0-65535 or floats in the range 0.0-1.0.
1151 Pango font names have the form ``@var{family-list} @var{style-options}
1153 @cindex Pango font name
1155 @var{family-list} is a comma separated list of font families optionally
1156 terminated by a comma. This way you can specify several families and the
1157 first one found will be used. @var{family} corresponds to the second part in
1158 an X font name, for example in
1161 -adobe-times-medium-r-normal--12-120-75-75-p-64-iso10646-1
1165 the family name is @samp{times}.
1168 @var{style-options} is a whitespace separated list of words where each word
1169 is a style, variant, weight, or stretch. The default value for all of
1170 these is @code{normal}.
1173 A `style' corresponds to the fourth part of an X font name. In X font
1174 names it is the character @samp{r}, @samp{i} or @samp{o}; in Pango
1175 font names the corresponding values are @code{normal}, @code{italic},
1179 A `variant' is either @code{normal} or @code{small-caps}.
1180 Small caps is a font with the lower case characters replaced by
1181 smaller variants of the capital characters.
1184 Weight describes the ``boldness'' of a font. It corresponds to the third
1185 part of an X font name. It is one of @code{ultra-light}, @code{light},
1186 @code{normal}, @code{bold}, @code{ultra-bold}, or @code{heavy}.
1189 Stretch gives the width of the font relative to other designs within a
1190 family. It corresponds to the fifth part of an X font name. It is one of
1191 @code{ultra-condensed}, @code{extra-condensed}, @code{condensed},
1192 @code{semi-condensed}, @code{normal}, @code{semi-expanded},
1193 @code{expanded}, @code{extra-expanded}, or @code{ultra-expanded}.
1196 @var{size} is a decimal number that describes the font size in points.
1200 arch-tag: 9b6ff773-48b6-41f6-b2f9-f114b8bdd97f