1 \input texinfo.tex @c -*- mode: texinfo; coding: iso-2022-8 -*-
3 @setfilename ../info/xemacs-faq.info
4 @settitle Frequently asked questions about XEmacs
10 @subtitle Frequently asked questions about XEmacs @* Last Modified: $Date: 2001/04/12 18:22:04 $
12 @author Tony Rossini <rossini@@biostat.washington.edu>
13 @author Ben Wing <ben@@xemacs.org>
14 @author Chuck Thompson <cthomp@@xemacs.org>
15 @author Steve Baur <steve@@xemacs.org>
16 @author Andreas Kaempf <andreas@@sccon.com>
17 @author Christian Nyb@o{} <chr@@mediascience.no>
18 @author Sandra Wambold <wambold@@xemacs.org>
23 @dircategory XEmacs Editor
25 * FAQ: (xemacs-faq). XEmacs FAQ.
29 @node Top, Introduction, (dir), (dir)
31 @unnumbered Introduction
33 This is the guide to the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list---a
34 compendium of questions and answers pertaining to one of the finest
35 programs ever written. XEmacs is much more than just a Text Editor.
37 This FAQ is freely redistributable. This FAQ is distributed in the hope
38 that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
39 implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
41 If you have a Web browser, the official hypertext version is at
45 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/faq/xemacs-faq.html}
49 This document is available in several different formats:
52 @uref{xemacs-faq.txt, As a single ASCII file}, produced by
53 @code{makeinfo --no-headers}
55 @uref{xemacs-faq.dvi, As a .dvi file}, as used with
56 @uref{http://www.tug.org, TeX.}
58 As a PostScript file @uref{xemacs-faq-a4.ps, in A4 format},
59 as well as in @uref{xemacs-faq-letter.ps, letter format}
61 In html format, @uref{xemacs-faq_1.html, split by chapter}, or in
62 @uref{xemacs-faq.html, one monolithic} document.
64 The canonical version of the FAQ is the texinfo document
65 @uref{xemacs-faq.texi, man/xemacs-faq.texi}.
67 If you do not have makeinfo installed, you may @uref{xemacs-faq.info,
68 download the faq} in info format, and install it in @file{<XEmacs
69 library directory>/info/}. For example in
70 @file{/usr/local/lib/xemacs-21.4/info/}.
78 @c end ifset points to CANONICAL
81 * Introduction:: Introduction, Policy, Credits.
82 * Installation:: Installation and Trouble Shooting.
83 * Customization:: Customization and Options.
84 * Subsystems:: Major Subsystems.
85 * Miscellaneous:: The Miscellaneous Stuff.
86 * MS Windows:: XEmacs on Microsoft Windows.
87 * Current Events:: What the Future Holds.
91 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
93 Introduction, Policy, Credits
95 * Q1.0.1:: What is XEmacs?
96 * Q1.0.2:: What is the current version of XEmacs?
97 * Q1.0.3:: Where can I find it?
98 * Q1.0.4:: Why Another Version of Emacs?
99 * Q1.0.5:: Why Haven't XEmacs and GNU Emacs Merged?
100 * Q1.0.6:: Where can I get help?
101 * Q1.0.7:: Where are the mailing lists archived?
102 * Q1.0.8:: How do you pronounce XEmacs?
103 * Q1.0.9:: What does XEmacs look like?
104 * Q1.0.10:: Is there a port of XEmacs to Microsoft ('95 or NT)?
105 * Q1.0.11:: Is there a port of XEmacs to the Macintosh?
106 * Q1.0.12:: Is there a port of XEmacs to NextStep?
107 * Q1.0.13:: Is there a port of XEmacs to OS/2?
108 * Q1.0.14:: Where can I get a printed copy of the XEmacs users manual?
111 * Q1.1.1:: What is the FAQ editorial policy?
112 * Q1.1.2:: How do I become a Beta Tester?
113 * Q1.1.3:: How do I contribute to XEmacs itself?
116 * Q1.2.1:: Who wrote XEmacs?
117 * Q1.2.2:: Who contributed to this version of the FAQ?
118 * Q1.2.3:: Who contributed to the FAQ in the past?
120 Internationalization:
121 * Q1.3.1:: What is the status of internationalization support aka MULE (including Asian language support?
122 * Q1.3.2:: How can I help with internationalization?
123 * Q1.3.3:: How do I type non-ASCII characters?
124 * Q1.3.4:: Can XEmacs messages come out in a different language?
125 * Q1.3.5:: Please explain the various input methods in MULE/XEmacs
126 * Q1.3.6:: How do I portably code for MULE/XEmacs?
127 * Q1.3.7:: How about Cyrillic Modes?
130 * Q1.4.1:: What is an @file{init.el} or @file{.emacs} and is there a sample one?
131 * Q1.4.2:: Can I use the same @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} with the other Emacs?
132 * Q1.4.3:: Any good XEmacs tutorials around?
133 * Q1.4.4:: May I see an example of a useful XEmacs Lisp function?
134 * Q1.4.5:: And how do I bind it to a key?
135 * Q1.4.6:: What's the difference between a macro and a function?
137 Installation and Trouble Shooting
139 * Q2.0.1:: Running XEmacs without installing.
140 * Q2.0.2:: XEmacs is too big.
141 * Q2.0.3:: Compiling XEmacs with Netaudio.
142 * Q2.0.4:: Problems with Linux and ncurses.
143 * Q2.0.5:: Do I need X11 to run XEmacs?
144 * Q2.0.6:: I'm having strange crashes. What do I do?
145 * Q2.0.7:: Libraries in non-standard locations.
146 * Q2.0.8:: can't resolve symbol _h_errno
147 * Q2.0.9:: Where do I find external libraries?
148 * Q2.0.10:: After I run configure I find a coredump, is something wrong?
149 * Q2.0.11:: XEmacs can't resolve host names.
150 * Q2.0.12:: Why can't I strip XEmacs?
151 * Q2.0.13:: I don't need no steenkin' packages. Do I? (NEW)
152 * Q2.0.14:: How do I figure out which packages to install? (NEW)
155 * Q2.1.1:: XEmacs just crashed on me!
156 * Q2.1.2:: Cryptic Minibuffer messages.
157 * Q2.1.3:: Translation Table Syntax messages at Startup.
158 * Q2.1.4:: Startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
159 * Q2.1.5:: XEmacs cannot connect to my X Terminal.
160 * Q2.1.6:: XEmacs just locked up my Linux X server.
161 * Q2.1.7:: HP Alt key as Meta.
162 * Q2.1.8:: got (wrong-type-argument color-instance-p nil)!
163 * Q2.1.9:: XEmacs causes my OpenWindows 3.0 server to crash.
164 * Q2.1.10:: Warnings from incorrect key modifiers.
165 * Q2.1.11:: Can't instantiate image error... in toolbar
166 * Q2.1.12:: Regular Expression Problems on DEC OSF1.
167 * Q2.1.13:: HP/UX 10.10 and @code{create_process} failure
168 * Q2.1.14:: @kbd{C-g} doesn't work for me. Is it broken?
169 * Q2.1.15:: How to debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger.
170 * Q2.1.16:: XEmacs crashes in @code{strcat} on HP/UX 10.
171 * Q2.1.17:: @samp{Marker does not point anywhere}.
172 * Q2.1.18:: [This question intentionally left blank]
173 * Q2.1.19:: XEmacs does not follow the local timezone.
174 * Q2.1.20:: @samp{Symbol's function definition is void: hkey-help-show.}
175 * Q2.1.21:: [This question intentionally left blank]
176 * Q2.1.22:: XEmacs seems to take a really long time to do some things.
177 * Q2.1.23:: Movemail on Linux does not work for XEmacs 19.15 and later.
178 * Q2.1.24:: XEmacs won't start without network. (NEW)
179 * Q2.1.25:: After upgrading, XEmacs won't do `foo' any more! (NEW)
181 Customization and Options
183 * Q3.0.1:: What version of Emacs am I running?
184 * Q3.0.2:: How do I evaluate Elisp expressions?
185 * Q3.0.3:: @code{(setq tab-width 6)} behaves oddly.
186 * Q3.0.4:: How can I add directories to the @code{load-path}?
187 * Q3.0.5:: How to check if a lisp function is defined?
188 * Q3.0.6:: Can I force the output of @code{(face-list)} to a buffer?
189 * Q3.0.7:: Font selections don't get saved after @code{Save Options}.
190 * Q3.0.8:: How do I make a single minibuffer frame?
191 * Q3.0.9:: What is @code{Customize}?
193 X Window System & Resources:
194 * Q3.1.1:: Where is a list of X resources?
195 * Q3.1.2:: How can I detect a color display?
196 * Q3.1.3:: [This question intentionally left blank]
197 * Q3.1.4:: [This question intentionally left blank]
198 * Q3.1.5:: How can I get the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}?
199 * Q3.1.6:: How can I have the window title area display the full path?
200 * Q3.1.7:: @samp{xemacs -name junk} doesn't work?
201 * Q3.1.8:: @samp{-iconic} doesn't work.
203 Textual Fonts & Colors:
204 * Q3.2.1:: How can I set color options from @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}?
205 * Q3.2.2:: How do I set the text, menu and modeline fonts?
206 * Q3.2.3:: How can I set the colors when highlighting a region?
207 * Q3.2.4:: How can I limit color map usage?
208 * Q3.2.5:: My tty supports color, but XEmacs doesn't use them.
209 * Q3.2.6:: Can I have pixmap backgrounds in XEmacs?
212 * Q3.3.1:: How can I make the modeline go away?
213 * Q3.3.2:: How do you have XEmacs display the line number in the modeline?
214 * Q3.3.3:: How do I get XEmacs to put the time of day on the modeline?
215 * Q3.3.4:: How do I turn off current chapter from AUC TeX modeline?
216 * Q3.3.5:: How can one change the modeline color based on the mode used?
218 Multiple Device Support:
219 * Q3.4.1:: How do I open a frame on another screen of my multi-headed display?
220 * Q3.4.2:: Can I really connect to a running XEmacs after calling up over a modem? How?
223 * Q3.5.1:: How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to keys?
224 * Q3.5.2:: How can I stop down-arrow from adding empty lines to the bottom of my buffers?
225 * Q3.5.3:: How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and down?
226 * Q3.5.4:: Globally binding @kbd{Delete}?
227 * Q3.5.5:: Scrolling one line at a time.
228 * Q3.5.6:: How to map @kbd{Help} key alone on Sun type4 keyboard?
229 * Q3.5.7:: How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?
230 * Q3.5.8:: [This question intentionally left blank]
231 * Q3.5.9:: How do I make the Delete key delete forward?
232 * Q3.5.10:: Can I turn on @dfn{sticky} modifier keys?
233 * Q3.5.11:: How do I map the arrow keys?
236 * Q3.6.1:: Is there a way to make the bar cursor thicker?
237 * Q3.6.2:: Is there a way to get back the old block cursor where the cursor covers the character in front of the point?
238 * Q3.6.3:: Can I make the cursor blink?
240 The Mouse and Highlighting:
241 * Q3.7.1:: How can I turn off Mouse pasting?
242 * Q3.7.2:: How do I set control/meta/etc modifiers on mouse buttons?
243 * Q3.7.3:: Clicking the left button does not do anything in buffer list.
244 * Q3.7.4:: How can I get a list of buffers when I hit mouse button 3?
245 * Q3.7.5:: Why does cut-and-paste not work between XEmacs and a cmdtool?
246 * Q3.7.6:: How I can set XEmacs up so that it pastes where the text cursor is?
247 * Q3.7.7:: How do I select a rectangular region?
248 * Q3.7.8:: Why does @kbd{M-w} take so long?
250 The Menubar and Toolbar:
251 * Q3.8.1:: How do I get rid of the menu (or menubar)?
252 * Q3.8.2:: Can I customize the basic menubar?
253 * Q3.8.3:: How do I control how many buffers are listed in the menu @code{Buffers} list?
254 * Q3.8.4:: Resources like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} are not working?
255 * Q3.8.5:: How can I bind a key to a function to toggle the toolbar?
258 * Q3.9.1:: How can I disable the scrollbar?
259 * Q3.9.2:: How can one use resources to change scrollbar colors?
260 * Q3.9.3:: Moving the scrollbar can move the point; can I disable this?
261 * Q3.9.4:: How can I turn off automatic horizontal scrolling in specific modes?
264 * Q3.10.1:: How can I turn off or change highlighted selections?
265 * Q3.10.2:: How do I get that typing on an active region removes it?
266 * Q3.10.3:: Can I turn off the highlight during isearch?
267 * Q3.10.4:: How do I turn off highlighting after @kbd{C-x C-p} (mark-page)?
268 * Q3.10.5:: The region disappears when I hit the end of buffer while scrolling.
272 * Q4.0.1:: How do I set up VM to retrieve remote mail using POP?
273 * Q4.0.2:: How do I get VM to filter mail for me?
274 * Q4.0.3:: How can I get VM to automatically check for new mail?
275 * Q4.0.4:: [This question intentionally left blank]
276 * Q4.0.5:: How do I get my outgoing mail archived?
277 * Q4.0.6:: I have various addresses at which I receive mail. How can I tell VM to ignore them when doing a "reply-all"?
278 * Q4.0.7:: Is there a mailing list or FAQ for VM?
279 * Q4.0.8:: Remote mail reading with VM.
280 * Q4.0.9:: rmail or VM gets an error incorporating new mail.
281 * Q4.0.10:: How do I make VM stay in a single frame?
282 * Q4.0.11:: How do I make VM or mh-e display graphical smilies?
283 * Q4.0.12:: Customization of VM not covered in the manual or here.
285 Web browsing with W3:
286 * Q4.1.1:: What is W3?
287 * Q4.1.2:: How do I run W3 from behind a firewall?
288 * Q4.1.3:: Is it true that W3 supports style sheets and tables?
290 Reading Netnews and Mail with Gnus:
291 * Q4.2.1:: GNUS, (ding) Gnus, Gnus 5, September Gnus, Red Gnus, Quassia Gnus, argh!
292 * Q4.2.2:: [This question intentionally left blank]
293 * Q4.2.3:: How do I make Gnus stay within a single frame?
294 * Q4.2.4:: How do I customize the From: line?
297 * Q4.3.1:: How can I read and/or compose MIME messages?
298 * Q4.3.2:: What is TM and where do I get it?
299 * Q4.3.3:: Why isn't this @code{movemail} program working?
300 * Q4.3.4:: Movemail is also distributed by Netscape? Can that cause problems?
301 * Q4.3.5:: Where do I find pstogif (required by tm)?
303 Sparcworks, EOS, and WorkShop:
304 * Q4.4.1:: What is SPARCworks, EOS, and WorkShop
305 * Q4.4.2:: How do I start the Sun Workshop support in XEmacs 21?
308 * Q4.5.1:: What is/was Energize?
311 * Q4.6.1:: What is Infodock?
313 Other Unbundled Packages:
314 * Q4.7.1:: What is AUC TeX? Where do you get it?
315 * Q4.7.2:: Are there any Emacs Lisp Spreadsheets?
316 * Q4.7.3:: [This question intentionally left blank]
317 * Q4.7.4:: Problems installing AUC TeX
318 * Q4.7.5:: Is there a reason for an Emacs package not to be included in XEmacs?
319 * Q4.7.6:: Is there a MatLab mode?
321 The Miscellaneous Stuff
323 * Q5.0.1:: How can I do source code highlighting using font-lock?
324 * Q5.0.2:: I do not like cc-mode. How do I use the old c-mode?
325 * Q5.0.3:: How do I get @samp{More} Syntax Highlighting on by default?
326 * Q5.0.4:: How can I enable auto-indent and/or Filladapt?
327 * Q5.0.5:: How can I get XEmacs to come up in text/auto-fill mode by default?
328 * Q5.0.6:: How do I start up a second shell buffer?
329 * Q5.0.7:: Telnet from shell filters too much.
330 * Q5.0.8:: Why does edt emulation not work?
331 * Q5.0.9:: How can I emulate VI and use it as my default mode?
332 * Q5.0.10:: [This question intentionally left blank]
333 * Q5.0.11:: [This question intentionally left blank]
334 * Q5.0.12:: How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?
335 * Q5.0.13:: How do I start gnuserv so that each subsequent XEmacs is a client?
336 * Q5.0.14:: Strange things are happening in Shell Mode.
337 * Q5.0.15:: Where do I get the latest CC Mode?
338 * Q5.0.16:: I find auto-show-mode disconcerting. How do I turn it off?
339 * Q5.0.17:: How can I get two instances of info?
340 * Q5.0.18:: [This question intentionally left blank]
341 * Q5.0.19:: Is there something better than LaTeX mode?
342 * Q5.0.20:: Is there a way to start a new XEmacs if there's no gnuserv running, and otherwise use gnuclient?
344 Emacs Lisp Programming Techniques:
345 * Q5.1.1:: The difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
346 * Q5.1.2:: Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?
347 * Q5.1.3:: Could you explain @code{read-kbd-macro} in more detail?
348 * Q5.1.4:: What is the performance hit of @code{let}?
349 * Q5.1.5:: What is the recommended use of @code{setq}?
350 * Q5.1.6:: What is the typical misuse of @code{setq} ?
351 * Q5.1.7:: I like the @code{do} form of cl, does it slow things down?
352 * Q5.1.8:: I like recursion, does it slow things down?
353 * Q5.1.9:: How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?
354 * Q5.1.10:: @code{map-extents} won't traverse all of my extents!
355 * Q5.1.11:: My elisp program is horribly slow. Is there an easy way to find out where it spends time?
358 * Q5.2.1:: How do I turn off the sound?
359 * Q5.2.2:: How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
360 * Q5.2.3:: What's NAS, how do I get it?
361 * Q5.2.4:: Sunsite sounds don't play.
364 * Q5.3.1:: How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
365 * Q5.3.2:: [This question intentionally left blank]
366 * Q5.3.3:: How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
367 * Q5.3.4:: Getting @kbd{M-x lpr} to work with postscript printer.
368 * Q5.3.5:: How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
369 * Q5.3.6:: [This question intentionally left blank]
370 * Q5.3.7:: Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
371 * Q5.3.8:: How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
372 * Q5.3.9:: Are only certain syntactic character classes available for abbrevs?
373 * Q5.3.10:: How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
374 * Q5.3.11:: How do I add new Info directories?
375 * Q5.3.12:: What do I need to change to make printing work?
380 * Q6.0.1:: What is the status of the XEmacs port to Windows?
381 * Q6.0.2:: What flavors of MS Windows are supported?
382 * Q6.0.3:: Are binaries available?
383 * Q6.0.4:: Can I build XEmacs on MS Windows with support for X or Cygwin?
385 Building XEmacs on MS Windows:
386 * Q6.1.1:: I decided to run with X. Where do I get an X server?
387 * Q6.1.2:: What compiler do I need to compile XEmacs?
388 * Q6.1.3:: How do I compile for the native port?
389 * Q6.1.4:: How do I compile for the X port?
390 * Q6.1.5:: How do I compile for Cygnus' Cygwin?
391 * Q6.1.6:: What do I need for Cygwin?
393 Customization and User Interface:
394 * Q6.2.1:: How will the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
395 * Q6.2.2:: How do I change fonts in XEmacs on MS Windows?
396 * Q6.2.3:: Where do I put my @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file?
399 * Q6.3.1:: Will XEmacs rename all the win32-* symbols to w32-*?
400 * Q6.3.2:: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
401 * Q6.3.3:: What is the porting team doing at the moment?
404 * Q6.4.1:: XEmacs won't start on Windows. (NEW)
408 * Q7.0.1:: What is new in 20.2?
409 * Q7.0.2:: What is new in 20.3?
410 * Q7.0.3:: What is new in 20.4?
411 * Q7.0.4:: Procedural changes in XEmacs development.
415 @node Introduction, Installation, Top, Top
416 @unnumbered 1 Introduction, Policy, Credits
418 Learning XEmacs is a lifelong activity. Even people who have used Emacs
419 for years keep discovering new features. Therefore this document cannot
420 be complete. Instead it is aimed at the person who is either
421 considering XEmacs for their own use, or has just obtained it and is
422 wondering what to do next. It is also useful as a reference to
425 The previous maintainer of the FAQ was @email{rossini@@biostat.washington.edu,
426 Anthony Rossini}, who started it, after getting tired of hearing JWZ
427 complain about repeatedly having to answer questions.
428 @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing} and @email{cthomp@@xemacs.org, Chuck
429 Thompson}, the principal authors of XEmacs, then took over and Ben did
430 a massive update reorganizing the whole thing. At which point Anthony
431 took back over, but then had to give it up again. Some of the other
432 contributors to this FAQ are listed later in this document.
434 The previous version was converted to hypertext format, and edited by
435 @email{steve@@xemacs.org, Steven L. Baur}. It was converted back to
436 texinfo by @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic}. The FAQ was then
437 maintained by @email{andreas@@sccon.com, Andreas Kaempf}, who passed it
438 on to ChristianNyb@o{}.
440 If you notice any errors or items which should be added or amended to
441 this FAQ please send email to @email{faq@@xemacs.org, Sandra
442 Wambold}. Include @samp{XEmacs FAQ} on the Subject: line.
446 * Q1.0.1:: What is XEmacs?
447 * Q1.0.2:: What is the current version of XEmacs?
448 * Q1.0.3:: Where can I find it?
449 * Q1.0.4:: Why Another Version of Emacs?
450 * Q1.0.5:: Why Haven't XEmacs and GNU Emacs Merged?
451 * Q1.0.6:: Where can I get help?
452 * Q1.0.7:: Where are the mailing lists archived?
453 * Q1.0.8:: How do you pronounce XEmacs?
454 * Q1.0.9:: What does XEmacs look like?
455 * Q1.0.10:: Is there a port of XEmacs to Microsoft ('95 or NT)?
456 * Q1.0.11:: Is there a port of XEmacs to the Macintosh?
457 * Q1.0.12:: Is there a port of XEmacs to NextStep?
458 * Q1.0.13:: Is there a port of XEmacs to OS/2?
459 * Q1.0.14:: Where can I get a printed copy of the XEmacs users manual?
462 * Q1.1.1:: What is the FAQ editorial policy?
463 * Q1.1.2:: How do I become a Beta Tester?
464 * Q1.1.3:: How do I contribute to XEmacs itself?
467 * Q1.2.1:: Who wrote XEmacs?
468 * Q1.2.2:: Who contributed to this version of the FAQ?
469 * Q1.2.3:: Who contributed to the FAQ in the past?
471 Internationalization:
472 * Q1.3.1:: What is the status of internationalization support aka MULE (including Asian language support?
473 * Q1.3.2:: How can I help with internationalization?
474 * Q1.3.3:: How do I type non-ASCII characters?
475 * Q1.3.4:: Can XEmacs messages come out in a different language?
476 * Q1.3.5:: Please explain the various input methods in MULE/XEmacs
477 * Q1.3.6:: How do I portably code for MULE/XEmacs?
478 * Q1.3.7:: How about Cyrillic Modes?
481 * Q1.4.1:: What is an @file{init.el} or @file{.emacs} and is there a sample one?
482 * Q1.4.2:: Can I use the same @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} with the other Emacs?
483 * Q1.4.3:: Any good XEmacs tutorials around?
484 * Q1.4.4:: May I see an example of a useful XEmacs Lisp function?
485 * Q1.4.5:: And how do I bind it to a key?
486 * Q1.4.6:: What's the difference between a macro and a function?
489 @node Q1.0.1, Q1.0.2, Introduction, Introduction
490 @unnumberedsec 1.0: Introduction
491 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.1: What is XEmacs?
494 XEmacs is a highly customizable open source text editor and application
495 development system. It is protected under the GNU Public License and
496 related to other versions of Emacs, in particular GNU Emacs. Its
497 emphasis is on modern graphical user interface support and an open
498 software development model, similar to Linux. XEmacs has an active
499 development community numbering in the hundreds, and runs on Windows 95
500 and NT, Linux and nearly every other version of Unix in
501 existence. Support for XEmacs has been supplied by Sun Microsystems,
502 University of Illinois, Lucid, ETL/Electrotechnical Laboratory, Amdahl
503 Corporation, BeOpen, and others, as well as the unpaid time of a great
504 number of individual developers.
506 @node Q1.0.2, Q1.0.3, Q1.0.1, Introduction
507 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.2: What is the current version of XEmacs?
509 XEmacs versions 21.1.* are releases made from the current stable
510 sources. XEmacs versions 21.2.* are releases made from the development
511 sources. Check at @uref{http://www.xemacs.org} for the current minor
514 XEmacs 19.16 was the last release of v19, released in November, 1997,
515 which was also the last version without international language support.
517 @node Q1.0.3, Q1.0.4, Q1.0.2, Introduction
518 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.3: Where can I find it?
520 The canonical source and binaries can be found via anonymous FTP at:
523 @uref{ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/}
526 @node Q1.0.4, Q1.0.5, Q1.0.3, Introduction
527 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.4: Why Another Version of Emacs?
529 For a detailed description of the differences between GNU Emacs and
530 XEmacs and a detailed history of XEmacs, check out the
532 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/About/XEmacsVsGNUemacs.html, NEWS file}
535 However, here is a list of some of the reasons why we think you might
543 The XEmacs maintainers are generally more receptive to suggestions than
544 the GNU Emacs maintainers.
547 Many more bundled packages than GNU Emacs.
550 Binaries are available for many common operating systems.
553 Face support on TTY's.
559 Better Motif compliance.
562 Some internationalization support (including full MULE support, if
566 Variable-width fonts.
569 Variable-height lines.
572 Marginal annotations.
578 XEmacs can be used as an Xt widget, and can be embedded within another
582 Horizontal and vertical scrollbars (using real toolkit scrollbars).
585 Better APIs (and performance) for attaching fonts, colors, and other
589 The ability to embed arbitrary graphics in a buffer.
592 Completely compatible (at the C level) with the Xt-based toolkits.
596 @node Q1.0.5, Q1.0.6, Q1.0.4, Introduction
597 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.5: Why Haven't XEmacs and GNU Emacs Merged?
599 There are currently irreconcilable differences in the views about
600 technical, programming, design and organizational matters between RMS
601 and the XEmacs development team which provide little hope for a merge to
602 take place in the short-term future.
604 If you have a comment to add regarding the merge, it is a good idea to
605 avoid posting to the newsgroups, because of the very heated flamewars
606 that often result. Mail your questions to @email{xemacs-beta@@xemacs.org} and
607 @email{bug-gnu-emacs@@prep.ai.mit.edu}.
609 @node Q1.0.6, Q1.0.7, Q1.0.5, Introduction
610 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.6: Where can I get help?
612 Probably the easiest way, if everything is installed, is to use Info, by
613 pressing @kbd{C-h i}, or looking for an Info item on the
614 Help Menu. @kbd{M-x apropos} can be used to look for particular commands.
616 For items not found in the manual, try reading this FAQ
617 @comment , examining the regular GNU Emacs FAQ (which can be
618 @comment found with the Emacs 19 distribution) as well as at
619 @comment @uref{http://www.eecs.nwu.edu/emacs/faq/}
620 and reading the Usenet group comp.emacs.xemacs.
622 If you choose to post to a newsgroup, @strong{please use
623 comp.emacs.xemacs}. Please do not post XEmacs related questions to
626 If you cannot post or read Usenet news, there is a corresponding mailing
627 list which is available. It can be subscribed to by sending a message
628 to @email{xemacs-request@@xemacs.org} with @samp{subscribe} in the
629 body of the message. Send to the list at @email{xemacs@@xemacs.org}.
630 list. To cancel a subscription, you @strong{must} use the
631 xemacs-request address. Send a message with a subject of
632 @samp{unsubscribe} to be removed.
634 @node Q1.0.7, Q1.0.8, Q1.0.6, Introduction
635 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.7: Where are the mailing lists archived?
637 The archives can be found at @uref{http://list-archive.xemacs.org}
639 @node Q1.0.8, Q1.0.9, Q1.0.7, Introduction
640 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.8: How do you pronounce XEmacs?
642 The most common pronounciation is @samp{Eks eemax}.
644 @node Q1.0.9, Q1.0.10, Q1.0.8, Introduction
645 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.9: What does XEmacs look like?
647 Screen snapshots are available in the WWW version of the FAQ.
649 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/faq/xemacs-faq.html}
652 @node Q1.0.10, Q1.0.11, Q1.0.9, Introduction
653 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.10: Is there a port of XEmacs to Microsoft ('95 or NT)?
655 Yes, @xref{MS Windows}.
657 @node Q1.0.11, Q1.0.12, Q1.0.10, Introduction
658 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.11: Is there a port of XEmacs to the Macintosh?
661 @c There has been a port to the MachTen environment of XEmacs 19.13, but no
662 @c patches have been submitted to the maintainers to get this in the
663 @c mainstream distribution.
665 @c For the MacOS, there is a port of
666 @c @uref{ftp://ftp.cs.cornell.edu/pub/parmet/, Emacs 18.59}.
668 Yes, there is a port of XEmacs 19.14, tested on MacOS 7.6.1 and MacOS
669 8.5.1 by @email{pjarvis@@ispchannel.com, Pitts Jarvis}. It's available
670 at @uref{http://homepage.mac.com/pjarvis/xemacs.html}.
672 @node Q1.0.12, Q1.0.13, Q1.0.11, Introduction
673 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.12: Is there a port of XEmacs to NextStep?
675 Carl Edman, apparently no longer at @email{cedman@@princeton.edu}, did
676 the port of GNU Emacs to NeXTstep and expressed interest in doing the
677 XEmacs port, but never went any farther.
679 @node Q1.0.13, Q1.0.14, Q1.0.12, Introduction
680 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.13: Is there a port of XEmacs to OS/2?
682 No, but Alexander Nikolaev <avn_1251@@mail.ru> is working on it.
684 @node Q1.0.14, Q1.1.1, Q1.0.13, Introduction
685 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.14: Where can I obtain a printed copy of the XEmacs User's Manual?
687 Pre-printed manuals are not available. If you are familiar with
688 TeX, you can generate your own manual from the XEmacs sources.
690 HTML and Postscript versions of XEmacs manuals may be available from the
691 XEmacs web site in the future. Send requests to @email{faq@@xemacs.org}.
693 @node Q1.1.1, Q1.1.2, Q1.0.14, Introduction
694 @unnumberedsec 1.1: Policies
695 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.1.1: What is the FAQ editorial policy?
697 The FAQ is actively maintained and modified regularly. All links should
698 be up to date. Unfortunately, some of the information is out of date --
699 a situation which the FAQ maintainer is working on. All submissions are
700 welcome, please e-mail submissions to @email{faq@@xemacs.org, XEmacs FAQ
703 Please make sure that @samp{XEmacs FAQ} appears on the Subject: line.
704 If you think you have a better way of answering a question, or think a
705 question should be included, we'd like to hear about it. Questions and
706 answers included into the FAQ will be edited for spelling and grammar
707 and will be attributed. Answers appearing without attribution are
708 either from versions of the FAQ dated before May 1996 or are from
709 previous FAQ maintainers. Answers quoted from Usenet news articles will
710 always be attributed, regardless of the author.
712 @node Q1.1.2, Q1.1.3, Q1.1.1, Introduction
713 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.1.2: How do I become a Beta Tester?
715 Send an email message to @email{xemacs-beta-request@@xemacs.org} with
716 the line @samp{subscribe} in the body of the message.
718 Be prepared to get your hands dirty, as beta testers are expected to
719 identify problems as best they can.
721 @node Q1.1.3, Q1.2.1, Q1.1.2, Introduction
722 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.1.3: How do I contribute to XEmacs itself?
724 Ben Wing @email{ben@@xemacs.org} writes:
727 BTW if you have a wish list of things that you want added, you have to
728 speak up about it! More specifically, you can do the following if you
729 want a feature added (in increasing order of usefulness):
733 Make a posting about a feature you want added.
736 Become a beta tester and make more postings about those same features.
739 Convince us that you're going to use the features in some cool and
743 Come up with a clear and well-thought-out API concerning the features.
746 Write the code to implement a feature and send us a patch.
749 (not that we're necessarily requiring you to write the code, but we can
753 @node Q1.2.1, Q1.2.2, Q1.1.3, Introduction
754 @unnumberedsec 1.2: Credits
755 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.1: Who wrote XEmacs?
757 XEmacs is the result of the time and effort of many people. The
758 developers responsible for recent releases are:
761 @item @email{martin@@xemacs.org, Martin Buchholz}
763 <br><img src="mrb.jpeg" alt="Portrait of Martin Buchholz"><br>
767 @item @email{turnbull@@sk.tsukuba.ac.jp, Steven Turnbull}
770 @item @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing}
772 <br><img src="wing.gif" alt="Portrait of Ben Wing"><br>
776 @item @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic}
779 <br><img src="hniksic.jpeg" alt="Portrait of Hrvoje Niksic"><br>
784 The developers responsible for older releases were:
787 @item @email{steve@@xemacs.org, Steve Baur}
790 <br><img src="steve.gif" alt="Portrait of Steve Baur"><br>
793 @item @email{cthomp@@xemacs.org, Chuck Thompson}
795 <br><img src="cthomp.jpeg" alt="Portrait of Chuck Thompson"><br>
798 @item @email{jwz@@jwz.org, Jamie Zawinski}
800 <br><img src="jwz.gif" alt="Portrait of Jamie Zawinski"><br>
803 @item @email{mly@@adoc.xerox.com, Richard Mlynarik}
805 Steve Baur was the primary maintainer for 19.15 through 21.0.
807 Chuck Thompson and Ben Wing were the maintainers for 19.11 through 19.14
808 and heavy code contributors for 19.8 through 19.10.
810 Jamie Zawinski was the maintainer for 19.0 through 19.10 (the entire
811 history of Lucid Emacs). Richard Mlynarik was a heavy code contributor
812 to 19.6 through 19.8.
816 Along with many other contributors, partially enumerated in the
817 @samp{About XEmacs} option in the Help menu.
819 @node Q1.2.2, Q1.2.3, Q1.2.1, Introduction
820 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.2: Who contributed to this version of the FAQ?
822 The following people contributed valuable suggestions to building this
823 version of the FAQ (listed in alphabetical order):
826 @item @email{steve@@xemacs.org, SL Baur}
828 @item @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic}
830 @item @email{Aki.Vehtari@@hut.fi, Aki Vehtari}
834 @node Q1.2.3, Q1.3.1, Q1.2.2, Introduction
835 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.3: Who contributed to the FAQ in the past?
837 This is only a partial list, as many names were lost in a hard disk
841 @item @email{binge@@aloft.att.com, Curtis.N.Bingham}
843 @item @email{bruncott@@dormeur.inria.fr, Georges Brun-Cottan}
845 @item @email{rjc@@cogsci.ed.ac.uk, Richard Caley}
847 @item @email{cognot@@ensg.u-nancy.fr, Richard Cognot}
849 @item @email{daku@@nortel.ca, Mark Daku}
851 @item @email{wgd@@martigny.ai.mit.edu, William G. Dubuque}
853 @item @email{eeide@@cs.utah.edu, Eric Eide}
855 @item @email{af@@biomath.jussieu.fr, Alain Fauconnet}
857 @item @email{cflatter@@nrao.edu, Chris Flatters}
859 @item @email{ginsparg@@adra.com, Evelyn Ginsparg}
861 @item @email{hall@@aplcenmp.apl.jhu.edu, Marty Hall}
863 @item @email{dkindred@@cmu.edu, Darrell Kindred}
865 @item @email{dmoore@@ucsd.edu, David Moore}
867 @item @email{arup+@@cmu.edu, Arup Mukherjee}
869 @item @email{nickel@@prz.tu-berlin.de, Juergen Nickelsen}
871 @item @email{powell@@csl.ncsa.uiuc.edu, Kevin R. Powell}
873 @item @email{dworkin@@ccs.neu.edu, Justin Sheehy}
875 @item @email{stig@@hackvan.com, Stig}
877 @item @email{Aki.Vehtari@@hut.fi, Aki Vehtari}
880 @node Q1.3.1, Q1.3.2, Q1.2.3, Introduction
881 @unnumberedsec 1.3: Internationalization
882 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.1: What is the status of internationalization support aka MULE (including Asian language support?
884 Both the stable and development versions of XEmacs include
885 internationalization support (aka MULE). MULE currently works on UNIX
886 and Linux systems; work for supporting MULE on Windows operating systems
887 is in progress. Binaries compiled without MULE support run faster than
888 MULE capable XEmacsen.
890 @node Q1.3.2, Q1.3.3, Q1.3.1, Introduction
891 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.2: How can I help with internationalization?
893 If you would like to help, you may want to join the
894 @email{xemacs-mule@@xemacs.org} mailing list. Especially needed are
895 people who speak/write languages other than English, who are willing to
896 use XEmacs/MULE regularly, and have some experience with Elisp.
900 @node Q1.3.3, Q1.3.4, Q1.3.2, Introduction
901 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.3: How do I type non-ASCII characters?
903 See question 3.5.7 (@pxref{Q3.5.7}) in part 3 of this FAQ.
905 @node Q1.3.4, Q1.3.5, Q1.3.3, Introduction
906 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.4: Can XEmacs messages come out in a different language?
908 The message-catalog support has mostly been written but doesn't
909 currently work. The first release of XEmacs 20 will @emph{not} support
910 it. However, menubar localization @emph{does} work. To
911 enable it, add to your @file{Emacs} file entries like this:
914 Emacs*XlwMenu.resourceLabels: True
915 Emacs*XlwMenu.file.labelString: Fichier
916 Emacs*XlwMenu.openInOtherWindow.labelString: In anderem Fenster oeffnen
919 The name of the resource is derived from the non-localized entry by
920 removing punctuation and capitalizing as above.
922 @node Q1.3.5, Q1.3.6, Q1.3.4, Introduction
923 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.5: Please explain the various input methods in MULE/XEmacs
925 @email{morioka@@jaist.ac.jp, MORIOKA Tomohiko} writes:
928 Original Mule supports the following input methods: Wnn4, Wnn6, Canna, SJ3
929 and XIM. Interfaces for Wnn and SJ3 uses the @code{egg} user
930 interface. Interface for Canna does not use @samp{egg}. I don't know
931 about XIM. It is to support ATOK, of course, it may work for another
934 Wnn supports Japanese, Chinese and Korean. It is made by OMRON and Kyôto
935 university. It is a powerful and complex system. Wnn4 is free and Wnn6
938 Canna supports only Japanese. It is made by NEC. It is a simple and
939 powerful system. Canna uses only grammar (Wnn uses grammar and
940 probability between words), so I think Wnn is cleverer than Canna,
941 however Canna users made a good grammar and dictionary. So for standard
942 modern Japanese, Canna seems cleverer than Wnn4. In addition, the UNIX
943 version of Canna is free (now there is a Microsoft Windows version).
945 SJ3 supports only Japanese. It is made by Sony. XIM supports was made
946 to use ATOK (a major input method in personal computer world). XIM is
947 the standard for accessing input methods bundled in Japanese versions of
948 Solaris. (XEmacs 20 will support XIM input).
950 Egg consists of following parts:
954 Input character Translation System (ITS) layer.
955 It translates ASCII inputs to Kana/PinYin/Hangul characters.
958 Kana/PinYin/Hangul to Kanji transfer layer.
959 It is interface layer for network Kana-Kanji server (Wnn and Sj3).
962 These input methods are modal, namely there are mode, alphabet mode and
963 Kana-Kanji transfer mode. However there are mode-less input methods for
964 Egg and Canna. @samp{Boiled-egg} is a mode-less input method running on
965 Egg. For Canna, @samp{canna.el} has a tiny boiled-egg like command,
966 @code{(canna-boil)}, and there are some boiled-egg like utilities. In
967 addition, it was planned to make an abstraction for all transfer type
968 input methods. However authors of input methods are busy, so maybe this
969 plan is stopped. Perhaps after Mule merged GNU Emacs will be released,
970 it will be continued.
973 @node Q1.3.6, Q1.3.7, Q1.3.5, Introduction
974 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.6: How do I portably code for MULE/XEmacs?
976 @email{morioka@@jaist.ac.jp, MORIOKA Tomohiko} writes:
979 MULE and XEmacs are quite different. So the application
980 implementor must write separate code for these mule variants.
982 MULE and the next version of Emacs are similar but the symbols are very
983 different---requiring separate code as well.
985 Namely we must support 3 kinds of mule variants and 4 or 5 or 6 kinds of
986 emacs variants... (;_;) I'm shocked, so I wrote a wrapper package called
987 @code{emu} to provide a common interface.
989 I have the following suggestions about dealing with mule variants:
993 @code{(featurep 'mule)} @code{t} on all mule variants
996 @code{(boundp 'MULE)} is @code{t} on only MULE. Maybe the next version
997 of Emacs will not have this symbol.
1000 MULE has a variable @code{mule-version}. Perhaps the next version of
1001 Emacs will have this variable as well.
1004 Following is a sample to distinguish mule variants:
1007 (if (featurep 'mule)
1008 (cond ((boundp 'MULE)
1009 ;; for original Mule
1011 ((string-match "XEmacs" emacs-version)
1012 ;; for XEmacs with Mule
1015 ;; for next version of Emacs
1017 ;; for old emacs variants
1022 @node Q1.3.7, Q1.4.1, Q1.3.6, Introduction
1023 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.7: How about Cyrillic Modes?
1025 @email{ilya@@math.ohio-state.edu, Ilya Zakharevich} writes:
1028 There is a cyrillic mode in the file @file{mysetup.zip} in
1032 @uref{ftp://ftp.math.ohio-state.edu/pub/users/ilya/emacs/}. This is a
1033 modification to @email{ava@@math.jhu.ed, Valery Alexeev's} @file{russian.el}
1034 which can be obtained from
1037 @uref{http://ftpsearch.ntnu.no/?query=russian.el.Z}.
1040 @email{d.barsky@@ee.surrey.ac.uk, Dima Barsky} writes:
1043 There is another cyrillic mode for both GNU Emacs and XEmacs by
1044 @email{manin@@camelot.mssm.edu, Dmitrii
1049 @uref{http://kulichki-lat.rambler.ru/centrolit/manin/cyr.el}.
1050 @c Link above, <URL:http://camelot.mssm.edu/~manin/cyr.el> was dead.
1051 @c Changed to russian host instead
1054 @email{rebecca.ore@@op.net, Rebecca Ore} writes:
1057 The fullest resource I found on Russian language use (in and out of
1058 XEmacs) is @uref{http://sunsite.oit.unc.edu/sergei/Software/Software.html}
1061 @node Q1.4.1, Q1.4.2, Q1.3.7, Introduction
1062 @unnumberedsec 1.4: Getting Started, Backing up & Recovery
1063 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.1: What is an @file{init.el} or @file{.emacs} and is there a sample one?
1065 The @file{init.el} or @file{.emacs} file is used to customize XEmacs to
1066 your tastes. Starting in 21.4, the preferred location for the init file
1067 is @file{~/.xemacs/init.el}; in previous versions, it was
1068 @file{~/.emacs}. 21.4 still accepts the old location, but the first
1069 time you run it, it will ask to migrate your file to the new location.
1070 If you answer yes, the file will be moved, and a "compatibility"
1071 @file{.emacs} file will be placed in the old location so that you can
1072 still run older versions of XEmacs, and versions of GNU Emacs, which
1073 expect the old location. The @file{.emacs} file present is just a stub
1074 that loads the real file in @file{~/.xemacs/init.el}.
1076 No two init files are alike, nor are they expected to be alike, but
1077 that's the point. The XEmacs distribution contains an excellent starter
1078 example in the @file{etc/} directory called @file{sample.init.el}
1079 (starting in 21.4) or @file{sample.emacs} in older versions. Copy this
1080 file from there to @file{~/.xemacs/init.el} (starting in 21.4) or
1081 @file{~/.emacs} in older versions, where @samp{~} means your home
1082 directory, of course. Then edit it to suit.
1084 You may bring the @file{sample.init.el} or @file{sample.emacs} file into
1085 an XEmacs buffer from the menubar. (The menu entry for it is always
1086 under the @samp{Help} menu, but its location under that has changed in
1087 various versions. Recently, look under the @samp{Samples} submenu.) To
1088 determine the location of the @file{etc/} directory type the command
1089 @kbd{C-h v data-directory @key{RET}}.
1091 @node Q1.4.2, Q1.4.3, Q1.4.1, Introduction
1092 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.2: Can I use the same @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} with the other Emacs?
1094 Yes. The sample @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} included in the XEmacs
1095 distribution will show you how to handle different versions and flavors
1098 @node Q1.4.3, Q1.4.4, Q1.4.2, Introduction
1099 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.3: Any good tutorials around?
1101 There's the XEmacs tutorial available from the Help Menu under
1102 @samp{Basics->Tutorials}, or by typing @kbd{C-h t}. To check whether
1103 it's available in a non-english language, type @kbd{C-u C-h t TAB}, type
1104 the first letters of your preferred language, then type @key{RET}.
1106 @comment There's an Emacs Lisp tutorial at
1109 @comment @uref{ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/emacs-lisp-intro-1.04.tar.gz}.
1110 @comment @end example
1112 @comment @email{erik@@petaxp.rug.ac.be, Erik Sundermann} has made a tutorial web
1117 @comment @uref{http://petaxp.rug.ac.be/~erik/xemacs/}.
1119 @node Q1.4.4, Q1.4.5, Q1.4.3, Introduction
1120 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.4: May I see an example of a useful XEmacs Lisp function?
1122 The following function does a little bit of everything useful. It does
1123 something with the prefix argument, it examines the text around the
1124 cursor, and it's interactive so it may be bound to a key. It inserts
1125 copies of the current word the cursor is sitting on at the cursor. If
1126 you give it a prefix argument: @kbd{C-u 3 M-x double-word} then it will
1130 (defun double-word (count)
1131 "Insert a copy of the current word underneath the cursor"
1133 (let (here there string)
1138 (setq there (point))
1139 (setq string (buffer-substring here there)))
1145 The best way to see what is going on here is to let XEmacs tell you.
1146 Put the code into an XEmacs buffer, and do a @kbd{C-h f} with the cursor
1147 sitting just to the right of the function you want explained. Eg. move
1148 the cursor to the SPACE between @code{interactive} and @samp{"*p"} and
1149 hit @kbd{C-h f} to see what the function @code{interactive} does. Doing
1150 this will tell you that the @code{*} requires a writable buffer, and
1151 @code{p} converts the prefix argument to a number, and
1152 @code{interactive} allows you to execute the command with @kbd{M-x}.
1154 @node Q1.4.5, Q1.4.6, Q1.4.4, Introduction
1155 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.5: And how do I bind it to a key?
1157 To bind to a key do:
1160 (global-set-key "\C-cd" 'double-word)
1163 Or interactively, @kbd{M-x global-set-key} and follow the prompts.
1165 @node Q1.4.6, , Q1.4.5, Introduction
1166 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.6: What's the difference between a macro and a function?
1168 Quoting from the Lisp Reference (a.k.a @dfn{Lispref}) Manual:
1170 @dfn{Macros} enable you to define new control constructs and other
1171 language features. A macro is defined much like a function, but instead
1172 of telling how to compute a value, it tells how to compute another Lisp
1173 expression which will in turn compute the value. We call this
1174 expression the @dfn{expansion} of the macro.
1176 Macros can do this because they operate on the unevaluated expressions
1177 for the arguments, not on the argument values as functions do. They can
1178 therefore construct an expansion containing these argument expressions
1181 Do not confuse the two terms with @dfn{keyboard macros}, which are
1182 another matter, entirely. A keyboard macro is a key bound to several
1183 other keys. Refer to manual for details.
1185 @node Installation, Customization, Introduction, Top
1186 @unnumbered 2 Installation and Trouble Shooting
1188 This is part 2 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
1189 section is devoted to Installation, Maintenance and Trouble Shooting.
1193 * Q2.0.1:: Running XEmacs without installing.
1194 * Q2.0.2:: XEmacs is too big.
1195 * Q2.0.3:: Compiling XEmacs with Netaudio.
1196 * Q2.0.4:: Problems with Linux and ncurses.
1197 * Q2.0.5:: Do I need X11 to run XEmacs?
1198 * Q2.0.6:: I'm having strange crashes. What do I do?
1199 * Q2.0.7:: Libraries in non-standard locations.
1200 * Q2.0.8:: can't resolve symbol _h_errno
1201 * Q2.0.9:: Where do I find external libraries?
1202 * Q2.0.10:: After I run configure I find a coredump, is something wrong?
1203 * Q2.0.11:: XEmacs can't resolve host names.
1204 * Q2.0.12:: Why can't I strip XEmacs?
1205 * Q2.0.13:: I don't need no steenkin' packages. Do I? (NEW)
1206 * Q2.0.14:: I don't want to install a million .els one at a time! (NEW)
1209 * Q2.1.1:: XEmacs just crashed on me!
1210 * Q2.1.2:: Cryptic Minibuffer messages.
1211 * Q2.1.3:: Translation Table Syntax messages at Startup.
1212 * Q2.1.4:: Startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
1213 * Q2.1.5:: XEmacs cannot connect to my X Terminal.
1214 * Q2.1.6:: XEmacs just locked up my Linux X server.
1215 * Q2.1.7:: HP Alt key as Meta.
1216 * Q2.1.8:: got (wrong-type-argument color-instance-p nil)!
1217 * Q2.1.9:: XEmacs causes my OpenWindows 3.0 server to crash.
1218 * Q2.1.10:: Warnings from incorrect key modifiers.
1219 * Q2.1.11:: Can't instantiate image error... in toolbar
1220 * Q2.1.12:: Regular Expression Problems on DEC OSF1.
1221 * Q2.1.13:: HP/UX 10.10 and @code{create_process} failure
1222 * Q2.1.14:: @kbd{C-g} doesn't work for me. Is it broken?
1223 * Q2.1.15:: How to debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger.
1224 * Q2.1.16:: XEmacs crashes in @code{strcat} on HP/UX 10.
1225 * Q2.1.17:: @samp{Marker does not point anywhere}.
1226 * Q2.1.18:: [This question intentionally left blank]
1227 * Q2.1.19:: XEmacs does not follow the local timezone.
1228 * Q2.1.20:: @samp{Symbol's function definition is void: hkey-help-show.}
1229 * Q2.1.21:: [This question intentionally left blank]
1230 * Q2.1.22:: XEmacs seems to take a really long time to do some things.
1231 * Q2.1.23:: Movemail on Linux does not work for XEmacs 19.15 and later.
1232 * Q2.1.24:: XEmacs won't start without network. (NEW)
1233 * Q2.1.25:: After upgrading, XEmacs won't do `foo' any more! (NEW)
1236 @node Q2.0.1, Q2.0.2, Installation, Installation
1237 @unnumberedsec 2.0: Installation
1238 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.1: Running XEmacs without installing
1240 How can I just try XEmacs without installing it?
1242 XEmacs will run in place without requiring installation and copying of
1243 the Lisp directories, and without having to specify a special build-time
1244 flag. It's the copying of the Lisp directories that requires so much
1245 space. XEmacs is largely written in Lisp.
1247 A good method is to make a shell alias for xemacs:
1250 alias xemacs=/i/xemacs-20.2/src/xemacs
1253 (You will obviously use whatever directory you downloaded the source
1254 tree to instead of @file{/i/xemacs-20.2}).
1256 This will let you run XEmacs without massive copying.
1258 @node Q2.0.2, Q2.0.3, Q2.0.1, Installation
1259 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.2: XEmacs is too big
1261 The space required by the installation directories can be
1262 reduced dramatically if desired. Gzip all the .el files. Remove all
1263 the packages you'll never want to use. Remove the TexInfo manuals.
1264 Remove the Info (and use just hardcopy versions of the manual). Remove
1265 most of the stuff in etc. Remove or gzip all the source code. Gzip or
1266 remove the C source code. Configure it so that copies are not made of
1269 These are all Emacs Lisp source code and bytecompiled object code. You
1270 may safely gzip everything named *.el here. You may remove any package
1271 you don't use. @emph{Nothing bad will happen if you delete a package
1272 that you do not use}. You must be sure you do not use it though, so be
1273 conservative at first.
1275 Possible candidates for deletion include w3, games, hyperbole, mh-e,
1276 hm-html-menus, vm, viper, oobr, gnus, etc. Ask yourself, @emph{Do I
1277 ever want to use this package?} If the answer is no, then it is a
1278 candidate for removal.
1280 First, gzip all the .el files. Then go about package by package and
1281 start gzipping the .elc files. Then run XEmacs and do whatever it is
1282 you normally do. If nothing bad happens, then delete the directory. Be
1283 conservative about deleting directories, and it would be handy to have a
1284 backup around in case you get too zealous.
1286 @file{prim}, @file{modes}, @file{packages}, and @file{utils} are four
1287 directories you definitely do @strong{not} want to delete, although
1288 certain packages can be removed from them if you do not use them.
1290 Online texinfo sources in the @file{info} can either be compressed them
1291 or remove them. In either case, @kbd{C-h i} (info mode) will no longer
1294 @node Q2.0.3, Q2.0.4, Q2.0.2, Installation
1295 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.3: Compiling XEmacs with Netaudio.
1297 What is the best way to compile XEmacs with the netaudio system, since I
1298 have got the netaudio system compiled but installed at a weird place, I
1299 am not root. Also in the READMEs it does not say anything about
1300 compiling with the audioserver?
1302 You should only need to add some stuff to the configure command line.
1303 To tell it to compile in netaudio support: @samp{--with-sound=both}, or
1304 @samp{--with-sound=nas} if you don't want native sound support for some
1305 reason.) To tell it where to find the netaudio includes and libraries:
1308 --site-libraries=WHATEVER
1309 --site-includes=WHATEVER
1312 Then (fingers crossed) it should compile and it will use netaudio if you
1313 have a server running corresponding to the X server. The netaudio server
1314 has to be there when XEmacs starts. If the netaudio server goes away and
1315 another is run, XEmacs should cope (fingers crossed, error handling in
1316 netaudio isn't perfect).
1318 BTW, netaudio has been renamed as it has a name clash with something
1319 else, so if you see references to NAS or Network Audio System, it's the
1320 same thing. It also might be found at
1321 @uref{ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/audio/nas/}.
1323 @node Q2.0.4, Q2.0.5, Q2.0.3, Installation
1324 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.4: Problems with Linux and ncurses.
1326 On Linux 1.3.98 with termcap 2.0.8 and the ncurses that came with libc
1327 5.2.18, XEmacs 20.0b20 is unable to open a tty device:
1331 Initialization error:
1335 Terminal type `xterm' undefined (or can't access database?)
1338 @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing} writes:
1341 Your ncurses configuration is messed up. Your /usr/lib/terminfo is a
1342 bad pointer, perhaps to a CD-ROM that is not inserted.
1345 @node Q2.0.5, Q2.0.6, Q2.0.4, Installation
1346 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.5: Do I need X11 to run XEmacs?
1348 No. The name @dfn{XEmacs} is unfortunate in the sense that it is
1349 @strong{not} an X Window System-only version of Emacs. XEmacs has
1350 full color support on a color-capable character terminal.
1352 @node Q2.0.6, Q2.0.7, Q2.0.5, Installation
1353 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.6: I'm having strange crashes. What do I do?
1355 There have been a variety of reports of crashes due to compilers with
1356 buggy optimizers. Please see the @file{PROBLEMS} file that comes with
1357 XEmacs to read what it says about your platform.
1359 @node Q2.0.7, Q2.0.8, Q2.0.6, Installation
1360 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.7: Libraries in non-standard locations
1362 I have x-faces, jpeg, xpm etc. all in different places. I've tried
1363 space-separated, comma-separated, several --site-libraries, all to no
1367 --site-libraries='/path/one /path/two /path/etc'
1370 @node Q2.0.8, Q2.0.9, Q2.0.7, Installation
1371 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.8: can't resolve symbol _h_errno
1373 You are using the Linux/ELF distribution of XEmacs 19.14, and your ELF
1374 libraries are out of date. You have the following options:
1378 Upgrade your libc to at least 5.2.16 (better is 5.2.18, 5.3.12, or
1382 Patch the XEmacs binary by replacing all occurrences of
1383 @samp{_h_errno^@@} with
1387 @samp{h_errno^@@^@@}. Any version of Emacs will
1388 suffice. If you don't understand how to do this, don't do it.
1391 Rebuild XEmacs yourself---any working ELF version of libc should be
1395 @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic} writes:
1398 Why not use a Perl one-liner for No. 2?
1401 perl -pi -e 's/_h_errno\0/h_errno\0\0/g' \
1402 /usr/local/bin/xemacs-19.14
1405 NB: You @emph{must} patch @file{/usr/local/bin/xemacs-19.14}, and not
1406 @file{xemacs} because @file{xemacs} is a link to @file{xemacs-19.14};
1407 the Perl @samp{-i} option will cause unwanted side-effects if applied to
1411 @email{steve@@xemacs.org, SL Baur} writes:
1414 If you build against a recent libc-5.4 (late enough to have caused
1415 problems earlier in the beta cycle) and then run with an earlier version
1420 xemacs: can't resolve symbol '__malloc_hook'
1421 zsh: 7942 segmentation fault (core dumped) xemacs
1424 (Example binary compiled against libc-5.4.23 and run with libc-5.4.16).
1426 The solution is to upgrade to at least libc-5.4.23. Sigh. Drat.
1429 @node Q2.0.9, Q2.0.10, Q2.0.8, Installation
1430 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.9: Where do I find external libraries?
1432 All external libraries used by XEmacs can be found at the XEmacs FTP
1437 @uref{ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/aux/}.
1439 @c Changed June Link above, <URL:ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/aux/> was dead.
1440 @c This list is a pain in the you-know-what to keep in synch with the
1442 The canonical locations (at the time of this writing) are as follows:
1446 @uref{ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/}. Version 6a is current.
1447 @c Check from host with legal IP address
1449 @uref{ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/libraries/}. Version 3.4j is current.
1450 Older versions of this package are known to cause XEmacs crashes.
1453 @uref{ftp://ftp.sgi.com/graphics/tiff/}. v3.4 is current. The latest
1454 beta is v3.4b035. There is a HOWTO here.
1457 @uref{ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/png/}. 0.89c is current. XEmacs
1458 requires a fairly recent version to avoid using temporary files.
1459 @c Check from host with legal IP address
1461 @uref{ftp://swrinde.nde.swri.edu/pub/png/src/}
1464 @uref{ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu/pub/faces/compface/}. This library has
1465 been frozen for about 6 years, and is distributed without version
1466 numbers. @emph{It should be compiled with the same options that X11 was
1467 compiled with on your system}. The version of this library at
1468 XEmacs.org includes the @file{xbm2xface.pl} script, written by
1469 @email{stig@@hackvan.com}, which may be useful when generating your own xface.
1472 @uref{ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/audio/nas/}.
1473 Version 1.2p5 is current. There is a FAQ here.
1476 @node Q2.0.10, Q2.0.11, Q2.0.9, Installation
1477 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.10: After I run configure I find a core dump, is something wrong?
1479 Not necessarily. If you have GNU sed 3.0 you should downgrade it to
1480 2.05. From the @file{README} at prep.ai.mit.edu:
1483 sed 3.0 has been withdrawn from distribution. It has major revisions,
1484 which mostly seem to be improvements; but it turns out to have bugs too
1485 which cause trouble in some common cases.
1487 Tom Lord won't be able to work fixing the bugs until May. So in the
1488 mean time, we've decided to withdraw sed 3.0 from distribution and make
1489 version 2.05 once again the recommended version.
1492 It has also been observed that the vfork test on Solaris will leave a
1495 @node Q2.0.11, Q2.0.12, Q2.0.10, Installation
1496 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.11: XEmacs doesn't resolve hostnames.
1498 This is the result of a long-standing problem with SunOS and the fact
1499 that stock SunOS systems do not ship with DNS resolver code in libc.
1501 @email{ckd@@loiosh.kei.com, Christopher Davis} writes:
1504 That's correct [The SunOS 4.1.3 precompiled binaries don't do name
1505 lookup]. Since Sun figured that everyone used NIS to do name lookups
1506 (that DNS thing was apparently only a passing fad, right?), the stock
1507 SunOS 4.x systems don't have DNS-based name lookups in libc.
1509 This is also why Netscape ships two binaries for SunOS 4.1.x.
1511 The best solution is to compile it yourself; the configure script will
1512 check to see if you've put DNS in the shared libc and will then proceed
1513 to link against the DNS resolver library code.
1516 @node Q2.0.12, Q2.0.13, Q2.0.11, Installation
1517 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.12: Why can't I strip XEmacs?
1519 @email{cognot@@fronsac.ensg.u-nancy.fr, Richard Cognot} writes:
1522 Because of the way XEmacs (and every other Emacsen, AFAIK) is built. The
1523 link gives you a bare-boned emacs (called temacs). temacs is then run,
1524 preloading some of the lisp files. The result is then dumped into a new
1525 executable, named xemacs, which will contain all of the preloaded lisp
1528 Now, during the dump itself, the executable (code+data+symbols) is
1529 written on disk using a special unexec() function. This function is
1530 obviously heavily system dependent. And on some systems, it leads to an
1531 executable which, although valid, cannot be stripped without damage. If
1532 memory serves, this is especially the case for AIX binaries. On other
1533 architectures it might work OK.
1535 The Right Way to strip the emacs binary is to strip temacs prior to
1536 dumping xemacs. This will always work, although you can do that only if
1537 you install from sources (as temacs is @file{not} part of the binary
1541 @email{nat@@nataa.fr.eu.org, Nat Makarevitch} writes:
1548 [ ./configure; make ]
1560 cp src/xemacs /usr/local/bin/xemacs
1563 cp lib-src/DOC-19.16-XEmacs
1567 /usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.16/i586-unknown-linuxaout
1571 @node Q2.0.13, Q2.0.14, Q2.0.12, Installation
1572 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.13: I don't need no steenkin' packages. Do I? (NEW)
1574 Strictly speaking, no. XEmacs will build and install just fine without
1575 any packages installed. However, only the most basic editing functions
1576 will be available with no packages installed, so installing packages is
1577 an essential part of making your installed XEmacs _useful_.
1579 @node Q2.0.14, Q2.1.1, Q2.0.13, Installation
1580 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.12: How do I figure out which packages to install? (NEW)
1582 Many people really liked the old way that packages were bundled and do
1583 not want to mess with packages at all. You can grab all the packages at
1584 once like you used to with old XEmacs versions. Download the file
1586 @file{xemacs-sumo.tar.gz}
1588 For an XEmacs compiled with Mule you also need
1590 @file{xemacs-mule-sumo.tar.gz}
1592 from the @file{packages} directory on your XEmacs mirror archive.
1593 N.B. They are called 'Sumo Tarballs' for good reason. They are
1594 currently about 15MB and 2.3MB (gzipped) respectively.
1598 @code{cd $prefix/lib/xemacs ; gunzip -c <tarballname> | tar xf -}
1600 See README.packages for more detailed installation instructions.
1602 As the Sumo tarballs are not regenerated as often as the individual
1603 packages, it is recommended that you use the automatic package tools
1604 afterwards to pick up any recent updates.
1606 @node Q2.1.1, Q2.1.2, Q2.0.14, Installation
1607 @unnumberedsec 2.1: Trouble Shooting
1608 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.1: Help! XEmacs just crashed on me!
1610 First of all, don't panic. Whenever XEmacs crashes, it tries extremely
1611 hard to auto-save all of your files before dying. (The main time that
1612 this will not happen is if the machine physically lost power or if you
1613 killed the XEmacs process using @code{kill -9}). The next time you try
1614 to edit those files, you will be informed that a more recent auto-save
1615 file exists. You can use @kbd{M-x recover-file} to retrieve the
1616 auto-saved version of the file.
1618 You can use the command @kbd{M-x recover-session} after a crash to pick
1619 up where you left off.
1621 Now, XEmacs is not perfect, and there may occasionally be times, or
1622 particular sequences of actions, that cause it to crash. If you can
1623 come up with a reproducible way of doing this (or even if you have a
1624 pretty good memory of exactly what you were doing at the time), the
1625 maintainers would be very interested in knowing about it. Post a
1626 message to comp.emacs.xemacs or send mail to @email{crashes@@xemacs.org}.
1627 Please note that the @samp{crashes} address is exclusively for crash
1630 If at all possible, include a stack backtrace of the core dump that was
1631 produced. This shows where exactly things went wrong, and makes it much
1632 easier to diagnose problems. To do this, you need to locate the core
1633 file (it's called @file{core}, and is usually sitting in the directory
1634 that you started XEmacs from, or your home directory if that other
1635 directory was not writable). Then, go to that directory and execute a
1639 gdb `which xemacs` core
1642 and then issue the command @samp{where} to get the stack backtrace. You
1643 might have to use @code{dbx} or some similar debugger in place of
1644 @code{gdb}. If you don't have any such debugger available, complain to
1645 your system administrator.
1647 It's possible that a core file didn't get produced, in which case you're
1648 out of luck. Go complain to your system administrator and tell him not
1649 to disable core files by default. Also @xref{Q2.1.15}, for tips and
1650 techniques for dealing with a debugger.
1652 When making a problem report make sure that:
1656 Report @strong{all} of the information output by XEmacs during the
1660 You mention what O/S & Hardware you are running XEmacs on.
1663 What version of XEmacs you are running.
1666 What build options you are using.
1669 If the problem is related to graphics, we will also need to know what
1670 version of the X Window System you are running, and what window manager
1674 If the problem happened on a tty, please include the terminal type.
1677 @node Q2.1.2, Q2.1.3, Q2.1.1, Installation
1678 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.2: Cryptic Minibuffer messages.
1680 When I try to use some particular option of some particular package, I
1681 get a cryptic error in the minibuffer.
1683 If you can't figure out what's going on, select Options/General
1684 Options/Debug on Error from the Menubar and then try and make the error
1685 happen again. This will give you a backtrace that may be enlightening.
1686 If not, try reading through this FAQ; if that fails, you could try
1687 posting to comp.emacs.xemacs (making sure to include the backtrace) and
1688 someone may be able to help. If you can identify which Emacs lisp
1689 source file the error is coming from you can get a more detailed stack
1690 backtrace by doing the following:
1694 Visit the .el file in an XEmacs buffer.
1697 Issue the command @kbd{M-x eval-current-buffer}.
1700 Reproduce the error.
1703 Depending on the version of XEmacs, you may either select View->Show
1704 Message Log (recent versions), Edit->Show Messages (some earlier
1705 versions) or Help->Recent Keystrokes/Messages (other earlier versions)
1706 from the menubar to see the most recent messages. This command is bound
1707 to @kbd{C-h l} by default.
1709 @node Q2.1.3, Q2.1.4, Q2.1.2, Installation
1710 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.3: Translation Table Syntax messages at Startup
1712 I get tons of translation table syntax error messages during startup.
1713 How do I get rid of them?
1715 There are two causes of this problem. The first usually only strikes
1716 people using the prebuilt binaries. The culprit in both cases is the
1717 file @file{XKeysymDB}.
1721 The binary cannot find the @file{XKeysymDB} file. The location is
1722 hardcoded at compile time so if the system the binary was built on puts
1723 it a different place than your system does, you have problems. To fix,
1724 set the environment variable @var{XKEYSYMDB} to the location of the
1725 @file{XKeysymDB} file on your system or to the location of the one
1726 included with XEmacs which should be at
1730 @file{<xemacs_root_directory>/lib/xemacs-19.16/etc/XKeysymDB}.
1733 The binary is finding the XKeysymDB but it is out-of-date on your system
1734 and does not contain the necessary lines. Either ask your system
1735 administrator to replace it with the one which comes with XEmacs (which
1736 is the stock R6 version and is backwards compatible) or set your
1737 @var{XKEYSYMDB} variable to the location of XEmacs's described above.
1740 @node Q2.1.4, Q2.1.5, Q2.1.3, Installation
1741 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.4: Startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
1743 How can I avoid the startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
1745 This is highly dependent on your installation, but try with the
1746 following font as your base font for XEmacs and see what it does:
1749 -adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
1752 More precisely, do the following in your resource file:
1755 Emacs.default.attributeFont: \
1756 -adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
1759 If you just don't want to see the @samp{*Warnings*} buffer at startup
1760 time, you can set this:
1763 (setq display-warning-minimum-level 'error)
1766 The buffer still exists; it just isn't in your face.
1768 @node Q2.1.5, Q2.1.6, Q2.1.4, Installation
1769 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.5: XEmacs cannot connect to my X Terminal!
1771 Help! I can not get XEmacs to display on my Envizex X-terminal!
1773 Try setting the @var{DISPLAY} variable using the numeric IP address of
1774 the host you are running XEmacs from.
1776 @node Q2.1.6, Q2.1.7, Q2.1.5, Installation
1777 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.6: XEmacs just locked up my Linux X server!
1779 There have been several reports of the X server locking up under Linux.
1780 In all reported cases removing speedo and scaled fonts from the font
1781 path corrected the problem. This can be done with the command
1784 It is possible that using a font server may also solve the problem.
1786 @node Q2.1.7, Q2.1.8, Q2.1.6, Installation
1787 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.7: HP Alt key as Meta.
1789 How can I make XEmacs recognize the Alt key of my HP workstation as a
1792 Put the following line into a file and load it with xmodmap(1) before
1796 remove Mod1 = Mode_switch
1799 @node Q2.1.8, Q2.1.9, Q2.1.7, Installation
1800 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.8: got (wrong-type-argument color-instance-p nil)
1802 @email{nataliek@@rd.scitec.com.au, Natalie Kershaw} writes:
1805 I am trying to run xemacs 19.13 under X11R4. Whenever I move the mouse I
1806 get the following error. Has anyone seen anything like this? This
1807 doesn't occur on X11R5.
1811 (error "got (wrong-type-argument color-instance-p nil)
1812 and I don't know why!")
1816 @email{map01kd@@gold.ac.uk, dinos} writes:
1819 I think this is due to undefined resources; You need to define color
1820 backgrounds and foregrounds into your @file{.../app-defaults/Emacs}
1824 *Foreground: Black ;everything will be of black on grey95,
1825 *Background: Grey95 ;unless otherwise specified.
1826 *cursorColor: Red3 ;red3 cursor with grey95 border.
1827 *pointerColor: Red3 ;red3 pointer with grey95 border.
1831 Natalie Kershaw adds:
1834 What fixed the problem was adding some more colors to the X color
1835 database (copying the X11R5 colors over), and also defining the
1836 following resources:
1839 xemacs*cursorColor: black
1840 xemacs*pointerColor: black
1843 With the new colors installed the problem still occurs if the above
1844 resources are not defined.
1846 If the new colors are not present then an additional error occurs on
1847 XEmacs startup, which says @samp{Color Red3} not defined.
1850 @node Q2.1.9, Q2.1.10, Q2.1.8, Installation
1851 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.9: XEmacs causes my OpenWindows 3.0 server to crash.
1853 The OpenWindows 3.0 server is incredibly buggy. Your best bet is to
1854 replace it with one from the generic MIT X11 release. You might also
1855 try disabling parts of your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}, like those
1856 that enable background pixmaps.
1858 @node Q2.1.10, Q2.1.11, Q2.1.9, Installation
1859 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.10: Warnings from incorrect key modifiers.
1861 The following information comes from the @file{PROBLEMS} file that comes
1864 If you're having troubles with HP/UX it is because HP/UX defines the
1865 modifiers wrong in X. Here is a shell script to fix the problem; be
1866 sure that it is run after VUE configures the X server.
1870 xmodmap 2> /dev/null - << EOF
1871 keysym Alt_L = Meta_L
1872 keysym Alt_R = Meta_R
1877 keysym Mode_switch = NoSymbol
1879 keysym Meta_R = Mode_switch
1880 add mod2 = Mode_switch
1884 @node Q2.1.11, Q2.1.12, Q2.1.10, Installation
1885 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.11: @samp{Can't instantiate image error...} in toolbar
1888 @email{expt@@alanine.ram.org, Dr. Ram Samudrala} writes:
1890 I just installed the XEmacs (20.4-2) RPMS that I downloaded from
1891 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/}. Everything works fine, except that when
1892 I place my mouse over the toolbar, it beeps and gives me this message:
1895 Can't instantiate image (probably cached):
1896 [xbm :mask-file "/usr/include/X11/bitmaps/leftptrmsk :mask-data
1897 (16 16 <strange control characters> ...
1900 @email{kyle_jones@@wonderworks.com, Kyle Jones} writes:
1902 This is problem specific to some Chips and Technologies video
1903 chips, when running XFree86. Putting
1905 @code{Option "sw_cursor"}
1907 in @file{XF86Config} gets rid of the problem.
1910 @node Q2.1.12, Q2.1.13, Q2.1.11, Installation
1911 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.12: Problems with Regular Expressions on DEC OSF1.
1913 I have xemacs 19.13 running on an alpha running OSF1 V3.2 148 and ispell
1914 would not run because it claimed the version number was incorrect
1915 although it was indeed OK. I traced the problem to the regular
1918 @email{douglask@@dstc.edu.au, Douglas Kosovic} writes:
1921 Actually it's a DEC cc optimization bug that screws up the regexp
1924 Rebuilding using the @samp{-migrate} switch for DEC cc (which uses a
1925 different sort of optimization) works fine.
1928 See @file{xemacs-19_13-dunix-3_2c.patch} at the following URL on how to
1929 build with the @samp{-migrate} flag:
1932 @uref{http://www-digital.cern.ch/carney/emacs/emacs.html}
1933 @c Link above, <URL:http://www-digital.cern.ch/carney/emacs/emacs.html> is
1934 @c dead. And the directory `carney' is empty.
1940 NOTE: There have been a variety of other problems reported that are
1941 fixed in this fashion.
1943 @node Q2.1.13, Q2.1.14, Q2.1.12, Installation
1944 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.13: HP/UX 10.10 and @code{create_process} failure.
1946 @email{Dave.Carrigan@@ipl.ca, Dave Carrigan} writes:
1949 With XEmacs 19.13 and HP/UX 10.10, anything that relies on the
1950 @code{create_process} function fails. This breaks a lot of things
1951 (shell-mode, compile, ange-ftp, to name a few).
1954 @email{johnson@@dtc.hp.com, Phil Johnson} writes:
1957 This is a problem specific to HP-UX 10.10. It only occurs when XEmacs
1958 is compiled for shared libraries (the default), so you can work around
1959 it by compiling a statically-linked binary (run configure with
1960 @samp{--dynamic=no}).
1962 I'm not sure whether the problem is with a particular shared library or
1963 if it's a kernel problem which crept into 10.10.
1966 @email{cognot@@ensg.u-nancy.fr, Richard Cognot} writes:
1969 I had a few problems with 10.10. Apparently, some of them were solved by
1970 forcing a static link of libc (manually).
1973 @node Q2.1.14, Q2.1.15, Q2.1.13, Installation
1974 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.14: @kbd{C-g} doesn't work for me. Is it broken?
1976 @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing} writes:
1979 @kbd{C-g} does work for most people in most circumstances. If it
1980 doesn't, there are only two explanations:
1984 The code is wrapped with a binding of @code{inhibit-quit} to
1985 @code{t}. @kbd{Ctrl-Shift-G} should still work, I think.
1988 SIGIO is broken on your system, but BROKEN_SIGIO isn't defined.
1991 To test #2, try executing @code{(while t)} from the @samp{*scratch*}
1992 buffer. If @kbd{C-g} doesn't interrupt, then you're seeing #2.
1995 @email{terra@@diku.dk, Morten Welinder} writes:
1998 On some (but @emph{not} all) machines a hung XEmacs can be revived by
1999 @code{kill -FPE <pid>}. This is a hack, of course, not a solution.
2000 This technique works on a Sun4 running 4.1.3_U1. To see if it works for
2001 you, start another XEmacs and test with that first. If you get a core
2002 dump the method doesn't work and if you get @samp{Arithmetic error} then
2006 @node Q2.1.15, Q2.1.16, Q2.1.14, Installation
2007 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.15: How to Debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger
2009 If XEmacs does crash on you, one of the most productive things you can
2010 do to help get the bug fixed is to poke around a bit with the debugger.
2011 Here are some hints:
2015 First of all, if the crash is at all reproducible, consider very
2016 strongly recompiling your XEmacs with debugging symbols, with no
2017 optimization, and with the configure options @samp{--debug=yes} and
2018 @samp{--error-checking=all}. This will make your XEmacs run somewhat
2019 slower but make it a lot more likely to catch the problem earlier
2020 (closer to its source), and a lot easier to determine what's going on
2024 If you're able to run XEmacs under a debugger and reproduce the crash
2025 (if it's inconvenient to do this because XEmacs is already running or is
2026 running in batch mode as part of a bunch of scripts, consider attaching
2027 to the existing process with your debugger; most debuggers let you do
2028 this by substituting the process ID for the core file when you invoke
2029 the debugger from the command line, or by using the @code{attach}
2030 command or something similar), here are some things you can do:
2033 If XEmacs is hitting an assertion failure, put a breakpoint on
2034 @code{assert_failed()}.
2037 If XEmacs is hitting some weird Lisp error that's causing it to crash
2038 (e.g. during startup), put a breakpoint on @code{signal_1()}---this is
2039 declared static in eval.c.
2042 Internally, you will probably see lots of variables that hold objects of
2043 type @code{Lisp_Object}. These are exactly what they appear to be,
2044 i.e. references to Lisp objects. Printing them out with the debugger
2045 probably won't be too useful---you'll likely just see a number. To
2046 decode them, do this:
2049 call debug_print (OBJECT)
2052 where @var{OBJECT} is whatever you want to decode (it can be a variable,
2053 a function call, etc.). This will print out a readable representation
2054 on the TTY from which the xemacs process was invoked.
2057 If you want to get a Lisp backtrace showing the Lisp call
2061 call debug_backtrace ()
2065 Using @code{debug_print} and @code{debug_backtrace} has two
2066 disadvantages - it can only be used with a running xemacs process, and
2067 it cannot display the internal C structure of a Lisp Object. Even if
2068 all you've got is a core dump, all is not lost.
2070 If you're using GDB, there are some macros in the file
2071 @file{src/.gdbinit} in the XEmacs source distribution that should make
2072 it easier for you to decode Lisp objects. This file is automatically
2073 read by gdb if gdb is run in the directory where xemacs was built, and
2074 contains these useful macros to inspect the state of xemacs:
2078 Usage: pobj lisp_object @*
2079 Print the internal C representation of a lisp object.
2082 Usage: xtype lisp_object @*
2083 Print the Lisp type of a lisp object.
2087 Print the current Lisp stack trace.
2088 Requires a running xemacs process.
2091 Usage: ldp lisp_object @*
2092 Print a Lisp Object value using the Lisp printer.
2093 Requires a running xemacs process.
2096 Usage: run-temacs @*
2097 Run temacs interactively, like xemacs.
2098 Use this with debugging tools (like purify) that cannot deal with dumping,
2099 or when temacs builds successfully, but xemacs does not.
2102 Usage: dump-temacs @*
2103 Run the dumping part of the build procedure.
2104 Use when debugging temacs, not xemacs!
2105 Use this when temacs builds successfully, but xemacs does not.
2108 Usage: check-xemacs @*
2109 Run the test suite. Equivalent to 'make check'.
2112 Usage: check-temacs @*
2113 Run the test suite on temacs. Equivalent to 'make check-temacs'.
2114 Use this with debugging tools (like purify) that cannot deal with dumping,
2115 or when temacs builds successfully, but xemacs does not.
2118 If you are using Sun's @file{dbx} debugger, there is an equivalent file
2119 @file{src/.dbxrc}, which defines the same commands for dbx.
2122 If you're using a debugger to get a C stack backtrace and you're seeing
2123 stack traces with some of the innermost frames mangled, it may be due to
2124 dynamic linking. (This happens especially under Linux.) Consider
2125 reconfiguring with @samp{--dynamic=no}. Also, sometimes (again under
2126 Linux), stack backtraces of core dumps will have the frame where the
2127 fatal signal occurred mangled; if you can obtain a stack trace while
2128 running the XEmacs process under a debugger, the stack trace should be
2131 @email{1CMC3466@@ibm.mtsac.edu, Curtiss} suggests upgrading to ld.so version 1.8
2132 if dynamic linking and debugging is a problem on Linux.
2135 If you're using a debugger to get a C stack backtrace and you're
2136 getting a completely mangled and bogus stack trace, it's probably due to
2137 one of the following:
2141 Your executable has been stripped. Bad news. Tell your sysadmin not to
2142 do this---it doesn't accomplish anything except to save a bit of disk
2143 space, and makes debugging much much harder.
2146 Your stack is getting trashed. Debugging this is hard; you have to do a
2147 binary-search type of narrowing down where the crash occurs, until you
2148 figure out exactly which line is causing the problem. Of course, this
2149 only works if the bug is highly reproducible.
2152 If your stack trace has exactly one frame in it, with address 0x0, this
2153 could simply mean that XEmacs attempted to execute code at that address,
2154 e.g. through jumping to a null function pointer. Unfortunately, under
2155 those circumstances, GDB under Linux doesn't know how to get a stack
2156 trace. (Yes, this is the third Linux-related problem I've mentioned. I
2157 have no idea why GDB under Linux is so bogus. Complain to the GDB
2158 authors, or to comp.os.linux.development.system). Again, you'll have to
2159 use the narrowing-down process described above.
2162 You will get a Lisp backtrace output when XEmacs crashes, so you'll have
2168 If you compile with the newer gcc variants gcc-2.8 or egcs, you will
2169 also need gdb 4.17 or above. Earlier releases of gdb can't handle the
2170 debug information generated by the newer compilers.
2173 In versions of XEmacs before 21.2.27, @file{src/.gdbinit} was named
2174 @file{src/gdbinit}. This had the disadvantage of not being sourced
2175 automatically by gdb, so you had to set that up yourself.
2179 @node Q2.1.16, Q2.1.17, Q2.1.15, Installation
2180 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.16: XEmacs crashes in @code{strcat} on HP/UX 10
2182 From the problems database (through
2183 the former address http://support.mayfield.hp.com/):
2186 Problem Report: 5003302299
2189 System/Model: 9000/700
2190 Product Name: HPUX S800 10.0X
2191 Product Vers: 9245XB.10.00
2193 Description: strcat(3C) may read beyond
2194 end of source string, can cause SIGSEGV
2197 *** PROBLEM TEXT ***
2198 strcat(3C) may read beyond the source string onto an unmapped page,
2199 causing a segmentation violation.
2202 @node Q2.1.17, Q2.1.18, Q2.1.16, Installation
2203 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.17: @samp{Marker does not point anywhere}
2205 As with other errors, set @code{debug-on-error} to @code{t} to get the
2206 backtrace when the error occurs. Specifically, two problems have been
2207 reported (and fixed).
2211 A problem with line-number-mode in XEmacs 19.14 affected a large number
2212 of other packages. If you see this error message, turn off
2216 A problem with some early versions of Gnus 5.4 caused this error.
2220 @node Q2.1.18, Q2.1.19, Q2.1.17, Installation
2221 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.18: removed
2223 @node Q2.1.19, Q2.1.20, Q2.1.18, Installation
2224 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.19: XEmacs does not follow the local timezone.
2226 When using one of the prebuilt binaries many users have observed that
2227 XEmacs uses the timezone under which it was built, but not the timezone
2228 under which it is running. The solution is to add:
2231 (set-time-zone-rule "MET")
2234 to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} or the @file{site-start.el} file if
2235 you can. Replace @code{MET} with your local timezone.
2237 @node Q2.1.20, Q2.1.21, Q2.1.19, Installation
2238 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.20: @samp{Symbol's function definition is void: hkey-help-show.}
2240 This is a problem with a partially loaded hyperbole. Try adding:
2243 (require 'hmouse-drv)
2246 where you load hyperbole and the problem should go away.
2248 @node Q2.1.21, Q2.1.22, Q2.1.20, Installation
2249 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.21: [This question intentionally left blank]
2251 @node Q2.1.22, Q2.1.23, Q2.1.21, Installation
2252 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.22: XEmacs seems to take a really long time to do some things
2254 @email{dmoore@@ucsd.edu, David Moore} writes:
2257 Two things you can do:
2261 When you see it going mad like this, you might want to use gdb from an
2262 'xterm' to attach to the running process and get a stack trace. To do
2266 gdb /path/to/xemacs/xemacs ####
2269 Where @code{####} is the process id of your xemacs, instead of
2270 specifying the core. When gdb attaches, the xemacs will stop [1] and
2271 you can type `where' in gdb to get a stack trace as usual. To get
2272 things moving again, you can just type `quit' in gdb. It'll tell you
2273 the program is running and ask if you want to quit anyways. Say 'y' and
2274 it'll quit and have your emacs continue from where it was at.
2278 Turn on debug-on-quit early on. When you think things are going slow
2279 hit C-g and it may pop you in the debugger so you can see what routine
2280 is running. Press `c' to get going again.
2282 debug-on-quit doesn't work if something's turned on inhibit-quit or in
2283 some other strange cases.
2286 @node Q2.1.23, Q2.1.24, Q2.1.22, Installation
2287 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.23: Movemail on Linux does not work for XEmacs 19.15 and later.
2289 Movemail used to work fine in 19.14 but has stopped working in 19.15
2290 and 20.x. I am using Linux.
2292 @email{steve@@xemacs.org, SL Baur} writes:
2295 Movemail on Linux used to default to using flock file locking. With
2296 19.15 and later versions it now defaults to using @code{.lock} file
2297 locking. If this is not appropriate for your system, edit src/s/linux.h
2298 and uncomment the line that reads:
2301 #define MAIL_USE_FLOCK
2305 @node Q2.1.24, Q2.1.25, Q2.1.23, Installation
2306 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.24: XEmacs won't start without network. (NEW)
2308 If XEmacs starts when you're on the network, but fails when you're not
2309 on the network, you may be missing a "localhost" entry in your
2310 @file{/etc/hosts} file. The file should contain an entry like:
2316 Add that line, and XEmacs will be happy.
2318 @node Q2.1.25, , Q2.1.24, Installation
2319 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.25:: After upgrading, XEmacs won't do `foo' any more! (NEW)
2321 You have been used to doing `foo', but now when you invoke it (or click
2322 the toolbar button or select the menu item), nothing (or an error)
2323 happens. The simplest explanation is that you are missing a package
2324 that is essential to you. You can either track it down and install it
2325 (there is a list of packages and brief descriptions of their contents in
2326 @file{etc/PACKAGES}), or install the `Sumo Tarball' (see @pxref{Q2.0.14}).
2328 @c #### should xref to XEmacs manual here
2330 @node Customization, Subsystems, Installation, Top
2331 @unnumbered 3 Customization and Options
2333 This is part 3 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
2334 section is devoted to Customization and screen settings.
2337 Customization---Emacs Lisp and @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
2338 * Q3.0.1:: What version of Emacs am I running?
2339 * Q3.0.2:: How do I evaluate Elisp expressions?
2340 * Q3.0.3:: @code{(setq tab-width 6)} behaves oddly.
2341 * Q3.0.4:: How can I add directories to the @code{load-path}?
2342 * Q3.0.5:: How to check if a lisp function is defined?
2343 * Q3.0.6:: Can I force the output of @code{(face-list)} to a buffer?
2344 * Q3.0.7:: Font selections don't get saved after @code{Save Options}.
2345 * Q3.0.8:: How do I make a single minibuffer frame?
2346 * Q3.0.9:: What is @code{Customize}?
2348 X Window System & Resources:
2349 * Q3.1.1:: Where is a list of X resources?
2350 * Q3.1.2:: How can I detect a color display?
2351 * Q3.1.3:: [This question intentionally left blank]
2352 * Q3.1.4:: [This question intentionally left blank]
2353 * Q3.1.5:: How can I get the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}?
2354 * Q3.1.6:: How can I have the window title area display the full path?
2355 * Q3.1.7:: @samp{xemacs -name junk} doesn't work?
2356 * Q3.1.8:: @samp{-iconic} doesn't work.
2358 Textual Fonts & Colors:
2359 * Q3.2.1:: How can I set color options from @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}?
2360 * Q3.2.2:: How do I set the text, menu and modeline fonts?
2361 * Q3.2.3:: How can I set the colors when highlighting a region?
2362 * Q3.2.4:: How can I limit color map usage?
2363 * Q3.2.5:: My tty supports color, but XEmacs doesn't use them.
2364 * Q3.2.6:: Can I have pixmap backgrounds in XEmacs?
2367 * Q3.3.1:: How can I make the modeline go away?
2368 * Q3.3.2:: How do you have XEmacs display the line number in the modeline?
2369 * Q3.3.3:: How do I get XEmacs to put the time of day on the modeline?
2370 * Q3.3.4:: How do I turn off current chapter from AUC TeX modeline?
2371 * Q3.3.5:: How can one change the modeline color based on the mode used?
2373 3.4 Multiple Device Support:
2374 * Q3.4.1:: How do I open a frame on another screen of my multi-headed display?
2375 * Q3.4.2:: Can I really connect to a running XEmacs after calling up over a modem? How?
2378 * Q3.5.1:: How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to keys?
2379 * Q3.5.2:: How can I stop down-arrow from adding empty lines to the bottom of my buffers?
2380 * Q3.5.3:: How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and down?
2381 * Q3.5.4:: Globally binding @kbd{Delete}?
2382 * Q3.5.5:: Scrolling one line at a time.
2383 * Q3.5.6:: How to map @kbd{Help} key alone on Sun type4 keyboard?
2384 * Q3.5.7:: How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?
2385 * Q3.5.8:: [This question intentionally left blank]
2386 * Q3.5.9:: How do I make the Delete key delete forward?
2387 * Q3.5.10:: Can I turn on @dfn{sticky} modifier keys?
2388 * Q3.5.11:: How do I map the arrow keys?
2391 * Q3.6.1:: Is there a way to make the bar cursor thicker?
2392 * Q3.6.2:: Is there a way to get back the old block cursor where the cursor covers the character in front of the point?
2393 * Q3.6.3:: Can I make the cursor blink?
2395 The Mouse and Highlighting:
2396 * Q3.7.1:: How can I turn off Mouse pasting?
2397 * Q3.7.2:: How do I set control/meta/etc modifiers on mouse buttons?
2398 * Q3.7.3:: Clicking the left button does not do anything in buffer list.
2399 * Q3.7.4:: How can I get a list of buffers when I hit mouse button 3?
2400 * Q3.7.5:: Why does cut-and-paste not work between XEmacs and a cmdtool?
2401 * Q3.7.6:: How I can set XEmacs up so that it pastes where the text cursor is?
2402 * Q3.7.7:: How do I select a rectangular region?
2403 * Q3.7.8:: Why does @kbd{M-w} take so long?
2405 The Menubar and Toolbar:
2406 * Q3.8.1:: How do I get rid of the menu (or menubar)?
2407 * Q3.8.2:: Can I customize the basic menubar?
2408 * Q3.8.3:: How do I control how many buffers are listed in the menu @code{Buffers} list?
2409 * Q3.8.4:: Resources like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} are not working?
2410 * Q3.8.5:: How can I bind a key to a function to toggle the toolbar?
2413 * Q3.9.1:: How can I disable the scrollbar?
2414 * Q3.9.2:: How can one use resources to change scrollbar colors?
2415 * Q3.9.3:: Moving the scrollbar can move the point; can I disable this?
2416 * Q3.9.4:: How can I turn off automatic horizontal scrolling in specific modes?
2419 * Q3.10.1:: How can I turn off or change highlighted selections?
2420 * Q3.10.2:: How do I get that typing on an active region removes it?
2421 * Q3.10.3:: Can I turn off the highlight during isearch?
2422 * Q3.10.4:: How do I turn off highlighting after @kbd{C-x C-p} (mark-page)?
2423 * Q3.10.5:: The region disappears when I hit the end of buffer while scrolling.
2426 @node Q3.0.1, Q3.0.2, Customization, Customization
2427 @unnumberedsec 3.0: Customization -- Emacs Lisp and @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}
2428 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.1: What version of Emacs am I running?
2430 How can @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} determine which of the family of
2433 To determine if you are currently running GNU Emacs 18, GNU Emacs 19,
2434 XEmacs 19, XEmacs 20, or Epoch, and use appropriate code, check out the
2435 example given in @file{etc/sample.init.el} (@file{etc/sample.emacs} in
2436 XEmacs versions prior to 21.4). There are other nifty things in there
2439 For all new code, all you really need to do is:
2442 (defvar running-xemacs (string-match "XEmacs\\|Lucid" emacs-version))
2445 @node Q3.0.2, Q3.0.3, Q3.0.1, Customization
2446 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.2: How can I evaluate Emacs-Lisp expressions?
2448 I know I can evaluate Elisp expressions from @code{*scratch*} buffer
2449 with @kbd{C-j} after the expression. How do I do it from another
2452 Press @kbd{M-:} (the default binding of @code{eval-expression}), and
2453 enter the expression to the minibuffer.
2455 @node Q3.0.3, Q3.0.4, Q3.0.2, Customization
2456 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.3: @code{(setq tab-width 6)} behaves oddly.
2458 If you put @code{(setq tab-width 6)} in your
2459 @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file it does not work! Is there a reason
2460 for this? If you do it at the EVAL prompt it works fine!! How strange.
2462 Use @code{setq-default} instead, since @code{tab-width} is
2465 @node Q3.0.4, Q3.0.5, Q3.0.3, Customization
2466 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.4: How can I add directories to the @code{load-path}?
2468 Here are two ways to do that, one that puts your directories at the
2469 front of the load-path, the other at the end:
2472 ;;; Add things at the beginning of the load-path, do not add
2473 ;;; duplicate directories:
2474 (pushnew "bar" load-path :test 'equal)
2476 (pushnew "foo" load-path :test 'equal)
2478 ;;; Add things at the end, unconditionally
2479 (setq load-path (nconc load-path '("foo" "bar")))
2482 @email{keithh@@nortel.ca, keith (k.p.) hanlan} writes:
2485 To add directories using Unix shell metacharacters use
2486 @file{expand-file-name} like this:
2489 (push (expand-file-name "~keithh/.emacsdir") load-path)
2493 @node Q3.0.5, Q3.0.6, Q3.0.4, Customization
2494 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.5: How to check if a lisp function is defined?
2496 Use the following elisp:
2502 It's almost always a mistake to test @code{emacs-version} or any similar
2505 Instead, use feature-tests, such as @code{featurep}, @code{boundp},
2506 @code{fboundp}, or even simple behavioral tests, eg.:
2509 (defvar foo-old-losing-code-p
2510 (condition-case nil (progn (losing-code t) nil)
2511 (wrong-number-of-arguments t)))
2514 There is an incredible amount of broken code out there which could work
2515 much better more often in more places if it did the above instead of
2516 trying to divine its environment from the value of one variable.
2518 @node Q3.0.6, Q3.0.7, Q3.0.5, Customization
2519 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.6: Can I force the output of @code{(face-list)} to a buffer?
2521 It would be good having it in a buffer, as the output of
2522 @code{(face-list)} is too wide to fit to a minibuffer.
2524 Evaluate the expression in the @samp{*scratch*} buffer with point after
2525 the rightmost paren and typing @kbd{C-j}.
2527 If the minibuffer smallness is the only problem you encounter, you can
2528 simply press @kbd{C-h l} to get the former minibuffer contents in a
2531 @node Q3.0.7, Q3.0.8, Q3.0.6, Customization
2532 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.7: Font selections in don't get saved after @code{Save Options}.
2534 @email{mannj@@ll.mit.edu, John Mann} writes:
2537 You have to go to Options->Frame Appearance and unselect
2538 @samp{Frame-Local Font Menu}. If this option is selected, font changes
2539 are only applied to the @emph{current} frame and do @emph{not} get saved
2540 when you save options.
2543 Also, set the following in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
2546 (setq options-save-faces t)
2549 @node Q3.0.8, Q3.0.9, Q3.0.7, Customization
2550 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.8: How do I get a single minibuffer frame?
2552 @email{acs@@acm.org, Vin Shelton} writes:
2555 (setq initial-frame-plist '(minibuffer nil))
2556 (setq default-frame-plist '(minibuffer nil))
2557 (setq default-minibuffer-frame
2562 menubar-visible-p nil
2563 default-toolbar-visible-p nil
2567 has-modeline-p nil)))
2568 (frame-notice-user-settings)
2571 @strong{Please note:} The single minibuffer frame may not be to everyone's
2572 taste, and there any number of other XEmacs options settings that may
2573 make it difficult or inconvenient to use.
2575 @node Q3.0.9, Q3.1.1, Q3.0.8, Customization
2576 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.9: What is @code{Customize}?
2578 Starting with XEmacs 20.2 there is new system 'Customize' for customizing
2581 You can access @code{Customize} from the @code{Options} menu
2582 or invoking one of customize commands by typing eg.
2583 @kbd{M-x customize}, @kbd{M-x customize-face},
2584 @kbd{M-x customize-variable} or @kbd{M-x customize-apropos}.
2586 Starting with XEmacs 20.3 there is also new `browser' mode for Customize.
2587 Try it out with @kbd{M-x customize-browse}
2589 @node Q3.1.1, Q3.1.2, Q3.0.9, Customization
2590 @unnumberedsec 3.1: X Window System & Resources
2591 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.1: Where is a list of X resources?
2593 Search through the @file{NEWS} file for @samp{X Resources}. A fairly
2594 comprehensive list is given after it.
2596 In addition, an @file{app-defaults} file is supplied,
2597 @file{etc/Emacs.ad} listing the defaults. The file
2598 @file{etc/sample.Xdefaults} gives a set of defaults that you might
2599 consider. It is essentially the same as @file{etc/Emacs.ad} but some
2600 entries are slightly altered. Be careful about installing the contents
2601 of this file into your @file{.Xdefaults} or @file{.Xresources} file if
2602 you use GNU Emacs under X11 as well.
2604 @node Q3.1.2, Q3.1.3, Q3.1.1, Customization
2605 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.2: How can I detect a color display?
2607 You can test the return value of the function @code{(device-class)}, as
2611 (when (eq (device-class) 'color)
2612 (set-face-foreground 'font-lock-comment-face "Grey")
2613 (set-face-foreground 'font-lock-string-face "Red")
2618 @node Q3.1.3, Q3.1.4, Q3.1.2, Customization
2619 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.3: [This question intentionally left blank]
2621 @node Q3.1.4, Q3.1.5, Q3.1.3, Customization
2622 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.4: [This question intentionally left blank]
2624 @node Q3.1.5, Q3.1.6, Q3.1.4, Customization
2625 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.5: How can I get the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}?
2627 I'd like the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}, and not include the name of
2628 the current file in it.
2630 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
2633 (setq frame-icon-title-format "XEmacs")
2636 @node Q3.1.6, Q3.1.7, Q3.1.5, Customization
2637 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.6: How can I have the window title area display the full path?
2639 I'd like to have the window title area display the full directory/name
2640 of the current buffer file and not just the name.
2642 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
2645 (setq frame-title-format "%S: %f")
2648 A more sophisticated title might be:
2651 (setq frame-title-format
2652 '("%S: " (buffer-file-name "%f"
2653 (dired-directory dired-directory "%b"))))
2656 That is, use the file name, or the dired-directory, or the buffer name.
2658 @node Q3.1.7, Q3.1.8, Q3.1.6, Customization
2659 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.7: @samp{xemacs -name junk} doesn't work?
2661 When I run @samp{xterm -name junk}, I get an xterm whose class name
2662 according to xprop, is @samp{junk}. This is the way it's supposed to
2663 work, I think. When I run @samp{xemacs -name junk} the class name is
2664 not set to @samp{junk}. It's still @samp{emacs}. What does
2665 @samp{xemacs -name} really do? The reason I ask is that my window
2666 manager (fvwm) will make a window sticky and I use XEmacs to read my
2667 mail. I want that XEmacs window to be sticky, without having to use the
2668 window manager's function to set the window sticky. What gives?
2670 @samp{xemacs -name} sets the application name for the program (that is,
2671 the thing which normally comes from @samp{argv[0]}). Using @samp{-name}
2672 is the same as making a copy of the executable with that new name. The
2673 @code{WM_CLASS} property on each frame is set to the frame-name, and the
2674 application-class. So, if you did @samp{xemacs -name FOO} and then
2675 created a frame named @var{BAR}, you'd get an X window with WM_CLASS =
2676 @code{( "BAR", "Emacs")}. However, the resource hierarchy for this
2680 Name: FOO .shell .container .BAR
2681 Class: Emacs .TopLevelEmacsShell.EmacsManager.EmacsFrame
2684 instead of the default
2687 Name: xemacs.shell .container .emacs
2688 Class: Emacs .TopLevelEmacsShell.EmacsManager.EmacsFrame
2692 It is arguable that the first element of WM_CLASS should be set to the
2693 application-name instead of the frame-name, but I think that's less
2694 flexible, since it does not give you the ability to have multiple frames
2695 with different WM_CLASS properties. Another possibility would be for
2696 the default frame name to come from the application name instead of
2697 simply being @samp{emacs}. However, at this point, making that change
2698 would be troublesome: it would mean that many users would have to make
2699 yet another change to their resource files (since the default frame name
2700 would suddenly change from @samp{emacs} to @samp{xemacs}, or whatever
2701 the executable happened to be named), so we'd rather avoid it.
2703 To make a frame with a particular name use:
2706 (make-frame '((name . "the-name")))
2709 @node Q3.1.8, Q3.2.1, Q3.1.7, Customization
2710 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.8: @samp{-iconic} doesn't work.
2712 When I start up XEmacs using @samp{-iconic} it doesn't work right.
2713 Using @samp{-unmapped} on the command line, and setting the
2714 @code{initiallyUnmapped} X Resource don't seem to help much either...
2716 @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing} writes:
2719 Ugh, this stuff is such an incredible mess that I've about given up
2720 getting it to work. The principal problem is numerous window-manager
2724 @node Q3.2.1, Q3.2.2, Q3.1.8, Customization
2725 @unnumberedsec 3.2: Textual Fonts & Colors
2726 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.1: How can I set color options from @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}?
2728 How can I set the most commonly used color options from my
2729 @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} instead of from my @file{.Xdefaults}?
2734 (set-face-background 'default "bisque") ; frame background
2735 (set-face-foreground 'default "black") ; normal text
2736 (set-face-background 'zmacs-region "red") ; When selecting w/
2738 (set-face-foreground 'zmacs-region "yellow")
2739 (set-face-font 'default "*courier-bold-r*120-100-100*")
2740 (set-face-background 'highlight "blue") ; Ie when selecting
2742 (set-face-foreground 'highlight "yellow")
2743 (set-face-background 'modeline "blue") ; Line at bottom
2745 (set-face-foreground 'modeline "white")
2746 (set-face-font 'modeline "*bold-r-normal*140-100-100*")
2747 (set-face-background 'isearch "yellow") ; When highlighting
2749 (set-face-foreground 'isearch "red")
2750 (setq x-pointer-foreground-color "black") ; Adds to bg color,
2752 (setq x-pointer-background-color "blue") ; This is color
2757 @node Q3.2.2, Q3.2.3, Q3.2.1, Customization
2758 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.2: How do I set the text, menu and modeline fonts?
2760 Note that you should use @samp{Emacs.} and not @samp{Emacs*} when
2761 setting face values.
2763 In @file{.Xdefaults}:
2766 Emacs.default.attributeFont: -*-*-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-m-*-*-*
2767 Emacs*menubar*font: fixed
2768 Emacs.modeline.attributeFont: fixed
2771 This is confusing because modeline is a face, and can be found listed
2772 with all faces in the current mode by using @kbd{M-x set-face-font
2773 (enter) ?}. It uses the face specification of @code{attributeFont},
2774 while menubar is a normal X thing that uses the specification
2775 @code{font}. With Motif it may be necessary to use @code{fontList}
2776 instead of @code{font}.
2778 @node Q3.2.3, Q3.2.4, Q3.2.2, Customization
2779 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.3: How can I set the colors when highlighting a region?
2781 How can I set the background/foreground colors when highlighting a
2784 You can change the face @code{zmacs-region} either in your
2788 Emacs.zmacs-region.attributeForeground: firebrick
2789 Emacs.zmacs-region.attributeBackground: lightseagreen
2792 or in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
2795 (set-face-background 'zmacs-region "red")
2796 (set-face-foreground 'zmacs-region "yellow")
2799 @node Q3.2.4, Q3.2.5, Q3.2.3, Customization
2800 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.4: How can I limit color map usage?
2802 I'm using Netscape (or another color grabber like XEmacs);
2803 is there any way to limit the number of available colors in the color map?
2805 Answer: No, but you can start Netscape before XEmacs, and it will use
2806 the closest available color if the colormap is full. You can also limit
2807 the number of colors Netscape uses, using the flags -mono, -ncols <#> or
2808 -install (for mono, limiting to <#> colors, or for using a private color
2811 If you have the money, another solution would be to use a truecolor or
2814 @node Q3.2.5, Q3.2.6, Q3.2.4, Customization
2815 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.5: My tty supports color, but XEmacs doesn't use them.
2817 XEmacs tries to automatically determine whether your tty supports color,
2818 but sometimes guesses wrong. In that case, you can make XEmacs Do The
2819 Right Thing using this Lisp code:
2822 (if (eq 'tty (device-type))
2823 (set-device-class nil 'color))
2826 @node Q3.2.6, Q3.3.1, Q3.2.5, Customization
2827 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.6: Can I have pixmap backgrounds in XEmacs?
2829 @email{jvillaci@@wahnsinnig.extreme.indiana.edu, Juan Villacis} writes:
2832 There are several ways to do it. For example, you could specify a
2833 default pixmap image to use in your @file{~/.Xresources}, e.g.,
2837 Emacs*EmacsFrame.default.attributeBackgroundPixmap: /path/to/image.xpm
2841 and then reload ~/.Xresources and restart XEmacs. Alternatively,
2842 since each face can have its own pixmap background, a better way
2843 would be to set a face's pixmap within your XEmacs init file, e.g.,
2846 (set-face-background-pixmap 'default "/path/to/image.xpm")
2847 (set-face-background-pixmap 'bold "/path/to/another_image.xpm")
2850 and so on. You can also do this interactively via @kbd{M-x edit-faces}.
2854 @node Q3.3.1, Q3.3.2, Q3.2.6, Customization
2855 @unnumberedsec 3.3: The Modeline
2856 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.1: How can I make the modeline go away?
2859 (set-specifier has-modeline-p nil)
2862 @c Starting with XEmacs 19.14 the modeline responds to mouse clicks, so if
2863 @c you haven't liked or used the modeline in the past, you might want to
2864 @c try the new version out.
2866 @node Q3.3.2, Q3.3.3, Q3.3.1, Customization
2867 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.2: How do you have XEmacs display the line number in the modeline?
2869 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file to
2870 display the line number:
2873 (line-number-mode 1)
2876 Use the following to display the column number:
2879 (column-number-mode 1)
2882 Or select from the @code{Options} menu
2886 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Basics->Line Number Mode}
2891 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Basics->Column Number Mode}
2893 Or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} editing-basics @key{RET}}.
2895 @node Q3.3.3, Q3.3.4, Q3.3.2, Customization
2896 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.3: How do I get XEmacs to put the time of day on the modeline?
2898 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file to
2905 See @code{Customize} from the @code{Options} menu for customization.
2907 @node Q3.3.4, Q3.3.5, Q3.3.3, Customization
2908 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.4: How do I turn off current chapter from AUC TeX modeline?
2910 With AUC TeX, fast typing is hard because the current chapter, section
2911 etc. are given in the modeline. How can I turn this off?
2913 It's not AUC TeX, it comes from @code{func-menu} in @file{func-menu.el}.
2915 @c Add this code to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} to turn it off:
2918 @c (setq fume-display-in-modeline-p nil)
2921 @c Or just add a hook to @code{TeX-mode-hook} to turn it off only for TeX
2925 @c (add-hook 'TeX-mode-hook
2926 @c '(lambda () (setq fume-display-in-modeline-p nil)))
2929 @email{dhughes@@origin-at.co.uk, David Hughes} writes:
2932 Try this; you'll still get the function name displayed in the modeline,
2933 but it won't attempt to keep track when you modify the file. To refresh
2934 when it gets out of synch, you simply need click on the @samp{Rescan
2935 Buffer} option in the function-menu.
2938 (setq-default fume-auto-rescan-buffer-p nil)
2942 @node Q3.3.5, Q3.4.1, Q3.3.4, Customization
2943 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.5: How can one change the modeline color based on the mode used?
2945 You can use something like the following:
2948 (add-hook 'lisp-mode-hook
2950 (set-face-background 'modeline "red" (current-buffer))))
2953 Then, when editing a Lisp file (i.e. when in Lisp mode), the modeline
2954 colors change from the default set in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}.
2955 The change will only be made in the buffer you just entered (which
2956 contains the Lisp file you are editing) and will not affect the modeline
2957 colors anywhere else.
2963 @item The hook is the mode name plus @code{-hook}. eg. c-mode-hook,
2964 c++-mode-hook, emacs-lisp-mode-hook (used for your
2965 @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} or a @file{xx.el} file),
2966 lisp-interaction-mode-hook (the @samp{*scratch*} buffer),
2967 text-mode-hook, etc.
2970 Be sure to use @code{add-hook}, not @code{(setq c-mode-hook xxxx)},
2971 otherwise you will erase anything that anybody has already put on the
2975 You can also do @code{(set-face-font 'modeline @var{font})},
2976 eg. @code{(set-face-font 'modeline "*bold-r-normal*140-100-100*"
2977 (current-buffer))} if you wish the modeline font to vary based on the
2981 There are additional modeline faces, @code{modeline-buffer-id},
2982 @code{modeline-mousable}, and @code{modeline-mousable-minor-mode}, which
2983 you may want to customize.
2985 @node Q3.4.1, Q3.4.2, Q3.3.5, Customization
2986 @unnumberedsec 3.4: Multiple Device Support
2987 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.4.1: How do I open a frame on another screen of my multi-headed display?
2989 Use the command @kbd{M-x make-frame-on-display}. This command is also
2990 on the File menu in the menubar.
2992 The command @code{make-frame-on-tty} also exists, which will establish a
2993 connection to any tty-like device. Opening the TTY devices should be
2994 left to @code{gnuclient}, though.
2996 @node Q3.4.2, Q3.5.1, Q3.4.1, Customization
2997 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.4.2: Can I really connect to a running XEmacs after calling up over a modem? How?
2999 Yes. Use @code{gnuclient -nw}. (Prior to 20.3, use the @code{gnuattach}
3000 program supplied with XEmacs instead.)
3002 Also @xref{Q5.0.12}.
3004 @node Q3.5.1, Q3.5.2, Q3.4.2, Customization
3005 @unnumberedsec 3.5: The Keyboard
3006 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.1: How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to keys?
3008 As an example, say you want the @kbd{paste} key on a Sun keyboard to
3009 insert the current Primary X selection at point. You can accomplish this
3013 (define-key global-map [f18] 'x-insert-selection)
3016 However, this only works if there is a current X selection (the
3017 selection will be highlighted). The functionality I like is for the
3018 @kbd{paste} key to insert the current X selection if there is one,
3019 otherwise insert the contents of the clipboard. To do this you need to
3020 pass arguments to @code{x-insert-selection}. This is done by wrapping
3021 the call in a 'lambda form:
3024 (global-set-key [f18]
3025 (lambda () (interactive) (x-insert-selection t nil)))
3028 This binds the f18 key to a @dfn{generic} functional object. The
3029 interactive spec is required because only interactive functions can be
3032 For the FAQ example you could use:
3035 (global-set-key [(control ?.)]
3036 (lambda () (interactive) (scroll-up 1)))
3037 (global-set-key [(control ?;)]
3038 (lambda () (interactive) (scroll-up -1)))
3041 This is fine if you only need a few functions within the lambda body.
3042 If you're doing more it's cleaner to define a separate function as in
3043 question 3.5.3 (@pxref{Q3.5.3}).
3045 @node Q3.5.2, Q3.5.3, Q3.5.1, Customization
3046 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.2: How can I stop down-arrow from adding empty lines to the bottom of my buffers?
3048 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file:
3051 (setq next-line-add-newlines nil)
3054 This has been the default setting in XEmacs for some time.
3056 @node Q3.5.3, Q3.5.4, Q3.5.2, Customization
3057 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.3: How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and down?
3059 Add the following (Thanks to @email{mly@@adoc.xerox.com, Richard Mlynarik} and
3060 @email{wayne@@zen.cac.stratus.com, Wayne Newberry}) to @file{.emacs}:
3063 (defun scroll-up-one-line ()
3067 (defun scroll-down-one-line ()
3071 (global-set-key [(control ?.)] 'scroll-up-one-line) ; C-.
3072 (global-set-key [(control ?;)] 'scroll-down-one-line) ; C-;
3075 The key point is that you can only bind simple functions to keys; you
3076 can not bind a key to a function that you're also passing arguments to.
3077 (@pxref{Q3.5.1} for a better answer).
3079 @node Q3.5.4, Q3.5.5, Q3.5.3, Customization
3080 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.4: Globally binding @kbd{Delete}?
3082 I cannot manage to globally bind my @kbd{Delete} key to something other
3083 than the default. How does one do this?
3085 Answer: The problem is that many modes explicitly bind @kbd{Delete}. To
3086 get around this, try the following:
3091 (message "You hit DELETE"))
3093 (define-key key-translation-map 'delete 'redirected-delete)
3094 (global-set-key 'redirected-delete 'foo)
3097 Also @xref{Q3.5.10}.
3099 @node Q3.5.5, Q3.5.6, Q3.5.4, Customization
3100 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.5: Scrolling one line at a time.
3102 Can the cursor keys scroll the screen a line at a time, rather than the
3103 default half page jump? I tend it to find it disorienting.
3108 (defun scroll-one-line-up (&optional arg)
3109 "Scroll the selected window up (forward in the text) one line (or N lines)."
3111 (scroll-up (or arg 1)))
3113 (defun scroll-one-line-down (&optional arg)
3114 "Scroll the selected window down (backward in the text) one line (or N)."
3116 (scroll-down (or arg 1)))
3118 (global-set-key [up] 'scroll-one-line-up)
3119 (global-set-key [down] 'scroll-one-line-down)
3122 The following will also work but will affect more than just the cursor
3123 keys (i.e. @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p}):
3126 (setq scroll-step 1)
3129 Starting with XEmacs-20.3 you can also change this with Customize.
3130 Select from the @code{Options} menu
3131 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Windows->Scroll Step...} or type
3132 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} windows @key{RET}}.
3134 @node Q3.5.6, Q3.5.7, Q3.5.5, Customization
3135 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.6: How to map @kbd{Help} key alone on Sun type4 keyboard?
3137 The following works in GNU Emacs 19:
3140 (global-set-key [help] 'help-command);; Help
3143 The following works in XEmacs with the addition of shift:
3146 (global-set-key [(shift help)] 'help-command);; Help
3149 But it doesn't work alone. This is in the file @file{PROBLEMS} which
3150 should have come with your XEmacs installation: @emph{Emacs ignores the
3151 @kbd{help} key when running OLWM}.
3153 OLWM grabs the @kbd{help} key, and retransmits it to the appropriate
3158 @code{XSendEvent}. Allowing Emacs to react to synthetic
3159 events is a security hole, so this is turned off by default. You can
3160 enable it by setting the variable @code{x-allow-sendevents} to t. You
3161 can also cause fix this by telling OLWM to not grab the help key, with
3162 the null binding @code{OpenWindows.KeyboardCommand.Help:}.
3164 @node Q3.5.7, Q3.5.8, Q3.5.6, Customization
3165 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.7: How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?
3167 One way is to use the package @code{x-compose}. Then you can use
3168 sequences like @kbd{Compose " a} to get ä, etc.
3170 Another way is to use the @code{iso-insert} package. Then you can use
3171 sequences like @kbd{C-x 8 " a} to get ä, etc.
3173 @email{glynn@@sensei.co.uk, Glynn Clements} writes:
3176 It depends upon your X server.
3178 Generally, the simplest way is to define a key as Multi_key with
3180 @c hey, show some respect, willya -- there's xkeycaps, isn't there? --
3183 xmodmap -e 'keycode 0xff20 = Multi_key'
3186 You will need to pick an appropriate keycode. Use xev to find out the
3187 keycodes for each key.
3189 [NB: On a `Windows' keyboard, recent versions of XFree86 automatically
3190 define the right `Windows' key as Multi_key'.]
3192 Once you have Multi_key defined, you can use e.g.
3201 Also, recent versions of XFree86 define various AltGr-<key>
3202 combinations as dead keys, i.e.
3204 AltGr [ => dead_diaeresis
3205 AltGr ] => dead_tilde
3206 AltGr ; => dead_acute
3210 Running @samp{xmodmap -pk} will list all of the defined keysyms.
3213 @node Q3.5.8, Q3.5.9, Q3.5.7, Customization
3214 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.8: [This question intentionally left blank]
3216 Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.
3218 @node Q3.5.9, Q3.5.10, Q3.5.8, Customization
3219 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.9: How do I make the Delete key delete forward?
3221 With XEmacs-20.2 use the @code{delbs} package:
3227 This will give you the functions @code{delbs-enable-delete-forward} to
3228 set things up, and @code{delbs-disable-delete-forward} to revert to
3229 ``normal'' behavior. Note that @code{delbackspace} package is obsolete.
3231 Starting with XEmacs-20.3 better solution is to set variable
3232 @code{delete-key-deletes-forward} to t. You can also change this with
3233 Customize. Select from the @code{Options} menu
3234 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Basics->Delete Key Deletes Forward} or
3235 type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} editing-basics @key{RET}}.
3239 @node Q3.5.10, Q3.5.11, Q3.5.9, Customization
3240 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.10: Can I turn on @dfn{sticky} modifier keys?
3242 Yes, with @code{(setq modifier-keys-are-sticky t)}. This will give the
3243 effect of being able to press and release Shift and have the next
3244 character typed come out in upper case. This will affect all the other
3245 modifier keys like Control and Meta as well.
3247 @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing} writes:
3250 One thing about the sticky modifiers is that if you move the mouse out
3251 of the frame and back in, it cancels all currently ``stuck'' modifiers.
3254 @node Q3.5.11, Q3.6.1, Q3.5.10, Customization
3255 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.5.11: How do I map the arrow keys?
3257 Say you want to map @kbd{C-@key{right}} to forward-word:
3259 @email{sds@@usa.net, Sam Steingold} writes:
3263 ; both XEmacs and Emacs
3264 (define-key global-map [(control right)] 'forward-word)
3269 (define-key global-map [C-right] 'forward-word)
3274 (define-key global-map (kbd "C-<right>") 'forward-word)
3280 @node Q3.6.1, Q3.6.2, Q3.5.11, Customization
3281 @unnumberedsec 3.6: The Cursor
3282 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.6.1: Is there a way to make the bar cursor thicker?
3284 I'd like to have the bar cursor a little thicker, as I tend to "lose" it
3287 For a 1 pixel bar cursor, use:
3293 For a 2 pixel bar cursor, use:
3296 (setq bar-cursor 'anything-else)
3299 Starting with XEmacs-20.3 you can also change these with Customize.
3300 Select from the @code{Options} menu
3301 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Display->Bar Cursor...} or type
3302 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} display @key{RET}}.
3304 You can use a color to make it stand out better:
3307 Emacs*cursorColor: Red
3310 @node Q3.6.2, Q3.6.3, Q3.6.1, Customization
3311 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.6.2: Is there a way to get back the block cursor?
3314 (setq bar-cursor nil)
3317 Starting with XEmacs 20.3 you can also change this with Customize.
3318 Select from the @code{Options} menu
3319 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Display->Bar Cursor...} or type
3320 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} display @key{RET}}.
3322 @node Q3.6.3, Q3.7.1, Q3.6.2, Customization
3323 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.6.3: Can I make the cursor blink?
3331 This function toggles between a steady cursor and a blinking cursor.
3332 You may also set this mode from the menu bar by selecting @samp{Options
3333 => Frame Appearance => Blinking Cursor}. Remember to save options.
3335 @node Q3.7.1, Q3.7.2, Q3.6.3, Customization
3336 @unnumberedsec 3.7: The Mouse and Highlighting
3337 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.7.1: How can I turn off Mouse pasting?
3339 I keep hitting the middle mouse button by accident and getting stuff
3340 pasted into my buffer so how can I turn this off?
3342 Here is an alternative binding, whereby the middle mouse button selects
3343 (but does not cut) the expression under the mouse. Clicking middle on a
3344 left or right paren will select to the matching one. Note that you can
3345 use @code{define-key} or @code{global-set-key}.
3348 (defun mouse-set-point-and-select (event)
3349 "Sets the point at the mouse location, then marks following form"
3351 (mouse-set-point event)
3353 (define-key global-map [button2] 'mouse-set-point-and-select)
3356 @node Q3.7.2, Q3.7.3, Q3.7.1, Customization
3357 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.7.2: How do I set control/meta/etc modifiers on mouse buttons?
3359 Use, for instance, @code{[(meta button1)]}. For example, here is a common
3360 setting for Common Lisp programmers who use the bundled @code{ilisp}
3361 package, whereby meta-button1 on a function name will find the file where
3362 the function name was defined, and put you at that location in the source
3365 [Inside a function that gets called by the lisp-mode-hook and
3369 (local-set-key [(meta button1)] 'edit-definitions-lisp)
3372 @node Q3.7.3, Q3.7.4, Q3.7.2, Customization
3373 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.7.3: Clicking the left button does not do anything in buffer list.
3375 I do @kbd{C-x C-b} to get a list of buffers and the entries get
3376 highlighted when I move the mouse over them but clicking the left mouse
3377 does not do anything.
3379 Use the middle mouse button.
3381 @node Q3.7.4, Q3.7.5, Q3.7.3, Customization
3382 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.7.4: How can I get a list of buffers when I hit mouse button 3?
3384 The following code will replace the default popup on button3:
3387 (global-set-key [button3] 'popup-buffer-menu)
3390 @node Q3.7.5, Q3.7.6, Q3.7.4, Customization
3391 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.7.5: Why does cut-and-paste not work between XEmacs and a cmdtool?
3393 We don't know. It's a bug. There does seem to be a work-around,
3394 however. Try running xclipboard first. It appears to fix the problem
3395 even if you exit it. (This should be mostly fixed in 19.13, but we
3396 haven't yet verified that).
3398 @node Q3.7.6, Q3.7.7, Q3.7.5, Customization
3399 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.7.6: How I can set XEmacs up so that it pastes where the text cursor is?
3401 By default XEmacs pastes X selections where the mouse pointer is. How
3404 Examine the function @code{mouse-yank}, by typing @kbd{C-h f mouse-yank
3407 To get XEmacs to paste at the text cursor, add this your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
3410 (setq mouse-yank-at-point t)
3413 Starting with XEmacs-20.2 you can also change this with Customize.
3414 Select from the @code{Options} menu
3415 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Mouse->Yank At Point...} or type
3416 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} mouse @key{RET}}.
3418 @node Q3.7.7, Q3.7.8, Q3.7.6, Customization
3419 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.7.7: How do I select a rectangular region?
3421 Just select the region normally, then use the rectangle commands (e.g.
3422 @code{kill-rectangle} on it. The region does not highlight as a
3423 rectangle, but the commands work just fine.
3425 To actually sweep out rectangular regions with the mouse you can use
3426 @code{mouse-track-do-rectangle} which is assigned to @kbd{M-button1}.
3427 Then use rectangle commands.
3429 You can also do the following to change default behavior to sweep out
3430 rectangular regions:
3433 (setq mouse-track-rectangle-p t)
3436 Starting with XEmacs-20.2 you can also change this with Customize.
3437 Select from the @code{Options} menu
3438 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Mouse->Track Rectangle...} or type
3439 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} mouse @key{RET}}.
3443 mouse-track-do-rectangle: (event)
3444 -- an interactive compiled Lisp function.
3445 Like `mouse-track' but selects rectangles instead of regions.
3448 @node Q3.7.8, Q3.8.1, Q3.7.7, Customization
3449 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.7.8: Why does @kbd{M-w} take so long?
3451 It actually doesn't. It leaves the region visible for a second so that
3452 you can see what area is being yanked. If you start working, though, it
3453 will immediately complete its operation. In other words, it will only
3454 delay for a second if you let it.
3456 @node Q3.8.1, Q3.8.2, Q3.7.8, Customization
3457 @unnumberedsec 3.8: The Menubar and Toolbar
3458 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.8.1: How do I get rid of the menu (or menubar)?
3460 @c If you are running XEmacs 19.13 or earlier, add this command to your
3461 @c @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}.
3464 @c (set-menubar nil)
3467 @c Starting with XEmacs 19.14 the preferred method is:
3470 (set-specifier menubar-visible-p nil)
3473 @node Q3.8.2, Q3.8.3, Q3.8.1, Customization
3474 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.8.2: Can I customize the basic menubar?
3476 For an extensive menubar, add this line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
3479 (load "big-menubar")
3482 If you'd like to write your own, this file provides as good a set of
3483 examples as any to start from. The file is located in
3484 @file{lisp/packages/big-menubar.el} in the XEmacs installation
3487 @node Q3.8.3, Q3.8.4, Q3.8.2, Customization
3488 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.8.3: How do I control how many buffers are listed in the menu @code{Buffers List}?
3490 Add the following to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} (suit to fit):
3493 (setq buffers-menu-max-size 20)
3496 For no limit, use an argument of @samp{nil}.
3498 Starting with XEmacs-20.3 you can also change this with Customize.
3499 Select from the @code{Options} menu
3500 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Menu->Buffers Menu->Max Size...} or
3501 type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} buffers-menu @key{RET}}.
3503 @node Q3.8.4, Q3.8.5, Q3.8.3, Customization
3504 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.8.4: Resources like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} are not working?
3506 I am trying to use a resource like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} to set the
3507 font of the menubar but it's not working.
3509 If you are using the real Motif menubar, this resource is not
3510 recognized; you have to say:
3513 Emacs*menubar*fontList: FONT
3516 If you are using the Lucid menubar, the former resource will be
3517 recognized only if the latter resource is unset. This means that the
3527 Emacs*menubar*font: FONT
3530 even though the latter is more specific.
3532 @node Q3.8.5, Q3.9.1, Q3.8.4, Customization
3533 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.8.5: How can I bind a key to a function to toggle the toolbar?
3538 (defun my-toggle-toolbar ()
3540 (set-specifier default-toolbar-visible-p
3541 (not (specifier-instance default-toolbar-visible-p))))
3542 (global-set-key "\C-xT" 'my-toggle-toolbar)
3545 There are redisplay bugs in 19.14 that may make the preceding result in
3546 a messed-up display, especially for frames with multiple windows. You
3547 may need to resize the frame before XEmacs completely realizes the
3548 toolbar is really gone.
3550 Thanks to @email{martin@@xemacs.org, Martin Buchholz} for the correct
3553 @node Q3.9.1, Q3.9.2, Q3.8.5, Customization
3554 @unnumberedsec 3.9: Scrollbars
3555 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.9.1: How can I disable the scrollbar?
3557 To disable them for all frames, add the following line to
3558 your @file{.Xdefaults}:
3561 Emacs.scrollBarWidth: 0
3564 Or select from the @code{Options} menu @code{Frame Appearance->Scrollbars}.
3565 Remember to save options.
3567 To turn the scrollbar off on a per-frame basis, use the following
3571 (set-specifier scrollbar-width 0 (selected-frame))
3574 You can actually turn the scrollbars on at any level you want by
3575 substituting for (selected-frame) in the above command. For example, to
3576 turn the scrollbars off only in a single buffer:
3579 (set-specifier scrollbar-width 0 (current-buffer))
3582 @c In XEmacs versions prior to 19.14, you had to use the hairier construct:
3585 @c (set-specifier scrollbar-width (cons (selected-frame) 0))
3588 @node Q3.9.2, Q3.9.3, Q3.9.1, Customization
3589 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.9.2: How can one use resources to change scrollbar colors?
3591 Here's a recap of how to use resources to change your scrollbar colors:
3596 Emacs*XmScrollBar.Background: skyblue
3597 Emacs*XmScrollBar.troughColor: lightgray
3601 Emacs*Scrollbar.Foreground: skyblue
3602 Emacs*Scrollbar.Background: lightgray
3605 Note the capitalization of @code{Scrollbar} for the Athena widget.
3607 @node Q3.9.3, Q3.9.4, Q3.9.2, Customization
3608 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.9.3: Moving the scrollbar can move the point; can I disable this?
3610 When I move the scrollbar in an XEmacs window, it moves the point as
3611 well, which should not be the default behavior. Is this a bug or a
3612 feature? Can I disable it?
3614 The current behavior is a feature, not a bug. Point remains at the same
3615 buffer position as long as that position does not scroll off the screen.
3616 In that event, point will end up in either the upper-left or lower-left
3619 This cannot be changed.
3621 @node Q3.9.4, Q3.10.1, Q3.9.3, Customization
3622 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.9.4: How can I turn off automatic horizontal scrolling in specific modes?
3624 Do @code{(setq truncate-lines t)} in the mode-hooks for any modes
3625 in which you want lines truncated.
3627 More precisely: If @code{truncate-lines} is nil, horizontal scrollbars
3628 will never appear. Otherwise, they will appear only if the value of
3629 @code{scrollbar-height} for that buffer/window/etc. is non-zero. If you
3633 (set-specifier scrollbar-height 0)
3636 then horizontal scrollbars will not appear in truncated buffers unless
3637 the package specifically asked for them.
3639 @node Q3.10.1, Q3.10.2, Q3.9.4, Customization
3640 @unnumberedsec 3.10: Text Selections
3641 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.10.1: How can I turn off or change highlighted selections?
3643 The @code{zmacs} mode allows for what some might call gratuitous
3644 highlighting for selected regions (either by setting mark or by using
3645 the mouse). This is the default behavior. To turn off, add the
3646 following line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file:
3649 (setq zmacs-regions nil)
3652 Starting with XEmacs-20.2 you can also change this with Customize. Select
3653 from the @code{Options} menu @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Basics->Zmacs
3654 Regions} or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} editing-basics @key{RET}}.
3656 To change the face for selection, look at @code{Options->Customize} on
3659 @node Q3.10.2, Q3.10.3, Q3.10.1, Customization
3660 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.10.2: How do I get that typing on an active region removes it?
3662 I want to change things so that if I select some text and start typing,
3663 the typed text replaces the selected text, similar to Motif.
3665 You want to use something called @dfn{pending delete}. Pending delete
3666 is what happens when you select a region (with the mouse or keyboard)
3667 and you press a key to replace the selected region by the key you typed.
3668 Usually backspace kills the selected region.
3670 To get this behavior, add the following lines to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
3674 ((fboundp 'turn-on-pending-delete)
3675 (turn-on-pending-delete))
3676 ((fboundp 'pending-delete-on)
3677 (pending-delete-on t)))
3680 Note that this will work with both Backspace and Delete. This code is a
3681 tad more complicated than it has to be for XEmacs in order to make it
3684 @node Q3.10.3, Q3.10.4, Q3.10.2, Customization
3685 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.10.3: Can I turn off the highlight during isearch?
3687 I do not like my text highlighted while I am doing isearch as I am not
3688 able to see what's underneath. How do I turn it off?
3690 Put the following in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
3693 (setq isearch-highlight nil)
3696 Starting with XEmacs-20.2 you can also change this with Customize. Type
3697 @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET} isearch-highlight @key{RET}}.
3699 Note also that isearch-highlight affects query-replace and ispell.
3700 Instead of disabling isearch-highlight you may find that a better
3701 solution consists of customizing the @code{isearch} face.
3703 @node Q3.10.4, Q3.10.5, Q3.10.3, Customization
3704 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.10.4: How do I turn off highlighting after @kbd{C-x C-p} (mark-page)?
3706 Put this in your @code{.emacs}:
3709 (setq zmacs-regions nil)
3712 @strong{Warning: This command turns off all region highlighting.}
3714 Also @xref{Q3.10.1}.
3716 @node Q3.10.5, , Q3.10.4, Customization
3717 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.10.5: The region disappears when I hit the end of buffer while scrolling.
3719 This has been fixed by default starting with XEmacs-20.3.
3721 With older versions you can turn this feature (if it indeed is a feature)
3725 (defadvice scroll-up (around scroll-up freeze)
3727 (let ((zmacs-region-stays t))
3731 (end-of-buffer (goto-char (point-max))))
3734 (defadvice scroll-down (around scroll-down freeze)
3736 (let ((zmacs-region-stays t))
3740 (beginning-of-buffer (goto-char (point-min))))
3744 Thanks to @email{raman@@adobe.com, T. V. Raman} for assistance in deriving this
3747 @node Subsystems, Miscellaneous, Customization, Top
3748 @unnumbered 4 Major Subsystems
3750 This is part 4 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
3751 section is devoted to major XEmacs subsystems.
3754 Reading Mail with VM:
3755 * Q4.0.1:: How do I set up VM to retrieve remote mail using POP?
3756 * Q4.0.2:: How do I get VM to filter mail for me?
3757 * Q4.0.3:: How can I get VM to automatically check for new mail?
3758 * Q4.0.4:: [This question intentionally left blank]
3759 * Q4.0.5:: How do I get my outgoing mail archived?
3760 * Q4.0.6:: I have various addresses at which I receive mail. How can I tell VM to ignore them when doing a "reply-all"?
3761 * Q4.0.7:: Is there a mailing list or FAQ for VM?
3762 * Q4.0.8:: Remote mail reading with VM.
3763 * Q4.0.9:: rmail or VM gets an error incorporating new mail.
3764 * Q4.0.10:: How do I make VM stay in a single frame?
3765 * Q4.0.11:: How do I make VM or mh-e display graphical smilies?
3766 * Q4.0.12:: Customization of VM not covered in the manual or here.
3768 Web browsing with W3:
3769 * Q4.1.1:: What is W3?
3770 * Q4.1.2:: How do I run W3 from behind a firewall?
3771 * Q4.1.3:: Is it true that W3 supports style sheets and tables?
3773 Reading Netnews and Mail with Gnus:
3774 * Q4.2.1:: GNUS, (ding) Gnus, Gnus 5, September Gnus, Red Gnus,argh!
3775 * Q4.2.2:: [This question intentionally left blank]
3776 * Q4.2.3:: How do I make Gnus stay within a single frame?
3777 * Q4.2.4:: How do I customize the From: line?
3780 * Q4.3.1:: How can I read and/or compose MIME messages?
3781 * Q4.3.2:: What is TM and where do I get it?
3782 * Q4.3.3:: Why isn't this @code{movemail} program working?
3783 * Q4.3.4:: Movemail is also distributed by Netscape? Can that cause problems?
3784 * Q4.3.5:: Where do I find pstogif (required by tm)?
3786 Sparcworks, EOS, and WorkShop:
3787 * Q4.4.1:: What is SPARCworks, EOS, and WorkShop
3788 * Q4.4.2:: How do I start the Sun Workshop support in XEmacs 21?
3791 * Q4.5.1:: What is/was Energize?
3794 * Q4.6.1:: What is Infodock?
3796 Other Unbundled Packages:
3797 * Q4.7.1:: What is AUC TeX? Where do you get it?
3798 * Q4.7.2:: Are there any Emacs Lisp Spreadsheets?
3799 * Q4.7.3:: [This question intentionally left blank]
3800 * Q4.7.4:: Problems installing AUC TeX
3801 * Q4.7.5:: Is there a reason for an Emacs package not to be included in XEmacs?
3802 * Q4.7.6:: Is there a MatLab mode?
3805 @node Q4.0.1, Q4.0.2, Subsystems, Subsystems
3806 @unnumberedsec 4.0: Reading Mail with VM
3807 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.1: How do I set up VM to retrieve mail from a remote site using POP?
3809 Use @code{vm-spool-files}, like this for example:
3812 (setq vm-spool-files '("/var/spool/mail/wing"
3813 "netcom23.netcom.com:110:pass:wing:MYPASS"))
3816 Of course substitute your actual password for MYPASS.
3818 @node Q4.0.2, Q4.0.3, Q4.0.1, Subsystems
3819 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.2: How do I get VM to filter mail for me?
3821 One possibility is to use procmail to split your mail before it gets to
3822 VM. I prefer this personally, since there are many strange and
3823 wonderful things one can do with procmail. Procmail may be found at
3824 @uref{ftp://ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/pub/packages/procmail/}.
3826 Also see the Mail Filtering FAQ at:
3830 @uref{ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/mail/filtering-faq}.
3832 @c <URL:http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/mail/filtering-faq/faq.html>
3835 @node Q4.0.3, Q4.0.4, Q4.0.2, Subsystems
3836 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.3: How can I get VM to automatically check for new mail?
3838 @email{turner@@lanl.gov, John Turner} writes:
3844 (setq vm-auto-get-new-mail 60)
3848 @node Q4.0.4, Q4.0.5, Q4.0.3, Subsystems
3849 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.4: [This question intentionally left blank]
3851 Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.
3853 @node Q4.0.5, Q4.0.6, Q4.0.4, Subsystems
3854 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.5: How do I get my outgoing mail archived?
3857 (setq mail-archive-file-name "~/outbox")
3860 @node Q4.0.6, Q4.0.7, Q4.0.5, Subsystems
3861 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.6: I have various addresses at which I receive mail. How can I tell VM to ignore them when doing a "reply-all"?
3863 Set @code{vm-reply-ignored-addresses} to a list, like
3866 (setq vm-reply-ignored-addresses
3867 '("wing@@nuspl@@nvwls.cc.purdue.edu,netcom[0-9]*.netcom.com"
3868 "wing@@netcom.com" "wing@@xemacs.org"))
3871 Note that each string is a regular expression.
3873 @node Q4.0.7, Q4.0.8, Q4.0.6, Subsystems
3874 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.7: Is there a mailing list or FAQ for VM?
3876 A FAQ for VM exists at @uref{http://www.cyberpass.net/~gorkab/vmfaq.htm}.
3878 VM has its own newsgroups gnu.emacs.vm.info and gnu.emacs.vm.bug.
3880 @node Q4.0.8, Q4.0.9, Q4.0.7, Subsystems
3881 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.8: Remote mail reading with VM.
3883 My mailbox lives at the office on a big honkin server. My regular INBOX
3884 lives on my honkin desktop machine. I now can PPP to the office from
3885 home which is far from honking... I'd like to be able to read mail at
3886 home without storing it here and I'd like to use xemacs and VM at
3887 home... Is there a recommended setup?
3889 @email{nuspl@@nvwls.cc.purdue.edu, Joseph J. Nuspl Jr.} writes:
3892 There are several ways to do this.
3896 Set your display to your home machine and run dxpc or one of the other X
3900 NFS mount your desktop machine on your home machine and modify your pop
3901 command on your home machine to rsh to your desktop machine and actually
3905 Run a POP server on your desktop machine as well and do a sort of two
3910 @email{wmperry@@monolith.spry.com, William Perry} adds:
3913 Or you could run a pop script periodically on your desktop machine, and
3914 just use ange-ftp or NFS to get to your mailbox. I used to do this all
3915 the time back at IU.
3918 @node Q4.0.9, Q4.0.10, Q4.0.8, Subsystems
3919 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.9: rmail or VM gets an error incorporating new mail.
3921 Quoting the XEmacs PROBLEMS file:
3924 rmail and VM get new mail from @file{/usr/spool/mail/$USER} using a
3925 program called @code{movemail}. This program interlocks with
3926 @code{/bin/mail} using the protocol defined by @code{/bin/mail}.
3928 There are two different protocols in general use. One of them uses the
3929 @code{flock} system call. The other involves creating a lock file;
3930 @code{movemail} must be able to write in @file{/usr/spool/mail} in order
3931 to do this. You control which one is used by defining, or not defining,
3932 the macro @code{MAIL_USE_FLOCK} in @file{config.h} or the m- or s- file
3935 @strong{IF YOU DON'T USE THE FORM OF INTERLOCKING THAT IS NORMAL ON YOUR
3936 SYSTEM, YOU CAN LOSE MAIL!}
3938 If your system uses the lock file protocol, and fascist restrictions
3939 prevent ordinary users from writing the lock files in
3940 @file{/usr/spool/mail}, you may need to make @code{movemail} setgid to a
3941 suitable group such as @samp{mail}. You can use these commands (as
3949 If your system uses the lock file protocol, and fascist restrictions
3950 prevent ordinary users from writing the lock files in
3951 @file{/usr/spool/mail}, you may need to make @code{movemail} setgid to a
3952 suitable group such as @code{mail}. To do this, use the following
3953 commands (as root) after doing the make install.
3960 Installation normally copies movemail from the build directory to an
3961 installation directory which is usually under @file{/usr/local/lib}.
3962 The installed copy of @code{movemail} is usually in the directory
3963 @file{/usr/local/lib/emacs/VERSION/TARGET}. You must change the group
3964 and mode of the installed copy; changing the group and mode of the build
3965 directory copy is ineffective.
3968 @node Q4.0.10, Q4.0.11, Q4.0.9, Subsystems
3969 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.10: How do I make VM stay in a single frame?
3971 John.@email{Cooper@@Eng.Sun.COM, John S Cooper} writes:
3975 ; Don't use multiple frames
3976 (setq vm-frame-per-composition nil)
3977 (setq vm-frame-per-folder nil)
3978 (setq vm-frame-per-edit nil)
3979 (setq vm-frame-per-summary nil)
3983 @node Q4.0.11, Q4.0.12, Q4.0.10, Subsystems
3984 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.11: How do I make VM or mh-e display graphical smilies?
3986 For mh-e use the following:
3989 (add-hook 'mh-show-mode-hook '(lambda ()
3990 (smiley-region (point-min)
3994 @email{bill@@carpenter.ORG, WJCarpenter} writes:
3995 For VM use the following:
3997 (autoload 'smiley-region "smiley" nil t)
3998 (add-hook 'vm-select-message-hook
4000 (smiley-region (point-min)
4004 For tm use the following:
4006 (autoload 'smiley-buffer "smiley" nil t)
4007 (add-hook 'mime-viewer/plain-text-preview-hook 'smiley-buffer)
4010 @node Q4.0.12, Q4.1.1, Q4.0.11, Subsystems
4011 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.12: Customization of VM not covered in the manual, or here.
4013 @email{boffi@@hp735.stru.polimi.it, giacomo boffi} writes:
4016 The meta-answer is to look into the file @file{vm-vars.el}, in the vm
4017 directory of the lisp library.
4019 @file{vm-vars.el} contains, initializes and carefully describes, with
4020 examples of usage, the plethora of user options that @emph{fully}
4021 control VM's behavior.
4023 Enter vm-vars, @code{forward-search} for toolbar, find the variables
4024 that control the toolbar placement, appearance, existence, copy to your
4025 @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} or @file{.vm} and modify according to the
4026 detailed instructions.
4028 The above also applies to all the various features of VM: search for
4029 some keywords, maybe the first you conjure isn't appropriate, find the
4030 appropriate variables, copy and experiment.
4033 @node Q4.1.1, Q4.1.2, Q4.0.12, Subsystems
4034 @unnumberedsec 4.1: Web browsing with W3
4035 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.1.1: What is W3?
4037 W3 is an advanced graphical browser written in Emacs lisp that runs on
4038 XEmacs. It has full support for cascaded style sheets, and more...
4040 It has a home web page at
4041 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/elisp/w3/docs.html}.
4043 @node Q4.1.2, Q4.1.3, Q4.1.1, Subsystems
4044 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.1.2: How do I run W3 from behind a firewall?
4046 There is a long, well-written, detailed section in the W3 manual that
4047 describes how to do this. Look in the section entitled "Firewalls".
4049 @node Q4.1.3, Q4.2.1, Q4.1.2, Subsystems
4050 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.1.3: Is it true that W3 supports style sheets and tables?
4052 Yes, and much more. W3, as distributed with the latest XEmacs is a
4053 full-featured web browser.
4055 @node Q4.2.1, Q4.2.2, Q4.1.3, Subsystems
4056 @unnumberedsec 4.2: Reading Netnews and Mail with Gnus
4057 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.2.1: GNUS, (ding) Gnus, Gnus 5, September Gnus, Red Gnus, Quassia Gnus, argh!
4059 The Gnus numbering issues are not meant for mere mortals to know them.
4060 If you feel you @emph{must} enter the muddy waters of Gnus, visit the
4061 excellent FAQ, maintained by Justin Sheehy, at:
4064 @uref{http://www.ccs.neu.edu/software/contrib/gnus/}
4067 See also Gnus home page
4069 @uref{http://www.gnus.org/}
4072 @node Q4.2.2, Q4.2.3, Q4.2.1, Subsystems
4073 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.2.2: This question intentionally left blank.
4075 Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.
4077 @node Q4.2.3, Q4.2.4, Q4.2.2, Subsystems
4078 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.2.3: How do I make Gnus stay within a single frame?
4080 The toolbar code to start Gnus opens the new frame---and it's a feature
4081 rather than a bug. If you don't like it, but would still like to click
4082 on the seemly icon, use the following code:
4085 (defun toolbar-news ()
4089 It will redefine the callback function of the icon to just call
4090 @code{gnus}, without all the fancy frame stuff.
4092 @node Q4.2.4, Q4.3.1, Q4.2.3, Subsystems
4093 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.2.4: How do I customize the From: line?
4095 How do I change the @code{From:} line? I have set gnus-user-from-line
4098 Gail Gurman <gail.gurman@@sybase.com>
4100 @noindent , but XEmacs Gnus doesn't use
4103 Gail Mara Gurman @email{gailg@@deall}
4105 @noindent and then complains
4106 that it's incorrect. Also, as you perhaps can see, my Message-ID is
4107 screwy. How can I change that?
4109 @email{larsi@@ifi.uio.no, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen} writes:
4112 Set @code{user-mail-address} to @samp{gail.gurman@@sybase.com} or
4113 @code{mail-host-address} to @samp{sybase.com}.
4116 @node Q4.3.1, Q4.3.2, Q4.2.4, Subsystems
4117 @unnumberedsec 4.3: Other Mail & News
4118 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.3.1: How can I read and/or compose MIME messages?
4121 VM supports MIME natively.
4123 You probably want to use the Tools for MIME (tm). @xref{Q4.3.2}, for
4126 @email{trey@@cs.berkeley.edu, Trey Jackson} has an Emacs & MIME web page at
4130 @uref{http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/~trey/emacs/mime.html}.
4133 Another possibility is RMIME. You may find RMIME at
4137 @uref{http://www.cinti.net/~rmoody/rmime/index.html}.
4140 @node Q4.3.2, Q4.3.3, Q4.3.1, Subsystems
4141 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.3.2: What is TM and where do I get it?
4143 TM stands for @dfn{Tools for MIME} and not Tiny MIME. TM integrates
4144 with all major XEmacs packages like Gnus (all flavors), VM, MH-E, and
4145 mailcrypt. It provides totally transparent and trouble-free MIME
4146 support. When appropriate a message will be decoded in place in an
4149 TM now comes as a package with XEmacs 19.16 and XEmacs 20.2.
4151 TM was written by @email{morioka@@jaist.ac.jp, MORIOKA Tomohiko} and
4152 @email{shuhei-k@@jaist.ac.jp, KOBAYASHI
4155 It is based on the work of @email{umerin@@mse.kyutech.ac.jp, UMEDA
4156 Masanobu}, the original writer of GNUS.
4158 The following information is from the @file{README}:
4160 @dfn{tm} is a MIME package for GNU Emacs.
4161 tm has following functions:
4164 @item MIME style multilingual header.
4165 @item MIME message viewer (mime/viewer-mode).
4166 @item MIME message composer (mime/editor-mode).
4167 @item MIME extenders for mh-e, GNUS, RMAIL and VM.
4170 tm is available from following anonymous ftp sites:
4172 @comment @item @uref{ftp://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/GNU/elisp/mime/} (Japan).
4173 @comment @item @uref{ftp://ftp.nis.co.jp/pub/gnu/emacs-lisp/tm/} (Japan).
4174 @comment @c The host above is unknown.
4175 @comment @item @uref{ftp://ftp.nisiq.net/pub/gnu/emacs-lisp/tm/} (US).
4176 @comment @item @uref{ftp://ftp.miranova.com/pub/gnus/jaist.ac.jp/} (US).
4177 @item @uref{ftp://ftp.unicamp.br/pub/mail/mime/tm/} (Brasil).
4178 @item @uref{ftp://ftp.th-darmstadt.de/pub/editors/GNU-Emacs/lisp/mime/} (Germany).
4179 @item @uref{ftp://ftp.tnt.uni-hannover.de/pub/editors/xemacs/contrib/} (Germany).
4182 Don't let the installation procedure & instructions stop you from trying
4183 this package out---it's much simpler than it looks, and once installed,
4186 @node Q4.3.3, Q4.3.4, Q4.3.2, Subsystems
4187 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.3.3: Why isn't this @code{movemail} program working?
4189 Ben Wing @email{ben@@xemacs.org} writes:
4192 It wasn't chown'ed/chmod'd correctly.
4195 @node Q4.3.4, Q4.3.5, Q4.3.3, Subsystems
4196 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.3.4: Movemail is also distributed by Netscape? Can that cause problems?
4198 @email{steve@@xemacs.org, Steve Baur} writes:
4201 Yes. Always use the movemail installed with your XEmacs. Failure to do
4202 so can result in lost mail.
4205 Please refer to @email{jwz@@jwz.org, Jamie Zawinski's} notes at
4209 @uref{http://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/2.0/relnotes/demo/movemail.html}.
4210 In particular, this document will show you how to make Netscape use the
4211 version of movemail configured for your system by the person who built
4214 @node Q4.3.5, Q4.4.1, Q4.3.4, Subsystems
4215 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.3.5: Where do I find pstogif (required by tm)?
4217 pstogif is part of the latex2html package.
4219 @email{vroonhof@@math.ethz.ch, Jan Vroonhof} writes:
4221 latex2html is best found at the CTAN hosts and their mirrors
4226 @file{tex-archive/support/latex2html}.
4231 @item @uref{ftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/support/latex2html/}.
4232 @item @uref{ftp://ftp.dante.de/tex-archive/support/latex2html/}.
4235 There is a good mirror at ftp.cdrom.com;
4239 @uref{ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/tex/ctan/support/latex2html/}.
4241 @node Q4.4.1, Q4.4.2, Q4.3.5, Subsystems
4242 @unnumberedsec 4.4: Sparcworks, EOS, and WorkShop
4243 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.4.1: What is SPARCworks, EOS, and WorkShop?
4245 @email{turner@@lanl.gov, John Turner} writes:
4248 SPARCworks is SunSoft's development environment, comprising compilers
4249 (C, C++, FORTRAN 77, Fortran 90, Ada, and Pascal), a debugger, and other
4250 tools such as TeamWare (for configuration management), MakeTool, etc.
4253 See @uref{http://www.sun.com/software/Developer-products/}
4256 EOS stands for "Era on SPARCworks", but I don't know what Era stands
4259 EOS is the integration of XEmacs with the SPARCworks debugger. It
4260 allows one to use an XEmacs frame to view code (complete with
4261 fontification, etc.), set breakpoints, print variables, etc., while
4262 using the SPARCworks debugger. It works very well and I use it all the
4265 @email{cthomp@@xemacs.org, Chuck Thompson} writes:
4268 Era stood for "Emacs Rewritten Again". It was what we were calling the
4269 modified version of Lucid Emacs for Sun when I was dragged, er, allowed
4270 to work on this wonderful editor.
4273 @email{martin@@xemacs.org, Martin Buchholz} writes:
4276 EOS is being replaced with a new graphical development environment
4277 called Sun WorkShop, which is currently (07/96) in Alpha Test. For more
4282 @uref{http://www.sun.com/software/Products/Developer-products}.
4285 @node Q4.4.2, Q4.5.1, Q4.4.1, Subsystems
4286 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.4.2: How do I start the Sun Workshop support in XEmacs 21?
4288 Add the switch ---with-workshop to the configure command when building
4289 XEmacs and put the following in one of your startup files
4290 (e.g. site-start.el or .emacs):
4293 (when (featurep 'tooltalk)
4294 (load "tooltalk-macros")
4295 (load "tooltalk-util")
4296 (load "tooltalk-init"))
4297 (when (featurep 'sparcworks)
4298 (load "sunpro-init")
4301 (load "annotations")
4305 If you are not using the latest Workshop (5.0) you have to apply the
4309 --- /opt/SUNWspro/lib/eserve.el.ORIG Fri May 14 15:23:26 1999
4310 +++ /opt/SUNWspro/lib/eserve.el Fri May 14 15:24:54 1999
4311 @@@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@@@
4312 (defvar running-xemacs nil "t if we're running XEmacs")
4313 (defvar running-emacs nil "t if we're running GNU Emacs 19")
4315 -(if (string-match "^\\(19\\|20\\)\..*\\(XEmacs\\|Lucid\\)" emacs-version)
4316 +(if (string-match "\\(XEmacs\\|Lucid\\)" emacs-version)
4317 (setq running-xemacs t)
4318 (setq running-emacs t))
4323 @node Q4.5.1, Q4.6.1, Q4.4.2, Subsystems
4324 @unnumberedsec 4.5: Energize
4325 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.5.1: What is/was Energize?
4327 @email{gray@@meteor.harlequin.com, David N Gray} writes:
4329 The files in @file{lisp/energize} are to enable Emacs to interface with
4330 the "Energize Programming System", a C and C++ development environment,
4331 which was a product of Lucid, Inc. Tragically, Lucid went out of
4332 business in 1994, so although Energize is still a great system, if you
4333 don't already have it, there isn't any way to get it now. (Unless you
4334 happen to be in Japan; INS Engineering may still be selling it there.
4335 Tartan bought the rights to sell it in the rest of the world, but never
4339 @node Q4.6.1, Q4.7.1, Q4.5.1, Subsystems
4340 @unnumberedsec 4.6: Infodock
4341 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.6.1: What is Infodock?
4343 InfoDock is an integrated productivity toolset, mainly aimed at
4344 technical people. It is developed and supported by InfoDock
4345 Associates, a firm that offers custom support and development
4346 for InfoDock, XEmacs and GNU Emacs. ( @uref{http://www.infodock.com},
4347 @email{info@@infodock.com}, +1 408 243 3300).
4349 InfoDock is built atop the XEmacs variant of GNU Emacs and so has all of
4350 the power of Emacs, but with an easier to use and more comprehensive
4351 menu-based user interface. The bottom portion of this text describes
4352 how it differs from XEmacs and GNU Emacs from the Free Software
4355 InfoDock is aimed at people who want a free, turn-key productivity
4356 environment. Although InfoDock is customizable, it is not intended for
4357 people who like basic versions of Emacs which need to be customized
4358 extensively for local use; standard Emacs distributions are better for
4359 such uses. InfoDock is for those people who want a complete,
4360 pre-customized environment in one package, which they need not touch
4361 more than once or twice a year to update to new revisions.
4363 InfoDock is pre-built for SPARC SunOS/Solaris systems, PA-RISC HP-UX,
4364 and Intel Linux systems. It is intended for use on a color display,
4365 although most features will work on monochrome monitors. Simply unpack
4366 InfoDock according to the instructions in the ID-INSTALL file and you
4369 The InfoDock Manual is concise, yet sufficient as a user guide for users
4370 who have never used an Emacs-type editor before. For users who are
4371 already familiar with Emacs, it supplements the information in the GNU
4374 InfoDock menus are much more extensive and more mature than standard
4375 Emacs menus. Each menu offers a @samp{Manual} item which displays
4376 documentation associated with the menu's functions.
4379 Four types of menubars are provided:
4382 An extensive menubar providing access to global InfoDock commands.
4384 Mode-specific menubars tailored to the current major mode.
4386 A simple menubar for basic editing to help novices get started with InfoDock.
4388 The standard XEmacs menubar.
4391 Most modes also include mode-specific popup menus. Additionally, region and
4392 rectangle popup menus are included.
4394 @samp{Hyperbole}, the everyday information manager, is a core part of
4395 InfoDock. This provides context-sensitive mouse keys, a rolodex-type
4396 contact manager, programmable hypertext buttons, and an autonumbered
4397 outliner with embedded hyperlink anchors.
4399 The @samp{OO-Browser}, a multi-language object-oriented code browser, is a
4400 standard part of InfoDock.
4402 InfoDock saves a more extensive set of user options than other Emacs
4405 InfoDock inserts a useful file header in many file types, showing the
4406 author, summary, and last modification time of each file. A summary
4407 program can then be used to summarize all of the files in a directory,
4408 for easy MANIFEST file creation.
4410 Your working set of buffers is automatically saved and restored (if you
4411 answer yes to a prompt) between InfoDock sessions.
4413 Refined color choices for code highlighting are provided for both dark and
4414 light background display frames.
4416 The @kbd{C-z} key prefix performs frame-based commands which parallel the
4417 @kbd{C-x} key prefix for window-based commands.
4419 The Smart Menu system is included for producing command menus on dumb
4422 Lisp libraries are better categorized according to function.
4424 Extensions and improvements to many areas of Emacs are included, such as:
4425 paragraph filling, mail reading with Rmail, shell handling, outlining, code
4426 highlighting and browsing, and man page browsing.
4428 InfoDock questions, answers and discussion should go to the mail list
4432 @email{infodock@@infodock.com}. Use
4433 @email{infodock-request@@infodock.com} to be added or removed from the
4434 list. Always include your InfoDock version number when sending help
4437 InfoDock is available across the Internet via anonymous FTP. To get
4438 it, first move to a directory into which you want the InfoDock archive
4439 files placed. We will call this <DIST-DIR>.
4445 Ftp to ftp.xemacs.org (Internet Host ID = 128.174.252.16):
4448 prompt> ftp ftp.xemacs.org
4451 Login as @samp{anonymous} with your own <user-id>@@<site-name> as a password.
4454 Name (ftp.xemacs.org): anonymous
4455 331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password.
4456 Password: -<your-user-id>@@<your-domain>
4457 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
4460 Move to the location of the InfoDock archives:
4463 ftp> cd pub/infodock
4466 Set your transfer mode to binary:
4477 Interactive mode off.
4480 Retrieve the InfoDock archives that you want, either by using a
4481 @samp{get <file>} for each file you want or by using the following to
4482 get a complete distribution, including all binaries:
4485 ftp> mget ID-INSTALL
4489 Close the FTP connection:
4496 Read the @file{ID-INSTALL} file which you just retrieved for
4497 step-by-step installation instructions.
4499 @node Q4.7.1, Q4.7.2, Q4.6.1, Subsystems
4500 @unnumberedsec 4.7: Other Unbundled Packages
4501 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.1: What is AUC TeX? Where do you get it?
4503 AUC TeX is a package written by @email{abraham@@dina.kvl.dk, Per Abrahamsen}.
4504 Starting with XEmacs 19.16, AUC TeX is bundled with XEmacs. The
4505 following information is from the @file{README} and website.
4507 AUC TeX is an extensible package that supports writing and formatting
4508 TeX files for most variants of GNU Emacs. Many different macro packages
4509 are supported, including AMS TeX, LaTeX, and TeXinfo.
4511 The most recent version is always available by ftp at
4515 @uref{ftp://sunsite.auc.dk/packages/auctex/auctex.tar.gz}.
4517 In case you don't have access to anonymous ftp, you can get it by an
4518 email request to @email{ftpmail@@decwrl.dec.com}.
4520 WWW users may want to check out the AUC TeX page at
4524 @uref{http://sunsite.auc.dk/auctex/}.
4526 @node Q4.7.2, Q4.7.3, Q4.7.1, Subsystems
4527 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.2: Are there any Emacs Lisp Spreadsheets?
4529 Yes. Check out @dfn{dismal} (which stands for Dis' Mode Ain't Lotus) at
4533 @uref{ftp://cs.nyu.edu/pub/local/fox/dismal/}.
4535 @node Q4.7.3, Q4.7.4, Q4.7.2, Subsystems
4536 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.3: [This question intentionally left blank]
4538 @node Q4.7.4, Q4.7.5, Q4.7.3, Subsystems
4539 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.4: Problems installing AUC TeX.
4541 @email{vroonhof@@math.ethz.ch, Jan Vroonhof} writes:
4544 AUC TeX works fine on both stock Emacs and XEmacs has been doing so for
4545 a very very long time. This is mostly due to the work of
4546 @email{abraham@@dina.kvl.dk, Per Abrahamsen} (clap clap) in particular his @file{easymenu}
4547 package. Which leads to what is probably the problem...
4550 Most problems with AUC TeX are one of two things:
4554 The TeX-lisp-directory in @file{tex-site.el} and the makefile don't
4557 Fix: make sure you configure AUC TeX properly @strong{before} installing.
4560 You have an old version of easymenu.el in your path.
4562 Fix: use @code{locate-library} and remove old versions to make sure it
4563 @strong{only} finds the one that came with XEmacs.
4567 @node Q4.7.5, Q4.7.6, Q4.7.4, Subsystems
4568 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.5: Is there a reason for an Emacs package not to be included in XEmacs?
4570 The reason for an Emacs package not to be included in XEmacs is
4571 usually one or more of the following:
4575 The package has not been ported to XEmacs. This will typically happen
4576 when it uses GNU-Emacs-specific features, which make it fail under
4579 Porting a package to XEmacs can range from a trivial amount of change to
4580 a partial or full rewrite. Fortunately, the authors of modern packages
4581 usually choose to support both Emacsen themselves.
4584 The package has been decided not to be appropriate for XEmacs. It may
4585 have an equivalent or better replacement within XEmacs, in which case
4586 the developers may choose not to burden themselves with supporting an
4589 Each package bundled with XEmacs means more work for the maintainers,
4590 whether they want it or not. If you are ready to take over the
4591 maintenance responsibilities for the package you port, be sure to say
4592 so---we will more likely include it.
4595 The package simply hasn't been noted by the XEmacs development. If
4596 that's the case, the messages like yours are very useful for attracting
4600 The package was noted by the developers, but they simply haven't yet
4601 gotten around to including/porting it. Wait for the next release or,
4602 even better, offer your help. It will be gladly accepted and
4606 @node Q4.7.6, , Q4.7.5, Subsystems
4607 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.5: Is there a MatLab mode?
4609 Yes, a matlab mode and other items are available at the
4610 @uref{ftp://ftp.mathworks.com/pub/contrib/emacs_add_ons,
4611 MathWorks' emacs_add_ons ftp directory}.
4613 @node Miscellaneous, MS Windows, Subsystems, Top
4614 @unnumbered 5 The Miscellaneous Stuff
4616 This is part 5 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
4617 section is devoted to anything that doesn't fit neatly into the other
4621 Major & Minor Modes:
4622 * Q5.0.1:: How can I do source code highlighting using font-lock?
4623 * Q5.0.2:: I do not like cc-mode. How do I use the old c-mode?
4624 * Q5.0.3:: How do I get @samp{More} Syntax Highlighting on by default?
4625 * Q5.0.4:: How can I enable auto-indent and/or Filladapt?
4626 * Q5.0.5:: How can I get XEmacs to come up in text/auto-fill mode by default?
4627 * Q5.0.6:: How do I start up a second shell buffer?
4628 * Q5.0.7:: Telnet from shell filters too much.
4629 * Q5.0.8:: Why does edt emulation not work?
4630 * Q5.0.9:: How can I emulate VI and use it as my default mode?
4631 * Q5.0.10:: [This question intentionally left blank]
4632 * Q5.0.11:: [This question intentionally left blank]
4633 * Q5.0.12:: How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?
4634 * Q5.0.13:: How do I start gnuserv so that each subsequent XEmacs is a client?
4635 * Q5.0.14:: Strange things are happening in Shell Mode.
4636 * Q5.0.15:: Where do I get the latest CC Mode?
4637 * Q5.0.16:: I find auto-show-mode disconcerting. How do I turn it off?
4638 * Q5.0.17:: How can I get two instances of info?
4639 * Q5.0.18:: [This question intentionally left blank]
4640 * Q5.0.19:: Is there something better than LaTeX mode?
4641 * Q5.0.20:: Is there a way to start a new XEmacs if there's no gnuserv running, and otherwise use gnuclient?
4643 Emacs Lisp Programming Techniques:
4644 * Q5.1.1:: The difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
4645 * Q5.1.2:: Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?
4646 * Q5.1.3:: Could you explain @code{read-kbd-macro} in more detail?
4647 * Q5.1.4:: What is the performance hit of @code{let}?
4648 * Q5.1.5:: What is the recommended use of @code{setq}?
4649 * Q5.1.6:: What is the typical misuse of @code{setq}?
4650 * Q5.1.7:: I like the @code{do} form of cl, does it slow things down?
4651 * Q5.1.8:: I like recursion, does it slow things down?
4652 * Q5.1.9:: How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?
4653 * Q5.1.10:: @code{map-extents} won't traverse all of my extents!
4654 * Q5.1.11:: My elisp program is horribly slow. Is there an easy way to find out where it spends time?
4657 * Q5.2.1:: How do I turn off the sound?
4658 * Q5.2.2:: How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
4659 * Q5.2.3:: What's NAS, how do I get it?
4660 * Q5.2.4:: Sunsite sounds don't play.
4663 * Q5.3.1:: How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
4664 * Q5.3.2:: [This question intentionally left blank]
4665 * Q5.3.3:: How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
4666 * Q5.3.4:: Getting @kbd{M-x lpr} to work with postscript printer.
4667 * Q5.3.5:: How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
4668 * Q5.3.6:: [This question intentionally left blank]
4669 * Q5.3.7:: Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
4670 * Q5.3.8:: How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
4671 * Q5.3.9:: Are only certain syntactic character classes available for abbrevs?
4672 * Q5.3.10:: How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
4673 * Q5.3.11:: How do I add new Info directories?
4674 * Q5.3.12:: What do I need to change to make printing work?
4677 @node Q5.0.1, Q5.0.2, Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous
4678 @unnumberedsec 5.0: Major & Minor Modes
4679 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.1: How can I do source code highlighting using font-lock?
4681 For most modes, font-lock is already set up and just needs to be turned
4682 on. This can be done by adding the line:
4685 (require 'font-lock)
4688 to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}. (You can turn it on for the
4689 current buffer and session only by @kbd{M-x font-lock-mode}.) See the
4690 file @file{etc/sample.init.el} (@file{etc/sample.emacs} in XEmacs
4691 versions prior to 21.4) for more information.
4694 @c (add-hook 'emacs-lisp-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
4695 @c (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
4697 See also @code{Syntax Highlighting} from the @code{Options} menu.
4698 Remember to save options.
4700 @node Q5.0.2, Q5.0.3, Q5.0.1, Miscellaneous
4701 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.2: I do not like cc-mode. How do I use the old c-mode?
4703 Well, first off, consider if you really want to do this. cc-mode is
4704 much more powerful than the old c-mode. If you're having trouble
4705 getting your old offsets to work, try using @code{c-set-offset} instead.
4706 You might also consider using the package @code{cc-compat}.
4708 But, if you still insist, add the following lines to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
4711 (fmakunbound 'c-mode)
4712 (makunbound 'c-mode-map)
4713 (fmakunbound 'c++-mode)
4714 (makunbound 'c++-mode-map)
4715 (makunbound 'c-style-alist)
4716 (load-library "old-c-mode")
4717 (load-library "old-c++-mode")
4720 This must be done before any other reference is made to either c-mode or
4723 @node Q5.0.3, Q5.0.4, Q5.0.2, Miscellaneous
4724 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.3: How do I get @samp{More} Syntax Highlighting on by default?
4726 Use the following code in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
4729 (setq-default font-lock-maximum-decoration t)
4732 @c In versions of XEmacs prior to 19.14, you had to use a kludgy solution
4736 @c (setq c-font-lock-keywords c-font-lock-keywords-2
4737 @c c++-font-lock-keywords c++-font-lock-keywords-2
4738 @c lisp-font-lock-keywords lisp-font-lock-keywords-2)
4741 @c It will work for C, C++ and Lisp.
4743 See also @code{Syntax Highlighting} from the @code{Options} menu.
4744 Remember to save options.
4746 @node Q5.0.4, Q5.0.5, Q5.0.3, Miscellaneous
4747 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.4: How can I enable auto-indent and/or Filladapt?
4749 Put the following line in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
4752 (setq indent-line-function 'indent-relative-maybe)
4755 If you want to get fancy, try the @code{filladapt} package available
4756 standard with XEmacs. Put this into your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
4759 (require 'filladapt)
4760 (setq-default filladapt-mode t)
4761 (add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-off-filladapt-mode)
4764 This will enable Filladapt for all modes except C mode, where it doesn't
4765 work well. To turn Filladapt on only in particular major modes, remove
4766 the @code{(setq-default ...)} line and use
4767 @code{turn-on-filladapt-mode}, like this:
4770 (add-hook 'text-mode-hook 'turn-on-filladapt-mode)
4773 You can customize filling and adaptive filling with Customize.
4774 Select from the @code{Options} menu
4775 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Fill->Fill...}
4776 or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} fill @key{RET}}.
4778 Note that well-behaving text-lookalike modes will run
4779 @code{text-mode-hook} by default (e.g. that's what Message does). For
4780 the nasty ones, you'll have to provide the @code{add-hook}s yourself.
4782 Please note that the @code{fa-extras} package is no longer useful.
4784 @node Q5.0.5, Q5.0.6, Q5.0.4, Miscellaneous
4785 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.5: How can I get XEmacs to come up in text/auto-fill mode by default?
4787 Try the following lisp in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
4790 (setq default-major-mode 'text-mode)
4791 (setq text-mode-hook 'turn-on-auto-fill)
4794 @strong{WARNING}: note that changing the value of
4795 @code{default-major-mode} from @code{fundamental-mode} can break a large
4796 amount of built-in code that expects newly created buffers to be in
4797 @code{fundamental-mode}. (Changing from @code{fundamental-mode} to
4798 @code{text-mode} might not wreak too much havoc, but changing to
4799 something more exotic like a lisp-mode would break many Emacs packages).
4801 Note that Emacs by default starts up in buffer @code{*scratch*} in
4802 @code{initial-major-mode}, which defaults to
4803 @code{lisp-interaction-mode}. Thus adding the following form to your
4804 Emacs init file will cause the initial @code{*scratch*} buffer to be put
4805 into auto-fill'ed @code{text-mode}:
4808 (setq initial-major-mode
4811 (turn-on-auto-fill)))
4814 Note that after your init file is loaded, if
4815 @code{inhibit-startup-message} is @code{nil} (the default) and the
4816 startup buffer is @code{*scratch*} then the startup message will be
4817 inserted into @code{*scratch*}; it will be removed after a timeout by
4818 erasing the entire @code{*scratch*} buffer. Keep in mind this default
4819 usage of @code{*scratch*} if you desire any prior manipulation of
4820 @code{*scratch*} from within your Emacs init file. In particular,
4821 anything you insert into @code{*scratch*} from your init file will be
4822 later erased. Also, if you change the mode of the @code{*scratch*}
4823 buffer, be sure that this will not interfere with possible later
4824 insertion of the startup message (e.g. if you put @code{*scratch*} into
4825 a nonstandard mode that has automatic font lock rules, then the startup
4826 message might get fontified in a strange foreign manner, e.g. as code in
4827 some programming language).
4829 @node Q5.0.6, Q5.0.7, Q5.0.5, Miscellaneous
4830 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.6: How do I start up a second shell buffer?
4832 In the @code{*shell*} buffer:
4835 M-x rename-buffer @key{RET} *shell-1* @key{RET}
4839 This will then start a second shell. The key is that no buffer named
4840 @samp{*shell*} can exist. It might be preferable to use @kbd{M-x
4841 rename-uniquely} to rename the @code{*shell*} buffer instead of @kbd{M-x
4844 Alternately, you can set the variable @code{shell-multiple-shells}.
4845 If the value of this variable is non-nil, each time shell mode is invoked,
4848 @node Q5.0.7, Q5.0.8, Q5.0.6, Miscellaneous
4849 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.7: Telnet from shell filters too much
4851 I'm using the Emacs @kbd{M-x shell} function, and I would like to invoke
4852 and use a telnet session within it. Everything works fine except that
4853 now all @samp{^M}'s are filtered out by Emacs. Fixes?
4855 Use @kbd{M-x rsh} or @kbd{M-x telnet} to open remote sessions rather
4856 than doing rsh or telnet within the local shell buffer. Starting with
4857 XEmacs-20.3 you can also use @kbd{M-x ssh} to open secure remote session
4858 if you have @code{ssh} installed.
4860 @node Q5.0.8, Q5.0.9, Q5.0.7, Miscellaneous
4861 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.8: Why does edt emulation not work?
4863 We don't know, but you can use tpu-edt emulation instead, which works
4864 fine and is a little fancier than the standard edt emulation. To do
4865 this, add the following line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
4871 If you don't want it to replace @kbd{C-h} with an edt-style help menu
4875 (global-set-key [(control h)] 'help-for-help)
4878 @node Q5.0.9, Q5.0.10, Q5.0.8, Miscellaneous
4879 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.9: How can I emulate VI and use it as my default mode?
4881 Our recommended VI emulator is viper. To make viper-mode the default,
4882 add this to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
4888 @email{kifer@@CS.SunySB.EDU, Michael Kifer} writes:
4891 This should be added as close to the top of @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} as you can get
4892 it, otherwise some minor modes may not get viper-ized.
4895 @node Q5.0.10, Q5.0.11, Q5.0.9, Miscellaneous
4896 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.10: [This question intentionally left blank]
4898 Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering
4900 @node Q5.0.11, Q5.0.12, Q5.0.10, Miscellaneous
4901 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.11: [This question intentionally left blank]
4903 Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering
4905 @node Q5.0.12, Q5.0.13, Q5.0.11, Miscellaneous
4906 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.12: How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?
4908 If you set the @code{gnuserv-frame} variable to the frame that should be
4909 used to display buffers that are pulled up, a new frame will not be
4910 created. For example, you could put
4913 (setq gnuserv-frame (selected-frame))
4916 early on in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}, to ensure that the first frame created
4917 is the one used for your gnuserv buffers.
4919 There is an option to set the gnuserv target to the current frame. See
4920 @code{Options->Display->"Other Window" Location->Make Current Frame Gnuserv Target}
4922 Starting with XEmacs-20.3 you can also change this with Customize.
4923 Select from the @code{Options} menu
4924 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Gnuserv->Gnuserv Frame...}
4925 or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} gnuserv @key{RET}}.
4928 @node Q5.0.13, Q5.0.14, Q5.0.12, Miscellaneous
4929 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.13: How do I start gnuserv so that each subsequent XEmacs is a client?
4931 Put the following in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file to start the server:
4937 Start your first XEmacs as usual. After that, you can do:
4940 gnuclient randomfilename
4943 from the command line to get your existing XEmacs process to open a new
4944 frame and visit randomfilename in that window. When you're done editing
4945 randomfilename, hit @kbd{C-x #} to kill the buffer and get rid of the
4948 See also man page of gnuclient.
4950 @node Q5.0.14, Q5.0.15, Q5.0.13, Miscellaneous
4951 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.14: Strange things are happening in Shell Mode.
4953 Sometimes (i.e. it's not repeatable, and I can't work out why it
4954 happens) when I'm typing into shell mode, I hit return and only a
4955 portion of the command is given to the shell, and a blank prompt is
4956 returned. If I hit return again, the rest of the previous command is
4959 @email{martin@@xemacs.org, Martin Buchholz} writes:
4962 There is a known problem with interaction between @code{csh} and the
4963 @code{filec} option and XEmacs. You should add the following to your
4967 if ( "$TERM" == emacs || "$TERM" == unknown ) unset filec
4971 @node Q5.0.15, Q5.0.16, Q5.0.14, Miscellaneous
4972 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.15: Where do I get the latest CC Mode?
4974 @email{bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us, Barry A. Warsaw} writes:
4977 This can be had from @uref{http://www.python.org/emacs/}.
4980 @node Q5.0.16, Q5.0.17, Q5.0.15, Miscellaneous
4981 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.16: I find auto-show-mode disconcerting. How do I turn it off?
4983 @code{auto-show-mode} controls whether or not a horizontal scrollbar
4984 magically appears when a line is too long to be displayed. This is
4985 enabled by default. To turn it off, put the following in your
4986 @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
4989 (setq auto-show-mode nil)
4990 (setq-default auto-show-mode nil)
4993 @node Q5.0.17, Q5.0.18, Q5.0.16, Miscellaneous
4994 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.17: How can I get two instances of info?
4996 Before 21.4, you can't. The @code{info} package does not provide for
4997 multiple info buffers. In 21.4, this should be fixed. #### how?
4999 @node Q5.0.18, Q5.0.19, Q5.0.17, Miscellaneous
5000 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.18: [This question intentionally left blank]
5002 @node Q5.0.19, Q5.0.20, Q5.0.18, Miscellaneous
5003 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.19: Is there something better than LaTeX mode?
5005 @email{dak@@fsnif.neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de, David Kastrup} writes:
5008 The standard TeX modes leave much to be desired, and are somewhat
5009 leniently maintained. Serious TeX users use AUC TeX (@pxref{Q4.7.1}).
5012 @node Q5.0.20, Q5.1.1, Q5.0.19, Miscellaneous
5013 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.20: Is there a way to start a new XEmacs if there's no gnuserv running, and otherwise use gnuclient?
5015 @email{vroonhof@@math.ethz.ch, Jan Vroonhof} writes:
5017 Here is one of the solutions, we have this in a script called
5018 @file{etc/editclient.sh}.
5021 if gnuclient -batch -eval t >/dev/null 2>&1
5023 exec gnuclient $@{1+"$@@"@}
5025 xemacs -unmapped -f gnuserv-start &
5026 until gnuclient -batch -eval t >/dev/null 2>&1
5030 exec gnuclient $@{1+"$@@"@}
5034 Note that there is a known problem when running XEmacs and 'gnuclient
5035 -nw' on the same TTY.
5038 @node Q5.1.1, Q5.1.2, Q5.0.20, Miscellaneous
5039 @unnumberedsec 5.1: Emacs Lisp Programming Techniques
5040 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.1: What is the difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
5042 @email{clerik@@naggum.no, Erik Naggum} writes;
5045 Emacs has a legacy of keyboards that produced characters with modifier
5046 bits, and therefore map a variety of input systems into this scheme even
5047 today. XEmacs is instead optimized for X events. This causes an
5048 incompatibility in the way key sequences are specified, but both Emacs
5049 and XEmacs will accept a key sequence as a vector of lists of modifiers
5050 that ends with a key, e.g., to bind @kbd{M-C-a}, you would say
5051 @code{[(meta control a)]} in both Emacsen. XEmacs has an abbreviated
5052 form for a single key, just (meta control a). Emacs has an abbreviated
5053 form for the Control and the Meta modifiers to string-characters (the
5054 ASCII characters), as in @samp{\M-\C-a}. XEmacs users need to be aware
5055 that the abbreviated form works only for one-character key sequences,
5056 while Emacs users need to be aware that the string-character is rather
5057 limited. Specifically, the string-character can accommodate only 256
5058 different values, 128 of which have the Meta modifier and 128 of which
5059 have not. In each of these blocks, only 32 characters have the Control
5060 modifier. Whereas @code{[(meta control A)]} differs from @code{[(meta
5061 control a)]} because the case differs, @samp{\M-\C-a} and @samp{\M-\C-A}
5062 do not. Programmers are advised to use the full common form, both
5063 because it is more readable and less error-prone, and because it is
5064 supported by both Emacsen.
5067 Another (even safer) way to be sure of the key-sequences is to use the
5068 @code{read-kbd-macro} function, which takes a string like @samp{C-c
5069 <up>}, and converts it to the internal key representation of the Emacs
5070 you use. The function is available both on XEmacs and GNU Emacs.
5072 @node Q5.1.2, Q5.1.3, Q5.1.1, Miscellaneous
5073 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.2: Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?
5075 I wonder if there is an interactive function that can generate
5076 @dfn{fake} keyboard events. This way, I could simply map them inside
5082 (defun cg--generate-char-event (ch)
5083 "Generate an event, as if ch has been typed"
5084 (dispatch-event (character-to-event ch)))
5086 ;; Backspace and Delete stuff
5087 (global-set-key [backspace]
5088 (lambda () (interactive) (cg--generate-char-event 127)))
5089 (global-set-key [unknown_keysym_0x4]
5090 (lambda () (interactive) (cg--generate-char-event 4)))
5093 @node Q5.1.3, Q5.1.4, Q5.1.2, Miscellaneous
5094 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.3: Could you explain @code{read-kbd-macro} in more detail?
5096 The @code{read-kbd-macro} function returns the internal Emacs
5097 representation of a human-readable string (which is its argument).
5101 (read-kbd-macro "C-c C-a")
5102 @result{} [(control ?c) (control ?a)]
5104 (read-kbd-macro "C-c C-. <up>")
5105 @result{} [(control ?c) (control ?.) up]
5108 In GNU Emacs the same forms will be evaluated to what GNU Emacs
5109 understands internally---the sequences @code{"\C-x\C-c"} and @code{[3
5110 67108910 up]}, respectively.
5112 The exact @dfn{human-readable} syntax is defined in the docstring of
5113 @code{edmacro-mode}. I'll repeat it here, for completeness.
5116 Format of keyboard macros during editing:
5118 Text is divided into @dfn{words} separated by whitespace. Except for
5119 the words described below, the characters of each word go directly as
5120 characters of the macro. The whitespace that separates words is
5121 ignored. Whitespace in the macro must be written explicitly, as in
5122 @kbd{foo @key{SPC} bar @key{RET}}.
5126 The special words @kbd{RET}, @kbd{SPC}, @kbd{TAB}, @kbd{DEL}, @kbd{LFD},
5127 @kbd{ESC}, and @kbd{NUL} represent special control characters. The
5128 words must be written in uppercase.
5131 A word in angle brackets, e.g., @code{<return>}, @code{<down>}, or
5132 @code{<f1>}, represents a function key. (Note that in the standard
5133 configuration, the function key @code{<return>} and the control key
5134 @key{RET} are synonymous.) You can use angle brackets on the words
5135 @key{RET}, @key{SPC}, etc., but they are not required there.
5138 Keys can be written by their @sc{ascii} code, using a backslash followed
5139 by up to six octal digits. This is the only way to represent keys with
5143 One or more prefixes @kbd{M-} (meta), @kbd{C-} (control), @kbd{S-}
5144 (shift), @kbd{A-} (alt), @kbd{H-} (hyper), and @kbd{s-} (super) may
5145 precede a character or key notation. For function keys, the prefixes
5146 may go inside or outside of the brackets: @code{C-<down>} @equiv{}
5147 @code{<C-down>}. The prefixes may be written in any order: @kbd{M-C-x}
5148 @equiv{} @kbd{C-M-x}.
5150 Prefixes are not allowed on multi-key words, e.g., @kbd{C-abc}, except
5151 that the Meta prefix is allowed on a sequence of digits and optional
5152 minus sign: @kbd{M--123} @equiv{} @kbd{M-- M-1 M-2 M-3}.
5155 The @code{^} notation for control characters also works: @kbd{^M}
5159 Double angle brackets enclose command names: @code{<<next-line>>} is
5160 shorthand for @kbd{M-x next-line @key{RET}}.
5163 Finally, @code{REM} or @code{;;} causes the rest of the line to be
5164 ignored as a comment.
5167 Any word may be prefixed by a multiplier in the form of a decimal number
5168 and @code{*}: @code{3*<right>} @equiv{} @code{<right> <right> <right>},
5169 and @code{10*foo} @equiv{}
5173 @code{foofoofoofoofoofoofoofoofoofoo}.
5175 Multiple text keys can normally be strung together to form a word, but
5176 you may need to add whitespace if the word would look like one of the
5177 above notations: @code{; ; ;} is a keyboard macro with three semicolons,
5178 but @code{;;;} is a comment. Likewise, @code{\ 1 2 3} is four keys but
5179 @code{\123} is a single key written in octal, and @code{< right >} is
5180 seven keys but @code{<right>} is a single function key. When in doubt,
5184 @node Q5.1.4, Q5.1.5, Q5.1.3, Miscellaneous
5185 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.4: What is the performance hit of @code{let}?
5187 In most cases, not noticeable. Besides, there's no avoiding
5188 @code{let}---you have to bind your local variables, after all. Some
5189 pose a question whether to nest @code{let}s, or use one @code{let} per
5190 function. I think because of clarity and maintenance (and possible
5191 future implementation), @code{let}-s should be used (nested) in a way to
5192 provide the clearest code.
5194 @node Q5.1.5, Q5.1.6, Q5.1.4, Miscellaneous
5195 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.5: What is the recommended use of @code{setq}?
5198 @item Global variables
5200 You will typically @code{defvar} your global variable to a default
5201 value, and use @code{setq} to set it later.
5203 It is never a good practice to @code{setq} user variables (like
5204 @code{case-fold-search}, etc.), as it ignores the user's choice
5205 unconditionally. Note that @code{defvar} doesn't change the value of a
5206 variable if it was bound previously. If you wish to change a
5207 user-variable temporarily, use @code{let}:
5210 (let ((case-fold-search nil))
5211 ... ; code with searches that must be case-sensitive
5215 You will notice the user-variables by their docstrings beginning with an
5216 asterisk (a convention).
5218 @item Local variables
5220 Bind them with @code{let}, which will unbind them (or restore their
5221 previous value, if they were bound) after exiting from the @code{let}
5222 form. Change the value of local variables with @code{setq} or whatever
5223 you like (e.g. @code{incf}, @code{setf} and such). The @code{let} form
5224 can even return one of its local variables.
5229 ;; iterate through the elements of the list returned by
5230 ;; `hairy-function-that-returns-list'
5231 (let ((l (hairy-function-that-returns-list)))
5233 ... do something with (car l) ...
5237 Another typical usage includes building a value simply to work with it.
5240 ;; Build the mode keymap out of the key-translation-alist
5241 (let ((inbox (file-truename (expand-file-name box)))
5243 ... code dealing with inbox ...
5247 This piece of code uses the local variable @code{inbox}, which becomes
5248 unbound (or regains old value) after exiting the form. The form also
5249 returns the value of @code{inbox}, which can be reused, for instance:
5252 (setq foo-processed-inbox
5257 @node Q5.1.6, Q5.1.7, Q5.1.5, Miscellaneous
5258 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.6: What is the typical misuse of @code{setq} ?
5260 A typical misuse is probably @code{setq}ing a variable that was meant to
5261 be local. Such a variable will remain bound forever, never to be
5262 garbage-collected. For example, the code doing:
5265 (defun my-function (whatever)
5267 ... build a large list ...
5271 does a bad thing, as @code{a} will keep consuming memory, never to be
5272 unbound. The correct thing is to do it like this:
5275 (defun my-function (whatever)
5276 (let (a) ; default initialization is to nil
5277 ... build a large list ...
5278 ... and exit, unbinding `a' in the process ...)
5281 Not only is this prettier syntactically, but it makes it possible for
5282 Emacs to garbage-collect the objects which @code{a} used to reference.
5284 Note that even global variables should not be @code{setq}ed without
5285 @code{defvar}ing them first, because the byte-compiler issues warnings.
5286 The reason for the warning is the following:
5289 (defun flurgoze nil) ; ok, global internal variable
5292 (setq flurghoze t) ; ops! a typo, but semantically correct.
5293 ; however, the byte-compiler warns.
5295 While compiling toplevel forms:
5296 ** assignment to free variable flurghoze
5299 @node Q5.1.7, Q5.1.8, Q5.1.6, Miscellaneous
5300 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.7: I like the @code{do} form of cl, does it slow things down?
5302 It shouldn't. Here is what Dave Gillespie has to say about cl.el
5306 Many of the advanced features of this package, such as @code{defun*},
5307 @code{loop}, and @code{setf}, are implemented as Lisp macros. In
5308 byte-compiled code, these complex notations will be expanded into
5309 equivalent Lisp code which is simple and efficient. For example, the
5317 are expanded at compile-time to the Lisp forms
5321 (setcar p (cons x (car p)))
5324 which are the most efficient ways of doing these respective operations
5325 in Lisp. Thus, there is no performance penalty for using the more
5326 readable @code{incf} and @code{push} forms in your compiled code.
5328 @emph{Interpreted} code, on the other hand, must expand these macros
5329 every time they are executed. For this reason it is strongly
5330 recommended that code making heavy use of macros be compiled. (The
5331 features labelled @dfn{Special Form} instead of @dfn{Function} in this
5332 manual are macros.) A loop using @code{incf} a hundred times will
5333 execute considerably faster if compiled, and will also garbage-collect
5334 less because the macro expansion will not have to be generated, used,
5335 and thrown away a hundred times.
5337 You can find out how a macro expands by using the @code{cl-prettyexpand}
5341 @node Q5.1.8, Q5.1.9, Q5.1.7, Miscellaneous
5342 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.8: I like recursion, does it slow things down?
5344 Yes. Emacs byte-compiler cannot do much to optimize recursion. But
5345 think well whether this is a real concern in Emacs. Much of the Emacs
5346 slowness comes from internal mechanisms such as redisplay, or from the
5347 fact that it is an interpreter.
5349 Please try not to make your code much uglier to gain a very small speed
5350 gain. It's not usually worth it.
5352 @node Q5.1.9, Q5.1.10, Q5.1.8, Miscellaneous
5353 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.9: How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?
5355 Here is a solution that will insert the glyph annotation at the
5356 beginning of buffer:
5359 (make-annotation (make-glyph '([FORMAT :file FILE]
5360 [string :data "fallback-text"]))
5366 Replace @samp{FORMAT} with an unquoted symbol representing the format of
5367 the image (e.g. @code{xpm}, @code{xbm}, @code{gif}, @code{jpeg}, etc.)
5368 Instead of @samp{FILE}, use the image file name
5373 @file{/usr/local/lib/xemacs-21.4/etc/recycle.xpm}).
5375 You can turn this to a function (that optionally prompts you for a file
5376 name), and inserts the glyph at @code{(point)} instead of
5379 @node Q5.1.10, Q5.1.11, Q5.1.9, Miscellaneous
5380 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.10: @code{map-extents} won't traverse all of my extents!
5382 I tried to use @code{map-extents} to do an operation on all the extents
5383 in a region. However, it seems to quit after processing a random number
5384 of extents. Is it buggy?
5386 No. The documentation of @code{map-extents} states that it will iterate
5387 across the extents as long as @var{function} returns @code{nil}.
5388 Unexperienced programmers often forget to return @code{nil} explicitly,
5389 which results in buggy code. For instance, the following code is
5390 supposed to delete all the extents in a buffer, and issue as many
5391 @samp{fubar!} messages.
5394 (map-extents (lambda (ext ignore)
5396 (message "fubar!")))
5399 Instead, it will delete only the first extent, and stop right there --
5400 because @code{message} will return a non-nil value. The correct code
5404 (map-extents (lambda (ext ignore)
5410 @node Q5.1.11, Q5.2.1, Q5.1.10, Miscellaneous
5411 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.11: My elisp program is horribly slow. Is there
5412 an easy way to find out where it spends time?
5415 @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic} writes:
5417 Under XEmacs 20.4 and later you can use @kbd{M-x profile-key-sequence},
5418 press a key (say @key{RET} in the Gnus Group buffer), and get the
5419 results using @kbd{M-x profile-results}. It should give you an idea of
5420 where the time is being spent.
5423 @node Q5.2.1, Q5.2.2, Q5.1.11, Miscellaneous
5424 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.2.1: How do I turn off the sound?
5426 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
5429 (setq bell-volume 0)
5430 (setq sound-alist nil)
5433 That will make your XEmacs totally silent---even the default ding sound
5434 (TTY beep on TTY-s) will be gone.
5436 Starting with XEmacs 20.2 you can also change these with Customize.
5437 Select from the @code{Options} menu
5438 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Sound->Sound...} or type
5439 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} sound @key{RET}}.
5442 @node Q5.2.2, Q5.2.3, Q5.2.1, Miscellaneous
5443 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.2.2: How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
5445 Make sure your XEmacs was compiled with sound support, and then put this
5446 in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
5449 (load-default-sounds)
5452 @c The sound support in XEmacs 19.14 was greatly improved over previous
5455 @node Q5.2.3, Q5.2.4, Q5.2.2, Miscellaneous
5456 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.2.3: What's NAS, how do I get it?
5458 @xref{Q2.0.3}, for an explanation of the @dfn{Network Audio System}.
5460 @node Q5.2.4, Q5.3.1, Q5.2.3, Miscellaneous
5461 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.2.4: Sunsite sounds don't play.
5463 I'm having some trouble with sounds I've downloaded from sunsite. They
5464 play when I run them through @code{showaudio} or cat them directly to
5465 @file{/dev/audio}, but XEmacs refuses to play them.
5467 @email{gutschk@@uni-muenster.de, Markus Gutschke} writes:
5470 [Many of] These files have an (erroneous) 24byte header that tells about
5471 the format that they have been recorded in. If you cat them to
5472 @file{/dev/audio}, the header will be ignored and the default behavior
5473 for /dev/audio will be used. This happens to be 8kHz uLaw. It is
5474 probably possible to fix the header by piping through @code{sox} and
5475 passing explicit parameters for specifying the sampling format; you then
5476 need to perform a 'null' conversion from SunAudio to SunAudio.
5479 @node Q5.3.1, Q5.3.2, Q5.2.4, Miscellaneous
5480 @unnumberedsec 5.3: Miscellaneous
5481 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.1: How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
5483 I'd like XEmacs to indent all the clauses of a Common Lisp @code{if} the
5484 same amount instead of indenting the 3rd clause differently from the
5487 One way is to add, to @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
5490 (put 'if 'lisp-indent-function nil)
5493 However, note that the package @code{cl-indent} that comes with
5494 XEmacs sets up this kind of indentation by default. @code{cl-indent}
5495 also knows about many other CL-specific forms. To use @code{cl-indent},
5500 (setq lisp-indent-function (function common-lisp-indent-function))
5503 One can also customize @file{cl-indent.el} so it mimics the default
5504 @code{if} indentation @code{then} indented more than the @code{else}.
5508 (put 'if 'common-lisp-indent-function '(nil nil &body))
5511 Also, a new version (1.2) of @file{cl-indent.el} was posted to
5512 comp.emacs.xemacs on 12/9/94. This version includes more documentation
5513 than previous versions. This may prove useful if you need to customize
5514 any indent-functions.
5516 @node Q5.3.2, Q5.3.3, Q5.3.1, Miscellaneous
5517 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.2: [This question intentionally left blank]
5519 Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.
5521 @node Q5.3.3, Q5.3.4, Q5.3.2, Miscellaneous
5522 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.3: How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
5524 Font-lock looks nice. How can I print (WYSIWYG) the highlighted
5527 The package @code{ps-print}, which is now included with XEmacs, provides
5528 the ability to do this. The source code contains complete instructions
5529 on its use, in @file{<xemacs_src_root>/lisp/packages/ps-print.el}.
5531 @node Q5.3.4, Q5.3.5, Q5.3.3, Miscellaneous
5532 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.4: Getting @kbd{M-x lpr} to work with postscript printer.
5534 My printer is a Postscript printer and @code{lpr} only works for
5535 Postscript files, so how do I get @kbd{M-x lpr-region} and @kbd{M-x
5536 lpr-buffer} to work?
5538 Put something like this in your @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs}:
5541 (setq lpr-command "a2ps")
5542 (setq lpr-switches '("-p" "-1"))
5545 If you don't use a2ps to convert ASCII to postscript (why not, it's
5546 free?), replace with the command you do use. Note also that some
5547 versions of a2ps require a @samp{-Pprinter} to ensure spooling.
5549 @node Q5.3.5, Q5.3.6, Q5.3.4, Miscellaneous
5550 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.5: How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
5552 You can specify what paths to use by using a number of different flags
5553 when running configure. See the section MAKE VARIABLES in the top-level
5554 file INSTALL in the XEmacs distribution for a listing of those flags.
5556 Most of the time, however, the simplest fix is: @strong{do not} specify
5557 paths as you might for GNU Emacs. XEmacs can generally determine the
5558 necessary paths dynamically at run time. The only path that generally
5559 needs to be specified is the root directory to install into. That can
5560 be specified by passing the @code{--prefix} flag to configure. For a
5561 description of the XEmacs install tree, please consult the @file{NEWS}
5564 @node Q5.3.6, Q5.3.7, Q5.3.5, Miscellaneous
5565 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.6: [This question intentionally left blank]
5567 Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.
5569 @node Q5.3.7, Q5.3.8, Q5.3.6, Miscellaneous
5570 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.7: Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
5572 Say, with: @samp{[END]}?
5577 (let ((ext (make-extent (point-min) (point-max))))
5578 (set-extent-property ext 'start-closed t)
5579 (set-extent-property ext 'end-closed t)
5580 (set-extent-property ext 'detachable nil)
5581 (set-extent-end-glyph ext (make-glyph [string :data "[END]"])))
5584 Since this is XEmacs, you can specify an icon to be shown on
5585 window-system devices. To do so, change the @code{make-glyph} call to
5586 something like this:
5589 (make-glyph '([xpm :file "~/something.xpm"]
5590 [string :data "[END]"]))
5593 You can inline the @sc{xpm} definition yourself by specifying
5594 @code{:data} instead of @code{:file}. Here is such a full-featured
5595 version that works on both X and TTY devices:
5598 (let ((ext (make-extent (point-min) (point-max))))
5599 (set-extent-property ext 'start-closed t)
5600 (set-extent-property ext 'end-closed t)
5601 (set-extent-property ext 'detachable nil)
5602 (set-extent-end-glyph ext (make-glyph '([xpm :data "\
5604 static char* eye = @{
5613 \"___________`_`_`___b_b_b_b_________`____\",
5614 \"_________`_`_`___b_c_c_c_b_b____________\",
5615 \"_____`_`_`_e___b_b_c_c_c___b___b_______`\",
5616 \"___`_`_e_a___b_b_d___b___b___b___b______\",
5617 \"_`_`_e_a_e___b_b_d_b___b___b___b___b____\",
5618 \"_`_`_a_e_a___b_b_d___b___b___b___b___b__\",
5619 \"_`_`_e_a_e___b_b_d_b___b___b___b___b_b__\",
5620 \"___`_`_e_a___b_b_b_d_c___b___b___d_b____\",
5621 \"_____`_`_e_e___b_b_b_d_c___b_b_d_b______\",
5622 \"_`_____`_`_`_`___b_b_b_d_d_d_d_b________\",
5623 \"___`_____`_`_`_`___b_b_b_b_b_b__________\",
5625 [string :data "[END]"]))))
5628 Note that you might want to make this a function, and put it to a hook.
5629 We leave that as an exercise for the reader.
5631 @node Q5.3.8, Q5.3.9, Q5.3.7, Miscellaneous
5632 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.8: How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
5637 (insert (current-time-string))
5640 @node Q5.3.9, Q5.3.10, Q5.3.8, Miscellaneous
5641 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.9: Are only certain syntactic character classes available for abbrevs?
5643 @email{gutschk@@uni-muenster.de, Markus Gutschke} writes:
5646 Yes, abbrevs only expands word-syntax strings. While XEmacs does not
5647 prevent you from defining (e.g. with @kbd{C-x a g} or @kbd{C-x a l})
5648 abbrevs that contain special characters, it will refuse to expand
5649 them. So you need to ensure, that the abbreviation contains letters and
5650 digits only. This means that @samp{xd}, @samp{d5}, and @samp{5d} are
5651 valid abbrevs, but @samp{&d}, and @samp{x d} are not.
5653 If this sounds confusing to you, (re-)read the online documentation for
5654 abbrevs (@kbd{C-h i m XEmacs @key{RET} m Abbrevs @key{RET}}), and then come back and
5655 read this question/answer again.
5658 Starting with XEmacs 20.3 this restriction has been lifted.
5660 @node Q5.3.10, Q5.3.11, Q5.3.9, Miscellaneous
5661 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.10: How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
5663 Firstly there is an ftp site which describes X-faces and has the
5664 associated tools mentioned below, at
5665 @uref{ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu:/pub/faces/}.
5671 Create 48x48x1 bitmap with your favorite tool
5674 Convert to "icon" format using one of xbm2ikon, pbmtoicon, etc.,
5675 and then compile the face.
5679 cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon |compface > file.face
5683 Then be sure to quote things that are necessary for emacs strings:
5686 cat ./file.face | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g'
5690 | sed 's/\"/\\\"/g' > ./file.face.quoted
5694 Then set up emacs to include the file as a mail header - there were a
5695 couple of suggestions here---either something like:
5698 (setq mail-default-headers
5699 "X-Face: @email{Ugly looking text string here}")
5702 Or, alternatively, as:
5705 (defun mail-insert-x-face ()
5707 (goto-char (point-min))
5708 (search-forward mail-header-separator)
5711 (insert-file-contents "~/.face")))
5713 (add-hook 'mail-setup-hook 'mail-insert-x-face)
5717 However, 2 things might be wrong:
5719 Some versions of pbmtoicon produces some header lines that is not
5720 expected by the version of compface that I grabbed. So I found I had to
5721 include a @code{tail +3} in the pipeline like this:
5724 cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon | tail +3 |compface > file.face
5727 Some people have also found that if one uses the @code{(insert-file)}
5728 method, one should NOT quote the face string using the sed script .
5730 It might also be helpful to use @email{stig@@hackvan.com, Stig's} script
5731 (included in the compface distribution at XEmacs.org) to do the
5733 @comment For convenience xbm2xface is available for anonymous FTP at
5734 @comment @uref{ftp://ftp.miranova.com/pub/xemacs/xbm2xface.pl}.
5736 Contributors for this item:
5747 @node Q5.3.11, Q5.3.12, Q5.3.10, Miscellaneous
5748 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.11: How do I add new Info directories?
5750 You use something like:
5753 (setq Info-directory-list (cons
5754 (expand-file-name "~/info")
5755 Info-default-directory-list))
5758 @email{davidm@@prism.kla.com, David Masterson} writes:
5761 Emacs Info and XEmacs Info do many things differently. If you're trying to
5762 support a number of versions of Emacs, here are some notes to remember:
5766 Emacs Info scans @code{Info-directory-list} from right-to-left while
5767 XEmacs Info reads it from left-to-right, so append to the @emph{correct}
5771 Use @code{Info-default-directory-list} to initialize
5772 @code{Info-directory-list} @emph{if} it is available at startup, but not
5773 all Emacsen define it.
5776 Emacs Info looks for a standard @file{dir} file in each of the
5777 directories scanned from #1 and magically concatenates them together.
5780 XEmacs Info looks for a @file{localdir} file (which consists of just the
5781 menu entries from a @file{dir} file) in each of the directories scanned
5782 from #1 (except the first), does a simple concatenation of them, and
5783 magically attaches the resulting list to the end of the menu in the
5784 @file{dir} file in the first directory.
5787 Another alternative is to convert the documentation to HTML with
5788 texi2html and read it from a web browser like Lynx or W3.
5791 @node Q5.3.12, , Q5.3.11, Miscellaneous
5792 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.12: What do I need to change to make printing work?
5794 For regular printing there are two variables that can be customized.
5798 This should be set to a command that takes standard input and sends
5799 it to a printer. Something like:
5802 (setq lpr-command "lp")
5806 This should be set to a list that contains whatever the print command
5807 requires to do its job. Something like:
5810 (setq lpr-switches '("-depson"))
5814 For postscript printing there are three analogous variables to
5818 @item ps-lpr-command
5819 This should be set to a command that takes postscript on standard input
5820 and directs it to a postscript printer.
5822 @item ps-lpr-switches
5823 This should be set to a list of switches required for
5824 @code{ps-lpr-command} to do its job.
5826 @item ps-print-color-p
5827 This boolean variable should be set @code{t} if printing will be done in
5828 color, otherwise it should be set to @code{nil}.
5831 NOTE: It is an undocumented limitation in XEmacs that postscript
5832 printing (the @code{Pretty Print Buffer} menu item) @strong{requires} a
5833 window system environment. It cannot be used outside of X11.
5835 @node MS Windows, Current Events, Miscellaneous, Top
5836 @unnumbered 6 XEmacs on MS Windows
5838 This is part 6 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list, written by
5839 Hrvoje Niksic and others. This section is devoted to the MS Windows
5845 * Q6.0.1:: What is the status of the XEmacs port to Windows?
5846 * Q6.0.2:: What flavors of MS Windows are supported?
5847 * Q6.0.3:: Where are the XEmacs on MS Windows binaries?
5848 * Q6.0.4:: Can I build XEmacs on MS Windows with support for X or Cygwin?
5850 Building XEmacs on MS Windows
5851 * Q6.1.1:: I decided to run with X. Where do I get an X server?
5852 * Q6.1.2:: What compiler do I need to compile XEmacs?
5853 * Q6.1.3:: How do I compile for the native port?
5854 * Q6.1.4:: How do I compile for the X port?
5855 * Q6.1.5:: How do I compile for Cygnus' Cygwin?
5856 * Q6.1.6:: What do I need for Cygwin?
5858 Customization and User Interface
5859 * Q6.2.1:: How will the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
5860 * Q6.2.2:: How do I change fonts in XEmacs on MS Windows?
5861 * Q6.2.3:: Where do I put my @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file?
5864 * Q6.3.1:: Will XEmacs rename all the win32-* symbols to w32-*?
5865 * Q6.3.2:: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
5866 * Q6.3.3:: What is the porting team doing at the moment?
5869 * Q6.4.1:: XEmacs won't start on Windows. (NEW)
5873 @node Q6.0.1, Q6.0.2, MS Windows, MS Windows
5874 @unnumberedsec 6.0: General Info
5875 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.1: What is the status of the XEmacs port to Windows?
5877 Is XEmacs really getting ported to MS Windows? What is the status of the port?
5879 Yes, a group of volunteers actively works on making XEmacs code base
5880 cleanly compile and run on MS Windows operating systems. The mailing
5881 list at @email{xemacs-nt@@xemacs.org} is dedicated to that effort
5882 (please use the -request address to subscribe).
5884 At this time, XEmacs on MS Windows is stable and full-featured.
5885 However, the internationalization (Mule) support does not work --
5886 although this is being actively worked on.
5888 @node Q6.0.2, Q6.0.3, Q6.0.1, MS Windows
5889 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.2: What flavors of MS Windows are supported? The list name implies NT only.
5891 The list name is misleading, as XEmacs will support Windows 95, Windows
5892 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, and all newer
5893 versions of Windows. The MS Windows-specific code is based on Microsoft
5894 Win32 API, and will not work on MS Windows 3.x or on MS-DOS.
5897 @node Q6.0.3, Q6.0.4, Q6.0.2, MS Windows
5898 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.3: Are binaries available?
5900 Binaries are available at
5901 @uref{ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/binaries/win32/} for the native MS
5904 @node Q6.0.4, Q6.1.1, Q6.0.3, MS Windows
5905 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.4: Can I build XEmacs on MS Windows with support for X or Cygwin?
5907 Yes. XEmacs can be built in several ways in the MS Windows environment.
5909 The standard way is what we call the "native" port. It uses the Win32
5910 API and has no connection with X whatsoever -- it does not require X
5911 libraries to build, nor does it require an X server to run. The native
5912 port is the most reliable version and provides the best graphical
5913 support. Almost all development is geared towards this version, and
5914 there is little reason not to use it.
5916 You can also build XEmacs "X" port---it requires X libraries to build
5917 and an X server to run. Internally it uses the Xt event loop and makes
5918 use of X toolkits. Its look is quite un-Windowsy, and it is not well
5919 maintained, but it is being kept around for the time being because it
5922 There is also a third special case, the Cygwin port. It takes
5923 advantage of Cygnus emulation library under Win32, which enables it to
5924 reuse much of the Unix XEmacs code base, such as processes and network
5925 support, or internal select() mechanisms.
5927 Cygwin port supports all display types---TTY, X & MS GUI, and can be
5928 built with support for all three. If you build with MS GUI support
5929 then the Cygwin version uses the majority of the msw code, which is
5930 mostly related to display. If you want to build with X support you
5931 need X libraries. If you want to build with TTY support you need
5932 ncurses. MS GUI requires no additional libraries.
5934 The advantages of the Cygwin version are that it integrates well with
5935 Cygwin environment for existing Cygwin users; uses configure so building
5936 with different features is very easy; and has process support in X &
5939 The disadvantage is that it requires several Unix utilities and the
5940 whole Cygwin environment, whereas the native port requires only a
5941 suitable MS Windows compiler. Also, it follows the Unix filesystem and
5942 process model very closely (some will undoubtedly view this as an
5945 @node Q6.1.1, Q6.1.2, Q6.0.4, MS Windows
5946 @unnumberedsec 6.1: Building XEmacs on MS Windows
5947 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.1: I decided to run with X. Where do I get an X server?
5949 Pointers to X servers can be found at
5953 @uref{http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov/software/grads/win32/X11R6.3/};
5955 look for "Where to get an X server". Also note that, although the above
5956 page talks about Cygnus gnu-win32 (Cygwin), the information on X servers
5957 is Cygwin-independent. You don't have to be running/using Cygwin to use
5958 these X servers, and you don't have to compile XEmacs under Cygwin to
5959 use XEmacs with these X servers. An "X port" XEmacs compiled under
5960 Visual C++ will work with these X servers (as will XEmacs running on a
5961 Unix box, redirected to the server running on your PC).
5964 @node Q6.1.2, Q6.1.3, Q6.1.1, MS Windows
5965 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.2: What compiler do I need to compile XEmacs?
5967 You need Visual C++ 4.2, 5.0, or 6.0, with the exception of the Cygwin
5968 port, which uses Gcc. There is also a MINGW32 port of XEmacs (using
5969 Gcc, but using native libraries rather than the Cygwin libraries). ####
5970 More information about this should be provided.
5973 @node Q6.1.3, Q6.1.4, Q6.1.2, MS Windows
5974 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.3: How do I compile for the native port?
5976 Please read the file @file{nt/README} in the XEmacs distribution, which
5977 contains the full description.
5980 @node Q6.1.4, Q6.1.5, Q6.1.3, MS Windows
5981 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.4: How do I compile for the X port?
5983 Again, it is described in @file{nt/README} in some detail. Basically, you
5984 need to get X11 libraries from ftp.x.org, and compile them. If the
5985 precompiled versions are available somewhere, I don't know of it.
5988 @node Q6.1.5, Q6.1.6, Q6.1.4, MS Windows
5989 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.5: How do I compile for Cygnus' Cygwin?
5991 Similar as on Unix; use the usual `configure' and `make' process.
5992 Some problems to watch out for:
5996 make sure HOME is set. This controls where you
5997 @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file comes from;
6000 CYGWIN needs to be set to tty for process support work. e.g. CYGWIN=tty;
6001 (use CYGWIN32=tty under b19 and older.)
6004 picking up some other grep or other UNIX-like tools can kill configure;
6007 static heap too small, adjust @file{src/sheap-adjust.h} to a more positive
6011 The Cygwin version doesn't understand @file{//machine/path} type paths so you
6012 will need to manually mount a directory of this form under a unix style
6013 directory for a build to work on the directory.
6017 @node Q6.1.6, Q6.2.1, Q6.1.5, MS Windows
6018 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.6: What do I need for Cygwin?
6020 You can find the Cygwin tools and compiler at:
6022 @uref{http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/}
6024 You will need version b19 or later.
6025 The latest current version is 1.1.1.
6026 Other common versions you will see are b20.1.
6028 Another location, one of the mirror sites of the site just mentioned,
6029 is usually a last faster:
6031 @uref{ftp://ftp.freesoftware.com/pub/sourceware/cygwin/}
6033 You can obtain the latest version (currently 1.1.1) from the
6034 @samp{latest/} subdirectory of either of the above two just-mentioned
6037 @strong{WARNING: The version of GCC supplied under @samp{latest/}, as of
6038 June 6th, 2000, does not appear to work. It generates loads of spurious
6039 preprocessor warnings and errors, which makes it impossible to compile
6042 You will also need the X libraries. You can get them on the XEmacs FTP
6045 @uref{ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/aux/cygwin/}
6047 You will find b19 and b20 versions of the X libraries, plus b19 and b20
6048 versions of stuff that should go into @samp{/usr/local/}, donated by
6049 Andy Piper. This includes pre-built versions of various graphics libraries,
6050 such as PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and XPM. (Remember, GIF support is built-in to
6053 (X libraries for v1 and beyond of Cygwin can be found on the Cygwin site
6054 itself -- look in the @samp{xfree/} subdirectory.)
6056 @emph{NOTE:} There are two versions of the XPM library provided in
6057 Andy's packets. Once is for building with X support, and the other for
6058 building without. The X version should work if you're building with
6059 both X and Windows support. The two files are called @file{libXpm-X.a}
6060 and @file{libXpm-noX.a} respectively, and you must symlink the
6061 appropriate one to @file{libXpm.a}. @strong{CAREFUL:} By default, the
6062 non-X version is symlinked in. If you then configure XEmacs with X,
6063 you won't run into problems until you start compiling @file{events.c},
6064 at which point you'll get strange and decidedly non-obvious errors.
6066 Please see @uref{http://www.xemacs.freeserve.co.uk/} (Andy Piper's home
6067 page) for more information.
6069 BTW There are also libraries at
6073 @uref{http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov/software/grads/win32/X11R6.3/}, but
6074 these are not b19 compatible, and may in fact be native-compiled.
6077 @node Q6.2.1, Q6.2.2, Q6.1.6, MS Windows
6078 @unnumberedsec 6.2: Customization and User Interface
6079 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.2.1: How will the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
6081 XEmacs (and Emacs in general) UI is pretty
6082 different from what is expected of a typical MS Windows program. How will
6083 the MS Windows port cope with it?
6085 Fortunately, Emacs is also one of the most configurable editor beasts
6086 in the world. The MS Windows "look and feel" (mark via shift-arrow,
6087 self-inserting deletes region, etc.) can be easily configured via
6088 various packages distributed with XEmacs. The `pending-delete'
6089 package is an example of such a utility.
6091 In future versions, some of these packages might be turned on by
6092 default in the MS Windows environment.
6095 @node Q6.2.2, Q6.2.3, Q6.2.1, MS Windows
6096 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.2.2: How do I change fonts in XEmacs on MS Windows?
6098 In 21.2.*, use the font menu. In 21.1.*, you can change font
6099 manually. For example:
6102 (set-face-font 'default "Lucida Console:Regular:10")
6103 (set-face-font 'modeline "MS Sans Serif:Regular:10")
6107 @node Q6.2.3, Q6.3.1, Q6.2.2, MS Windows
6108 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.2.3: Where do I put my @file{init.el}/@file{.emacs} file?
6110 @file{init.el} is the name of the init file starting with 21.4, and is
6111 located in the subdirectory @file{.xemacs/} of your home directory. In
6112 prior versions, the init file is called @file{.emacs} and is located in
6113 your home directory. Your home directory under Windows is determined by
6114 the HOME environment variable. If this is not set, it defaults to
6117 @node Q6.3.1, Q6.3.2, Q6.2.3, MS Windows
6118 @unnumberedsec 6.3: Miscellaneous
6119 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.3.1: Will XEmacs rename all the win32-* symbols to w32-*?
6121 In his flavor of Emacs 20, Richard Stallman has renamed all the win32-*
6122 symbols to w32-*. Will XEmacs do the same?
6124 We consider such a move counter-productive, thus we will not use the
6125 `w32' prefix. However, we do recognize that Win32 name is little more
6126 than a marketing buzzword (will it be Win64 in the next release?), so
6127 we decided not to use it. Using `windows-' would be wrong because the
6128 term is too generic, which is why we settled on a compromise
6131 Thus all the XEmacs variables and functions directly related to Win32
6132 are prefixed `mswindows-'. The user-variables shared with NT Emacs
6133 will be provided as compatibility aliases.
6135 Architectural note: We believe that there should be a very small number
6136 of window-systems-specific variables, and we provide generic interfaces
6137 whenever possible. Thus, most of the equivalents of GNU Emacs `w32-*'
6138 functions and variables (as well as the corresponding `x-*' versions)
6139 are non-window-system-specific in XEmacs, and the issue of `mswindows-*'
6140 vs. `w32-*' does not come up much.
6143 @node Q6.3.2, Q6.3.3, Q6.3.1, MS Windows
6144 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.3.2: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
6146 XEmacs, Win-Emacs, DOS Emacs, NT Emacs, this is all very confusing.
6147 Could you briefly explain the differences between them?
6149 Here is a recount of various Emacs versions running on MS Windows:
6159 Win-Emacs is a port of Lucid Emacs 19.6 to MS Windows using X
6160 compatibility libraries. Win-Emacs has been written by Ben Wing. The
6161 MS Windows code has not made it back to Lucid Emacs, which left Win-Emacs
6162 pretty much dead for our purposes. Win-Emacs used to be available at
6163 Pearlsoft, but not anymore, since Pearlsoft went out of business.
6172 GNU Emacs features support for MS-DOS and DJGPP (D.J. Delorie's DOS
6173 port of Gcc). Such an Emacs is heavily underfeatured, because it does
6174 not supports long file names, lacks proper subprocesses support, and
6175 is far too big compared to typical DOS editors.
6179 GNU Emacs compiled with Win32
6184 Starting with version 19.30, it has been possible to compile GNU Emacs
6185 under MS Windows using the DJGPP compiler and X libraries. The result
6186 is is very similar to GNU Emacs compiled under MS DOS, only it
6187 supports longer file names, etc. This "port" is similar to the "X"
6188 flavor of XEmacs on MS Windows.
6197 NT Emacs is a version of GNU Emacs modified to compile and run under
6198 MS MS Windows 95 and NT using the native Win32 API. As such, it is close
6199 in spirit to the XEmacs "native" port.
6202 NT Emacs has been written by Geoff Voelker, and more information can be
6207 @uref{http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/voelker/ntemacs.html}.
6217 Beginning with XEmacs 19.12, XEmacs' architecture has been redesigned
6218 in such a way to allow clean support of multiple window systems. At
6219 this time the TTY support was added, making X and TTY the first two
6220 "window systems" XEmacs supported. The 19.12 design is the basis for
6221 the current native MS Windows code.
6224 Some time during 1997, David Hobley (soon joined by Marc Paquette)
6225 imported some of the NT-specific portions of GNU Emacs, making XEmacs
6226 with X support compile under Windows NT, and creating the "X" port.
6229 Several months later, Jonathan Harris sent out initial patches to use
6230 the Win32 API, thus creating the native port. Since then, various
6231 people have contributed, including Kirill M. Katsnelson (contributed
6232 support for menubars, subprocesses and network, as well as loads of
6233 other code), Andy Piper (ported XEmacs to Cygwin environment,
6234 contributed Windows unexec, Windows-specific glyphs and toolbars code,
6235 and more), Jeff Sparkes (contributed scrollbars support) and many
6243 @node Q6.3.3, Q6.4.1, Q6.3.2, MS Windows
6244 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.3.3: What is the porting team doing at the moment?
6248 The porting team is continuing work on the MS Windows-specific code.
6249 Major projects are the development of Mule (internationalization)
6250 support for Windows and the improvement of the widget support (better
6251 support for dialog boxes, buttons, edit fields, and similar UI
6254 @node Q6.4.1, ,Q6.3.3, MS Windows
6255 @unnumberedsec 6.3: Troubleshooting
6256 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.4.1 XEmacs won't start on Windows. (NEW)
6258 XEmacs relies on a process called "dumping" to generate a working
6259 executable. Under MS-Windows this process effectively fixes the memory
6260 addresses of information in the executable. When XEmacs starts up it tries
6261 to reserve these memory addresses so that the dumping process can be
6262 reversed - putting the information back at the correct addresses.
6263 Unfortunately some .dlls (For instance the soundblaster driver) occupy
6264 memory addresses that can conflict with those needed by the dumped XEmacs
6265 executable. In this instance XEmacs will fail to start without any
6266 explanation. Note that this is extremely machine specific.
6268 21.1.10 includes a fix for this that makes more intelligent guesses
6269 about which memory addresses will be free, and this should cure the
6270 problem for most people. Unfortunately, no binary is yet available for
6271 this version. Check back periodically at
6273 @uref{ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/binaries/}.
6275 21.2 implements "portable dumping" which will eliminate the problem
6276 altogether. You might have better luck with the 21.2 beta binary,
6279 @uref{ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/beta/binaries/}.
6282 @node Current Events, , MS Windows, Top
6283 @unnumbered 7 What the Future Holds
6285 This is part 7 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
6286 section will change monthly, and contains any interesting items that have
6287 transpired over the previous month. If you are reading this from the
6288 XEmacs distribution, please see the version on the Web or archived at the
6289 various FAQ FTP sites, as this file is surely out of date.
6292 * Q7.0.1:: What is new in 20.2?
6293 * Q7.0.2:: What is new in 20.3?
6294 * Q7.0.3:: What is new in 20.4?
6295 * Q7.0.4:: Procedural changes in XEmacs development.
6298 @node Q7.0.1, Q7.0.2, Current Events, Current Events
6299 @unnumberedsec 7.0: Changes
6300 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.1: What is new in 20.2?
6302 The biggest changes in 20.2 include integration of EFS (the next
6303 generation of ange-ftp) and AUC Tex (the Emacs subsystem that includes a
6304 major mode for editing Tex and LaTeX, and a lot of other stuff). Many
6305 bugs from 20.0 have been fixed for this release. 20.2 also contains a
6306 new system for customizing XEmacs options, invoked via @kbd{M-x
6309 XEmacs 20.2 is the development release (20.0 was beta), and is no longer
6310 considered unstable.
6312 @node Q7.0.2, Q7.0.3, Q7.0.1, Current Events
6313 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.2: What is new in 20.3?
6315 XEmacs 20.3 was released in November 1997. It contains many bugfixes,
6316 and a number of new features, including Autoconf 2 based configuration,
6317 additional support for Mule (Multi-language extensions to Emacs), many
6318 more customizations, multiple frames on TTY-s, support for multiple info
6319 directories, an enhanced gnuclient, improvements to regexp matching,
6320 increased MIME support, and many, many synches with GNU Emacs 20.
6322 The XEmacs/Mule support has been only seriously tested in a Japanese
6323 locale, and no doubt many problems still remain. The support for
6324 ISO-Latin-1 and Japanese is fairly strong. MULE support comes at a
6325 price---about a 30% slowdown from 19.16. We're making progress on
6326 improving performance and XEmacs 20.3 compiled without Mule (which is
6327 the default) is definitely faster than XEmacs 19.16.
6329 XEmacs 20.3 is the first non-beta v20 release, and will be the
6330 basis for all further development.
6332 @node Q7.0.3, Q7.0.4, Q7.0.2, Current Events
6333 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.3: What's new in XEmacs 20.4?
6335 XEmacs 20.4 is a bugfix release with no user-visible changes.
6336 @c Filled in from NEWS file of 20.5-b33
6339 @node Q7.0.4, , Q7.0.3, Current Events
6340 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.4: Procedural changes in XEmacs development.
6344 Discussion about the development of XEmacs occurs on the xemacs-beta
6345 mailing list. Subscriptions to this list will now be fully automated
6346 instead of being handled by hand. Send a mail message to
6347 @email{xemacs-beta-request@@xemacs.org} with @samp{subscribe} as the
6348 BODY of the message to join the list. Please note this is a developers
6349 mailing list for people who have an active interest in the development
6352 The discussion of NT XEmacs development is taking place on a separate
6353 mailing list. Send mail to
6357 @email{xemacs-nt-request@@xemacs.org} to
6361 Due to the long development cycle in between releases, it has been
6362 decided that intermediate versions will be made available in source only
6363 form for the truly interested.
6365 XEmacs 19.16 was the last 19 release, basically consisting of 19.15 plus
6366 the collected bugfixes.
6369 As of December 1996, @email{steve@@xemacs.org, Steve Baur} has become
6370 the lead maintainer of XEmacs.