1 This is ../info/xemacs-faq.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.0 from
4 INFO-DIR-SECTION XEmacs Editor
6 * FAQ: (xemacs-faq). XEmacs FAQ.
10 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.2.1, Next: Q5.2.2, Prev: Q5.1.11, Up: Miscellaneous
12 Q5.2.1: How do I turn off the sound?
13 ------------------------------------
15 Add the following line to your `.emacs':
18 (setq sound-alist nil)
20 That will make your XEmacs totally silent--even the default ding
21 sound (TTY beep on TTY-s) will be gone.
23 Starting with XEmacs-20.2 you can also change these with Customize.
24 Select from the `Options' menu
25 `Customize->Emacs->Environment->Sound->Sound...' or type `M-x customize
29 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.2.2, Next: Q5.2.3, Prev: Q5.2.1, Up: Miscellaneous
31 Q5.2.2: How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
32 -----------------------------------------------------------
34 Make sure your XEmacs was compiled with sound support, and then put
35 this in your `.emacs':
39 The sound support in XEmacs 19.14 was greatly improved over previous
43 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.2.3, Next: Q5.2.4, Prev: Q5.2.2, Up: Miscellaneous
45 Q5.2.3: What's NAS, how do I get it?
46 ------------------------------------
48 *Note Q2.0.3::, for an explanation of the "Network Audio System".
51 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.2.4, Next: Q5.3.1, Prev: Q5.2.3, Up: Miscellaneous
53 Q5.2.4: Sunsite sounds don't play.
54 ----------------------------------
56 I'm having some trouble with sounds I've downloaded from sunsite.
57 They play when I run them through `showaudio' or cat them directly to
58 `/dev/audio', but XEmacs refuses to play them.
60 Markus Gutschke <gutschk@uni-muenster.de> writes:
62 [Many of] These files have an (erroneous) 24byte header that tells
63 about the format that they have been recorded in. If you cat them
64 to `/dev/audio', the header will be ignored and the default
65 behavior for /dev/audio will be used. This happens to be 8kHz
66 uLaw. It is probably possible to fix the header by piping through
67 `sox' and passing explicit parameters for specifying the sampling
68 format; you then need to perform a 'null' conversion from SunAudio
72 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.1, Next: Q5.3.2, Prev: Q5.2.4, Up: Miscellaneous
77 Q5.3.1: How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
78 --------------------------------------------------------------
80 I'd like XEmacs to indent all the clauses of a Common Lisp `if' the
81 same amount instead of indenting the 3rd clause differently from the
84 One way is to add, to `.emacs':
86 (put 'if 'lisp-indent-function nil)
88 However, note that the package `cl-indent' that comes with XEmacs
89 sets up this kind of indentation by default. `cl-indent' also knows
90 about many other CL-specific forms. To use `cl-indent', one can do
94 (setq lisp-indent-function (function common-lisp-indent-function))
96 One can also customize `cl-indent.el' so it mimics the default `if'
97 indentation `then' indented more than the `else'. Here's how:
99 (put 'if 'common-lisp-indent-function '(nil nil &body))
101 Also, a new version (1.2) of `cl-indent.el' was posted to
102 comp.emacs.xemacs on 12/9/94. This version includes more documentation
103 than previous versions. This may prove useful if you need to customize
104 any indent-functions.
107 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.2, Next: Q5.3.3, Prev: Q5.3.1, Up: Miscellaneous
109 Q5.3.2: Fontifying hang when editing a postscript file.
110 -------------------------------------------------------
112 When I try to edit a postscript file it gets stuck saying:
113 `fontifying 'filename' (regexps....)' and it just sits there. If I
114 press `C-c' in the window where XEmacs was started, it suddenly becomes
117 This was caused by a bug in the Postscript font-lock regular
118 expressions. It was fixed in 19.13. For earlier versions of XEmacs,
119 have a look at your `.emacs' file. You will probably have a line like:
121 (add-hook 'postscript-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
123 Take it out, restart XEmacs, and it won't try to fontify your
124 postscript files anymore.
127 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.3, Next: Q5.3.4, Prev: Q5.3.2, Up: Miscellaneous
129 Q5.3.3: How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
130 -----------------------------------------------------
132 Font-lock looks nice. How can I print (WYSIWYG) the highlighted
135 The package `ps-print', which is now included with XEmacs, provides
136 the ability to do this. The source code contains complete instructions
137 on its use, in `<xemacs_src_root>/lisp/packages/ps-print.el'.
140 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.4, Next: Q5.3.5, Prev: Q5.3.3, Up: Miscellaneous
142 Q5.3.4: Getting `M-x lpr' to work with postscript printer.
143 ----------------------------------------------------------
145 My printer is a Postscript printer and `lpr' only works for
146 Postscript files, so how do I get `M-x lpr-region' and `M-x lpr-buffer'
149 Put something like this in your `.emacs':
151 (setq lpr-command "a2ps")
152 (setq lpr-switches '("-p" "-1"))
154 If you don't use a2ps to convert ASCII to postscript (why not, it's
155 free?), replace with the command you do use. Note also that some
156 versions of a2ps require a `-Pprinter' to ensure spooling.
159 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.5, Next: Q5.3.6, Prev: Q5.3.4, Up: Miscellaneous
161 Q5.3.5: How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
162 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
164 You can specify what paths to use by using a number of different
165 flags when running configure. See the section MAKE VARIABLES in the
166 top-level file INSTALL in the XEmacs distribution for a listing of
169 Most of the time, however, the simplest fix is: *do not* specify
170 paths as you might for GNU Emacs. XEmacs can generally determine the
171 necessary paths dynamically at run time. The only path that generally
172 needs to be specified is the root directory to install into. That can
173 be specified by passing the `--prefix' flag to configure. For a
174 description of the XEmacs install tree, please consult the `NEWS' file.
177 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.6, Next: Q5.3.7, Prev: Q5.3.5, Up: Miscellaneous
179 Q5.3.6: [This question intentionally left blank]
180 ------------------------------------------------
182 Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.
185 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.7, Next: Q5.3.8, Prev: Q5.3.6, Up: Miscellaneous
187 Q5.3.7: Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
188 ---------------------------------------------------------------
194 (let ((ext (make-extent (point-min) (point-max))))
195 (set-extent-property ext 'start-closed t)
196 (set-extent-property ext 'end-closed t)
197 (set-extent-property ext 'detachable nil)
198 (set-extent-end-glyph ext (make-glyph [string :data "[END]"])))
200 Since this is XEmacs, you can specify an icon to be shown on
201 window-system devices. To do so, change the `make-glyph' call to
204 (make-glyph '([xpm :file "~/something.xpm"]
205 [string :data "[END]"]))
207 You can inline the XPM definition yourself by specifying `:data'
208 instead of `:file'. Here is such a full-featured version that works on
209 both X and TTY devices:
211 (let ((ext (make-extent (point-min) (point-max))))
212 (set-extent-property ext 'start-closed t)
213 (set-extent-property ext 'end-closed t)
214 (set-extent-property ext 'detachable nil)
215 (set-extent-end-glyph ext (make-glyph '([xpm :data "\
226 \"___________`_`_`___b_b_b_b_________`____\",
227 \"_________`_`_`___b_c_c_c_b_b____________\",
228 \"_____`_`_`_e___b_b_c_c_c___b___b_______`\",
229 \"___`_`_e_a___b_b_d___b___b___b___b______\",
230 \"_`_`_e_a_e___b_b_d_b___b___b___b___b____\",
231 \"_`_`_a_e_a___b_b_d___b___b___b___b___b__\",
232 \"_`_`_e_a_e___b_b_d_b___b___b___b___b_b__\",
233 \"___`_`_e_a___b_b_b_d_c___b___b___d_b____\",
234 \"_____`_`_e_e___b_b_b_d_c___b_b_d_b______\",
235 \"_`_____`_`_`_`___b_b_b_d_d_d_d_b________\",
236 \"___`_____`_`_`_`___b_b_b_b_b_b__________\",
238 [string :data "[END]"]))))
240 Note that you might want to make this a function, and put it to a
241 hook. We leave that as an exercise for the reader.
244 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.8, Next: Q5.3.9, Prev: Q5.3.7, Up: Miscellaneous
246 Q5.3.8: How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
247 ---------------------------------------------------
251 (insert (current-time-string))
254 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.9, Next: Q5.3.10, Prev: Q5.3.8, Up: Miscellaneous
256 Q5.3.9: Are only certain syntactic character classes available for abbrevs?
257 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
259 Markus Gutschke <gutschk@uni-muenster.de> writes:
261 Yes, abbrevs only expands word-syntax strings. While XEmacs does
262 not prevent you from defining (e.g. with `C-x a g' or `C-x a l')
263 abbrevs that contain special characters, it will refuse to expand
264 them. So you need to ensure, that the abbreviation contains
265 letters and digits only. This means that `xd', `d5', and `5d' are
266 valid abbrevs, but `&d', and `x d' are not.
268 If this sounds confusing to you, (re-)read the online
269 documentation for abbrevs (`C-h i m XEmacs <RET> m Abbrevs
270 <RET>'), and then come back and read this question/answer again.
272 Starting with XEmacs 20.3 this restriction has been lifted.
275 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.10, Next: Q5.3.11, Prev: Q5.3.9, Up: Miscellaneous
277 Q5.3.10: How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
278 -----------------------------------------------------
280 Firstly there is an ftp site which describes X-faces and has the
281 associated tools mentioned below, at
282 `ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu:/pub/faces/'.
286 1. Create 48x48x1 bitmap with your favorite tool
288 2. Convert to "icon" format using one of xbm2ikon, pbmtoicon, etc.,
289 and then compile the face.
291 3. cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon |compface > file.face
293 4. Then be sure to quote things that are necessary for emacs strings:
295 cat ./file.face | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g'
296 | sed 's/\"/\\\"/g' > ./file.face.quoted
298 5. Then set up emacs to include the file as a mail header - there
299 were a couple of suggestions here--either something like:
301 (setq mail-default-headers
302 "X-Face: <Ugly looking text string here>")
304 Or, alternatively, as:
306 (defun mail-insert-x-face ()
308 (goto-char (point-min))
309 (search-forward mail-header-separator)
312 (insert-file-contents "~/.face")))
314 (add-hook 'mail-setup-hook 'mail-insert-x-face)
316 However, 2 things might be wrong:
318 Some versions of pbmtoicon produces some header lines that is not
319 expected by the version of compface that I grabbed. So I found I had to
320 include a `tail +3' in the pipeline like this:
322 cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon | tail +3 |compface > file.face
324 Some people have also found that if one uses the `(insert-file)'
325 method, one should NOT quote the face string using the sed script .
327 It might also be helpful to use Stig's <stig@hackvan.com> script
328 (included in the compface distribution at XEmacs.org) to do the
331 Contributors for this item:
333 Paul Emsley, Ricardo Marek, Amir J. Katz, Glen McCort, Heinz Uphoff,
334 Peter Arius, Paul Harrison, and Vegard Vesterheim
337 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.11, Next: Q5.3.12, Prev: Q5.3.10, Up: Miscellaneous
339 Q5.3.11: How do I add new Info directories?
340 -------------------------------------------
342 You use something like:
344 (setq Info-directory-list (cons
345 (expand-file-name "~/info")
346 Info-default-directory-list))
348 David Masterson <davidm@prism.kla.com> writes:
350 Emacs Info and XEmacs Info do many things differently. If you're
351 trying to support a number of versions of Emacs, here are some
354 1. Emacs Info scans `Info-directory-list' from right-to-left
355 while XEmacs Info reads it from left-to-right, so append to
356 the _correct_ end of the list.
358 2. Use `Info-default-directory-list' to initialize
359 `Info-directory-list' _if_ it is available at startup, but not
360 all Emacsen define it.
362 3. Emacs Info looks for a standard `dir' file in each of the
363 directories scanned from #1 and magically concatenates them
366 4. XEmacs Info looks for a `localdir' file (which consists of
367 just the menu entries from a `dir' file) in each of the
368 directories scanned from #1 (except the first), does a simple
369 concatenation of them, and magically attaches the resulting
370 list to the end of the menu in the `dir' file in the first
373 Another alternative is to convert the documentation to HTML with
374 texi2html and read it from a web browser like Lynx or W3.
377 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q5.3.12, Prev: Q5.3.11, Up: Miscellaneous
379 Q5.3.12: What do I need to change to make printing work?
380 --------------------------------------------------------
382 For regular printing there are two variables that can be customized.
385 This should be set to a command that takes standard input and sends
386 it to a printer. Something like:
388 (setq lpr-command "lp")
391 This should be set to a list that contains whatever the print
392 command requires to do its job. Something like:
394 (setq lpr-switches '("-depson"))
396 For postscript printing there are three analogous variables to
400 This should be set to a command that takes postscript on standard
401 input and directs it to a postscript printer.
404 This should be set to a list of switches required for
405 `ps-lpr-command' to do its job.
408 This boolean variable should be set `t' if printing will be done in
409 color, otherwise it should be set to `nil'.
411 NOTE: It is an undocumented limitation in XEmacs that postscript
412 printing (the `Pretty Print Buffer' menu item) *requires* a window
413 system environment. It cannot be used outside of X11.
416 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: MS Windows, Next: Current Events, Prev: Miscellaneous, Up: Top
418 6 XEmacs on MS Windows
419 **********************
421 This is part 6 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list,
422 written by Hrvoje Niksic and others. This section is devoted to the MS
423 Windows port of XEmacs.
429 * Q6.0.1:: What is the status of the XEmacs port to Windows?
430 * Q6.0.2:: What flavors of MS Windows are supported?
431 * Q6.0.3:: Where are the XEmacs on MS Windows binaries?
432 * Q6.0.4:: Does XEmacs on MS Windows require an X server to run?
434 Building XEmacs on MS Windows
435 * Q6.1.1:: I decided to run with X. Where do I get an X server?
436 * Q6.1.2:: What compiler do I need to compile XEmacs?
437 * Q6.1.3:: How do I compile for the native port?
438 * Q6.1.4:: How do I compile for the X port?
439 * Q6.1.5:: How do I compile for Cygnus' Cygwin?
440 * Q6.1.6:: What do I need for Cygwin?
442 Customization and User Interface
443 * Q6.2.1:: How will the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
444 * Q6.2.2:: How do I change fonts in XEmacs on MS Windows?
445 * Q6.2.3:: Where do I put my `.emacs' file?
448 * Q6.3.1:: Will XEmacs rename all the win32-* symbols to w32-*?
449 * Q6.3.2:: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
450 * Q6.3.3:: What is the porting team doing at the moment?
453 * Q6.4.1:: XEmacs won't start on Windows. (NEW)
456 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.0.1, Next: Q6.0.2, Prev: MS Windows, Up: MS Windows
461 Q6.0.1: What is the status of the XEmacs port to Windows?
462 ---------------------------------------------------------
464 Is XEmacs really getting ported to MS Windows? What is the status
467 Yes, a group of volunteers actively works on making XEmacs code base
468 cleanly compile and run on MS Windows operating systems. The mailing
469 list at <xemacs-nt@xemacs.org> is dedicated to that effort (please use
470 the -request address to subscribe).
472 At this time, XEmacs on MS Windows is usable, but lacks some of the
473 features of XEmacs on UNIX and UNIX-like systems. Notably,
474 internationalization does not work.
477 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.0.2, Next: Q6.0.3, Prev: Q6.0.1, Up: MS Windows
479 Q6.0.2: What flavors of MS Windows are supported? The list name implies NT only.
480 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
482 The list name is misleading, as XEmacs will support both Windows 95,
483 Windows 98 and Windows NT. The MS Windows-specific code is based on
484 Microsoft Win32 API, and will not work on MS Windows 3.x or on MS-DOS.
487 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.0.3, Next: Q6.0.4, Prev: Q6.0.2, Up: MS Windows
489 Q6.0.3: Are binary kits available?
490 ----------------------------------
492 Binary kits are available at
493 `ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/binary-kits/win32/' for the "plain" MS
497 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.0.4, Next: Q6.1.1, Prev: Q6.0.3, Up: MS Windows
499 Q6.0.4: Does XEmacs on MS Windows require an X server to run?
500 -------------------------------------------------------------
504 Long answer: XEmacs can be built in several ways in the MS Windows
505 environment, some of them requiring an X server and some not.
507 One is what we call the "X" port--it requires X libraries to build
508 and an X server to run. Internally it uses the Xt event loop and makes
509 use of X toolkits. Its look is quite un-Windowsy, but it works
510 reliably and supports all of the graphical features of Unix XEmacs.
512 The other is what we call the "native" port. It uses the Win32 API
513 and does not require X libraries to build, nor does it require an X to
514 run. In fact, it has no connection with X whatsoever. At this time,
515 the native port obsoletes the X port, providing almost all of its
516 features, including support for menus, scrollbars, toolbars, embedded
517 images and background pixmaps, frame pointers, etc. Most of the future
518 work will be based on the native port.
520 There is also a third special case, the Cygwin port. It takes
521 advantage of Cygnus emulation library under Win32, which enables it to
522 reuse much of the Unix XEmacs code base, such as processes and network
523 support, or internal select() mechanisms.
525 Cygwin port supports all display types--TTY, X & MS gui, and can be
526 built with support for all three. If you build with ms gui support
527 then the Cygwin version uses the majority of the msw code, which is
528 mostly related to display. If you want to build with X support you
529 need X libraries. If you want to build with tty support you need
530 ncurses. MS gui requires no additional libraries.
532 Some of the advantages of the Cygwin version are that it:
534 * integrates well with Cygwin environment for existing Cygwin users;
536 * uses configure so building with different features is very easy;
538 * has process support in X & tty.
541 The disadvantage is that it requires several Unix utilities and the
542 whole Cygwin environment, whereas the native port requires only a
543 suitable MS Windows compiler. Also, it follows the Unix filesystem and
544 process model very closely (some will undoubtedly view this as an
548 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.1.1, Next: Q6.1.2, Prev: Q6.0.4, Up: MS Windows
550 6.1: Building XEmacs on MS Windows
551 ==================================
553 Q6.1.1: I decided to run with X. Where do I get an X server?
554 -------------------------------------------------------------
556 Pointers to X servers can be found at
557 `http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov/software/grads/win32/X11R6.3/';
559 look for "Where to get an X server". Also note that, although the
560 above page talks about Cygnus gnu-win32 (Cygwin), the information on X
561 servers is Cygwin-independent. You don't have to be running/using
562 Cygwin to use these X servers, and you don't have to compile XEmacs
563 under Cygwin to use XEmacs with these X servers. An "X port" XEmacs
564 compiled under Visual C++ will work with these X servers (as will
565 XEmacs running on a Unix box, redirected to the server running on your
569 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.1.2, Next: Q6.1.3, Prev: Q6.1.1, Up: MS Windows
571 Q6.1.2: What compiler do I need to compile XEmacs?
572 --------------------------------------------------
574 You need Visual C++ 4.2, 5.0, or 6.0, with the exception of the
575 Cygwin port, which uses Gcc. There is also a MINGW32 port of XEmacs
576 (using Gcc, but using native libraries rather than the Cygwin
577 libraries). #### More information about this should be provided.
580 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.1.3, Next: Q6.1.4, Prev: Q6.1.2, Up: MS Windows
582 Q6.1.3: How do I compile for the native port?
583 ---------------------------------------------
585 Please read the file `nt/README' in the XEmacs distribution, which
586 contains the full description.
589 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.1.4, Next: Q6.1.5, Prev: Q6.1.3, Up: MS Windows
591 Q6.1.4: How do I compile for the X port?
592 ----------------------------------------
594 Again, it is described in `nt/README' in some detail. Basically, you
595 need to get X11 libraries from ftp.x.org, and compile them. If the
596 precompiled versions are available somewhere, I don't know of it.
599 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.1.5, Next: Q6.1.6, Prev: Q6.1.4, Up: MS Windows
601 Q6.1.5: How do I compile for Cygnus' Cygwin?
602 --------------------------------------------
604 Similar as on Unix; use the usual `configure' and `make' process.
605 Some problems to watch out for:
607 * make sure HOME is set. This controls where you `.emacs' file comes
610 * CYGWIN needs to be set to tty for process support work. e.g.
611 CYGWIN=tty; (use CYGWIN32=tty under b19 and older.)
613 * picking up some other grep or other unix like tools can kill
616 * static heap too small, adjust src/sheap-adjust.h to a more positive
619 * The Cygwin version doesn't understand `//machine/path' type paths
620 so you will need to manually mount a directory of this form under
621 a unix style directory for a build to work on the directory.
625 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.1.6, Next: Q6.2.1, Prev: Q6.1.5, Up: MS Windows
627 Q6.1.6: What do I need for Cygwin?
628 ----------------------------------
630 You can find the Cygwin tools and compiler at:
632 `http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/'
634 You will need version b19 or later. The latest current version is
635 1.1.1. Other common versions you will see are b20.1.
637 Another location, one of the mirror sites of the site just mentioned,
638 is usually a last faster:
640 `ftp://ftp.freesoftware.com/pub/sourceware/cygwin/'
642 You can obtain the latest version (currently 1.1.1) from the
643 `latest/' subdirectory of either of the above two just-mentioned URL's.
645 *WARNING: The version of GCC supplied under `latest/', as of June
646 6th, 2000, does not appear to work. It generates loads of spurious
647 preprocessor warnings and errors, which makes it impossible to compile
650 You will also need the X libraries. You can get them on the XEmacs
653 `ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/aux/cygwin/'
655 You will find b19 and b20 versions of the X libraries, plus b19 and
656 b20 versions of stuff that should go into `/usr/local/', donated by
657 Andy Piper. This includes pre-built versions of various graphics
658 libraries, such as PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and XPM. (Remember, GIF support is
661 (X libraries for v1 and beyond of Cygwin can be found on the Cygwin
662 site itself - look in the `xfree/' subdirectory.)
664 _NOTE:_ There are two versions of the XPM library provided in Andy's
665 packets. Once is for building with X support, and the other for
666 building without. The X version should work if you're building with
667 both X and Windows support. The two files are called `libXpm-X.a' and
668 `libXpm-noX.a' respectively, and you must symlink the appropriate one
669 to `libXpm.a'. *CAREFUL:* By default, the non-X version is symlinked
670 in. If you then configure XEmacs with X, you won't run into problems
671 until you start compiling `events.c', at which point you'll get strange
672 and decidedly non-obvious errors.
674 Please see `http://www.xemacs.freeserve.co.uk/' (Andy Piper's home
675 page) for more information.
677 BTW There are also libraries at
678 `http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov/software/grads/win32/X11R6.3/', but these are
679 not b19 compatible, and may in fact be native-compiled.
682 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.2.1, Next: Q6.2.2, Prev: Q6.1.6, Up: MS Windows
684 6.2: Customization and User Interface
685 =====================================
687 Q6.2.1: How will the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
688 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
690 XEmacs (and Emacs in general) UI is pretty different from what is
691 expected of a typical MS Windows program. How will the MS Windows port
694 Fortunately, Emacs is also one of the most configurable editor beasts
695 in the world. The MS Windows "look and feel" (mark via shift-arrow,
696 self-inserting deletes region, etc.) can be easily configured via
697 various packages distributed with XEmacs. The `pending-delete' package
698 is an example of such a utility.
700 In future versions, some of these packages might be turned on by
701 default in the MS Windows environment.
704 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.2.2, Next: Q6.2.3, Prev: Q6.2.1, Up: MS Windows
706 Q6.2.2: How do I change fonts in XEmacs on MS Windows?
707 ------------------------------------------------------
709 In 21.2.*, use the font menu. In 21.1.*, you can change font
710 manually. For example:
712 (set-face-font 'default "Lucida Console:Regular:10")
713 (set-face-font 'modeline "MS Sans Serif:Regular:10")
716 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.2.3, Next: Q6.3.1, Prev: Q6.2.2, Up: MS Windows
718 Q6.2.3: Where do I put my `.emacs' file?
719 ----------------------------------------
721 If the HOME environment variable is set, `.emacs' will be looked for
722 there. Else the directory defaults to `c:\'.
725 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.3.1, Next: Q6.3.2, Prev: Q6.2.3, Up: MS Windows
730 Q6.3.1: Will XEmacs rename all the win32-* symbols to w32-*?
731 ------------------------------------------------------------
733 In his flavor of Emacs 20, Richard Stallman has renamed all the
734 win32-* symbols to w32-*. Will XEmacs do the same?
736 We consider such a move counter-productive, thus we will not use the
737 `w32' prefix. However, we do recognize that Win32 name is little more
738 than a marketing buzzword (will it be Win64 in the next release?), so
739 we decided not to use it. Using `windows-' would be wrong because the
740 term is too generic, which is why we settled on a compromise
743 Thus all the XEmacs variables and functions directly related to Win32
744 are prefixed `mswindows-'. The user-variables shared with NT Emacs
745 will be provided as compatibility aliases.
747 Architectural note: We believe that there should be a very small
748 number of window-systems-specific variables, and will try to provide
749 generic interfaces whenever possible.
752 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.3.2, Next: Q6.3.3, Prev: Q6.3.1, Up: MS Windows
754 Q6.3.2: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
755 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
757 XEmacs, Win-Emacs, DOS Emacs, NT Emacs, this is all very confusing.
758 Could you briefly explain the differences between them?
760 Here is a recount of various Emacs versions running on MS Windows:
764 - Win-Emacs is a port of Lucid Emacs 19.6 to MS Windows using X
765 compatibility libraries. Win-Emacs has been written by Ben
766 Wing. The MS Windows code has not made it back to Lucid
767 Emacs, which left Win-Emacs pretty much dead for our
768 purposes. Win-Emacs used to be available at Pearlsoft, but
769 not anymore, since Pearlsoft went out of business.
773 - GNU Emacs features support for MS-DOS and DJGPP (D.J.
774 Delorie's DOS port of Gcc). Such an Emacs is heavily
775 underfeatured, because it does not supports long file names,
776 lacks proper subprocesses support, and is far too big
777 compared to typical DOS editors.
779 * GNU Emacs compiled with Win32
781 - Starting with version 19.30, it has been possible to compile
782 GNU Emacs under MS Windows using the DJGPP compiler and X
783 libraries. The result is is very similar to GNU Emacs
784 compiled under MS DOS, only it supports longer file names,
785 etc. This "port" is similar to the "X" flavor of XEmacs on
790 - NT Emacs is a version of GNU Emacs modified to compile and
791 run under MS MS Windows 95 and NT using the native Win32 API.
792 As such, it is close in spirit to the XEmacs "native" port.
794 - NT Emacs has been written by Geoff Voelker, and more
795 information can be found at
796 `http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/voelker/ntemacs.html'.
801 - Beginning with XEmacs 19.12, XEmacs' architecture has been
802 redesigned in such a way to allow clean support of multiple
803 window systems. At this time the TTY support was added,
804 making X and TTY the first two "window systems" XEmacs
805 supported. The 19.12 design is the basis for the current
806 native MS Windows code.
808 - Some time during 1997, David Hobley (soon joined by Marc
809 Paquette) imported some of the NT-specific portions of GNU
810 Emacs, making XEmacs with X support compile under Windows NT,
811 and creating the "X" port.
813 - Several months later, Jonathan Harris sent out initial
814 patches to use the Win32 API, thus creating the native port.
815 Since then, various people have contributed, including Kirill
816 M. Katsnelson (contributed support for menubars, subprocesses
817 and network, as well as loads of other code), Andy Piper
818 (ported XEmacs to Cygwin environment, contributed Windows
819 unexec, Windows-specific glyphs and toolbars code, and more),
820 Jeff Sparkes (contributed scrollbars support) and many others.
825 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.3.3, Next: Q6.4.1, Prev: Q6.3.2, Up: MS Windows
827 Q6.3.3: What is the porting team doing at the moment?
828 -----------------------------------------------------
830 The porting team is continuing work on the MS Windows-specific code.
833 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q6.4.1, Prev: Q6.3.3, Up: MS Windows
838 Q6.4.1 XEmacs won't start on Windows. (NEW)
839 -------------------------------------------
841 XEmacs relies on a process called "dumping" to generate a working
842 executable. Under MS-Windows this process effectively fixes the memory
843 addresses of information in the executable. When XEmacs starts up it
844 tries to reserve these memory addresses so that the dumping process can
845 be reversed - putting the information back at the correct addresses.
846 Unfortunately some .dlls (For instance the soundblaster driver) occupy
847 memory addresses that can conflict with those needed by the dumped
848 XEmacs executable. In this instance XEmacs will fail to start without
849 any explanation. Note that this is extremely machine specific.
851 21.1.10 includes a fix for this that makes more intelligent guesses
852 about which memory addresses will be free, and this should cure the
853 problem for most people. Unfortunately, no binary is yet available for
854 this version. Check back periodically at
856 `ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/binaries/'.
858 21.2 implements "portable dumping" which will eliminate the problem
859 altogether. You might have better luck with the 21.2 beta binary,
862 `ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/beta/binaries/'.
865 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Current Events, Prev: MS Windows, Up: Top
867 7 What the Future Holds
868 ***********************
870 This is part 7 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
871 section will change monthly, and contains any interesting items that
872 have transpired over the previous month. If you are reading this from
873 the XEmacs distribution, please see the version on the Web or archived
874 at the various FAQ FTP sites, as this file is surely out of date.
878 * Q7.0.1:: What is new in 20.2?
879 * Q7.0.2:: What is new in 20.3?
880 * Q7.0.3:: What is new in 20.4?
881 * Q7.0.4:: Procedural changes in XEmacs development.
884 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q7.0.1, Next: Q7.0.2, Prev: Current Events, Up: Current Events
889 Q7.0.1: What is new in 20.2?
890 ----------------------------
892 The biggest changes in 20.2 include integration of EFS (the next
893 generation of ange-ftp) and AUC Tex (the Emacs subsystem that includes a
894 major mode for editing Tex and LaTeX, and a lot of other stuff). Many
895 bugs from 20.0 have been fixed for this release. 20.2 also contains a
896 new system for customizing XEmacs options, invoked via `M-x customize'.
898 XEmacs 20.2 is the development release (20.0 was beta), and is no
899 longer considered unstable.
902 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q7.0.2, Next: Q7.0.3, Prev: Q7.0.1, Up: Current Events
904 Q7.0.2: What is new in 20.3?
905 ----------------------------
907 XEmacs 20.3 was released in November 1997. It contains many bugfixes,
908 and a number of new features, including Autoconf 2 based configuration,
909 additional support for Mule (Multi-language extensions to Emacs), many
910 more customizations, multiple frames on TTY-s, support for multiple info
911 directories, an enhanced gnuclient, improvements to regexp matching,
912 increased MIME support, and many, many synches with GNU Emacs 20.
914 The XEmacs/Mule support has been only seriously tested in a Japanese
915 locale, and no doubt many problems still remain. The support for
916 ISO-Latin-1 and Japanese is fairly strong. MULE support comes at a
917 price--about a 30% slowdown from 19.16. We're making progress on
918 improving performance and XEmacs 20.3 compiled without Mule (which is
919 the default) is definitely faster than XEmacs 19.16.
921 XEmacs 20.3 is the first non-beta v20 release, and will be the basis
922 for all further development.
925 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q7.0.3, Next: Q7.0.4, Prev: Q7.0.2, Up: Current Events
927 Q7.0.3: What's new in XEmacs 20.4?
928 ----------------------------------
930 XEmacs 20.4 is a bugfix release with no user-visible changes.
933 File: xemacs-faq.info, Node: Q7.0.4, Prev: Q7.0.3, Up: Current Events
935 Q7.0.4: Procedural changes in XEmacs development.
936 -------------------------------------------------
938 1. Discussion about the development of XEmacs occurs on the
939 xemacs-beta mailing list. Subscriptions to this list will now be
940 fully automated instead of being handled by hand. Send a mail
941 message to <xemacs-beta-request@xemacs.org> with `subscribe' as the
942 BODY of the message to join the list. Please note this is a
943 developers mailing list for people who have an active interest in
944 the development process.
946 The discussion of NT XEmacs development is taking place on a
947 separate mailing list. Send mail to
948 <xemacs-nt-request@xemacs.org> to subscribe.
950 2. Due to the long development cycle in between releases, it has been
951 decided that intermediate versions will be made available in
952 source only form for the truly interested.
954 XEmacs 19.16 was the last 19 release, basically consisting of
955 19.15 plus the collected bugfixes.
957 3. As of December 1996, Steve Baur <steve@xemacs.org> has become the
958 lead maintainer of XEmacs.