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This is ../info/xemacs-faq.info, produced by makeinfo version 3.12s
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* FAQ: (xemacs-faq).            XEmacs FAQ.
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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.0.18,  Next: Q5.0.19,  Prev: Q5.0.17,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.0.18: I upgraded to XEmacs 19.14 and gnuserv stopped working.
----------------------------------------------------------------

   Mark Daku <daku@nortel.ca> writes:

     It turns out I was using an older version of gnuserv.  The
     installation didn't put the binary into the public bin directory.
     It put it in `lib/xemacs-19.14/hppa1.1-hp-hpux9.05/gnuserv'.
     Shouldn't it have been put in `bin/hppa1.1-hp-hpux9.0'?

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.0.19,  Next: Q5.0.20,  Prev: Q5.0.18,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.0.19: Is there something better than LaTeX mode?
---------------------------------------------------

   David Kastrup <dak@fsnif.neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de> writes:

     The standard TeX modes leave much to be desired, and are somewhat
     leniently maintained.  Serious TeX users use AUC TeX (*note
     Q4.7.1::).

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.0.20,  Next: Q5.1.1,  Prev: Q5.0.19,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.0.20: Is there a way to start a new XEmacs if there's no gnuserv running, and otherwise use gnuclient?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Jan Vroonhof <vroonhof@math.ethz.ch> writes:
     Here is one of the solutions, we have this in a script called
     `etc/editclient.sh'.
           #!/bin/sh
           if gnuclient -batch -eval t >/dev/null 2>&1
           then
             exec gnuclient ${1+"$@"}
           else
             xemacs -unmapped -f gnuserv-start &
             until gnuclient -batch -eval t >/dev/null 2>&1
             do
                sleep 1
             done
             exec gnuclient ${1+"$@"}
           fi

     Note that there is a known problem when running XEmacs and
     'gnuclient -nw' on the same TTY.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.1,  Next: Q5.1.2,  Prev: Q5.0.20,  Up: Miscellaneous

5.1: Emacs Lisp Programming Techniques
======================================

Q5.1.1: What is the difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Erik Naggum <clerik@naggum.no> writes;

     Emacs has a legacy of keyboards that produced characters with
     modifier bits, and therefore map a variety of input systems into
     this scheme even today.  XEmacs is instead optimized for X events.
     This causes an incompatibility in the way key sequences are
     specified, but both Emacs and XEmacs will accept a key sequence as
     a vector of lists of modifiers that ends with a key, e.g., to bind
     `M-C-a', you would say `[(meta control a)]' in both Emacsen.
     XEmacs has an abbreviated form for a single key, just (meta
     control a).  Emacs has an abbreviated form for the Control and the
     Meta modifiers to string-characters (the ASCII characters), as in
     `\M-\C-a'.  XEmacs users need to be aware that the abbreviated
     form works only for one-character key sequences, while Emacs users
     need to be aware that the string-character is rather limited.
     Specifically, the string-character can accommodate only 256
     different values, 128 of which have the Meta modifier and 128 of
     which have not.  In each of these blocks, only 32 characters have
     the Control modifier.  Whereas `[(meta control A)]' differs from
     `[(meta control a)]' because the case differs, `\M-\C-a' and
     `\M-\C-A' do not.  Programmers are advised to use the full common
     form, both because it is more readable and less error-prone, and
     because it is supported by both Emacsen.

   Another (even safer) way to be sure of the key-sequences is to use
the `read-kbd-macro' function, which takes a string like `C-c <up>',
and converts it to the internal key representation of the Emacs you
use.  The function is available both on XEmacs and GNU Emacs.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.2,  Next: Q5.1.3,  Prev: Q5.1.1,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.2: Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?
----------------------------------------------

   I wonder if there is an interactive function that can generate
"fake" keyboard events.  This way, I could simply map them inside
XEmacs.

   This seems to work:

     (defun cg--generate-char-event (ch)
       "Generate an event, as if ch has been typed"
       (dispatch-event (character-to-event ch)))
     
     ;;  Backspace and Delete stuff
     (global-set-key [backspace]
       (lambda () (interactive) (cg--generate-char-event 127)))
     (global-set-key [unknown_keysym_0x4]
       (lambda () (interactive) (cg--generate-char-event 4)))

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.3,  Next: Q5.1.4,  Prev: Q5.1.2,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.3: Could you explain `read-kbd-macro' in more detail?
----------------------------------------------------------

   The `read-kbd-macro' function returns the internal Emacs
representation of a human-readable string (which is its argument).
Thus:

     (read-kbd-macro "C-c C-a")
     => [(control ?c) (control ?a)]
     
     (read-kbd-macro "C-c C-. <up>")
     => [(control ?c) (control ?.) up]

   In GNU Emacs the same forms will be evaluated to what GNU Emacs
understands internally--the sequences `"\C-x\C-c"' and `[3 67108910
up]', respectively.

   The exact "human-readable" syntax is defined in the docstring of
`edmacro-mode'.  I'll repeat it here, for completeness.

     Format of keyboard macros during editing:

     Text is divided into "words" separated by whitespace.  Except for
     the words described below, the characters of each word go directly
     as characters of the macro.  The whitespace that separates words is
     ignored.  Whitespace in the macro must be written explicitly, as in
     `foo <SPC> bar <RET>'.

        * The special words `RET', `SPC', `TAB', `DEL', `LFD', `ESC',
          and `NUL' represent special control characters.  The words
          must be written in uppercase.

        * A word in angle brackets, e.g., `<return>', `<down>', or
          `<f1>', represents a function key.  (Note that in the standard
          configuration, the function key `<return>' and the control key
          <RET> are synonymous.)  You can use angle brackets on the
          words <RET>, <SPC>, etc., but they are not required there.

        * Keys can be written by their ASCII code, using a backslash
          followed by up to six octal digits.  This is the only way to
          represent keys with codes above \377.

        * One or more prefixes `M-' (meta), `C-' (control), `S-'
          (shift), `A-' (alt), `H-' (hyper), and `s-' (super) may
          precede a character or key notation.  For function keys, the
          prefixes may go inside or outside of the brackets: `C-<down>'
          == `<C-down>'.  The prefixes may be written in any order:
          `M-C-x' == `C-M-x'.

          Prefixes are not allowed on multi-key words, e.g., `C-abc',
          except that the Meta prefix is allowed on a sequence of
          digits and optional minus sign: `M--123' == `M-- M-1 M-2 M-3'.

        * The `^' notation for control characters also works: `^M' ==
          `C-m'.

        * Double angle brackets enclose command names: `<<next-line>>'
          is shorthand for `M-x next-line <RET>'.

        * Finally, `REM' or `;;' causes the rest of the line to be
          ignored as a comment.

     Any word may be prefixed by a multiplier in the form of a decimal
     number and `*': `3*<right>' == `<right> <right> <right>', and
     `10*foo' == `foofoofoofoofoofoofoofoofoofoo'.

     Multiple text keys can normally be strung together to form a word,
     but you may need to add whitespace if the word would look like one
     of the above notations: `; ; ;' is a keyboard macro with three
     semicolons, but `;;;' is a comment.  Likewise, `\ 1 2 3' is four
     keys but `\123' is a single key written in octal, and `< right >'
     is seven keys but `<right>' is a single function key.  When in
     doubt, use whitespace.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.4,  Next: Q5.1.5,  Prev: Q5.1.3,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.4: What is the performance hit of `let'?
---------------------------------------------

   In most cases, not noticeable.  Besides, there's no avoiding
`let'--you have to bind your local variables, after all.  Some pose a
question whether to nest `let's, or use one `let' per function.  I
think because of clarity and maintenance (and possible future
implementation), `let'-s should be used (nested) in a way to provide
the clearest code.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.5,  Next: Q5.1.6,  Prev: Q5.1.4,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.5: What is the recommended use of `setq'?
----------------------------------------------

   * Global variables

     You will typically `defvar' your global variable to a default
     value, and use `setq' to set it later.

     It is never a good practice to `setq' user variables (like
     `case-fold-search', etc.), as it ignores the user's choice
     unconditionally.  Note that `defvar' doesn't change the value of a
     variable if it was bound previously.  If you wish to change a
     user-variable temporarily, use `let':

          (let ((case-fold-search nil))
            ...                                 ; code with searches that must be case-sensitive
            ...)

     You will notice the user-variables by their docstrings beginning
     with an asterisk (a convention).

   * Local variables

     Bind them with `let', which will unbind them (or restore their
     previous value, if they were bound) after exiting from the `let'
     form.  Change the value of local variables with `setq' or whatever
     you like (e.g. `incf', `setf' and such).  The `let' form can even
     return one of its local variables.

     Typical usage:

          ;; iterate through the elements of the list returned by
          ;; `hairy-function-that-returns-list'
          (let ((l (hairy-function-that-returns-list)))
            (while l
              ... do something with (car l) ...
              (setq l (cdr l))))

     Another typical usage includes building a value simply to work
     with it.

          ;; Build the mode keymap out of the key-translation-alist
          (let ((inbox (file-truename (expand-file-name box)))
                (i 0))
            ... code dealing with inbox ...
            inbox)

     This piece of code uses the local variable `inbox', which becomes
     unbound (or regains old value) after exiting the form.  The form
     also returns the value of `inbox', which can be reused, for
     instance:

          (setq foo-processed-inbox
                (let .....))

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.6,  Next: Q5.1.7,  Prev: Q5.1.5,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.6: What is the typical misuse of `setq' ?
----------------------------------------------

   A typical misuse is probably `setq'ing a variable that was meant to
be local.  Such a variable will remain bound forever, never to be
garbage-collected.  For example, the code doing:

     (defun my-function (whatever)
       (setq a nil)
       ... build a large list ...
       ... and exit ...)

   does a bad thing, as `a' will keep consuming memory, never to be
unbound.  The correct thing is to do it like this:

     (defun my-function (whatever)
       (let (a)                         ; default initialization is to nil
         ... build a large list ...
         ... and exit, unbinding `a' in the process  ...)

   Not only is this prettier syntactically, but it makes it possible for
Emacs to garbage-collect the objects which `a' used to reference.

   Note that even global variables should not be `setq'ed without
`defvar'ing them first, because the byte-compiler issues warnings.  The
reason for the warning is the following:

     (defun flurgoze nil)                       ; ok, global internal variable
     ...
     
     (setq flurghoze t)                 ; ops!  a typo, but semantically correct.
                                        ; however, the byte-compiler warns.
     
     While compiling toplevel forms:
     ** assignment to free variable flurghoze

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.7,  Next: Q5.1.8,  Prev: Q5.1.6,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.7: I like the the `do' form of cl, does it slow things down?
-----------------------------------------------------------------

   It shouldn't.  Here is what Dave Gillespie has to say about cl.el
performance:

     Many of the advanced features of this package, such as `defun*',
     `loop', and `setf', are implemented as Lisp macros.  In
     byte-compiled code, these complex notations will be expanded into
     equivalent Lisp code which is simple and efficient.  For example,
     the forms

          (incf i n)
          (push x (car p))

     are expanded at compile-time to the Lisp forms

          (setq i (+ i n))
          (setcar p (cons x (car p)))

     which are the most efficient ways of doing these respective
     operations in Lisp.  Thus, there is no performance penalty for
     using the more readable `incf' and `push' forms in your compiled
     code.

     _Interpreted_ code, on the other hand, must expand these macros
     every time they are executed.  For this reason it is strongly
     recommended that code making heavy use of macros be compiled.  (The
     features labelled "Special Form" instead of "Function" in this
     manual are macros.)  A loop using `incf' a hundred times will
     execute considerably faster if compiled, and will also
     garbage-collect less because the macro expansion will not have to
     be generated, used, and thrown away a hundred times.

     You can find out how a macro expands by using the `cl-prettyexpand'
     function.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.8,  Next: Q5.1.9,  Prev: Q5.1.7,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.8: I like recursion, does it slow things down?
---------------------------------------------------

   Yes.  Emacs byte-compiler cannot do much to optimize recursion.  But
think well whether this is a real concern in Emacs.  Much of the Emacs
slowness comes from internal mechanisms such as redisplay, or from the
fact that it is an interpreter.

   Please try not to make your code much uglier to gain a very small
speed gain.  It's not usually worth it.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.9,  Next: Q5.1.10,  Prev: Q5.1.8,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.9: How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?
-------------------------------------------------------

   Here is a solution that will insert the glyph annotation at the
beginning of buffer:

     (make-annotation (make-glyph '([FORMAT :file FILE]
                                    [string :data "fallback-text"]))
                      (point-min)
                      'text
                      (current-buffer))

   Replace `FORMAT' with an unquoted symbol representing the format of
the image (e.g. `xpm', `xbm', `gif', `jpeg', etc.)  Instead of `FILE',
use the image file name (e.g.
`/usr/local/lib/xemacs-20.2/etc/recycle.xpm').

   You can turn this to a function (that optionally prompts you for a
file name), and inserts the glyph at `(point)' instead of `(point-min)'.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.10,  Next: Q5.1.11,  Prev: Q5.1.9,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.10: `map-extents' won't traverse all of my extents!
--------------------------------------------------------

   I tried to use `map-extents' to do an operation on all the extents
in a region.  However, it seems to quit after processing a random number
of extents.  Is it buggy?

   No.  The documentation of `map-extents' states that it will iterate
across the extents as long as FUNCTION returns `nil'.  Unexperienced
programmers often forget to return `nil' explicitly, which results in
buggy code.  For instance, the following code is supposed to delete all
the extents in a buffer, and issue as many `fubar!' messages.

     (map-extents (lambda (ext ignore)
                    (delete-extent ext)
                    (message "fubar!")))

   Instead, it will delete only the first extent, and stop right there -
because `message' will return a non-nil value.  The correct code is:

     (map-extents (lambda (ext ignore)
                    (delete-extent ext)
                    (message "fubar!")
                    nil))

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.1.11,  Next: Q5.2.1,  Prev: Q5.1.10,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.1.11: My elisp program is horribly slow.  Is there
-----------------------------------------------------

   an easy way to find out where it spends time?

   zHrvoje Niksic <hniksic@xemacs.org> writes:
     Under XEmacs 20.4 and later  you can use `M-x
     profile-key-sequence', press a key (say <RET> in the Gnus Group
     buffer), and get the results using `M-x profile-results'.  It
     should give you an idea of where the time is being spent.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.2.1,  Next: Q5.2.2,  Prev: Q5.1.11,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.2.1: How do I turn off the sound?
------------------------------------

   Add the following line to your `.emacs':

     (setq bell-volume 0)
     (setq sound-alist nil)

   That will make your XEmacs totally silent - even the default ding
sound (TTY beep on TTY-s) will be gone.

   Starting with XEmacs-20.2 you can also change these with Customize.
Select from the `Options' menu
`Customize->Emacs->Environment->Sound->Sound...' or type `M-x customize
<RET> sound <RET>'.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.2.2,  Next: Q5.2.3,  Prev: Q5.2.1,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.2.2: How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
-----------------------------------------------------------

   Make sure your XEmacs was compiled with sound support, and then put
this in your `.emacs':

     (load-default-sounds)

   The sound support in XEmacs 19.14 was greatly improved over previous
versions.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.2.3,  Next: Q5.2.4,  Prev: Q5.2.2,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.2.3: What's NAS, how do I get it?
------------------------------------

   *Note Q2.0.3::, for an explanation of the "Network Audio System".

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.2.4,  Next: Q5.3.1,  Prev: Q5.2.3,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.2.4: Sunsite sounds don't play.
----------------------------------

   I'm having some trouble with sounds I've downloaded from sunsite.
They play when I run them through `showaudio' or cat them directly to
`/dev/audio', but XEmacs refuses to play them.

   Markus Gutschke <gutschk@uni-muenster.de> writes:

     [Many of] These files have an (erroneous) 24byte header that tells
     about the format that they have been recorded in. If you cat them
     to `/dev/audio', the header will be ignored and the default
     behavior for /dev/audio will be used. This happens to be 8kHz
     uLaw. It is probably possible to fix the header by piping through
     `sox' and passing explicit parameters for specifying the sampling
     format; you then need to perform a 'null' conversion from SunAudio
     to SunAudio.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.3.1,  Next: Q5.3.2,  Prev: Q5.2.4,  Up: Miscellaneous

5.3: Miscellaneous
==================

Q5.3.1: How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
--------------------------------------------------------------

   I'd like XEmacs to indent all the clauses of a Common Lisp `if' the
same amount instead of indenting the 3rd clause differently from the
first two.

   One way is to add, to `.emacs':

     (put 'if 'lisp-indent-function nil)

   However, note that the package `cl-indent' that comes with XEmacs
sets up this kind of indentation by default.  `cl-indent' also knows
about many other CL-specific forms.  To use `cl-indent', one can do
this:

     (load "cl-indent")
     (setq lisp-indent-function (function common-lisp-indent-function))

   One can also customize `cl-indent.el' so it mimics the default `if'
indentation `then' indented more than the `else'.  Here's how:

     (put 'if 'common-lisp-indent-function '(nil nil &body))

   Also, a new version (1.2) of `cl-indent.el' was posted to
comp.emacs.xemacs on 12/9/94.  This version includes more documentation
than previous versions.  This may prove useful if you need to customize
any indent-functions.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.3.2,  Next: Q5.3.3,  Prev: Q5.3.1,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.3.2: Fontifying hang when editing a postscript file.
-------------------------------------------------------

   When I try to edit a postscript file it gets stuck saying:
`fontifying 'filename' (regexps....)' and it just sits there.  If I
press `C-c' in the window where XEmacs was started, it suddenly becomes
alive again.

   This was caused by a bug in the Postscript font-lock regular
expressions.  It was fixed in 19.13.  For earlier versions of XEmacs,
have a look at your `.emacs' file.  You will probably have a line like:

     (add-hook 'postscript-mode-hook    'turn-on-font-lock)

   Take it out, restart XEmacs, and it won't try to fontify your
postscript files anymore.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.3.3,  Next: Q5.3.4,  Prev: Q5.3.2,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.3.3: How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
-----------------------------------------------------

   Font-lock looks nice.  How can I print (WYSIWYG) the highlighted
document?

   The package `ps-print', which is now included with XEmacs, provides
the ability to do this.  The source code contains complete instructions
on its use, in `<xemacs_src_root>/lisp/packages/ps-print.el'.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.3.4,  Next: Q5.3.5,  Prev: Q5.3.3,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.3.4: Getting `M-x lpr' to work with postscript printer.
----------------------------------------------------------

   My printer is a Postscript printer and `lpr' only works for
Postscript files, so how do I get `M-x lpr-region' and `M-x lpr-buffer'
to work?

   Put something like this in your `.emacs':

     (setq lpr-command "a2ps")
     (setq lpr-switches '("-p" "-1"))

   If you don't use a2ps to convert ASCII to postscript (why not, it's
free?), replace with the command you do use.  Note also that some
versions of a2ps require a `-Pprinter' to ensure spooling.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.3.5,  Next: Q5.3.6,  Prev: Q5.3.4,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.3.5: How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

   You can specify what paths to use by using a number of different
flags when running configure.  See the section MAKE VARIABLES in the
top-level file INSTALL in the XEmacs distribution for a listing of
those flags.

   Most of the time, however, the simplest fix is: *do not* specify
paths as you might for GNU Emacs.  XEmacs can generally determine the
necessary paths dynamically at run time.  The only path that generally
needs to be specified is the root directory to install into.  That can
be specified by passing the `--prefix' flag to configure.  For a
description of the XEmacs install tree, please consult the `NEWS' file.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.3.6,  Next: Q5.3.7,  Prev: Q5.3.5,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.3.6: [This question intentionally left blank]
------------------------------------------------

   Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: Q5.3.7,  Next: Q5.3.8,  Prev: Q5.3.6,  Up: Miscellaneous

Q5.3.7: Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
---------------------------------------------------------------

   Say, with: `[END]'?

   Try this:

     (let ((ext (make-extent (point-min) (point-max))))
       (set-extent-property ext 'start-closed t)
       (set-extent-property ext 'end-closed t)
       (set-extent-property ext 'detachable nil)
       (set-extent-end-glyph ext (make-glyph [string :data "[END]"])))

   Since this is XEmacs, you can specify an icon to be shown on
window-system devices.  To do so, change the `make-glyph' call to
something like this:

     (make-glyph '([xpm :file "~/something.xpm"]
                   [string :data "[END]"]))

   You can inline the XPM definition yourself by specifying `:data'
instead of `:file'.  Here is such a full-featured version that works on
both X and TTY devices:

     (let ((ext (make-extent (point-min) (point-max))))
       (set-extent-property ext 'start-closed t)
       (set-extent-property ext 'end-closed t)
       (set-extent-property ext 'detachable nil)
       (set-extent-end-glyph ext (make-glyph '([xpm :data "\
     /* XPM */
     static char* eye = {
     \"20 11 7 2\",
     \"__ c None\"
     \"_` c #7f7f7f\",
     \"_a c #fefefe\",
     \"_b c #7f0000\",
     \"_c c #fefe00\",
     \"_d c #fe0000\",
     \"_e c #bfbfbf\",
     \"___________`_`_`___b_b_b_b_________`____\",
     \"_________`_`_`___b_c_c_c_b_b____________\",
     \"_____`_`_`_e___b_b_c_c_c___b___b_______`\",
     \"___`_`_e_a___b_b_d___b___b___b___b______\",
     \"_`_`_e_a_e___b_b_d_b___b___b___b___b____\",
     \"_`_`_a_e_a___b_b_d___b___b___b___b___b__\",
     \"_`_`_e_a_e___b_b_d_b___b___b___b___b_b__\",
     \"___`_`_e_a___b_b_b_d_c___b___b___d_b____\",
     \"_____`_`_e_e___b_b_b_d_c___b_b_d_b______\",
     \"_`_____`_`_`_`___b_b_b_d_d_d_d_b________\",
     \"___`_____`_`_`_`___b_b_b_b_b_b__________\",
     } ;"]
                                               [string :data "[END]"]))))

   Note that you might want to make this a function, and put it to a
hook.  We leave that as an exercise for the reader.

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Q5.3.8: How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
---------------------------------------------------

   Like this:

     (insert (current-time-string))

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Q5.3.9: Are only certain syntactic character classes available for abbrevs?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Markus Gutschke <gutschk@uni-muenster.de> writes:

     Yes, abbrevs only expands word-syntax strings. While XEmacs does
     not prevent you from defining (e.g. with `C-x a g' or `C-x a l')
     abbrevs that contain special characters, it will refuse to expand
     them. So you need to ensure, that the abbreviation contains
     letters and digits only. This means that `xd', `d5', and `5d' are
     valid abbrevs, but `&d', and `x d' are not.

     If this sounds confusing to you, (re-)read the online
     documentation for abbrevs (`C-h i m XEmacs <RET> m Abbrevs
     <RET>'), and then come back and read this question/answer again.

   Starting with XEmacs 20.3 this restriction has been lifted.

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Q5.3.10: How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
-----------------------------------------------------

   Firstly there is an ftp site which describes X-faces and has the
associated tools mentioned below, at
`ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu:/pub/faces/'.

   Then the steps are

  1. Create 48x48x1 bitmap with your favorite tool

  2. Convert to "icon" format using one of xbm2ikon, pbmtoicon, etc.,
     and then compile the face.

  3.      cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon |compface > file.face

  4. Then be sure to quote things that are necessary for emacs strings:

          cat ./file.face | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g'
          | sed 's/\"/\\\"/g' > ./file.face.quoted

  5. Then set up emacs to include the file as a mail header - there
     were a couple of suggestions here--either something like:

          (setq  mail-default-headers
                 "X-Face:  <Ugly looking text string here>")

     Or, alternatively, as:

          (defun mail-insert-x-face ()
            (save-excursion
              (goto-char (point-min))
              (search-forward mail-header-separator)
              (beginning-of-line)
              (insert "X-Face:")
              (insert-file-contents "~/.face")))
          
          (add-hook 'mail-setup-hook 'mail-insert-x-face)

   However, 2 things might be wrong:

   Some versions of pbmtoicon produces some header lines that is not
expected by the version of compface that I grabbed. So I found I had to
include a `tail +3' in the pipeline like this:

     cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon | tail +3 |compface > file.face

   Some people have also found that if one uses the `(insert-file)'
method, one should NOT quote the face string using the sed script .

   It might also be helpful to use Stig's <stig@hackvan.com> script
(included in the compface distribution at XEmacs.org) to do the
conversion.

   Contributors for this item:

   Paul Emsley, Ricardo Marek, Amir J. Katz, Glen McCort, Heinz Uphoff,
Peter Arius, Paul Harrison, and Vegard Vesterheim

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Q5.3.11: How do I add new Info directories?
-------------------------------------------

   You use something like:

     (setq Info-directory-list (cons
                           (expand-file-name "~/info")
                           Info-default-directory-list))

   David Masterson <davidm@prism.kla.com> writes:

     Emacs Info and XEmacs Info do many things differently.  If you're
     trying to support a number of versions of Emacs, here are some
     notes to remember:

       1. Emacs Info scans `Info-directory-list' from right-to-left
          while XEmacs Info reads it from left-to-right, so append to
          the _correct_ end of the list.

       2. Use `Info-default-directory-list' to initialize
          `Info-directory-list' _if_ it is available at startup, but not
          all Emacsen define it.

       3. Emacs Info looks for a standard `dir' file in each of the
          directories scanned from #1 and magically concatenates them
          together.

       4. XEmacs Info looks for a `localdir' file (which consists of
          just the menu entries from a `dir' file) in each of the
          directories scanned from #1 (except the first), does a simple
          concatenation of them, and magically attaches the resulting
          list to the end of the menu in the `dir' file in the first
          directory.

     Another alternative is to convert the documentation to HTML with
     texi2html and read it from a web browser like Lynx or W3.

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Q5.3.12: What do I need to change to make printing work?
--------------------------------------------------------

   For regular printing there are two variables that can be customized.

`lpr-command'
     This should be set to a command that takes standard input and sends
     it to a printer.  Something like:

          (setq lpr-command "lp")

`lpr-switches'
     This should be set to a list that contains whatever the print
     command requires to do its job.  Something like:

          (setq lpr-switches '("-depson"))

   For postscript printing there are three analogous variables to
customize.

`ps-lpr-command'
     This should be set to a command that takes postscript on standard
     input and directs it to a postscript printer.

`ps-lpr-switches'
     This should be set to a list of switches required for
     `ps-lpr-command' to do its job.

`ps-print-color-p'
     This boolean variable should be set `t' if printing will be done in
     color, otherwise it should be set to `nil'.

   NOTE: It is an undocumented limitation in XEmacs that postscript
printing (the `Pretty Print Buffer' menu item) *requires* a window
system environment.  It cannot be used outside of X11.

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File: xemacs-faq.info,  Node: MS Windows,  Next: Current Events,  Prev: Miscellaneous,  Up: Top

6 XEmacs on MS Windows
**********************

   This is part 6 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list,
written by Hrvoje Niksic and others.  This section is devoted to the MS
Windows port of XEmacs.

* Menu:


General Info
* Q6.0.1::      What is the status of the XEmacs port to Windows?
* Q6.0.2::      What flavors of MS Windows are supported?
* Q6.0.3::      Where are the XEmacs on MS Windows binaries?
* Q6.0.4::      Does XEmacs on MS Windows require an X server to run?

Building XEmacs on MS Windows
* Q6.1.1::      I decided to run with X.  Where do I get an X server?
* Q6.1.2::      What compiler do I need to compile XEmacs?
* Q6.1.3::      How do I compile for the native port?
* Q6.1.4::      How do I compile for the X port?
* Q6.1.5::      How do I compile for Cygnus' Cygwin?
* Q6.1.6::      What do I need for Cygwin?

Customization and User Interface
* Q6.2.1::      How will the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
* Q6.2.2::      How do I change fonts in XEmacs on MS Windows?
* Q6.2.3::      Where do I put my `.emacs' file?

Miscellaneous
* Q6.3.1::      Will XEmacs rename all the win32-* symbols to w32-*?
* Q6.3.2::      What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
* Q6.3.3::      What is the porting team doing at the moment?

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6.0: General Info
=================

Q6.0.1: What is the status of the XEmacs port to Windows?
---------------------------------------------------------

   Is XEmacs really getting ported to MS Windows?  What is the status
of the port?

   Yes, a group of volunteers actively works on making XEmacs code base
cleanly compile and run on MS Windows operating systems.  The mailing
list at <xemacs-nt@xemacs.org> is dedicated to that effort (please use
the -request address to subscribe).

   At this time, XEmacs on MS Windows is usable, but lacks some of the
features of XEmacs on UNIX and UNIX-like systems.  Notably,
internationalization does not work.

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Q6.0.2: What flavors of MS Windows are supported?  The list name implies NT only.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   The list name is misleading, as XEmacs will support both Windows 95,
Windows 98 and Windows NT.  The MS Windows-specific code is based on
Microsoft Win32 API, and will not work on MS Windows 3.x or on MS-DOS.

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Q6.0.3: Are binary kits available?
----------------------------------

   Binary kits are available at
`ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/binary-kits/win32/' for the "plain" MS
Windows version.

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Q6.0.4: Does XEmacs on MS Windows require an X server to run?
-------------------------------------------------------------

   Short answer: No.

   Long answer: XEmacs can be built in several ways in the MS Windows
environment, some of them requiring an X server and some not.

   One is what we call the "X" port - it requires X libraries to build
and an X server to run.  Internally it uses the Xt event loop and makes
use of X toolkits.  Its look is quite un-Windowsy, but it works
reliably and supports all of the graphical features of Unix XEmacs.

   The other is what we call the "native" port.  It uses the Win32 API
and does not require X libraries to build, nor does it require an X to
run.  In fact, it has no connection with X whatsoever.  At this time,
the native port obsoletes the X port, providing almost all of its
features, including support for menus, scrollbars, toolbars, embedded
images and background pixmaps, frame pointers, etc.  Most of the future
work will be based on the native port.

   There is also a third special case, the Cygwin port.  It takes
advantage of Cygnus emulation library under Win32, which enables it to
reuse much of the Unix XEmacs code base, such as processes and network
support, or internal select() mechanisms.

   Cygwin port supports all display types - TTY, X & MS gui, and can be
built with support for all three.  If you build with ms gui support
then the Cygwin version uses the majority of the msw code, which is
mostly related to display.  If you want to build with X support you
need X libraries.  If you want to build with tty support you need
ncurses.  MS gui requires no additional libraries.

   Some of the advantages of the Cygwin version are that it:

   * integrates well with Cygwin environment for existing Cygwin users;

   * uses configure so building with different features is very easy;

   * has process support in X & tty.


   The disadvantage is that it requires several Unix utilities and the
whole Cygwin environment, whereas the native port requires only a
suitable MS Windows compiler.  Also, it follows the Unix filesystem and
process model very closely (some will undoubtedly view this as an
advantage).

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6.1: Building XEmacs on MS Windows
==================================

Q6.1.1: I decided to run with X.  Where do I get an X server?
-------------------------------------------------------------

   Pointers to X servers can be found at
`http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov/software/grads/win32/X11R6.3/';

   look for "Where to get an X server".  Also note that, although the
above page talks about Cygnus gnu-win32 (Cygwin), the information on X
servers is Cygwin-independent.  You don't have to be running/using
Cygwin to use these X servers, and you don't have to compile XEmacs
under Cygwin to use XEmacs with these X servers.  An "X port" XEmacs
compiled under Visual C++ will work with these X servers (as will
XEmacs running on a Unix box, redirected to the server running on your
PC).

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Q6.1.2: What compiler do I need to compile XEmacs?
--------------------------------------------------

   You need Visual C++ 4.2 or 5.0, with the exception of the Cygwin
port, which uses Gcc.

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Q6.1.3: How do I compile for the native port?
---------------------------------------------

   Please read the file `nt/README' in the XEmacs distribution, which
contains the full description.

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Q6.1.4: How do I compile for the X port?
----------------------------------------

   Again, it is described in `nt/README' in some detail.  Basically, you
need to get X11 libraries from ftp.x.org, and compile them.  If the
precompiled versions are available somewhere, I don't know of it.

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Q6.1.5: How do I compile for Cygnus' Cygwin?
--------------------------------------------

   Similar as on Unix; use the usual `configure' and `make' process.
Some problems to watch out for:

   * make sure HOME is set. This controls where you `.emacs' file comes
     from;

   * CYGWIN32 needs to be set to tty for process support work. e.g.
     CYGWIN32=tty;

   * picking up some other grep or other unix like tools can kill
     configure;

   * static heap too small, adjust src/sheap-adjust.h to a more positive
     number;

   * The Cygwin version doesn't understand `//machine/path' type paths
     so you will need to manually mount a directory of this form under
     a unix style directory for a build to work on the directory.


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Q6.1.6: What do I need for Cygwin?
----------------------------------

   You can find the Cygwin tools and compiler at:

   `http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/'

   You will need version b19 or later.

   You will also need the X libraries.  There are libraries at
`http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov/software/grads/win32/X11R6.3/', but these are
not b19 compatible.  You can get b19 X11R6.3 binaries, as well as
pre-built ncurses and graphic libraries, from:

   `ftp://ftp.parallax.co.uk/pub/andyp/'.

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6.2: Customization and User Interface
=====================================

Q6.2.1: How will the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   XEmacs (and Emacs in general) UI is pretty different from what is
expected of a typical MS Windows program.  How will the MS Windows port
cope with it?

   Fortunately, Emacs is also one of the most configurable editor beasts
in the world.  The MS Windows "look and feel" (mark via shift-arrow,
self-inserting deletes region, etc.) can be easily configured via
various packages distributed with XEmacs.  The `pending-delete' package
is an example of such a utility.

   In future versions, some of these packages might be turned on by
default in the MS Windows environment.

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Q6.2.2: How do I change fonts in XEmacs on MS Windows?
------------------------------------------------------

   You can change font manually, but not from the menubar, yet. For
example:

         (set-face-font 'default "Lucida Console:Regular:10")
         (set-face-font 'modeline "MS Sans Serif:Regular:10")

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Q6.2.3: Where do I put my `.emacs' file?
----------------------------------------

   If the HOME environment variable is set, `.emacs' will be looked for
there.  Else the directory defaults to `c:\'.

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6.3: Miscellaneous
==================

Q6.3.1: Will XEmacs rename all the win32-* symbols to w32-*?
------------------------------------------------------------

   In his flavor of Emacs 20, Richard Stallman has renamed all the
win32-* symbols to w32-*.  Will XEmacs do the same?

   We consider such a move counter-productive, thus we will not use the
`w32' prefix.  However, we do recognize that Win32 name is little more
than a marketing buzzword (will it be Win64 in the next release?), so
we decided not to use it.  Using `windows-' would be wrong because the
term is too generic, which is why we settled on a compromise
`mswindows' term.

   Thus all the XEmacs variables and functions directly related to Win32
are prefixed `mswindows-'.  The user-variables shared with NT Emacs
will be provided as compatibility aliases.

   Architectural note: We believe that there should be a very small
number of window-systems-specific variables, and will try to provide
generic interfaces whenever possible.

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Q6.3.2: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
------------------------------------------------------------------------

   XEmacs, Win-Emacs, DOS Emacs, NT Emacs, this is all very confusing.
Could you briefly explain the differences between them?

   Here is a recount of various Emacs versions running on MS Windows:

   * Win-Emacs

        - Win-Emacs is a port of Lucid Emacs 19.6 to MS Windows using X
          compatibility libraries.  Win-Emacs has been written by Ben
          Wing.  The MS Windows code has not made it back to Lucid
          Emacs, which left Win-Emacs pretty much dead for our
          purposes.  Win-Emacs used to be available at Pearlsoft, but
          not anymore, since Pearlsoft went out of business.

   * GNU Emacs for DOS

        - GNU Emacs features support for MS-DOS and DJGPP (D.J.
          Delorie's DOS port of Gcc).  Such an Emacs is heavily
          underfeatured, because it does not supports long file names,
          lacks proper subprocesses support, and is far too big
          compared to typical DOS editors.

   * GNU Emacs compiled with Win32

        - Starting with version 19.30, it has been possible to compile
          GNU Emacs under MS Windows using the DJGPP compiler and X
          libraries.  The result is is very similar to GNU Emacs
          compiled under MS DOS, only it supports longer file names,
          etc.  This "port" is similar to the "X" flavor of XEmacs on
          MS Windows.

   * NT Emacs

        - NT Emacs is a version of GNU Emacs modified to compile and
          run under MS MS Windows 95 and NT using the native Win32 API.
          As such, it is close in spirit to the XEmacs "native" port.

        - NT Emacs has been written by Geoff Voelker, and more
          information can be found at
          `http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/voelker/ntemacs.html'.


   * XEmacs

        - Beginning with XEmacs 19.12, XEmacs' architecture has been
          redesigned in such a way to allow clean support of multiple
          window systems.  At this time the TTY support was added,
          making X and TTY the first two "window systems" XEmacs
          supported.  The 19.12 design is the basis for the current
          native MS Windows code.

        - Some time during 1997, David Hobley (soon joined by Marc
          Paquette) imported some of the NT-specific portions of GNU
          Emacs, making XEmacs with X support compile under Windows NT,
          and creating the "X" port.

        - Several months later, Jonathan Harris sent out initial
          patches to use the Win32 API, thus creating the native port.
          Since then, various people have contributed, including Kirill
          M. Katsnelson (contributed support for menubars, subprocesses
          and network, as well as loads of other code), Andy Piper
          (ported XEmacs to Cygwin environment, contributed Windows
          unexec, Windows-specific glyphs and toolbars code, and more),
          Jeff Sparkes (contributed scrollbars support) and many others.



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Q6.3.3: What is the porting team doing at the moment?
-----------------------------------------------------

   The porting team is continuing work on the MS Windows-specific code.

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7 What the Future Holds
***********************

   This is part 7 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list.  This
section will change monthly, and contains any interesting items that
have transpired over the previous month.  If you are reading this from
the XEmacs distribution, please see the version on the Web or archived
at the various FAQ FTP sites, as this file is surely out of date.

* Menu:

* Q7.0.1::      What is new in 20.2?
* Q7.0.2::      What is new in 20.3?
* Q7.0.3::      What is new in 20.4?
* Q7.0.4::      Procedural changes in XEmacs development.

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7.0: Changes
============

Q7.0.1: What is new in 20.2?
----------------------------

   The biggest changes in 20.2 include integration of EFS (the next
generation of ange-ftp) and AUC Tex (the Emacs subsystem that includes a
major mode for editing Tex and LaTeX, and a lot of other stuff).  Many
bugs from 20.0 have been fixed for this release.  20.2 also contains a
new system for customizing XEmacs options, invoked via `M-x customize'.

   XEmacs 20.2 is the development release (20.0 was beta), and is no
longer considered unstable.

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Q7.0.2: What is new in 20.3?
----------------------------

   XEmacs 20.3 was released in November 1997. It contains many bugfixes,
and a number of new features, including Autoconf 2 based configuration,
additional support for Mule (Multi-language extensions to Emacs), many
more customizations, multiple frames on TTY-s, support for multiple info
directories, an enhanced gnuclient, improvements to regexp matching,
increased MIME support, and many, many synches with GNU Emacs 20.

   The XEmacs/Mule support has been only seriously tested in a Japanese
locale, and no doubt many problems still remain.  The support for
ISO-Latin-1 and Japanese is fairly strong.  MULE support comes at a
price - about a 30% slowdown from 19.16.  We're making progress on
improving performance and XEmacs 20.3 compiled without Mule (which is
the default) is definitely faster than XEmacs 19.16.

   XEmacs 20.3 is the first non-beta v20 release, and will be the basis
for all further development.

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Q7.0.3: What's new in XEmacs 20.4?
----------------------------------

   XEmacs 20.4 is a bugfix release with no user-visible changes.

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Q7.0.4: Procedural changes in XEmacs development.
-------------------------------------------------

  1. Discussion about the development of XEmacs occurs on the
     xemacs-beta mailing list.  Subscriptions to this list will now be
     fully automated instead of being handled by hand.  Send a mail
     message to <xemacs-beta-request@xemacs.org> with `subscribe' as the
     BODY of the message to join the list.  Please note this is a
     developers mailing list for people who have an active interest in
     the development process.

     The discussion of NT XEmacs development is taking place on a
     separate mailing list.  Send mail to
     <xemacs-nt-request@xemacs.org> to subscribe.

  2. Due to the long development cycle in between releases, it has been
     decided that intermediate versions will be made available in
     source only form for the truly interested.

     XEmacs 19.16 was the last 19 release, basically consisting of
     19.15 plus the collected bugfixes.

  3. As of December 1996, Steve Baur <steve@xemacs.org> has become the
     lead maintainer of XEmacs.