1 This is ../info/xemacs.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.0b from
4 INFO-DIR-SECTION XEmacs Editor
6 * XEmacs: (xemacs). XEmacs Editor.
9 This file documents the XEmacs editor.
11 Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1988 Richard M. Stallman. Copyright (C)
12 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Lucid, Inc. Copyright (C) 1993, 1994 Sun
13 Microsystems, Inc. Copyright (C) 1995 Amdahl Corporation.
15 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
16 manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
17 preserved on all copies.
19 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
20 this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
21 that the sections entitled "The GNU Manifesto", "Distribution" and "GNU
22 General Public License" are included exactly as in the original, and
23 provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the
24 terms of a permission notice identical to this one.
26 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
27 manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
28 versions, except that the sections entitled "The GNU Manifesto",
29 "Distribution" and "GNU General Public License" may be included in a
30 translation approved by the author instead of in the original English.
33 File: xemacs.info, Node: Specified Dates, Prev: Move to Beginning or End, Up: Calendar Motion
38 Calendar mode provides commands for moving to a particular date
39 specified in various ways.
42 Move point to specified date (`calendar-goto-date').
45 Center calendar around specified month (`calendar-other-month').
48 Move point to today's date (`calendar-goto-today').
50 `g d' (`calendar-goto-date') prompts for a year, a month, and a day
51 of the month, and then moves to that date. Because the calendar
52 includes all dates from the beginning of the current era, you must type
53 the year in its entirety; that is, type `1990', not `90'.
55 `o' (`calendar-other-month') prompts for a month and year, then
56 centers the three-month calendar around that month.
58 You can return to today's date with `.' (`calendar-goto-today').
61 File: xemacs.info, Node: Scroll Calendar, Next: Mark and Region, Prev: Calendar Motion, Up: Calendar/Diary
63 Scrolling the Calendar through Time
64 -----------------------------------
66 The calendar display scrolls automatically through time when you
67 move out of the visible portion. You can also scroll it manually.
68 Imagine that the calendar window contains a long strip of paper with
69 the months on it. Scrolling it means moving the strip so that new
70 months become visible in the window.
73 Scroll calendar one month forward (`scroll-calendar-left').
76 Scroll calendar one month backward (`scroll-calendar-right').
80 Scroll calendar three months forward
81 (`scroll-calendar-left-three-months').
85 Scroll calendar three months backward
86 (`scroll-calendar-right-three-months').
88 The most basic calendar scroll commands scroll by one month at a
89 time. This means that there are two months of overlap between the
90 display before the command and the display after. `C-x <' scrolls the
91 calendar contents one month to the left; that is, it moves the display
92 forward in time. `C-x >' scrolls the contents to the right, which
93 moves backwards in time.
95 The commands `C-v' and `M-v' scroll the calendar by an entire
96 "screenful"--three months--in analogy with the usual meaning of these
97 commands. `C-v' makes later dates visible and `M-v' makes earlier
98 dates visible. These commands take a numeric argument as a repeat
99 count; in particular, since `C-u' multiplies the next command by four,
100 typing `C-u C-v' scrolls the calendar forward by a year and typing `C-u
101 M-v' scrolls the calendar backward by a year.
103 The function keys <NEXT> and <PRIOR> are equivalent to `C-v' and
104 `M-v', just as they are in other modes.
107 File: xemacs.info, Node: Mark and Region, Next: General Calendar, Prev: Scroll Calendar, Up: Calendar/Diary
109 The Mark and the Region
110 -----------------------
112 The concept of the mark applies to the calendar just as to any other
113 buffer, but it marks a _date_, not a _position_ in the buffer. The
114 region consists of the days between the mark and point (including the
115 starting and stopping dates).
118 Set the mark to today's date (`calendar-set-mark').
124 Interchange mark and point (`calendar-exchange-point-and-mark').
127 Display the number of days in the current region
128 (`calendar-count-days-region').
130 You set the mark in the calendar, as in any other buffer, by using
131 `C-@' or `C-SPC' (`calendar-set-mark'). You return to the marked date
132 with the command `C-x C-x' (`calendar-exchange-point-and-mark') which
133 puts the mark where point was and point where mark was. The calendar
134 is scrolled as necessary, if the marked date was not visible on the
135 screen. This does not change the extent of the region.
137 To determine the number of days in the region, type `M-='
138 (`calendar-count-days-region'). The numbers of days printed is
139 _inclusive_; that is, it includes the days specified by mark and point.
141 The main use of the mark in the calendar is to remember dates that
142 you may want to go back to. To make this feature more useful, the mark
143 ring (*note Mark Ring::) operates exactly as in other buffers: Emacs
144 remembers 16 previous locations of the mark. To return to a marked
145 date, type `C-u C-SPC' (or `C-u C-@'); this is the command
146 `calendar-set-mark' given a numeric argument. It moves point to where
147 the mark was, restores the mark from the ring of former marks, and
148 stores the previous point at the end of the mark ring. So, repeated
149 use of this command moves point through all the old marks on the ring,
153 File: xemacs.info, Node: General Calendar, Next: LaTeX Calendar, Prev: Mark and Region, Up: Calendar/Diary
155 Miscellaneous Calendar Commands
156 -------------------------------
159 Display day-in-year (`calendar-print-day-of-year').
162 Briefly describe calendar commands (`describe-calendar-mode').
165 Regenerate the calendar window (`redraw-calendar').
168 Scroll the next window (`scroll-other-window').
171 Exit from calendar (`exit-calendar').
173 If you want to know how many days have elapsed since the start of
174 the year, or the number of days remaining in the year, type the `p d'
175 command (`calendar-print-day-of-year'). This displays both of those
176 numbers in the echo area.
178 To display a brief description of the calendar commands, type `?'
179 (`describe-calendar-mode'). For a fuller description, type `C-h m'.
181 You can use `SPC' (`scroll-other-window') to scroll the other
182 window. This is handy when you display a list of holidays or diary
183 entries in another window.
185 If the calendar window text gets corrupted, type `C-c C-l'
186 (`redraw-calendar') to redraw it. (This can only happen if you use
187 non-Calendar-mode editing commands.)
189 In Calendar mode, you can use `SPC' (`scroll-other-window') to
190 scroll the other window. This is handy when you display a list of
191 holidays or diary entries in another window.
193 To exit from the calendar, type `q' (`exit-calendar'). This buries
194 all buffers related to the calendar, selecting other buffers. (If a
195 frame contains a dedicated calendar window, exiting from the calendar
196 iconifies that frame.)
199 File: xemacs.info, Node: LaTeX Calendar, Next: Holidays, Prev: General Calendar, Up: Calendar/Diary
204 The Calendar LaTeX commands produce a buffer of LaTeX code that
205 prints as a calendar. Depending on the command you use, the printed
206 calendar covers the day, week, month or year that point is in.
209 Generate a one-month calendar (`cal-tex-cursor-month').
212 Generate a sideways-printing one-month calendar
213 (`cal-tex-cursor-month-landscape').
216 Generate a one-day calendar (`cal-tex-cursor-day').
219 Generate a one-page calendar for one week (`cal-tex-cursor-week').
222 Generate a two-page calendar for one week (`cal-tex-cursor-week2').
225 Generate an ISO-style calendar for one week
226 (`cal-tex-cursor-week-iso').
229 Generate a calendar for one Monday-starting week
230 (`cal-tex-cursor-week-monday').
233 Generate a Filofax-style two-weeks-at-a-glance calendar
234 (`cal-tex-cursor-filofax-2week').
237 Generate a Filofax-style one-week-at-a-glance calendar
238 (`cal-tex-cursor-filofax-week').
241 Generate a calendar for one year (`cal-tex-cursor-year').
244 Generate a sideways-printing calendar for one year
245 (`cal-tex-cursor-year-landscape').
248 Generate a Filofax-style calendar for one year
249 (`cal-tex-cursor-filofax-year').
251 Some of these commands print the calendar sideways (in "landscape
252 mode"), so it can be wider than it is long. Some of them use Filofax
253 paper size (3.75in x 6.75in). All of these commands accept a prefix
254 argument which specifies how many days, weeks, months or years to print
255 (starting always with the selected one).
257 If the variable `cal-tex-holidays' is non-`nil' (the default), then
258 the printed calendars show the holidays in `calendar-holidays'. If the
259 variable `cal-tex-diary' is non-`nil' (the default is `nil'), diary
260 entries are included also (in weekly and monthly calendars only).
263 File: xemacs.info, Node: Holidays, Next: Sunrise/Sunset, Prev: LaTeX Calendar, Up: Calendar/Diary
268 The Emacs calendar knows about all major and many minor holidays,
269 and can display them.
272 Display holidays for the selected date
273 (`calendar-cursor-holidays').
276 Display any holidays for the date you click on.
279 Mark holidays in the calendar window (`mark-calendar-holidays').
282 Unmark calendar window (`calendar-unmark').
285 List all holidays for the displayed three months in another window
286 (`list-calendar-holidays').
289 List all holidays for three months around today's date in another
293 List holidays in another window for a specified range of years.
295 To see if any holidays fall on a given date, position point on that
296 date in the calendar window and use the `h' command. Alternatively,
297 click on that date with `Button2' and then choose `Holidays' from the
298 menu that appears. Either way, this displays the holidays for that
299 date, in the echo area if they fit there, otherwise in a separate
302 To view the distribution of holidays for all the dates shown in the
303 calendar, use the `x' command. This displays the dates that are
304 holidays in a different face (or places a `*' after these dates, if
305 display with multiple faces is not available). The command applies both
306 to the currently visible months and to other months that subsequently
307 become visible by scrolling. To turn marking off and erase the current
308 marks, type `u', which also erases any diary marks (*note Diary::).
310 To get even more detailed information, use the `a' command, which
311 displays a separate buffer containing a list of all holidays in the
312 current three-month range. You can use <SPC> in the calendar window to
315 The command `M-x holidays' displays the list of holidays for the
316 current month and the preceding and succeeding months; this works even
317 if you don't have a calendar window. If you want the list of holidays
318 centered around a different month, use `C-u M-x holidays', which
319 prompts for the month and year.
321 The holidays known to Emacs include United States holidays and the
322 major Christian, Jewish, and Islamic holidays; also the solstices and
325 The command `M-x list-holidays' displays the list of holidays for a
326 range of years. This function asks you for the starting and stopping
327 years, and allows you to choose all the holidays or one of several
328 categories of holidays. You can use this command even if you don't have
331 The dates used by Emacs for holidays are based on _current
332 practice_, not historical fact. Historically, for instance, the start
333 of daylight savings time and even its existence have varied from year to
334 year, but present United States law mandates that daylight savings time
335 begins on the first Sunday in April. When the daylight savings rules
336 are set up for the United States, Emacs always uses the present
337 definition, even though it is wrong for some prior years.
340 File: xemacs.info, Node: Sunrise/Sunset, Next: Lunar Phases, Prev: Holidays, Up: Calendar/Diary
342 Times of Sunrise and Sunset
343 ---------------------------
345 Special calendar commands can tell you, to within a minute or two,
346 the times of sunrise and sunset for any date.
349 Display times of sunrise and sunset for the selected date
350 (`calendar-sunrise-sunset').
352 `Button2 Sunrise/Sunset'
353 Display times of sunrise and sunset for the date you click on.
356 Display times of sunrise and sunset for today's date.
358 `C-u M-x sunrise-sunset'
359 Display times of sunrise and sunset for a specified date.
361 Within the calendar, to display the _local times_ of sunrise and
362 sunset in the echo area, move point to the date you want, and type `S'.
363 Alternatively, click `Button2' on the date, then choose
364 `Sunrise/Sunset' from the menu that appears. The command `M-x
365 sunrise-sunset' is available outside the calendar to display this
366 information for today's date or a specified date. To specify a date
367 other than today, use `C-u M-x sunrise-sunset', which prompts for the
368 year, month, and day.
370 You can display the times of sunrise and sunset for any location and
371 any date with `C-u C-u M-x sunrise-sunset'. This asks you for a
372 longitude, latitude, number of minutes difference from Coordinated
373 Universal Time, and date, and then tells you the times of sunrise and
374 sunset for that location on that date.
376 Because the times of sunrise and sunset depend on the location on
377 earth, you need to tell Emacs your latitude, longitude, and location
378 name before using these commands. Here is an example of what to set:
380 (setq calendar-latitude 40.1)
381 (setq calendar-longitude -88.2)
382 (setq calendar-location-name "Urbana, IL")
384 Use one decimal place in the values of `calendar-latitude' and
385 `calendar-longitude'.
387 Your time zone also affects the local time of sunrise and sunset.
388 Emacs usually gets time zone information from the operating system, but
389 if these values are not what you want (or if the operating system does
390 not supply them), you must set them yourself. Here is an example:
392 (setq calendar-time-zone -360)
393 (setq calendar-standard-time-zone-name "CST")
394 (setq calendar-daylight-time-zone-name "CDT")
396 The value of `calendar-time-zone' is the number of minutes difference
397 between your local standard time and Coordinated Universal Time
398 (Greenwich time). The values of `calendar-standard-time-zone-name' and
399 `calendar-daylight-time-zone-name' are the abbreviations used in your
400 time zone. Emacs displays the times of sunrise and sunset _corrected
401 for daylight savings time_. *Note Daylight Savings::, for how daylight
402 savings time is determined.
404 As a user, you might find it convenient to set the calendar location
405 variables for your usual physical location in your init file. And when
406 you install Emacs on a machine, you can create a `default.el' file
407 which sets them properly for the typical location of most users of that
408 machine. *Note Init File::.
411 File: xemacs.info, Node: Lunar Phases, Next: Other Calendars, Prev: Sunrise/Sunset, Up: Calendar/Diary
416 These calendar commands display the dates and times of the phases of
417 the moon (new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter). This
418 feature is useful for debugging problems that "depend on the phase of
422 Display the dates and times for all the quarters of the moon for
423 the three-month period shown (`calendar-phases-of-moon').
426 Display dates and times of the quarters of the moon for three
427 months around today's date.
429 Within the calendar, use the `M' command to display a separate
430 buffer of the phases of the moon for the current three-month range. The
431 dates and times listed are accurate to within a few minutes.
433 Outside the calendar, use the command `M-x phases-of-moon' to
434 display the list of the phases of the moon for the current month and the
435 preceding and succeeding months. For information about a different
436 month, use `C-u M-x phases-of-moon', which prompts for the month and
439 The dates and times given for the phases of the moon are given in
440 local time (corrected for daylight savings, when appropriate); but if
441 the variable `calendar-time-zone' is void, Coordinated Universal Time
442 (the Greenwich time zone) is used. *Note Daylight Savings::.
445 File: xemacs.info, Node: Other Calendars, Next: Calendar Systems, Prev: Lunar Phases, Up: Calendar/Diary
447 Conversion To and From Other Calendars
448 --------------------------------------
450 The Emacs calendar displayed is _always_ the Gregorian calendar,
451 sometimes called the "new style" calendar, which is used in most of the
452 world today. However, this calendar did not exist before the sixteenth
453 century and was not widely used before the eighteenth century; it did
454 not fully displace the Julian calendar and gain universal acceptance
455 until the early twentieth century. The Emacs calendar can display any
456 month since January, year 1 of the current era, but the calendar
457 displayed is the Gregorian, even for a date at which the Gregorian
458 calendar did not exist.
460 While Emacs cannot display other calendars, it can convert dates to
461 and from several other calendars.
465 * Calendar Systems:: The calendars Emacs understands
466 (aside from Gregorian).
467 * To Other Calendar:: Converting the selected date to various calendars.
468 * From Other Calendar:: Moving to a date specified in another calendar.
469 * Mayan Calendar:: Moving to a date specified in a Mayan calendar.
471 If you are interested in these calendars, you can convert dates one
472 at a time. Put point on the desired date of the Gregorian calendar and
473 press the appropriate keys. The `p' is a mnemonic for "print" since
474 Emacs "prints' the equivalent date in the echo area.
477 File: xemacs.info, Node: Calendar Systems, Next: To Other Calendar, Prev: Other Calendars, Up: Other Calendars
479 Supported Calendar Systems
480 ==========================
482 The ISO commercial calendar is used largely in Europe.
484 The Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar, was the one used in
485 Europe throughout medieval times, and in many countries up until the
488 Astronomers use a simple counting of days elapsed since noon, Monday,
489 January 1, 4713 B.C. on the Julian calendar. The number of days elapsed
490 is called the _Julian day number_ or the _Astronomical day number_.
492 The Hebrew calendar is used by tradition in the Jewish religion. The
493 Emacs calendar program uses the Hebrew calendar to determine the dates
494 of Jewish holidays. Hebrew calendar dates begin and end at sunset.
496 The Islamic calendar is used in many predominantly Islamic countries.
497 Emacs uses it to determine the dates of Islamic holidays. There is no
498 universal agreement in the Islamic world about the calendar; Emacs uses
499 a widely accepted version, but the precise dates of Islamic holidays
500 often depend on proclamation by religious authorities, not on
501 calculations. As a consequence, the actual dates of observance can vary
502 slightly from the dates computed by Emacs. Islamic calendar dates begin
505 The French Revolutionary calendar was created by the Jacobins after
506 the 1789 revolution, to represent a more secular and nature-based view
507 of the annual cycle, and to install a 10-day week in a rationalization
508 measure similar to the metric system. The French government officially
509 abandoned this calendar at the end of 1805.
511 The Maya of Central America used three separate, overlapping calendar
512 systems, the _long count_, the _tzolkin_, and the _haab_. Emacs knows
513 about all three of these calendars. Experts dispute the exact
514 correlation between the Mayan calendar and our calendar; Emacs uses the
515 Goodman-Martinez-Thompson correlation in its calculations.
517 The Copts use a calendar based on the ancient Egyptian solar
518 calendar. Their calendar consists of twelve 30-day months followed by
519 an extra five-day period. Once every fourth year they add a leap day
520 to this extra period to make it six days. The Ethiopic calendar is
521 identical in structure, but has different year numbers and month names.
523 The Persians use a solar calendar based on a design of Omar Khayyam.
524 Their calendar consists of twelve months of which the first six have 31
525 days, the next five have 30 days, and the last has 29 in ordinary years
526 and 30 in leap years. Leap years occur in a complicated pattern every
529 The Chinese calendar is a complicated system of lunar months arranged
530 into solar years. The years go in cycles of sixty, each year containing
531 either twelve months in an ordinary year or thirteen months in a leap
532 year; each month has either 29 or 30 days. Years, ordinary months, and
533 days are named by combining one of ten "celestial stems" with one of
534 twelve "terrestrial branches" for a total of sixty names that are
535 repeated in a cycle of sixty.
538 File: xemacs.info, Node: To Other Calendar, Next: From Other Calendar, Prev: Calendar Systems, Up: Other Calendars
540 Converting To Other Calendars
541 =============================
543 The following commands describe the selected date (the date at point)
544 in various other calendar systems:
546 `Button2 Other Calendars'
547 Display the date that you click on, expressed in various other
551 Display ISO commercial calendar equivalent for selected day
552 (`calendar-print-iso-date').
555 Display Julian date for selected day
556 (`calendar-print-julian-date').
559 Display astronomical (Julian) day number for selected day
560 (`calendar-print-astro-day-number').
563 Display Hebrew date for selected day
564 (`calendar-print-hebrew-date').
567 Display Islamic date for selected day
568 (`calendar-print-islamic-date').
571 Display French Revolutionary date for selected day
572 (`calendar-print-french-date').
575 Display Chinese date for selected day
576 (`calendar-print-chinese-date').
579 Display Coptic date for selected day
580 (`calendar-print-coptic-date').
583 Display Ethiopic date for selected day
584 (`calendar-print-ethiopic-date').
587 Display Persian date for selected day
588 (`calendar-print-persian-date').
591 Display Mayan date for selected day (`calendar-print-mayan-date').
593 If you are using X, the easiest way to translate a date into other
594 calendars is to click on it with `Button2', then choose `Other
595 Calendars' from the menu that appears. This displays the equivalent
596 forms of the date in all the calendars Emacs understands, in the form of
597 a menu. (Choosing an alternative from this menu doesn't actually do
598 anything--the menu is used only for display.)
600 Put point on the desired date of the Gregorian calendar, then type
601 the appropriate keys. The `p' is a mnemonic for "print" since Emacs
602 "prints" the equivalent date in the echo area.
605 File: xemacs.info, Node: From Other Calendar, Next: Mayan Calendar, Prev: To Other Calendar, Up: Other Calendars
607 Converting From Other Calendars
608 ===============================
610 You can use the other supported calendars to specify a date to move
611 to. This section describes the commands for doing this using calendars
612 other than Mayan; for the Mayan calendar, see the following section.
615 Move to a date specified in the ISO commercial calendar
616 (`calendar-goto-iso-date').
619 Move to a date specified in the Julian calendar
620 (`calendar-goto-julian-date').
623 Move to a date specified in astronomical (Julian) day number
624 (`calendar-goto-astro-day-number').
627 Move to a date specified in the Hebrew calendar
628 (`calendar-goto-hebrew-date').
631 Move to a date specified in the Islamic calendar
632 (`calendar-goto-islamic-date').
635 Move to a date specified in the French Revolutionary calendar
636 (`calendar-goto-french-date').
639 Move to a date specified in the Chinese calendar
640 (`calendar-goto-chinese-date').
643 Move to a date specified in the Persian calendar
644 (`calendar-goto-persian-date').
647 Move to a date specified in the Coptic calendar
648 (`calendar-goto-coptic-date').
651 Move to a date specified in the Ethiopic calendar
652 (`calendar-goto-ethiopic-date').
654 These commands ask you for a date on the other calendar, move point
655 to the Gregorian calendar date equivalent to that date, and display the
656 other calendar's date in the echo area. Emacs uses strict completion
657 (*note Completion::) whenever it asks you to type a month name, so you
658 don't have to worry about the spelling of Hebrew, Islamic, or French
661 One common question concerning the Hebrew calendar is the computation
662 of the anniversary of a date of death, called a "yahrzeit." The Emacs
663 calendar includes a facility for such calculations. If you are in the
664 calendar, the command `M-x list-yahrzeit-dates' asks you for a range of
665 years and then displays a list of the yahrzeit dates for those years
666 for the date given by point. If you are not in the calendar, this
667 command first asks you for the date of death and the range of years,
668 and then displays the list of yahrzeit dates.
671 File: xemacs.info, Node: Mayan Calendar, Next: Diary, Prev: From Other Calendar, Up: Other Calendars
673 Converting from the Mayan Calendar
674 ----------------------------------
676 Here are the commands to select dates based on the Mayan calendar:
679 Move to a date specified by the long count calendar
680 (`calendar-goto-mayan-long-count-date').
683 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the tzolkin calendar
684 (`calendar-next-tzolkin-date').
687 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the tzolkin calendar
688 (`calendar-previous-tzolkin-date').
691 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the haab calendar
692 (`calendar-next-haab-date').
695 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the haab calendar
696 (`calendar-previous-haab-date').
699 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the calendar round
700 (`calendar-next-calendar-round-date').
703 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the calendar round
704 (`calendar-previous-calendar-round-date').
706 To understand these commands, you need to understand the Mayan
707 calendars. The "long count" is a counting of days with these units:
709 1 kin = 1 day 1 uinal = 20 kin 1 tun = 18 uinal
710 1 katun = 20 tun 1 baktun = 20 katun
712 Thus, the long count date 12.16.11.16.6 means 12 baktun, 16 katun, 11
713 tun, 16 uinal, and 6 kin. The Emacs calendar can handle Mayan long
714 count dates as early as 7.17.18.13.1, but no earlier. When you use the
715 `g m l' command, type the Mayan long count date with the baktun, katun,
716 tun, uinal, and kin separated by periods.
718 The Mayan tzolkin calendar is a cycle of 260 days formed by a pair of
719 independent cycles of 13 and 20 days. Since this cycle repeats
720 endlessly, Emacs provides commands to move backward and forward to the
721 previous or next point in the cycle. Type `g m p t' to go to the
722 previous tzolkin date; Emacs asks you for a tzolkin date and moves point
723 to the previous occurrence of that date. Similarly, type `g m n t' to
724 go to the next occurrence of a tzolkin date.
726 The Mayan haab calendar is a cycle of 365 days arranged as 18 months
727 of 20 days each, followed a 5-day monthless period. Like the tzolkin
728 cycle, this cycle repeats endlessly, and there are commands to move
729 backward and forward to the previous or next point in the cycle. Type
730 `g m p h' to go to the previous haab date; Emacs asks you for a haab
731 date and moves point to the previous occurrence of that date.
732 Similarly, type `g m n h' to go to the next occurrence of a haab date.
734 The Maya also used the combination of the tzolkin date and the haab
735 date. This combination is a cycle of about 52 years called a _calendar
736 round_. If you type `g m p c', Emacs asks you for both a haab and a
737 tzolkin date and then moves point to the previous occurrence of that
738 combination. Use `g m n c' to move point to the next occurrence of a
739 combination. These commands signal an error if the haab/tzolkin date
740 combination you have typed is impossible.
742 Emacs uses strict completion (*note Completion::) whenever it asks
743 you to type a Mayan name, so you don't have to worry about spelling.
746 File: xemacs.info, Node: Diary, Next: Calendar Customization, Prev: Mayan Calendar, Up: Calendar/Diary
751 The Emacs diary keeps track of appointments or other events on a
752 daily basis, in conjunction with the calendar. To use the diary
753 feature, you must first create a "diary file" containing a list of
754 events and their dates. Then Emacs can automatically pick out and
755 display the events for today, for the immediate future, or for any
758 By default, Emacs uses `~/diary' as the diary file. This is the
759 same file that the `calendar' utility uses. A sample `~/diary' file is:
761 12/22/1988 Twentieth wedding anniversary!!
762 &1/1. Happy New Year!
763 10/22 Ruth's birthday.
765 Tuesday--weekly meeting with grad students at 10am
766 Supowit, Shen, Bitner, and Kapoor to attend.
767 1/13/89 Friday the thirteenth!!
768 &thu 4pm squash game with Lloyd.
769 mar 16 Dad's birthday
770 April 15, 1989 Income tax due.
771 &* 15 time cards due.
773 This example uses extra spaces to align the event descriptions of most
774 of the entries. Such formatting is purely a matter of taste.
776 Although you probably will start by creating a diary manually, Emacs
777 provides a number of commands to let you view, add, and change diary
778 entries. You can also share diary entries with other users (*note
779 Included Diary Files::).
783 * Diary Commands:: Viewing diary entries and associated calendar dates.
784 * Format of Diary File:: Entering events in your diary.
785 * Date Formats:: Various ways you can specify dates.
786 * Adding to Diary:: Commands to create diary entries.
787 * Special Diary Entries:: Anniversaries, blocks of dates, cyclic entries, etc.
790 File: xemacs.info, Node: Diary Commands, Next: Format of Diary File, Prev: Diary, Up: Diary
792 Commands Displaying Diary Entries
793 ---------------------------------
795 Once you have created a `~/diary' file, you can use the calendar to
796 view it. You can also view today's events outside of Calendar mode.
799 Display all diary entries for the selected date
800 (`view-diary-entries').
803 Display all diary entries for the date you click on.
806 Display the entire diary file (`show-all-diary-entries').
809 Mark all visible dates that have diary entries
810 (`mark-diary-entries').
813 Unmark the calendar window (`calendar-unmark').
815 `M-x print-diary-entries'
816 Print hard copy of the diary display as it appears.
819 Display all diary entries for today's date.
821 `M-x diary-mail-entries'
822 Mail yourself email reminders about upcoming diary entries.
824 Displaying the diary entries with `d' shows in a separate window the
825 diary entries for the selected date in the calendar. The mode line of
826 the new window shows the date of the diary entries and any holidays
827 that fall on that date. If you specify a numeric argument with `d', it
828 shows all the diary entries for that many successive days. Thus, `2 d'
829 displays all the entries for the selected date and for the following
832 Another way to display the diary entries for a date is to click
833 `Button2' on the date, and then choose `Diary' from the menu that
836 To get a broader view of which days are mentioned in the diary, use
837 the `m' command. This displays the dates that have diary entries in a
838 different face (or places a `+' after these dates, if display with
839 multiple faces is not available). The command applies both to the
840 currently visible months and to other months that subsequently become
841 visible by scrolling. To turn marking off and erase the current marks,
842 type `u', which also turns off holiday marks (*note Holidays::).
844 To see the full diary file, rather than just some of the entries, use
847 Display of selected diary entries uses the selective display feature
848 to hide entries that don't apply.
850 The diary buffer as you see it is an illusion, so simply printing the
851 buffer does not print what you see on your screen. There is a special
852 command to print hard copy of the diary buffer _as it appears_; this
853 command is `M-x print-diary-entries'. It sends the data directly to
854 the printer. You can customize it like `lpr-region' (*note Hardcopy::).
856 The command `M-x diary' displays the diary entries for the current
857 date, independently of the calendar display, and optionally for the next
858 few days as well; the variable `number-of-diary-entries' specifies how
859 many days to include (*note Customization::).
861 If you put `(diary)' in your init file, this automatically displays
862 a window with the day's diary entries, when you enter Emacs. *Note
863 Init File::. The mode line of the displayed window shows the date and
864 any holidays that fall on that date.
866 Many users like to receive notice of events in their diary as email.
867 To send such mail to yourself, use the command `M-x
868 diary-mail-entries'. A prefix argument specifies how many days
869 (starting with today) to check; otherwise, the variable
870 `diary-mail-days' says how many days.
873 File: xemacs.info, Node: Format of Diary File, Next: Date Formats, Prev: Diary Commands, Up: Diary
878 Your "diary file" is a file that records events associated with
879 particular dates. The name of the diary file is specified by the
880 variable `diary-file'; `~/diary' is the default. The `calendar'
881 utility program supports a subset of the format allowed by the Emacs
882 diary facilities, so you can use that utility to view the diary file,
883 with reasonable results aside from the entries it cannot understand.
885 Each entry in the diary file describes one event and consists of one
886 or more lines. An entry always begins with a date specification at the
887 left margin. The rest of the entry is simply text to describe the
888 event. If the entry has more than one line, then the lines after the
889 first must begin with whitespace to indicate they continue a previous
890 entry. Lines that do not begin with valid dates and do not continue a
891 preceding entry are ignored.
893 You can inhibit the marking of certain diary entries in the calendar
894 window; to do this, insert an ampersand (`&') at the beginning of the
895 entry, before the date. This has no effect on display of the entry in
896 the diary window; it affects only marks on dates in the calendar
897 window. Nonmarking entries are especially useful for generic entries
898 that would otherwise mark many different dates.
900 If the first line of a diary entry consists only of the date or day
901 name with no following blanks or punctuation, then the diary window
902 display doesn't include that line; only the continuation lines appear.
903 For example, this entry:
906 Bill B. visits Princeton today
907 2pm Cognitive Studies Committee meeting
908 2:30-5:30 Liz at Lawrenceville
910 7:30pm Dinner at George's
913 appears in the diary window without the date line at the beginning.
914 This style of entry looks neater when you display just a single day's
915 entries, but can cause confusion if you ask for more than one day's
918 You can edit the diary entries as they appear in the window, but it
919 is important to remember that the buffer displayed contains the _entire_
920 diary file, with portions of it concealed from view. This means, for
921 instance, that the `C-f' (`forward-char') command can put point at what
922 appears to be the end of the line, but what is in reality the middle of
925 _Be careful when editing the diary entries!_ Inserting additional
926 lines or adding/deleting characters in the middle of a visible line
927 cannot cause problems, but editing at the end of a line may not do what
928 you expect. Deleting a line may delete other invisible entries that
929 follow it. Before editing the diary, it is best to display the entire
930 file with `s' (`show-all-diary-entries').
933 File: xemacs.info, Node: Date Formats, Next: Adding to Diary, Prev: Format of Diary File, Up: Diary
938 Here are some sample diary entries, illustrating different ways of
939 formatting a date. The examples all show dates in American order
940 (month, day, year), but Calendar mode supports European order (day,
941 month, year) as an option.
943 4/20/93 Switch-over to new tabulation system
944 apr. 25 Start tabulating annual results
945 4/30 Results for April are due
946 */25 Monthly cycle finishes
947 Friday Don't leave without backing up files
949 The first entry appears only once, on April 20, 1993. The second and
950 third appear every year on the specified dates, and the fourth uses a
951 wildcard (asterisk) for the month, so it appears on the 25th of every
952 month. The final entry appears every week on Friday.
954 You can use just numbers to express a date, as in `MONTH/DAY' or
955 `MONTH/DAY/YEAR'. This must be followed by a nondigit. In the date
956 itself, MONTH and DAY are numbers of one or two digits. The optional
957 YEAR is also a number, and may be abbreviated to the last two digits;
958 that is, you can use `11/12/1989' or `11/12/89'.
960 Dates can also have the form `MONTHNAME DAY' or `MONTHNAME DAY,
961 YEAR', where the month's name can be spelled in full or abbreviated to
962 three characters (with or without a period). Case is not significant.
964 A date may be "generic"; that is, partially unspecified. Then the
965 entry applies to all dates that match the specification. If the date
966 does not contain a year, it is generic and applies to any year.
967 Alternatively, MONTH, DAY, or YEAR can be a `*'; this matches any
968 month, day, or year, respectively. Thus, a diary entry `3/*/*' matches
969 any day in March of any year; so does `march *'.
971 If you prefer the European style of writing dates--in which the day
972 comes before the month--type `M-x european-calendar' while in the
973 calendar, or set the variable `european-calendar-style' to `t' _before_
974 using any calendar or diary command. This mode interprets all dates in
975 the diary in the European manner, and also uses European style for
976 displaying diary dates. (Note that there is no comma after the
977 MONTHNAME in the European style.) To go back to the (default) American
978 style of writing dates, type `M-x american-calendar'.
980 You can use the name of a day of the week as a generic date which
981 applies to any date falling on that day of the week. You can abbreviate
982 the day of the week to three letters (with or without a period) or spell
983 it in full; case is not significant.
986 File: xemacs.info, Node: Adding to Diary, Next: Special Diary Entries, Prev: Date Formats, Up: Diary
988 Commands to Add to the Diary
989 ----------------------------
991 While in the calendar, there are several commands to create diary
995 Add a diary entry for the selected date (`insert-diary-entry').
998 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the week
999 (`insert-weekly-diary-entry').
1002 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the month
1003 (`insert-monthly-diary-entry').
1006 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the year
1007 (`insert-yearly-diary-entry').
1009 You can make a diary entry for a specific date by selecting that date
1010 in the calendar window and typing the `i d' command. This command
1011 displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the
1012 date; you can then type the rest of the diary entry.
1014 If you want to make a diary entry that applies to a specific day of
1015 the week, select that day of the week (any occurrence will do) and type
1016 `i w'. This inserts the day-of-week as a generic date; you can then
1017 type the rest of the diary entry. You can make a monthly diary entry in
1018 the same fashion. Select the day of the month, use the `i m' command,
1019 and type rest of the entry. Similarly, you can insert a yearly diary
1020 entry with the `i y' command.
1022 All of the above commands make marking diary entries by default. To
1023 make a nonmarking diary entry, give a numeric argument to the command.
1024 For example, `C-u i w' makes a nonmarking weekly diary entry.
1026 When you modify the diary file, be sure to save the file before
1030 File: xemacs.info, Node: Special Diary Entries, Prev: Adding to Diary, Up: Diary
1032 Special Diary Entries
1033 ---------------------
1035 In addition to entries based on calendar dates, the diary file can
1036 contain "sexp entries" for regular events such as anniversaries. These
1037 entries are based on Lisp expressions (sexps) that Emacs evaluates as
1038 it scans the diary file. Instead of a date, a sexp entry contains `%%'
1039 followed by a Lisp expression which must begin and end with
1040 parentheses. The Lisp expression determines which dates the entry
1043 Calendar mode provides commands to insert certain commonly used sexp
1047 Add an anniversary diary entry for the selected date
1048 (`insert-anniversary-diary-entry').
1051 Add a block diary entry for the current region
1052 (`insert-block-diary-entry').
1055 Add a cyclic diary entry starting at the date
1056 (`insert-cyclic-diary-entry').
1058 If you want to make a diary entry that applies to the anniversary of
1059 a specific date, move point to that date and use the `i a' command.
1060 This displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts
1061 the anniversary description; you can then type the rest of the diary
1062 entry. The entry looks like this:
1064 The effect of `i a' is to add a `diary-anniversary' sexp to your
1065 diary file. You can also add one manually, for instance:
1067 %%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's birthday
1069 This entry applies to October 31 in any year after 1948; `10 31 1948'
1070 specifies the date. (If you are using the European calendar style, the
1071 month and day are interchanged.) The reason this expression requires a
1072 beginning year is that advanced diary functions can use it to calculate
1073 the number of elapsed years.
1075 A "block" diary entry applies to a specified range of consecutive
1076 dates. Here is a block diary entry that applies to all dates from June
1077 24, 1990 through July 10, 1990:
1079 %%(diary-block 6 24 1990 7 10 1990) Vacation
1081 The `6 24 1990' indicates the starting date and the `7 10 1990'
1082 indicates the stopping date. (Again, if you are using the European
1083 calendar style, the month and day are interchanged.)
1085 To insert a block entry, place point and the mark on the two dates
1086 that begin and end the range, and type `i b'. This command displays
1087 the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the block
1088 description; you can then type the diary entry.
1090 "Cyclic" diary entries repeat after a fixed interval of days. To
1091 create one, select the starting date and use the `i c' command. The
1092 command prompts for the length of interval, then inserts the entry,
1093 which looks like this:
1095 %%(diary-cyclic 50 3 1 1990) Renew medication
1097 This entry applies to March 1, 1990 and every 50th day following; `3 1
1098 1990' specifies the starting date. (If you are using the European
1099 calendar style, the month and day are interchanged.)
1101 All three of these commands make marking diary entries. To insert a
1102 nonmarking entry, give a numeric argument to the command. For example,
1103 `C-u i a' makes a nonmarking anniversary diary entry.
1105 Marking sexp diary entries in the calendar is _extremely_
1106 time-consuming, since every date visible in the calendar window must be
1107 individually checked. So it's a good idea to make sexp diary entries
1108 nonmarking (with `&') when possible.
1110 Another sophisticated kind of sexp entry, a "floating" diary entry,
1111 specifies a regularly occurring event by offsets specified in days,
1112 weeks, and months. It is comparable to a crontab entry interpreted by
1113 the `cron' utility. Here is a nonmarking, floating diary entry that
1114 applies to the last Thursday in November:
1116 &%%(diary-float 11 4 -1) American Thanksgiving
1118 The 11 specifies November (the eleventh month), the 4 specifies Thursday
1119 (the fourth day of the week, where Sunday is numbered zero), and the -1
1120 specifies "last" (1 would mean "first", 2 would mean "second", -2 would
1121 mean "second-to-last", and so on). The month can be a single month or
1122 a list of months. Thus you could change the 11 above to `'(1 2 3)' and
1123 have the entry apply to the last Thursday of January, February, and
1124 March. If the month is `t', the entry applies to all months of the
1127 The sexp feature of the diary allows you to specify diary entries
1128 based on any Emacs Lisp expression. You can use the library of built-in
1129 functions or you can write your own functions. The built-in functions
1130 include the ones shown in this section, plus a few others (*note Sexp
1133 The generality of sexps lets you specify any diary entry that you can
1134 describe algorithmically. Suppose you get paid on the 21st of the month
1135 if it is a weekday, and to the Friday before if the 21st is on a
1136 weekend. The diary entry
1138 &%%(let ((dayname (calendar-day-of-week date))
1139 (day (car (cdr date))))
1140 (or (and (= day 21) (memq dayname '(1 2 3 4 5)))
1141 (and (memq day '(19 20)) (= dayname 5)))
1142 ) Pay check deposited
1144 to just those dates. This example illustrates how the sexp can depend
1145 on the variable `date'; this variable is a list (MONTH DAY YEAR) that
1146 gives the Gregorian date for which the diary entries are being found.
1147 If the value of the sexp is `t', the entry applies to that date. If
1148 the sexp evaluates to `nil', the entry does _not_ apply to that date.
1151 File: xemacs.info, Node: Calendar Customization, Prev: Diary, Up: Calendar/Diary
1153 Customizing the Calendar and Diary
1154 ----------------------------------
1156 There are many customizations that you can use to make the calendar
1157 and diary suit your personal tastes.
1161 * Calendar Customizing:: Defaults you can set.
1162 * Holiday Customizing:: Defining your own holidays.
1163 * Date Display Format:: Changing the format.
1164 * Time Display Format:: Changing the format.
1165 * Daylight Savings:: Changing the default.
1166 * Diary Customizing:: Defaults you can set.
1167 * Hebrew/Islamic Entries:: How to obtain them.
1168 * Fancy Diary Display:: Enhancing the diary display, sorting entries.
1169 * Included Diary Files:: Sharing a common diary file.
1170 * Sexp Diary Entries:: Fancy things you can do.
1171 * Appt Customizing:: Customizing appointment reminders.
1174 File: xemacs.info, Node: Calendar Customizing, Next: Holiday Customizing, Up: Calendar Customization
1176 Customizing the Calendar
1177 ........................
1179 If you set the variable `view-diary-entries-initially' to `t',
1180 calling up the calendar automatically displays the diary entries for
1181 the current date as well. The diary dates appear only if the current
1182 date is visible. If you add both of the following lines to your init
1185 (setq view-diary-entries-initially t)
1188 this displays both the calendar and diary windows whenever you start
1189 Emacs. *Note Init File::.
1191 Similarly, if you set the variable
1192 `view-calendar-holidays-initially' to `t', entering the calendar
1193 automatically displays a list of holidays for the current three-month
1194 period. The holiday list appears in a separate window.
1196 You can set the variable `mark-diary-entries-in-calendar' to `t' in
1197 order to mark any dates with diary entries. This takes effect whenever
1198 the calendar window contents are recomputed. There are two ways of
1199 marking these dates: by changing the face (*note Faces::), if the
1200 display supports that, or by placing a plus sign (`+') beside the date
1203 Similarly, setting the variable `mark-holidays-in-calendar' to `t'
1204 marks holiday dates, either with a change of face or with an asterisk
1207 The variable `calendar-holiday-marker' specifies how to mark a date
1208 as being a holiday. Its value may be a character to insert next to the
1209 date, or a face name to use for displaying the date. Likewise, the
1210 variable `diary-entry-marker' specifies how to mark a date that has
1211 diary entries. The calendar creates faces named `holiday-face' and
1212 `diary-face' for these purposes; those symbols are the default values
1213 of these variables, when Emacs supports multiple faces on your terminal.
1215 The variable `calendar-load-hook' is a normal hook run when the
1216 calendar package is first loaded (before actually starting to display
1219 Starting the calendar runs the normal hook
1220 `initial-calendar-window-hook'. Recomputation of the calendar display
1221 does not run this hook. But if you leave the calendar with the `q'
1222 command and reenter it, the hook runs again.
1224 The variable `today-visible-calendar-hook' is a normal hook run
1225 after the calendar buffer has been prepared with the calendar when the
1226 current date is visible in the window. One use of this hook is to
1227 replace today's date with asterisks; to do that, use the hook function
1228 `calendar-star-date'.
1230 (add-hook 'today-visible-calendar-hook 'calendar-star-date)
1232 Another standard hook function marks the current date, either by
1233 changing its face or by adding an asterisk. Here's how to use it:
1235 (add-hook 'today-visible-calendar-hook 'calendar-mark-today)
1237 The variable `calendar-today-marker' specifies how to mark today's
1238 date. Its value should be a character to insert next to the date or a
1239 face name to use for displaying the date. A face named
1240 `calendar-today-face' is provided for this purpose; that symbol is the
1241 default for this variable when Emacs supports multiple faces on your
1244 A similar normal hook, `today-invisible-calendar-hook' is run if the
1245 current date is _not_ visible in the window.