1 \input texinfo.tex @c -*- mode: texinfo; coding: iso-2022-8 -*-
3 @setfilename ../info/xemacs-faq.info
4 @settitle Frequently asked questions about XEmacs
10 @subtitle Frequently asked questions about XEmacs @* Last Modified: $Date: 2005/10/14 02:11:49 $
12 @author Ben Wing <ben@@xemacs.org>
13 @author Tony Rossini <rossini@@u.washington.edu>
14 @author Chuck Thompson <cthomp@@xemacs.org>
15 @author Steve Baur <steve@@xemacs.org>
16 @author Andreas Kaempf <andreas@@sccon.com>
17 @author Christian Nyb@o{} <chr@@mediascience.no>
18 @author Sandra Wambold <wambold@@xemacs.org>
23 @dircategory XEmacs Editor
25 * FAQ: (xemacs-faq). XEmacs FAQ.
30 *****************************************
31 ***** To update the menus and nodes *****
32 *****************************************
34 First, the first argument to @node (the name itself) needs to be correct.
35 Use a macro if necessary to update the @node names from the
36 @unnumberedsubsec commands. Also note that the command we're about to
37 run will not correctly fix up the part of the menu to the right of a ::.
38 It will leave existing text in place but not change anything. If you
39 make a lot of changes and want to update this semi-automatically, use
40 M-x occur to pick out all @unnumberedsubsec lines then do some editing
41 magic to coerce them into the right format and cut and paste as necessary:
43 1. M-x occur @unnumberedsubsec
44 2. <select a rectangle including all text before the Q#.#.#>
46 4. go to the top and use the following macro to get the indentation right.
48 (setq last-kbd-macro (read-kbd-macro
49 "C-s : RET : <right> M-x indent- to- column RET 14 RET <home> <down>"))
51 5. Cut and paste the menus into the detailmenu at the top and
52 individual menus at the top of the appropriate chapters. (#### I
53 wonder, does texinfo-master-menu generate the detailmenu from the
54 individual menus or vice-versa or neither?)
58 6. C-u C-c C-u m (C-u M-x texinfo-master-menu) will update the menus
59 and nodes. However, it appears that even though it tries to
60 preserve the existing menu structure as much as possible, it
61 doesn't do a perfect job. It messes up in at least two ways: The
62 indentation in the part of the main menu above the detailmenu will
63 be screwed up, and the #.0 titles will be removed from both the
64 detailmenu and the individual chapter menus. In addition,
65 sometimes random things get screwed up in individual parts of the
68 1. Use the Lisp line below to get the spacing correct for the Q#.#.#
71 (set (make-local-variable 'texinfo-column-for-description) 14)
73 2. Copy the whole detailmenu beforehand.
74 3. Run C-u C-c C-u m to fix up the nodes.
75 4. Run `fix-main-menu' and `fix-omitted-menu-lines'.
76 5. Check the new detailmenu carefully to see if anything is screwed up
77 compared to the old detailmenu you copied.
78 6. If so, paste back the appropriate sections and fix up the corresponding
79 part of the chapter-specific menu.
81 (defun fix-main-menu ()
85 (goto-char (point-min))
86 (re-search-forward "^@menu")
87 (setq p (match-beginning 0))
88 (re-search-forward "^$")
89 (setq q (match-end 0))
90 (narrow-to-region p q)
92 (while (search-forward ":: " nil t)
93 (indent-to-column 26)))))
95 (defun fix-omitted-menu-lines ()
98 (loop for x from 1 to 10 do
99 (goto-char (point-min))
100 (re-search-forward (format "@unnumberedsec \\(%d.0: .*\\)" x))
101 (let ((line (match-string 1)))
102 (re-search-backward "^@menu")
104 (unless (looking-at "[0-9]+.0:")
107 (goto-char (point-min))
108 (re-search-forward "^@menu")
109 (search-forward (format "Q%d.0.1:" x))
111 (unless (looking-at "[0-9]+.0:")
115 *****************************************
116 ***** Other work *****
117 *****************************************
119 When you've rearranged and renumbered a bunch of nodes, you can get
120 the numbers agreeing again. The macro below assumes that the
121 unnumberedsubsec number is correct, and fixes up the node to agree.
122 Only the first part of the node is fixed and the other parts may still
123 be wrong; but they will be fixed as part of
124 @code{texinfo-master-menu}.
126 (setq last-kbd-macro (read-kbd-macro
127 "<f1> unnumberedsubsec SPC RET C-s : RET <left> C-x C-x <f3> <home> <up> <C-right> <right> C-s , RET <left> C-x C-x <f4> <home> 2*<down>"))
131 @node Top, Introduction, (dir), (dir)
134 This is the guide to the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list---a
135 compendium of questions and answers pertaining to one of the finest
136 programs ever written. XEmacs is much more than just a Text Editor.
138 This FAQ is freely redistributable. This FAQ is distributed in the hope
139 that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
140 implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
142 If you have a Web browser, the official hypertext version is at
146 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/FAQ/xemacs-faq.html}
150 This document is available in several different formats:
153 @uref{xemacs-faq.txt, As a single ASCII file}, produced by
154 @code{makeinfo --no-headers}
156 @uref{xemacs-faq.dvi, As a .dvi file}, as used with
157 @uref{http://www.tug.org, TeX.}
159 As a PostScript file @uref{xemacs-faq-a4.ps, in A4 format},
160 as well as in @uref{xemacs-faq-letter.ps, letter format}
162 In html format, @uref{xemacs-faq_1.html, split by chapter}, or in
163 @uref{xemacs-faq.html, one monolithic} document.
165 The canonical version of the FAQ is the texinfo document
166 @uref{xemacs-faq.texi, man/xemacs-faq.texi}.
168 If you do not have makeinfo installed, you may @uref{xemacs-faq.info,
169 download the faq} in info format, and install it in @file{<XEmacs
170 library directory>/info/}. For example in
171 @file{/usr/local/lib/xemacs-21.4/info/}.
179 @c end ifset points to CANONICAL
182 * Introduction:: Introduction, Policy, Credits.
183 * Installation:: Installation and Troubleshooting.
184 * Editing:: Editing Functions.
185 * Display:: Display Functions.
186 * External Subsystems:: Interfacing with the OS and External Devices.
187 * Internet:: Connecting to the Internet.
188 * Advanced:: Advanced Customization Using XEmacs Lisp.
189 * Other Packages:: Other External Packages.
190 * Current Events:: What the Future Holds.
191 * Legacy Versions:: New information about old XEmacsen.
194 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
196 1 Introduction, Policy, Credits
199 * Q1.0.1:: What is XEmacs?
200 * Q1.0.2:: What is the current version of XEmacs?
201 * Q1.0.3:: How do you pronounce XEmacs?
202 * Q1.0.4:: What does XEmacs look like?
203 * Q1.0.5:: Who wrote XEmacs?
204 * Q1.0.6:: Who wrote the FAQ?
207 * Q1.1.1:: Where can I find XEmacs?
208 * Q1.1.2:: Are binaries available?
209 * Q1.1.3:: How do I get the bleeding-edge sources?
210 * Q1.1.4:: Where can I obtain a printed copy of the XEmacs User's Manual?
212 1.2: Versions for Different Operating Systems
213 * Q1.2.1:: Do I need X11 to run XEmacs?
214 * Q1.2.2:: What versions of Unix does XEmacs run on?
215 * Q1.2.3:: Is there a port of XEmacs to Microsoft Windows?
216 * Q1.2.4:: Can I build XEmacs on MS Windows with X support? Do I need to?
217 * Q1.2.5:: What are Cygwin and MinGW, and do I need them to run XEmacs?
218 * Q1.2.6:: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
219 * Q1.2.7:: How does the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
220 * Q1.2.8:: Is there a port of XEmacs to the Macintosh?
221 * Q1.2.9:: Is there a port of XEmacs to MS-DOS?
222 * Q1.2.10:: Is there a port of XEmacs to OS/2?
223 * Q1.2.11:: Is there a port of XEmacs to NextStep?
224 * Q1.2.12:: Is there a port of XEmacs to VMS?
227 * Q1.3.1:: What is an @file{init.el} or @file{.emacs} and is there a sample one?
228 * Q1.3.2:: Where do I put my @file{init.el} file?
229 * Q1.3.3:: Can I use the same @file{init.el} with the other Emacs?
230 * Q1.3.4:: Any good XEmacs tutorials around?
231 * Q1.3.5:: May I see an example of a useful XEmacs Lisp function?
232 * Q1.3.6:: And how do I bind it to a key?
233 * Q1.3.7:: What's the difference between a macro and a function?
234 * Q1.3.8:: What is @code{Custom}?
237 * Q1.4.1:: Where can I get help?
238 * Q1.4.2:: Which mailing lists are there?
239 * Q1.4.3:: Where are the mailing lists archived?
240 * Q1.4.4:: How can I get two instances of info?
241 * Q1.4.5:: How do I add new Info directories?
243 1.5: Contributing to XEmacs
244 * Q1.5.1:: How do I submit changes to the FAQ?
245 * Q1.5.2:: How do I become a beta tester?
246 * Q1.5.3:: How do I contribute to XEmacs itself?
247 * Q1.5.4:: How do I get started developing XEmacs?
248 * Q1.5.5:: What's the basic layout of the code?
250 1.6: Politics (XEmacs vs. GNU Emacs)
251 * Q1.6.1:: What is GNU Emacs?
252 * Q1.6.2:: How does XEmacs differ from GNU Emacs?
253 * Q1.6.3:: How much does XEmacs differ?
254 * Q1.6.4:: Is XEmacs "GNU"?
255 * Q1.6.5:: What is the correct way to refer to XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
256 * Q1.6.6:: Why haven't XEmacs and GNU Emacs merged?
258 1.7: External Packages
259 * Q1.7.1:: What is the package system?
260 * Q1.7.2:: Which external packages are there?
261 * Q1.7.3:: Do I need to have the packages to run XEmacs?
262 * Q1.7.4:: Is there a way to find which package has particular functionality?
264 1.8: Internationalization
265 * Q1.8.1:: What is the status of internationalization support aka MULE (including Asian language support)?
266 * Q1.8.2:: How can I help with internationalization?
267 * Q1.8.3:: How do I type non-ASCII characters?
268 * Q1.8.4:: Can XEmacs messages come out in a different language?
269 * Q1.8.5:: Please explain the various input methods in MULE/XEmacs
270 * Q1.8.6:: How do I portably code for MULE/XEmacs?
271 * Q1.8.7:: How about Cyrillic modes?
272 * Q1.8.8:: Does XEmacs support Unicode?
273 * Q1.8.9:: How does XEmacs display Unicode?
275 2 Installation and Troubleshooting
277 2.0: Installation (General)
278 * Q2.0.1:: How do I build and install XEmacs?
279 * Q2.0.2:: Where do I find external libraries?
280 * Q2.0.3:: How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
281 * Q2.0.4:: Running XEmacs without installing
282 * Q2.0.5:: XEmacs is too big
284 2.1: Package Installation
285 * Q2.1.1:: How do I install the packages?
286 * Q2.1.2:: Can I install the packages individually?
287 * Q2.1.3:: Can I install the packages automatically?
288 * Q2.1.4:: Can I upgrade or remove packages?
289 * Q2.1.5:: Which packages to install?
290 * Q2.1.6:: Can you describe the package location process in more detail?
291 * Q2.1.7:: EFS fails with "500 AUTH not understood"
293 2.2: Unix/Mac OS X Installation (Also Relevant to Cygwin, MinGW)
294 * Q2.2.1:: Libraries in non-standard locations
295 * Q2.2.2:: Why can't I strip XEmacs?
297 2.3: Windows Installation (Windows, Cygwin, MinGW)
298 * Q2.3.1:: What exactly are all the different ways to build XEmacs under Windows?
299 * Q2.3.2:: What compiler/libraries do I need to compile XEmacs?
300 * Q2.3.3:: How do I compile the native port?
301 * Q2.3.4:: What do I need for Cygwin?
302 * Q2.3.5:: How do I compile under Cygwin?
303 * Q2.3.6:: How do I compile using MinGW (aka @samp{the -mno-cygwin flag to gcc})?
304 * Q2.3.7:: How do I compile with X support?
305 * Q2.3.8:: Cygwin XEmacs won't start -- cygXpm-noX4.dll was not found (NEW)
307 2.4: General Troubleshooting
308 * Q2.4.1:: How do I deal with bugs or with problems building, installing, or running?
309 * Q2.4.2:: Help! XEmacs just crashed on me!
310 * Q2.4.3:: XEmacs crashes and I compiled it myself.
311 * Q2.4.4:: How to debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger
312 * Q2.4.5:: I get a cryptic error message when trying to do something.
313 * Q2.4.6:: XEmacs hangs when I try to do something.
314 * Q2.4.7:: I get an error message when XEmacs is running in batch mode.
315 * Q2.4.8:: The keyboard or mouse is not working properly, or I have some other event-related problem.
316 * Q2.4.9:: @kbd{C-g} doesn't work for me. Is it broken?
317 * Q2.4.10:: How do I debug process-related problems?
318 * Q2.4.11:: XEmacs is outputting lots of X errors.
319 * Q2.4.12:: After upgrading, XEmacs won't do `foo' any more!
321 2.5: Startup-Related Problems
322 * Q2.5.1:: XEmacs cannot connect to my X Terminal!
323 * Q2.5.2:: Startup problems related to paths or package locations.
324 * Q2.5.3:: XEmacs won't start without network.
325 * Q2.5.4:: Startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
326 * Q2.5.5:: Warnings from incorrect key modifiers.
327 * Q2.5.6:: XEmacs 21.1 on Windows used to spawn an ugly console window on every startup. Has that been fixed?
332 * Q3.0.1:: How can I customize the keyboard?
333 * Q3.0.2:: How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to keys?
334 * Q3.0.3:: How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and down?
335 * Q3.0.4:: Globally binding @kbd{Delete}?
336 * Q3.0.5:: How to map @kbd{Help} key alone on Sun type4 keyboard?
337 * Q3.0.6:: How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?
338 * Q3.0.7:: Can I turn on @dfn{sticky} modifier keys?
339 * Q3.0.8:: How do I map the arrow keys?
340 * Q3.0.9:: HP Alt key as Meta.
341 * Q3.0.10:: Why does edt emulation not work?
342 * Q3.0.11:: How can I emulate VI and use it as my default mode?
345 * Q3.1.1:: How can I turn off Mouse pasting?
346 * Q3.1.2:: How do I set control/meta/etc modifiers on mouse buttons?
347 * Q3.1.3:: Clicking the left button does not do anything in buffer list.
348 * Q3.1.4:: How can I get a list of buffers when I hit mouse button 3?
349 * Q3.1.5:: How can I set XEmacs up so that it pastes where the text cursor is?
351 3.2: Buffers, Text Editing
352 * Q3.2.1:: Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
353 * Q3.2.2:: How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
354 * Q3.2.3:: How do I get a single minibuffer frame?
355 * Q3.2.4:: How can I enable auto-indent and/or Filladapt?
356 * Q3.2.5:: How can I get XEmacs to come up in text/auto-fill mode by default?
359 * Q3.3.1:: How do I select a rectangular region?
360 * Q3.3.2:: How can I turn off or change highlighted selections?
361 * Q3.3.3:: How do I cause typing on an active region to remove it?
362 * Q3.3.4:: Can I turn off the highlight during isearch?
363 * Q3.3.5:: Why is killing so slow?
364 * Q3.3.6:: Why does @kbd{M-w} take so long?
366 3.4: Editing Source Code
367 * Q3.4.1:: I do not like cc-mode. How do I use the old c-mode?
368 * Q3.4.2:: How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
372 4.0: Textual Fonts and Colors
373 * Q4.0.1:: How do I specify a font?
374 * Q4.0.2:: How do I set the text, menu and modeline fonts?
375 * Q4.0.3:: How can I set color options from @file{init.el}?
376 * Q4.0.4:: How can I set the colors when highlighting a region?
377 * Q4.0.5:: How can I limit color map usage?
378 * Q4.0.6:: My tty supports color, but XEmacs doesn't use them.
379 * Q4.0.7:: Can I have pixmap backgrounds in XEmacs?
380 * Q4.0.8:: How do I display non-ASCII characters?
381 * Q4.0.9:: Font selections in don't get saved after @code{Save Options}.
383 4.1: Syntax Highlighting (Font Lock)
384 * Q4.1.1:: How can I do source code highlighting using font-lock?
385 * Q4.1.2:: How do I get @samp{More} Syntax Highlighting on by default?
388 * Q4.2.1:: How can I make the modeline go away?
389 * Q4.2.2:: How do you have XEmacs display the line number in the modeline?
390 * Q4.2.3:: How do I get XEmacs to put the time of day on the modeline?
391 * Q4.2.4:: How can I change the modeline color based on the mode used?
394 * Q4.3.1:: Is there a way to make the bar cursor thicker?
395 * Q4.3.2:: Is there a way to get back the block cursor?
396 * Q4.3.3:: Can I make the cursor blink?
399 * Q4.4.1:: How do I get rid of the menubar?
400 * Q4.4.2:: How can I customize the menubar?
401 * Q4.4.3:: How do I enable use of the keyboard (@kbd{Alt}) to access menu items?
402 * Q4.4.4:: How do I control how many buffers are listed in the menu @code{Buffers List}?
403 * Q4.4.5:: Resources like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} are not working?
406 * Q4.5.1:: How do I get rid of the toolbar?
407 * Q4.5.2:: How can I customize the toolbar?
408 * Q4.5.3:: How can I bind a key to a function to toggle the toolbar?
409 * Q4.5.4:: @samp{Can't instantiate image error...} in toolbar
411 4.6: Scrollbars and Scrolling
412 * Q4.6.1:: How can I disable the scrollbar?
413 * Q4.6.2:: How can I change the scrollbar width?
414 * Q4.6.3:: How can I use resources to change scrollbar colors?
415 * Q4.6.4:: Moving the scrollbar can move the point; can I disable this?
416 * Q4.6.5:: Scrolling one line at a time.
417 * Q4.6.6:: How can I turn off automatic horizontal scrolling in specific modes?
418 * Q4.6.7:: I find auto-show-mode disconcerting. How do I turn it off?
420 4.7: The Gutter Tabs, The Progress Bar, Widgets
421 * Q4.7.1:: How can I disable the gutter tabs?
422 * Q4.7.2:: How can I disable the progress bar?
423 * Q4.7.3:: There are bugs in the gutter or widgets.
424 * Q4.7.4:: How can I customize the gutter or gutter tabs?
426 5 Interfacing with the Operating System and External Devices
428 5.0: X Window System and Resources
429 * Q5.0.1:: Where is a list of X resources?
430 * Q5.0.2:: How can I detect a color display?
431 * Q5.0.3:: How can I get the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}?
432 * Q5.0.4:: How can I have the window title area display the full path?
433 * Q5.0.5:: @samp{xemacs -name junk} doesn't work?
434 * Q5.0.6:: @samp{-iconic} doesn't work.
436 5.1: Microsoft Windows
437 * Q5.1.1:: Does XEmacs rename all the @samp{win32-*} symbols to @samp{w32-*}?
438 * Q5.1.2:: How do I get Windows Explorer to associate a file type with XEmacs?
441 * Q5.2.1:: What do I need to change to make printing work?
442 * Q5.2.2:: How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
443 * Q5.2.3:: Getting @kbd{M-x lpr} to work with postscript printer.
444 * Q5.2.4:: Can you print under MS Windows?
447 * Q5.3.1:: How do I turn off the sound?
448 * Q5.3.2:: How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
449 * Q5.3.3:: What are NAS and ESD (EsounD)?
450 * Q5.3.4:: Sunsite sounds don't play.
452 5.4: Running an Interior Shell, Invoking Subprocesses
453 * Q5.4.1:: What is an interior shell?
454 * Q5.4.2:: How do I start up a second shell buffer?
455 * Q5.4.3:: Telnet from shell filters too much
456 * Q5.4.4:: Strange things are happening in Shell Mode.
457 * Q5.4.5:: XEmacs complains "No such file or directory, diff"
458 * Q5.4.6:: Cygwin error "fork_copy: linked dll/bss pass 0 failed"
460 5.5: Multiple Device Support
461 * Q5.5.1:: How do I open a frame on another screen of my multi-headed display?
462 * Q5.5.2:: Can I really connect to a running XEmacs after calling up over a modem? How?
463 * Q5.5.3:: How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?
464 * Q5.5.4:: How do I start gnuserv so that each subsequent XEmacs is a client?
465 * Q5.5.5:: Is there a way to start a new XEmacs if there's no gnuserv running, and otherwise use gnuclient?
467 6 Connecting to the Internet
469 6.0: General Mail and News
470 * Q6.0.1:: What are the various packages for reading mail?
471 * Q6.0.2:: How can I send mail?
472 * Q6.0.3:: How do I get my outgoing mail archived?
473 * Q6.0.4:: How can I read and/or compose MIME messages?
474 * Q6.0.5:: How do I customize the From line?
475 * Q6.0.6:: How do I get my MUA to filter mail for me?
476 * Q6.0.7:: Remote mail reading with an MUA.
477 * Q6.0.8:: An MUA gets an error incorporating new mail.
478 * Q6.0.9:: Why isn't @file{movemail} working?
479 * Q6.0.10:: How do I make my MUA display graphical smilies?
480 * Q6.0.11:: How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
482 6.1: Reading Mail with VM
483 * Q6.1.1:: How do I set up VM to retrieve mail from a remote site using POP?
484 * Q6.1.2:: How can I get VM to automatically check for new mail?
485 * Q6.1.3:: I have various addresses at which I receive mail. How can I tell VM to ignore them when doing a "reply-all"?
486 * Q6.1.4:: Is there a mailing list or FAQ for VM?
487 * Q6.1.5:: How do I make VM stay in a single frame?
488 * Q6.1.6:: Customization of VM not covered in the manual, or here.
490 6.2: Reading Netnews and Mail with Gnus
491 * Q6.2.1:: GNUS, (ding) Gnus, Gnus 5, September Gnus, Red Gnus, Quassia Gnus, argh!
492 * Q6.2.2:: How do I make Gnus stay within a single frame?
495 * Q6.3.1:: Can I edit files on other hosts?
496 * Q6.3.2:: What is EFS?
498 6.4: Web Browsing with W3
499 * Q6.4.1:: What is W3?
500 * Q6.4.2:: How do I run W3 from behind a firewall?
501 * Q6.4.3:: Is it true that W3 supports style sheets and tables?
503 7 Advanced Customization Using XEmacs Lisp
505 7.0: Emacs Lisp and @file{init.el}
506 * Q7.0.1:: What version of Emacs am I running?
507 * Q7.0.2:: How can I evaluate Emacs-Lisp expressions?
508 * Q7.0.3:: @code{(setq tab-width 6)} behaves oddly.
509 * Q7.0.4:: How can I add directories to the @code{load-path}?
510 * Q7.0.5:: How to check if a lisp function is defined?
511 * Q7.0.6:: Can I force the output of @code{(face-list)} to a buffer?
513 7.1: Emacs Lisp Programming Techniques
514 * Q7.1.1:: What is the difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
515 * Q7.1.2:: Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?
516 * Q7.1.3:: Could you explain @code{read-kbd-macro} in more detail?
517 * Q7.1.4:: What is the performance hit of @code{let}?
518 * Q7.1.5:: What is the recommended use of @code{setq}?
519 * Q7.1.6:: What is the typical misuse of @code{setq}?
520 * Q7.1.7:: I like the @code{do} form of cl, does it slow things down?
521 * Q7.1.8:: I like recursion, does it slow things down?
522 * Q7.1.9:: How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?
523 * Q7.1.10:: @code{map-extents} won't traverse all of my extents!
524 * Q7.1.11:: My elisp program is horribly slow. Is there an easy way to find out where it spends time?
527 * Q7.2.1:: What are bignums, ratios, and bigfloats in Lisp?
528 * Q7.2.2:: XEmacs segfaults when I use very big numbers!
529 * Q7.2.3:: Bignums are really slow!
530 * Q7.2.4:: Equal bignums don't compare as equal! What gives?
532 8 Other External Packages
535 * Q8.0.1:: Is there something better than LaTeX mode?
536 * Q8.0.2:: What is AUCTeX? Where do you get it?
537 * Q8.0.3:: Problems installing AUCTeX.
538 * Q8.0.4:: How do I turn off current chapter from AUCTeX modeline?
540 8.1: Other Unbundled Packages
541 * Q8.1.1:: Is there a reason for an Emacs package not to be included in XEmacs?
542 * Q8.1.2:: Are there any Emacs Lisp Spreadsheets?
543 * Q8.1.3:: Is there a MatLab mode?
545 8.2: Environments Built Around XEmacs
546 * Q8.2.1:: What are SPARCworks, EOS, and WorkShop?
547 * Q8.2.2:: How do I start the Sun Workshop support in XEmacs 21?
548 * Q8.2.3:: What is/was Energize?
549 * Q8.2.4:: What is Infodock?
551 9 What the Future Holds
554 * Q9.0.1:: What new features will be in XEmacs soon?
555 * Q9.0.2:: What's new in XEmacs 21.4?
556 * Q9.0.3:: What's new in XEmacs 21.1?
557 * Q9.0.4:: What's new in XEmacs 20.4?
558 * Q9.0.5:: What's new in XEmacs 20.3?
559 * Q9.0.6:: What's new in XEmacs 20.2?
561 10 New information about old XEmacsen
564 * Q10.0.1:: Gnus 5.10 won't display smileys in XEmacs 21.1.
565 * Q10.0.2:: XEmacs won't start on Windows in XEmacs 21.1.
570 @node Introduction, Installation, Top, Top
571 @unnumbered 1 Introduction, Policy, Credits
573 Learning XEmacs is a lifelong activity. Even people who have used Emacs
574 for years keep discovering new features. Therefore this document cannot
575 be complete. Instead it is aimed at the person who is either
576 considering XEmacs for their own use, or has just obtained it and is
577 wondering what to do next. It is also useful as a reference to
580 The previous maintainer of the FAQ was
581 @email{rossini@@biostat.washington.edu, Anthony Rossini}, who started
582 it, after getting tired of hearing JWZ complain about repeatedly
583 having to answer questions. @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing} then
584 took over and did a massive update reorganizing the whole thing. At
585 this point Anthony took back over, but then had to give it up again.
586 Some of the other contributors to this FAQ are listed later in this
589 The previous version was converted to hypertext format, and edited by
590 @email{steve@@xemacs.org, Steven L. Baur}. It was converted back to
591 texinfo by @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic}. The FAQ was then
592 maintained by @email{andreas@@sccon.com, Andreas Kaempf}, who passed it
593 on to ChristianNyb@o{}, and then to @email{wambold@@xemacs.org,Sandra Wambold}.
595 The current version of the FAQ has been heavily redone by
596 @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing}.
598 If you notice any errors or items which should be added or amended to
599 this FAQ please send email to @email{xemacs-beta@@xemacs.org}.
600 Include @samp{XEmacs FAQ} on the Subject: line.
604 * Q1.0.1:: What is XEmacs?
605 * Q1.0.2:: What is the current version of XEmacs?
606 * Q1.0.3:: How do you pronounce XEmacs?
607 * Q1.0.4:: What does XEmacs look like?
608 * Q1.0.5:: Who wrote XEmacs?
609 * Q1.0.6:: Who wrote the FAQ?
612 * Q1.1.1:: Where can I find XEmacs?
613 * Q1.1.2:: Are binaries available?
614 * Q1.1.3:: How do I get the bleeding-edge sources?
615 * Q1.1.4:: Where can I obtain a printed copy of the XEmacs User's Manual?
617 1.2: Versions for Different Operating Systems
618 * Q1.2.1:: Do I need X11 to run XEmacs?
619 * Q1.2.2:: What versions of Unix does XEmacs run on?
620 * Q1.2.3:: Is there a port of XEmacs to Microsoft Windows?
621 * Q1.2.4:: Can I build XEmacs on MS Windows with X support? Do I need to?
622 * Q1.2.5:: What are Cygwin and MinGW, and do I need them to run XEmacs?
623 * Q1.2.6:: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
624 * Q1.2.7:: How does the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
625 * Q1.2.8:: Is there a port of XEmacs to the Macintosh?
626 * Q1.2.9:: Is there a port of XEmacs to MS-DOS?
627 * Q1.2.10:: Is there a port of XEmacs to OS/2?
628 * Q1.2.11:: Is there a port of XEmacs to NextStep?
629 * Q1.2.12:: Is there a port of XEmacs to VMS?
632 * Q1.3.1:: What is an @file{init.el} or @file{.emacs} and is there a sample one?
633 * Q1.3.2:: Where do I put my @file{init.el} file?
634 * Q1.3.3:: Can I use the same @file{init.el} with the other Emacs?
635 * Q1.3.4:: Any good XEmacs tutorials around?
636 * Q1.3.5:: May I see an example of a useful XEmacs Lisp function?
637 * Q1.3.6:: And how do I bind it to a key?
638 * Q1.3.7:: What's the difference between a macro and a function?
639 * Q1.3.8:: What is @code{Custom}?
642 * Q1.4.1:: Where can I get help?
643 * Q1.4.2:: Which mailing lists are there?
644 * Q1.4.3:: Where are the mailing lists archived?
645 * Q1.4.4:: How can I get two instances of info?
646 * Q1.4.5:: How do I add new Info directories?
648 1.5: Contributing to XEmacs
649 * Q1.5.1:: How do I submit changes to the FAQ?
650 * Q1.5.2:: How do I become a beta tester?
651 * Q1.5.3:: How do I contribute to XEmacs itself?
652 * Q1.5.4:: How do I get started developing XEmacs?
653 * Q1.5.5:: What's the basic layout of the code?
655 1.6: Politics (XEmacs vs. GNU Emacs)
656 * Q1.6.1:: What is GNU Emacs?
657 * Q1.6.2:: How does XEmacs differ from GNU Emacs?
658 * Q1.6.3:: How much does XEmacs differ?
659 * Q1.6.4:: Is XEmacs "GNU"?
660 * Q1.6.5:: What is the correct way to refer to XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
661 * Q1.6.6:: Why haven't XEmacs and GNU Emacs merged?
663 1.7: External Packages
664 * Q1.7.1:: What is the package system?
665 * Q1.7.2:: Which external packages are there?
666 * Q1.7.3:: Do I need to have the packages to run XEmacs?
667 * Q1.7.4:: Is there a way to find which package has particular functionality?
669 1.8: Internationalization
670 * Q1.8.1:: What is the status of internationalization support aka MULE (including Asian language support)?
671 * Q1.8.2:: How can I help with internationalization?
672 * Q1.8.3:: How do I type non-ASCII characters?
673 * Q1.8.4:: Can XEmacs messages come out in a different language?
674 * Q1.8.5:: Please explain the various input methods in MULE/XEmacs
675 * Q1.8.6:: How do I portably code for MULE/XEmacs?
676 * Q1.8.7:: How about Cyrillic modes?
677 * Q1.8.8:: Does XEmacs support Unicode?
678 * Q1.8.9:: How does XEmacs display Unicode?
681 @unnumberedsec 1.0: What is XEmacs?
683 @node Q1.0.1, Q1.0.2, Introduction, Introduction
684 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.1: What is XEmacs?
686 XEmacs is a powerful, highly customizable open source text editor and
687 application development system, with full GUI support. It is
688 protected under the GNU Public License and related to other versions
689 of Emacs, in particular GNU Emacs. Its emphasis is on modern
690 graphical user interface support and an open software development
691 model, similar to Linux. XEmacs has an active development community
692 numbering in the hundreds (and thousands of active beta testers on top
693 of this), and runs on all versions of MS Windows, on Mac OS X, on
694 Linux, and on nearly every other version of Unix in existence.
695 Support for XEmacs has been supplied by Sun Microsystems, University
696 of Illinois, Lucid, ETL/Electrotechnical Laboratory, Amdahl
697 Corporation, BeOpen, and others, as well as the unpaid time of a great
698 number of individual developers.
700 @node Q1.0.2, Q1.0.3, Q1.0.1, Introduction
701 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.2: What is the current version of XEmacs?
703 XEmacs versions 21.4.* are releases made from the current stable
704 sources. XEmacs versions 21.5.* (which will be released as 22.0) are
705 releases made from the development sources. Check at
706 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org} for the current minor version. XEmacs
707 versions 21.1.* were the previous stable releases, now retired.
709 XEmacs 20.4, released in February 1998, was the last release of v20.
711 XEmacs 19.16, released in November, 1997. was the last release of v19,
712 and was also the last version without international language support.
714 @node Q1.0.3, Q1.0.4, Q1.0.2, Introduction
715 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.3: How do you pronounce XEmacs?
717 The most common pronounciation is @samp{Eks eemax}.
719 @node Q1.0.4, Q1.0.5, Q1.0.3, Introduction
720 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.4: What does XEmacs look like?
722 Screen snapshots are available at
723 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/About/Screenshots/index.html}
724 as part of the XEmacs website.
726 @node Q1.0.5, Q1.0.6, Q1.0.4, Introduction
727 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.5: Who wrote XEmacs?
729 XEmacs is the result of the time and effort of many people, and the
730 active developers have changed over time. There are two major
731 components of the XEmacs effort -- writing the code itself and providing
732 all the support work (testing the code, releasing beta and final
733 versions, handling patches, reading bug reports, maintaining the web
734 site, managing the mailing lists, etc. etc.). Neither component would
735 work without the other.
739 The primary code contributor over the years has been Ben Wing (active
740 since late 1992). Between 1991 and 1995, large amounts of coding was
741 contributed by Jamie Zawinski and Chuck Thompson. Many other people
742 have authored major subsystems or otherwise contributed large amounts of
743 code, including Andy Piper, Hrvoje Niksic, Jerry James, Jonathan Harris,
744 Kyle Jones, Martin Buchholz, Michael Sperber, Olivier Galibert, Richard
745 Mlynarik, Stig, William Perry and plenty of others.
747 Primary XEmacs-specific subsystems and their authors:
753 Conversion from 26-bit to 28-bit pointers and integers, lrecords, lcrecords: Richard Mlynarik, 1994
755 Conversion to 32-bit pointers and 31-bit integers: Kyle Jones, Martin Buchholz
757 Portable dumper, object descriptions: Olivier Galibert
759 KKCC (new garbage collector), ephemerons, weak boxes: Michael Sperber and students
761 Random object work (object equal and hash methods, weak lists, lcrecord lists, bit vectors, dynarr, blocktype, opaque, string resizing): Ben Wing
765 Some byte-compilation and hash-table improvements: Martin Buchholz
770 @item Internationalization/Mule
773 mostly Ben Wing; many ideas for future work, Stephen Turnbull
779 Basic event/event-stream implementation: Jamie Zawinski
781 Most event work since 1994: Ben Wing
783 Asynchronous stuff (async timeouts, signals, quit-checking): Ben Wing
785 Process method abstraction, Windows process work: Kirill Katsnelson
787 Misc-user events, async timeouts, most quit-checking and signal code, most other work since 1994: Ben Wing
795 Redisplay mechanism: implementation, Chuck Thompson; additional work, lots of people
797 Glyphs: mostly Ben Wing
801 Extents: initial implementation, someone at Lucid; rewrite, 1994, Ben Wing
805 JPEG/PNG/TIFF image converters: Ben Wing, William Perry, Jareth Hein, others (see comment in @file{glyphs-eimage.c})
807 Menus: Jamie Zawinski, someone at Lucid (Lucid menus)
809 Scrollbars: Chuck Thompson, ??? (Lucid scrollbar)
811 Multi-device/device-independence work (console/device/etc methods): Ben Wing, prototype by chuck thompson
813 Faces: first implementation, Jamie Zawinski; second, chuck; third, Ben Wing
815 Fonts/colors: first implementation, Jamie Zawinski; further work, Ben Wing
817 Toolbars: implementation, chuck, much interface work, Ben Wing
819 Gutters, tabs: andy piper
822 @item Device subsystems
825 X Windows: Jamie Zawinksi, Ben Wing, others
827 GTK: William Perry, Malcolm Purvis
829 MS Windows: initial implementation, Jonathan Harris; some more work, Andy Piper, Ben Wing
831 TTY: Chuck Thompson, Ben Wing
839 Configure: initial porting from fsf, Chuck Thompson; conversion to autoconf 2, much rewriting, Martin Buchholz
841 Most initialization-related code: Ben Wing
843 Internals manual, much of Lisp manual: Ben Wing
845 FSF synching: initial sync with FSF 19, Richard Mlynarik, further work, Ben Wing
851 Currently, support duties are handled by many different people.
853 Release managers have been
857 Stephen Turnbull (April 2001 - January 2003, March 2004 - present, 21.2.47 - 21.4.12, 21.5.2 - 21.5.7, 21.5.17 - present)
859 Vin Shelton (Mar 1997 - Jan 2001, May 2003 - present, 19.16, 21.1.3 -
860 21.1.14, 21.4.13 - present)
862 Steve Youngs (July 2002 - September 2003, 21.5.8 - 21.5.16)
864 Martin Buchholz (December 1998, November 1999 - May 2001, 21.2.7 - 21.2.8, 21.2.21 - 21.2.46, 21.5.0 - 21.5.1)
866 Steve Baur (early 1997 - December 1998, February 1999 - November 1999, 19.15 - 21.2.5, 21.2.9 - 21.2.20)
868 Andy Piper (December 1998, 21.2.6)
870 Chuck Thompson (June 1994 - September 1996, 19.11 - 19.14)
872 Jamie Zawinski (April 1991 - June 1994, 19.0 - 19.10)
875 The recent overlapping dates are intentional, since two or three trees
876 are maintained simultaneously at any point.
878 Other major support work:
882 Adrian Aichner wrote and maintains the web site.
884 Stephen Turnbull has produced many of the beta and semi-stable releases
885 and has attempted to be the "face" of XEmacs on the newsgroups and
888 Steve Youngs currently produces the beta releases (???).
890 Steve Youngs, Ville Skytta, and now Norbert Koch have taken turns
891 maintaining the packages.
893 Vin Shelton maintains the stable releases.
895 Testing - #### Norbert, Adrian, ???
898 Portraits and email of some of the major developers:
901 @item @email{andy@@xemacs.org, Andy Piper}
903 <br><img src="piper.png" alt="Portrait of Andy Piper"><br>
906 @item @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing}
908 <br><img src="ben.png" alt="Portrait of Ben Wing"><br>
911 @item @email{cthomp@@xemacs.org, Chuck Thompson}
913 <br><img src="cthomp.png" alt="Portrait of Chuck Thompson"><br>
916 @item @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic}
919 <br><img src="hniksic.png" alt="Portrait of Hrvoje Niksic"><br>
922 @item @email{jwz@@jwz.org, Jamie Zawinski}
924 <br><img src="jwz.png" alt="Portrait of Jamie Zawinski"><br>
927 @item @email{martin@@xemacs.org, Martin Buchholz}
929 <br><img src="martin.png" alt="Portrait of Martin Buchholz"><br>
932 @item @email{mly@@adoc.xerox.com, Richard Mlynarik}
934 <br><img src="mly.png" alt="Portrait of Richard Mlynarik"><br>
937 @item @email{stephen@@xemacs.org, Stephen Turnbull}
939 @item @email{steve@@xemacs.org, Steve Baur}
941 <br><img src="slb.png" alt="Portrait of Steve Baur"><br>
945 Many other people have contributed to XEmacs; this is partially
946 enumerated in the @samp{About XEmacs} option in the Help menu.
948 @node Q1.0.6, Q1.1.1, Q1.0.5, Introduction
949 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.0.6: Who wrote the FAQ?
951 The current version of this FAQ was created by @email{ben@@xemacs.org,
954 Previous contributors to the FAQ include
957 @item @email{steve@@xemacs.org, SL Baur}
959 @item @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic}
961 @item @email{binge@@aloft.att.com, Curtis.N.Bingham}
963 @item @email{bruncott@@dormeur.inria.fr, Georges Brun-Cottan}
965 @item @email{rjc@@cogsci.ed.ac.uk, Richard Caley}
967 @item @email{cognot@@ensg.u-nancy.fr, Richard Cognot}
969 @item @email{daku@@nortel.ca, Mark Daku}
971 @item @email{wgd@@martigny.ai.mit.edu, William G. Dubuque}
973 @item @email{eeide@@cs.utah.edu, Eric Eide}
975 @item @email{af@@biomath.jussieu.fr, Alain Fauconnet}
977 @item @email{cflatter@@nrao.edu, Chris Flatters}
979 @item @email{ginsparg@@adra.com, Evelyn Ginsparg}
981 @item @email{hall@@aplcenmp.apl.jhu.edu, Marty Hall}
983 @item @email{dkindred@@cmu.edu, Darrell Kindred}
985 @item @email{dmoore@@ucsd.edu, David Moore}
987 @item @email{arup+@@cmu.edu, Arup Mukherjee}
989 @item @email{nickel@@prz.tu-berlin.de, Juergen Nickelsen}
991 @item @email{powell@@csl.ncsa.uiuc.edu, Kevin R. Powell}
993 @item @email{dworkin@@ccs.neu.edu, Justin Sheehy}
995 @item @email{stig@@hackvan.com, Stig}
997 @item @email{Aki.Vehtari@@hut.fi, Aki Vehtari}
1000 @unnumberedsec 1.1: Getting XEmacs
1002 @node Q1.1.1, Q1.1.2, Q1.0.6, Introduction
1003 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.1.1: Where can I find XEmacs?
1005 To download XEmacs, visit the XEmacs WWW page at
1006 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/Download/}. The most up-to-date list of
1007 distribution sites can always be found there. Try to pick a site that
1008 is networkologically close to you. If you know of other mirrors of
1009 the XEmacs archives, please send e-mail to
1010 @uref{mailto:webmaster@@xemacs.org} and we will list them here as well.
1012 The canonical distribution point is ftp.xemacs.org, available either
1013 through HTTP (@uref{http://ftp.xemacs.org/}) or anonymous FTP
1014 (@uref{ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/}).
1016 @node Q1.1.2, Q1.1.3, Q1.1.1, Introduction
1017 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.1.2: Are binaries available?
1019 MS Windows binaries are available at
1020 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/Download/win32/} for the native versions
1021 of 21.4 and 21.1. Cygwin binaries are now available as part of the
1022 standard Cygwin installation process. XEmacs also comes pre-built as
1023 part of many Linux distributions, such as Red Hat and SuSE.
1025 Otherwise, you will need to build XEmacs yourself or get your system
1026 administrator to do it. Generally, this is not a difficult process
1027 under Unix and Mac OS X, as XEmacs has been tested under all of the
1028 common Unix versions and under Mac OS X and comes with an extensive
1029 configure script that is able to automatically detect most aspects of
1030 the configuration of your particular system.
1032 @node Q1.1.3, Q1.1.4, Q1.1.2, Introduction
1033 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.1.3: How do I get the bleeding-edge sources?
1035 If you are interested in developing XEmacs, or getting the absolutely most
1036 recent, up-to-the-moment, bleeding-edge source code, you can directly
1037 access the master CVS source tree (read-only, of course, until you ask for
1038 and are granted permission to directly modify portions of the source tree)
1039 at cvs.xemacs.org. Directions on how to access the source tree are located
1040 at @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/Develop/cvsaccess.html}.
1042 Nightly CVS snapshots are available at
1043 @uref{http://www.dk.xemacs.org/Download/CVS-snapshots/}.
1045 @node Q1.1.4, Q1.2.1, Q1.1.3, Introduction
1046 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.1.4: Where can I obtain a printed copy of the XEmacs User's Manual?
1048 Pre-printed manuals are not available. If you are familiar with
1049 TeX, you can generate your own manual from the XEmacs sources.
1051 HTML and Postscript versions of XEmacs manuals are available from the
1053 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/Documentation/index.html}.
1055 @unnumberedsec 1.2: Versions for Different Operating Systems
1057 @node Q1.2.1, Q1.2.2, Q1.1.4, Introduction
1058 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.1: Do I need X11 to run XEmacs?
1060 No. The name @dfn{XEmacs} is unfortunate in the sense that it is
1061 @strong{not} an X Window System-only version of Emacs. XEmacs has
1062 full color support on a color-capable character terminal.
1064 @node Q1.2.2, Q1.2.3, Q1.2.1, Introduction
1065 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.2: What versions of Unix does XEmacs run on?
1067 XEmacs is regularly tested on Linux, Solaris, SunOS, HP/UX, FreeBSD,
1068 OpenBSD, BSD/OS aka BSDI, Tru64 aka DEC/OSF, SCO5, and probably
1069 others. It should work on all versions of Unix created in the last 10
1070 years or so, perhaps with a bit of work on more obscure platforms to
1071 correct bit-rot. It uses a sophisticated configuration system to
1072 auto-detect zillions of features that are implemented differently in
1073 different versions of Unix, so it will probably work on your vendor's
1074 version, possibly with a bit of tweaking, even if we've never heard of
1077 For problems with particular machines and versions of Unix, see the
1078 @file{PROBLEMS} file.
1080 Much effort has gone into making XEmacs work on as many different
1081 machines, configurations, and compilers as possible.
1083 Much effort has gone into making XEmacs 64-bit clean.
1085 Much effort has gone into removing system-specific code, and replacing
1086 such code with autodetection at configure time.
1088 The XEmacs core should build "out of the box" on most Unix-like systems.
1090 XEmacs 21.2 was tested and @samp{make check} succeeded on these Unix
1091 configurations as of 2001-02-10:
1094 alphaev56-dec-osf4.0e (both Compaq C and gcc)
1095 i386-unknown-freebsd4.2
1096 i386-unknown-netbsdelf1.5
1097 i586-sco-sysv5uw7.0.1 (both SCO's cc and gcc)
1099 hppa2.0-hp-hpux10.20 (both HP's ANSI cc and gcc)
1100 mips-sgi-irix6.5 (both MIPSpro cc and gcc)
1101 rs6000-ibm-aix4.3.0.0 (both IBM's xlc and gcc)
1102 sparc-sun-solaris2.6 (both Sun's Forte C and gcc)
1103 sparc-sun-solaris2.7 (both Sun's Forte C and gcc)
1104 sparc-sun-sunos4.1.4 (gcc)
1107 Some systems have a dual mode 32-bit/64-bit compiler. On most of these,
1108 XEmacs requires the @samp{--pdump} (in XEmacs 21.5,
1109 @samp{--enable-pdump}) configure option to build correctly with the
1110 64-bit version of the compiler.
1113 mips-sgi-irix6.5, CC="gcc -mabi=64"
1114 mips-sgi-irix6.5, CC="cc -64"
1115 rs6000-ibm-aix4.3.0.0, CC="cc -q64"
1118 On most of these systems, XEmacs also builds with a C++ compiler,
1119 but not "out of the box". This feature is only for use by the
1122 XEmacs 21.2 is known @emph{not} to work on any machines with m680x0
1123 processors. Sorry, all you sun3 and Unix PC nostalgia buffs out there.
1125 VMS has never been supported by XEmacs. In fact, all the old VMS code
1126 inherited from Emacs has been removed. Sorry, all you VMS fans out there.
1128 @node Q1.2.3, Q1.2.4, Q1.2.2, Introduction
1129 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.3: Is there a port of XEmacs to Microsoft Windows?
1131 Yes. Beginning with release 21.0, XEmacs has worked under MS Windows
1132 and is fully-featured and actively developed. A group of dedicated
1133 developers actively maintains and improves the Windows-specific
1134 portions of the code. Some of the core developers, in fact, use
1135 Windows as their only development environment, and some features, such
1136 as printing, actually work better on Windows than native Unix and Mac
1137 OS X. The mailing list at @email{xemacs-winnt@@xemacs.org} is dedicated
1138 to that effort (please use the -request address to
1139 subscribe). (Despite its name, XEmacs actually works on all versions
1142 The list name is misleading, as XEmacs supports and has been compiled on
1143 Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows
1144 XP, and all newer versions of Windows. The MS Windows-specific code is
1145 based on Microsoft Win32 API, and will not work on MS Windows 3.x or on
1148 XEmacs also supports the Cygwin and MinGW development and runtime
1149 environments, where it also uses native Windows code for graphical
1150 features. In addition, under Cygwin it is possible to compile XEmacs
1151 to use an X server (and XFree86 is available as part of the standard
1152 Cygwin installation).
1154 @node Q1.2.4, Q1.2.5, Q1.2.3, Introduction
1155 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.4: Can I build XEmacs on MS Windows with X support? Do I need to?
1157 Yes, you can, but no you do not need to. In fact, we recommend that you
1158 use a native-GUI version unless you have a specific need for an X
1161 @node Q1.2.5, Q1.2.6, Q1.2.4, Introduction
1162 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.5: What are Cygwin and MinGW, and do I need them to run XEmacs?
1164 To answer the second part of the question: No, you, you don't need
1165 Cygwin or MinGW to build or to run XEmacs. But if you have them and
1166 want to use them, XEmacs supports these environments.
1168 (One important reason to support Cygwin is that it lets the MS Windows
1169 developers test out their code in a Unix environment without actually
1170 having to have a Unix machine around. For this reason alone, Cygwin
1171 support is likely to remain supported for a long time in XEmacs. Same
1172 goes for the X support under Cygwin, for the same reasons. MinGW
1173 support, on the other hand, depends on volunteers to keep it up to date;
1174 but this is generally not hard.)
1176 Cygwin is a set of tools providing Unix-like API on top of Win32.
1177 It makes it easy to port large Unix programs without significant
1178 changes to their source code. It is a development environment as well
1179 as a runtime environment.
1181 When built with Cygwin, XEmacs supports all display types -- TTY, X &
1182 Win32 GUI, and can be built with support for all three simultaneously.
1183 If you build with Win32 GUI support then the Cygwin version uses the
1184 majority of the Windows-specific code, which is mostly related to
1185 display. If you want to build with X support you need X libraries (and
1186 an X server to display XEmacs on); see @ref{Q2.3.7}. TTY and Win32 GUI
1187 require no additional libraries beyond what comes standard with Cygwin.
1189 The advantages of the Cygwin version are that it integrates well with
1190 the Cygwin environment for existing Cygwin users; uses configure so
1191 building with different features is very easy; and actively supports X &
1192 TTY. Furthermore, the entire Cygwin environment and compiler are free,
1193 whereas Visual C++ costs money.
1195 The disadvantage is that it requires the whole Cygwin environment,
1196 whereas the native port requires only a suitable MS Windows compiler.
1197 Also, it follows the Unix filesystem and process model very closely
1198 (some will undoubtedly view this as an advantage).
1200 See @uref{http://www.cygwin.com/} for more information on
1203 MinGW is a collection of header files and import libraries that allow
1204 one to use GCC under the Cygwin environment to compile and produce
1205 exactly the same native Win32 programs that you can using Visual C++.
1206 Programs compiled with MinGW make use of the standard Microsoft runtime
1207 library @file{MSVCRT.DLL}, present on all Windows systems, and look,
1208 feel, and act like a standard Visual-C-produced application. (The only
1209 difference is the compiler.) This means that, unlike a
1210 standardly-compiled Cygwin application, no extra runtime support
1211 (e.g. Cygwin's @file{cygwin1.dll}) is required. This, along with the
1212 fact that GCC is free (and works in a nice Unix-y way in a nice Unix-y
1213 environment, for those die-hard Unix hackers out there), is the main
1214 advantage of MinGW. It is also potentially faster than Cygwin because
1215 it has less overhead when calling Windows, but you lose the POSIX
1216 emulation layer, which makes Unix programs harder to port. (But this is
1217 irrelevant for XEmacs since it's already ported to Win32.)
1219 See @uref{http://www.mingw.org/} for more information on MinGW.
1221 @node Q1.2.6, Q1.2.7, Q1.2.5, Introduction
1222 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.6: What are the differences between the various MS Windows emacsen?
1224 XEmacs, Win-Emacs, DOS Emacs, NT Emacs, this is all very confusing.
1225 Could you briefly explain the differences between them?
1227 Here is a recount of various Emacs versions running on MS Windows:
1237 Beginning with XEmacs 19.12, XEmacs' architecture was redesigned
1238 in such a way to allow clean support of multiple window systems. At
1239 this time the TTY support was added, making X and TTY the first two
1240 "window systems" supported by XEmacs. The 19.12 design is the basis for
1241 the current native MS Windows code.
1244 Some time during 1997, David Hobley (soon joined by Marc Paquette)
1245 imported some of the NT-specific portions of GNU Emacs, making XEmacs
1246 with X support compile under Windows NT, and creating the "X" port.
1249 Several months later, Jonathan Harris sent out initial patches to use
1250 the Win32 API, thus creating the native port. Since then, various
1251 people have contributed, including Kirill M. Katsnelson (contributed
1252 support for menubars, subprocesses and network, as well as loads of
1253 other code), Andy Piper (ported XEmacs to Cygwin environment,
1254 contributed Windows unexec, Windows-specific glyphs and toolbars code,
1255 and more), Ben Wing (loads of improvements; primary MS Windows developer
1256 since 2000), Jeff Sparkes (contributed scrollbars support) and many
1266 NT Emacs was an early version of GNU Emacs 19 modified to compile and
1267 run under MS Windows 95 and NT using the native Win32 API. It was
1268 written by Geoff Voelker, and has long since been incorporated into
1269 the mainline GNU Emacs distribution.
1278 Win-Emacs was a port of Lucid Emacs 19.6 to MS Windows using X
1279 compatibility libraries. Win-Emacs was written by Ben Wing. The MS
1280 Windows code never made it back to Lucid Emacs, and its creator (Pearl
1281 Software) has long since gone out of business.
1290 GNU Emacs features support for MS-DOS and DJGPP (D.J. Delorie's DOS
1291 port of GCC). Such an Emacs is heavily underfeatured, because it does
1292 not support long file names, lacks proper subprocesses support, and
1293 is far too big compared with typical DOS editors.
1297 GNU Emacs compiled with Win32
1302 Starting with GNU Emacs 19.30, it has been possible to compile GNU Emacs
1303 under MS Windows using the DJGPP compiler and X libraries. The result
1304 is very similar to GNU Emacs compiled under MS DOS, only it works
1305 somewhat better because it runs in 32-bit mode, makes use of all the
1306 system memory, supports long file names, etc.
1311 @node Q1.2.7, Q1.2.8, Q1.2.6, Introduction
1312 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.7: How does the port cope with differences in the Windows user interface?
1314 The XEmacs (and Emacs in general) user interface is pretty different
1315 from what is expected of a typical MS Windows program. How does the MS
1316 Windows port cope with it?
1318 As a general rule, we follow native MS Windows conventions as much as
1319 possible. 21.4 is a fairly complete Windows application, supporting
1320 native printing, system file dialog boxes, tool tips, etc. In cases
1321 where there's a clear UI conflict, we currently use normal Unix XEmacs
1322 behavior by default, but make sure the MS Windows "look and feel" (mark
1323 via shift-arrow, self-inserting deletes region, Alt selects menu items,
1324 etc.) is easily configurable (respectively: using the variable
1325 @code{shifted-motion-keys-select-region} in 21.4 and above [it's in fact
1326 the default in these versions], or the @file{pc-select} package; using
1327 the @file{pending-del} package; and setting the variable
1328 @code{menu-accelerator-enabled} to @code{menu-force} in 21.4 and above).
1329 In fact, if you use the sample @file{init.el} file as your init file,
1330 you will get all these behaviors automatically turned on.
1332 In future versions, some of these features might be turned on by
1333 default in the MS Windows environment.
1335 @node Q1.2.8, Q1.2.9, Q1.2.7, Introduction
1336 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.8: Is there a port of XEmacs to the Macintosh?
1340 XEmacs 21.5 (perhaps 21.4 also?) works on MacOS X, although it certainly
1341 will not feel very much like a Mac application as it has no Mac-specific
1344 There is also a port of XEmacs 19.14 that works on all recent versions
1345 of MacOS, from 8.1 through MacOS X, by @email{pjarvis@@ispchannel.com,
1346 Pitts Jarvis} (recently deceased). It runs in an equivalent of TTY
1347 mode only (one single Macintosh window, 25 colors), but has a large
1348 number of Mac-specific additions. It's available at
1349 @uref{http://homepage.mac.com/pjarvis/xemacs.html}.
1351 @node Q1.2.9, Q1.2.10, Q1.2.8, Introduction
1352 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.9: Is there a port of XEmacs to MS-DOS?
1354 No. We have never supported running on MS-DOS or Windows 3.1, and in
1355 fact have long since deleted all MS-DOS-related code. We're not
1356 particularly interested in patches for these platforms, as they would
1357 introduce huge amounts of code clutter due to the woefully
1358 underfeatured nature of these systems. (See GNU Emacs for a port to
1361 @node Q1.2.10, Q1.2.11, Q1.2.9, Introduction
1362 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.10: Is there a port of XEmacs to OS/2?
1364 No, but Alexander Nikolaev <avn_1251@@mail.ru> was at one point
1367 @node Q1.2.11, Q1.2.12, Q1.2.10, Introduction
1368 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.11: Is there a port of XEmacs to NextStep?
1370 Carl Edman, apparently no longer at @email{cedman@@princeton.edu}, did
1371 the port of GNU Emacs to NeXTstep and expressed interest in doing the
1372 XEmacs port, but never went any farther.
1374 @node Q1.2.12, Q1.3.1, Q1.2.11, Introduction
1375 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.2.12: Is there a port of XEmacs to VMS?
1377 VMS has never been supported by XEmacs. In fact, all the old VMS code
1378 inherited from GNU Emacs has been removed. Sorry, all you VMS fans
1381 @unnumberedsec 1.3: Getting Started
1383 @node Q1.3.1, Q1.3.2, Q1.2.12, Introduction
1384 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.1: What is an @file{init.el} or @file{.emacs} and is there a sample one?
1386 The @file{init.el} or @file{.emacs} file is used to customize XEmacs to
1387 your tastes. Starting in 21.4, the preferred location for the init file
1388 is @file{~/.xemacs/init.el}; in previous versions, it was
1389 @file{~/.emacs}. 21.4 still accepts the old location, but the first
1390 time you run it, it will ask to migrate your file to the new location.
1391 If you answer yes, the file will be moved, and a "compatibility"
1392 @file{.emacs} file will be placed in the old location so that you can
1393 still run older versions of XEmacs, and versions of GNU Emacs, which
1394 expect the old location. The @file{.emacs} file present is just a stub
1395 that loads the real file in @file{~/.xemacs/init.el}.
1397 No two init files are alike, nor are they expected to be alike, but
1398 that's the point. The XEmacs distribution contains an excellent starter
1399 example in the @file{etc/} directory called @file{sample.init.el}
1400 (starting in 21.4) or @file{sample.emacs} in older versions. Copy this
1401 file from there to @file{~/.xemacs/init.el} (starting in 21.4) or
1402 @file{~/.emacs} in older versions, where @samp{~} means your home
1403 directory, of course. Then edit it to suit.
1405 You may bring the @file{sample.init.el} or @file{sample.emacs} file into
1406 an XEmacs buffer from the menubar. (The menu entry for it is always
1407 under the @samp{Help} menu, but its location under that has changed in
1408 various versions. Recently, look under the @samp{Samples} submenu.) To
1409 determine the location of the @file{etc/} directory type the command
1410 @kbd{C-h v data-directory @key{RET}}.
1412 @node Q1.3.2, Q1.3.3, Q1.3.1, Introduction
1413 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.2: Where do I put my @file{init.el} file?
1415 @file{init.el} is the name of the init file starting with 21.4, and is
1416 located in the subdirectory @file{.xemacs/} of your home directory. In
1417 prior versions, the init file is called @file{.emacs} and is located in
1418 your home directory.
1420 Your home directory under Windows is determined by the @samp{HOME}
1421 environment variable. If this is not set, it defaults to @samp{C:\}.
1422 To set this variable, modify @file{AUTOEXEC.BAT} under Windows 95/98, or
1423 select @samp{Control Panel->System->Advanced->Environment Variables...}
1424 under Windows NT/2000.
1426 @node Q1.3.3, Q1.3.4, Q1.3.2, Introduction
1427 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.3: Can I use the same @file{init.el} with the other Emacs?
1429 Yes. The sample @file{init.el} included in the XEmacs
1430 distribution will show you how to handle different versions and flavors
1433 @node Q1.3.4, Q1.3.5, Q1.3.3, Introduction
1434 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.4: Any good XEmacs tutorials around?
1436 There's the XEmacs tutorial available from the Help Menu under
1437 @samp{Help->Tutorials}, or by typing @kbd{C-h t}. To check whether
1438 it's available in a non-english language, type @kbd{C-u C-h t TAB}, type
1439 the first letters of your preferred language, then type @key{RET}.
1441 @comment There's an Emacs Lisp tutorial at
1444 @comment @uref{ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/emacs-lisp-intro-1.04.tar.gz}.
1445 @comment @end example
1447 @comment @email{erik@@petaxp.rug.ac.be, Erik Sundermann} has made a tutorial web
1452 @comment @uref{http://petaxp.rug.ac.be/~erik/xemacs/}.
1454 @node Q1.3.5, Q1.3.6, Q1.3.4, Introduction
1455 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.5: May I see an example of a useful XEmacs Lisp function?
1457 The following function does a little bit of everything useful. It does
1458 something with the prefix argument, it examines the text around the
1459 cursor, and it's interactive so it may be bound to a key. It inserts
1460 copies of the current word the cursor is sitting on at the cursor. If
1461 you give it a prefix argument: @kbd{C-u 3 M-x double-word} then it will
1465 (defun double-word (count)
1466 "Insert a copy of the current word underneath the cursor"
1468 (let (here there string)
1473 (setq there (point))
1474 (setq string (buffer-substring here there)))
1480 The best way to see what is going on here is to let XEmacs tell you.
1481 Put the code into an XEmacs buffer, and do a @kbd{C-h f} with the cursor
1482 sitting just to the right of the function you want explained. Eg. move
1483 the cursor to the SPACE between @code{interactive} and @samp{"*p"} and
1484 hit @kbd{C-h f} to see what the function @code{interactive} does. Doing
1485 this will tell you that the @code{*} requires a writable buffer, and
1486 @code{p} converts the prefix argument to a number, and
1487 @code{interactive} allows you to execute the command with @kbd{M-x}.
1489 @node Q1.3.6, Q1.3.7, Q1.3.5, Introduction
1490 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.6: And how do I bind it to a key?
1492 To bind to a key do:
1495 (global-set-key "\C-cd" 'double-word)
1498 Or interactively, @kbd{M-x global-set-key} and follow the prompts.
1500 @node Q1.3.7, Q1.3.8, Q1.3.6, Introduction
1501 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.7: What's the difference between a macro and a function?
1503 Quoting from the Lisp Reference (a.k.a @dfn{Lispref}) Manual:
1505 @dfn{Macros} enable you to define new control constructs and other
1506 language features. A macro is defined much like a function, but instead
1507 of telling how to compute a value, it tells how to compute another Lisp
1508 expression which will in turn compute the value. We call this
1509 expression the @dfn{expansion} of the macro.
1511 Macros can do this because they operate on the unevaluated expressions
1512 for the arguments, not on the argument values as functions do. They can
1513 therefore construct an expansion containing these argument expressions
1516 Do not confuse the two terms with @dfn{keyboard macros}, which are
1517 another matter, entirely. A keyboard macro is a key bound to several
1518 other keys. Refer to manual for details.
1520 @node Q1.3.8, Q1.4.1, Q1.3.7, Introduction
1521 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.3.8: What is @code{Custom}?
1523 @code{Custom} is a system for customizing XEmacs options.
1525 You can access @code{Advanced (Customize)} from the @code{Options} menu
1526 or invoking one of customize commands by typing eg.
1527 @kbd{M-x customize}, @kbd{M-x customize-face},
1528 @kbd{M-x customize-variable} or @kbd{M-x customize-apropos}.
1530 There is also new @samp{browser} mode for Customize.
1531 Try it out with @kbd{M-x customize-browse}
1533 @unnumberedsec 1.4: Getting Help
1535 @node Q1.4.1, Q1.4.2, Q1.3.8, Introduction
1536 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.1: Where can I get help?
1538 Probably the easiest way, if everything is installed, is to use Info, by
1539 pressing @kbd{C-h i}, or looking for an Info item on the
1540 Help Menu. @kbd{M-x apropos} can be used to look for particular commands.
1542 For items not found in the manual, try reading this FAQ
1543 and reading the Usenet group comp.emacs.xemacs.
1545 If you choose to post to a newsgroup, @strong{please use
1546 comp.emacs.xemacs}. Please do not post XEmacs related questions to
1549 If you cannot post or read Usenet news, there is a corresponding mailing
1550 list @email{xemacs-news@@xemacs.org} which is available. It can be
1551 subscribed to via the Mailman Web interface or by sending mail to to
1552 @email{xemacs-news-request@@xemacs.org} with @samp{subscribe} in the
1553 body of the message. See also
1554 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/Lists/#xemacs-news}. To cancel a
1555 subscription, you may use the @email{xemacs-news-request@@xemacs.org}
1556 address or the Web interface. Send a message with a subject of
1557 @samp{unsubscribe} to be removed.
1559 @node Q1.4.2, Q1.4.3, Q1.4.1, Introduction
1560 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.2: Which mailing lists are there?
1562 For complete, up-to-date info on the lists and how to subscribe, see
1563 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/Lists/}.
1567 @item comp.emacs.xemacs
1568 is a Usenet newsgroup
1569 for XEmacs users to discuss problems and issues that arise
1570 for them. It's not generally an appropriate place to ask
1571 about apparent bugs (use @samp{xemacs-beta}), or future plans
1572 (use @samp{xemacs-design}).
1574 @item xemacs-announce
1576 volume list for announcements concerning the XEmacs project
1577 and new releases of the XEmacs software.
1580 is an open list for bug reports about beta versions of XEmacs. This
1581 includes the bug reports themselves, by both users and developers, as
1582 well as queries, follow-ups, and discussions further determining their
1583 nature and status. This is the primary channel for this kind of
1584 discussion; related code changes will usually not be applied until
1585 they have been discussed here. When such discussions touch on
1586 significant changes to the code (in particular, structural changes),
1587 or on changes to API's or external functionality, they should be moved
1588 to @samp{xemacs-design}. Requests and proposals for non-bug-related
1589 changes do not belong on @samp{xemacs-beta}, and should be sent to
1590 @samp{xemacs-design} instead.
1592 @item xemacs-beta-ja
1593 is an open list for bug
1594 reports and design discussion related to Mule features,
1595 including Japanese handling, in beta versions of XEmacs.
1596 Japanese is the preferred language of discussion. For most
1597 timely presentation to reviewers, please consider sending
1598 appropriate discussion to @samp{xemacs-mule} or
1599 @samp{xemacs-design} in English when convenient for
1600 the participants in discussion. When possible, bug reports
1601 not related to Mule (including Japanese) should be reported on
1602 @samp{xemacs-beta} in English.
1604 @item xemacs-buildreports
1606 submission of build-reports on beta versions of XEmacs. For
1607 information on what the build-reports should contain, please
1608 see the `etc/BETA' file which is included in each beta
1612 is a read-only list for notices
1613 and information on what has been committed to the XEmacs CVS
1614 trees, by whom, and for what.
1618 discussing the design of XEmacs. This includes discussion
1619 about planned and ongoing changes to functionality and API
1620 changes and additions as well as requests for them. This is
1621 the primary channel for this kind of discussion; related code
1622 changes will usually not be applied until they have been
1623 discussed here. This does not include bug reports, which go
1624 to @samp{xemacs-beta}.
1627 is an open mailing list for
1628 discussion of International extensions to XEmacs including
1629 Mule, XIM, I18n issues, etc, and is not confined to
1630 developmental issues. This list is not restricted to
1631 English, postings in all languages are welcome.
1634 is an open list for discussion
1635 and bug reporting for XEmacs. This mailing list is
1636 bi-directionally gatewayed with the USENET newsgroup
1640 is a developers-only mailing
1641 list and is intended for people who wish to work actively on
1642 the porting of XEmacs to Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft
1645 @item xemacs-patches
1646 is an open, moderated
1647 list for submission of patches to the XEmacs distribution
1648 and its packages. Anyone may subscribe or submit to
1649 xemacs-patches, but all submissions are reviewed by the list
1650 moderator before they are distributed to the
1651 list. Discussion is not appropriate on xemacs-patches.
1653 @item xemacs-users-ja
1655 discussion and bug reporting for XEmacs. Japanese is the
1656 preferred language of discussion. It is not gated to
1657 comp.emacs.xemacs or the @samp{xemacs} list. For
1658 fastest response, bugs not specifically related to Japanese
1659 or Mule features should be reported on
1660 @samp{xemacs-beta} (in English).
1662 @item xemacs-users-ru
1664 discussion and bug reporting for XEmacs. Russian is the
1665 preferred language of discussion. It is not gated to
1666 comp.emacs.xemacs or the @samp{xemacs} list. For
1667 fastest response, bugs not specifically related to Russian
1668 or Mule features should be reported on
1669 @samp{xemacs-beta} (in English).
1672 @node Q1.4.3, Q1.4.4, Q1.4.2, Introduction
1673 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.3: Where are the mailing lists archived?
1675 The archives can be found at @uref{http://list-archive.xemacs.org}
1677 @node Q1.4.4, Q1.4.5, Q1.4.3, Introduction
1678 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.4: How can I get two instances of info?
1680 Before 21.4, you can't. The @code{info} package does not provide for
1681 multiple info buffers. In 21.4, this should be fixed. #### how?
1683 @node Q1.4.5, Q1.5.1, Q1.4.4, Introduction
1684 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.4.5: How do I add new Info directories?
1686 You use something like:
1689 (setq Info-directory-list (cons
1690 (expand-file-name "~/info")
1691 Info-default-directory-list))
1694 @email{davidm@@prism.kla.com, David Masterson} writes:
1697 Emacs Info and XEmacs Info do many things differently. If you're trying to
1698 support a number of versions of Emacs, here are some notes to remember:
1702 Emacs Info scans @code{Info-directory-list} from right-to-left while
1703 XEmacs Info reads it from left-to-right, so append to the @emph{correct}
1707 Use @code{Info-default-directory-list} to initialize
1708 @code{Info-directory-list} @emph{if} it is available at startup, but not
1709 all Emacsen define it.
1712 Emacs Info looks for a standard @file{dir} file in each of the
1713 directories scanned from #1 and magically concatenates them together.
1716 XEmacs Info looks for a @file{localdir} file (which consists of just the
1717 menu entries from a @file{dir} file) in each of the directories scanned
1718 from #1 (except the first), does a simple concatenation of them, and
1719 magically attaches the resulting list to the end of the menu in the
1720 @file{dir} file in the first directory.
1723 Another alternative is to convert the documentation to HTML with
1724 texi2html and read it from a web browser like Lynx or W3.
1727 @unnumberedsec 1.5: Contributing to XEmacs
1729 @node Q1.5.1, Q1.5.2, Q1.4.5, Introduction
1730 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.5.1: How do I submit changes to the FAQ?
1732 The FAQ is actively maintained and modified regularly. All links should
1733 be up to date. Unfortunately, some of the information is out of date --
1734 a situation which the FAQ maintainer is working on. All submissions are
1735 welcome, please e-mail submissions to @email{faq@@xemacs.org, XEmacs FAQ
1738 Please make sure that @samp{XEmacs FAQ} appears on the Subject: line.
1739 If you think you have a better way of answering a question, or think a
1740 question should be included, we'd like to hear about it. Questions and
1741 answers included into the FAQ will be edited for spelling and grammar
1742 and will be attributed. Answers appearing without attribution are
1743 either from versions of the FAQ dated before May 1996 or are from
1744 previous FAQ maintainers. Answers quoted from Usenet news articles will
1745 always be attributed, regardless of the author.
1747 @node Q1.5.2, Q1.5.3, Q1.5.1, Introduction
1748 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.5.2: How do I become a beta tester?
1750 Send an email message to @email{xemacs-beta-request@@xemacs.org} with
1751 the line @samp{subscribe} in the body of the message.
1753 Be prepared to get your hands dirty, as beta testers are expected to
1754 identify problems as best they can.
1756 @node Q1.5.3, Q1.5.4, Q1.5.2, Introduction
1757 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.5.3: How do I contribute to XEmacs itself?
1759 It depends on the knowledge and time you possess. If you are able, by
1760 all means become a beta tester (@pxref{Q1.5.2}). If you are a
1761 programmer, try to build XEmacs and see if you can improve it.
1763 Otherwise, you can still help by using XEmacs as your everyday editor
1764 (for pre-built binary versions, @pxref{Q1.1.2}) and reporting bugs you
1765 find to the mailing list.
1767 Another area where we need help is the documentation: We need good
1768 documentation for building XEmacs and for using it. This FAQ is a
1769 small step in that direction.
1771 Ben Wing @email{ben@@xemacs.org} writes:
1774 BTW if you have a wish list of things that you want added, you have to
1775 speak up about it! More specifically, you can do the following if you
1776 want a feature added (in increasing order of usefulness):
1780 Make a posting about a feature you want added.
1783 Become a beta tester and make more postings about those same features.
1786 Convince us that you're going to use the features in some cool and
1790 Come up with a clear and well-thought-out API concerning the features.
1793 Write the code to implement a feature and send us a patch.
1796 (not that we're necessarily requiring you to write the code, but we can
1800 @node Q1.5.4, Q1.5.5, Q1.5.3, Introduction
1801 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.5.4: How do I get started developing XEmacs?
1803 First, get yourself set up under CVS so that you can access the CVS
1804 repositories containing the XEmacs sources and the XEmacs packages.
1806 Next, set up your layout. This is important, as a good layout will
1807 facilitate getting things done efficiently, while a bad layout will could
1808 lead to disaster, as you can't figure out which code is the most recent,
1809 which can be thrown away, etc. We suggest the following layout: (feel free
1814 Everything goes under @file{/src/xemacs} (use a different directory if
1815 you want). From now, instead of saying @file{/src/xemacs}, we use
1816 @file{<xsrc-top>}, to make it easier in case someone picked a
1817 different directory.
1820 Package source is in @file{<xsrc-top>/package-src}.
1823 Installed packages go under @file{<xsrc-top>/xemacs-packages}, and
1824 @file{<xsrc-top>/mule-packages}.
1827 A "workspace" is a complete copy of the sources, in which you do work of
1828 a particular kind. Workspaces can be differentiated by which branch of
1829 the source tree they extend off of -- usually either the stable or
1830 experimental, unless other branches have been created (for example, Ben
1831 created a branch for his Mule work because (1) the project was long-term
1832 and involved an enormous number of changes, (2) people wanted to be able
1833 to look at what his work in progress, and (3) he wanted to be able to
1834 check things in and in general use source-code control, since it was a
1835 long-term project). Workspaces are also differentiated in what their
1836 purpose is -- general working workspace, workspace for particular
1837 projects, workspace keeping the latest copy of the code in one of the
1838 branches without mods, etc.
1841 Various workspaces are subdirectories under @file{<xsrc-top>}, e.g.:
1845 @file{<xsrc-top>/working} (the workspace you're actively working on,
1846 periodically synched up with the latest trunk)
1849 @file{<xsrc-top>/stable} (for making changes to the stable version of
1850 XEmacs, which sits on a branch)
1853 @file{<xsrc-top>/unsigned-removal} (a workspace for a specific, difficult
1854 task that's going to affect lots of source and take a long time, and
1855 so best done in its own workspace without the interference of other
1856 work you're doing. Also, you can commit just this one large change,
1857 separate from all the other changes).
1860 @file{<xsrc-top>/latest} (a copy of the latest sources on the trunk,
1861 i.e. the experimental version of XEmacs, with no patches in it;
1862 either update it periodically, by hand, or set up a cron job to do it
1863 automatically). Set it up so it can be built, and build it so you
1864 have a working XEmacs. (Building it might also go into the cron job.)
1866 This workspace serves a number of purposes:
1869 You always have a recent version of XEmacs you can compare
1870 against when something you're working on breaks. It's true
1871 that you can do this with cvs diff, but when you need to do
1872 some serious investigation, this method just fails.
1874 You (almost) always have a working, up-to-date executable that
1875 can be used when your executable is crashing and you need to
1876 keep developing it, or when you need an `xemacs' to build
1879 When creating new workspaces, you can just copy the `latest'
1880 workspace using GNU @code{cp -a}. You have all the .elc's built,
1881 everything else probably configured, any spare files in place
1882 (e.g. some annoying xpm.dll under Windows, etc.).
1886 @file{<xsrc-top>/latest-stable/} (equivalent to @file{<xsrc-top>/latest/}, but
1887 for the Stable branch of XEmacs, rather than the Experimental branch
1888 of XEmacs). This may or may not be necessary depending on how much
1889 development you do of the stable branch.
1893 @file{<xsrc-top>/xemacsweb} is a workspace for working on the XEmacs
1897 @file{<xsrc-top>/in-patches} for patches received from email and saved
1901 @file{<xsrc-top>/out-patches} for locally-generated patches to be sent
1902 to @email{xemacs-patches@@xemacs.org}. Less useful now that the
1903 patcher util has been developed.
1906 @file{<xsrc-top>/build}, for build trees when compiling and testing XEmacs with
1907 various configuration options turned off and on. The scripts in
1908 xemacs-builds/ben (see below) can be used to automate building XEmacs
1909 workspaces with many different configuration options and automatically
1910 filtering out the normal output so that you see only the abnormal
1914 @file{<xsrc-top>/xemacs-builds}, for the xemacs-builds module, which you need
1915 to check out separately in CVS. This contains scripts used for building
1916 XEmacs, automating and simplifying using CVS, etc. Under various
1917 people's directories are their own build and other scripts. The
1918 currently most-maintained scripts are under ben/, where there are easily
1919 configurable scripts that can be used to easily build any workspace
1920 (esp. if you've more or less followed the layout presented above)
1921 unattended, with one or more configuration states (there's a
1922 pre-determined list of the most useful, but it's easy to change). The
1923 output is filtered and split up in various ways so that you can identify
1924 which output came from where, and you can see the output either full or
1925 with all "normal" output except occasional status messages filtered so
1926 that you only see the abnormal ones.
1929 @node Q1.5.5, Q1.6.1, Q1.5.4, Introduction
1930 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.5.5: What's the basic layout of the code?
1932 The file @file{configure} is a shell script to acclimate XEmacs to the
1933 oddities of your processor and operating system. It will create a
1934 file named @file{Makefile} (a script for the @file{make} program), which helps
1935 automate the process of building and installing emacs. See INSTALL
1936 for more detailed information.
1938 The file @file{configure.in} is the input used by the autoconf program to
1939 construct the @file{configure} script. Since XEmacs has configuration
1940 requirements that autoconf can't meet, @file{configure.in} uses an unholy
1941 marriage of custom-baked configuration code and autoconf macros; it
1942 may be wise to avoid rebuilding @file{configure} from @file{configure.in} when
1945 The file @file{Makefile.in} is a template used by @file{configure} to create
1948 There are several subdirectories:
1952 @file{src} holds the C code for XEmacs (the XEmacs Lisp interpreter and its
1953 primitives, the redisplay code, and some basic editing functions).
1955 @file{lisp} holds the XEmacs Lisp code for XEmacs (most everything else).
1957 @file{lib-src} holds the source code for some utility programs for use by
1958 or with XEmacs, like movemail and etags.
1960 @file{etc} holds miscellaneous architecture-independent data files
1961 XEmacs uses, like the tutorial text. The contents of the @file{lisp},
1962 @file{info} and @file{man} subdirectories are architecture-independent too.
1964 @file{lwlib} holds the C code for the X toolkit objects used by XEmacs.
1966 @file{info} holds the Info documentation tree for XEmacs.
1968 @file{man} holds the source code for the XEmacs online documentation.
1970 @file{nt} holds files used compiling XEmacs under Microsoft Windows.
1973 @unnumberedsec 1.6: Politics (XEmacs vs. GNU Emacs)
1975 @node Q1.6.1, Q1.6.2, Q1.5.5, Introduction
1976 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.6.1: What is GNU Emacs?
1978 GNU Emacs and XEmacs are related open-source text editors. Both
1979 derive from GNU Emacs version 18; the split between the two happened
1980 in 1991 (for comparison, the oldest versions of GNU Emacs date from
1981 1984). For information on GNU Emacs, see
1982 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html}.
1984 @node Q1.6.2, Q1.6.3, Q1.6.1, Introduction
1985 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.6.2: How does XEmacs differ from GNU Emacs?
1987 For a detailed description of the differences between GNU Emacs and
1988 XEmacs and a detailed history of XEmacs, check out the
1990 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/About/XEmacsVsGNUemacs.html, NEWS file}
1994 @item User-Visible Editing Features
1995 XEmacs in general tries hard to conform to exist user-interface
1996 standards, and to work "out-of-the-box" without the need for obscure
1997 customization changes. GNU Emacs, particularly version 21, has gotten
1998 better about this (in many cases by copying the XEmacs behavior!), but
1999 still has some weirdnesses. For example, the standard method of
2000 selecting text using the Shift key works out-of-the-box in XEmacs.
2002 XEmacs has a built-in toolbar. Four toolbars can actually be configured
2003 simultaneously: top, bottom, left, and right toolbars.
2005 XEmacs has vertical and horizontal scrollbars. Unlike in GNU Emacs 19
2006 (which provides a primitive form of vertical scrollbar), these are true
2007 toolkit scrollbars. A look-alike Motif scrollbar is provided for those
2008 who don't have Motif. (Even for those who do, the look-alike may be
2009 preferable as it is faster.)
2011 XEmacs has buffer tabs along the top of the frame (although the
2012 position can be changed) that make it very easy to switch buffers.
2014 The menubar under XEmacs is better-designed, with more thought put into
2017 XEmacs can ask questions using popup dialog boxes. Any command executed
2018 from a menu will ask yes/no questions with dialog boxes, while commands
2019 executed via the keyboard will use the minibuffer.
2021 XEmacs under MS Windows provides uses the standard file-dialog box for
2022 opening and saving files. Standard menu-accelerator behavior can easily
2023 be enabled using the Options menu, and integrates well into the existing
2026 XEmacs has (still experimental) support for widgets of various sorts --
2027 buttons, text boxes, sliders, progress bars, etc. A progress bar is
2028 used in font lock to show the progress.
2030 Experimental support for drag-and-drop protocols is provided from
2033 @item General Platform Support
2034 If you're running on a machine with audio hardware, you can specify
2035 sound files for XEmacs to play instead of the default X beep. See the
2036 documentation of the function load-sound-file and the variable
2037 sound-alist. XEmacs also supports the network sound protocols NAS and
2040 XEmacs 21 supports database protocols with LISP bindings, currently
2041 including Berkeley DB, LDAP, and PostgreSQL (21.2 only).
2043 XEmacs 20 and 21 support the Canna, Wnn, and SJ3 Japanese input method
2044 servers directly, as well as through the X Input Method (XIM)
2045 protocol. GNU Emacs 20 supports only the XIM protocol. Both Emacsen
2046 support the Quail family of input methods (implemented in LISP) for many
2049 XEmacs provides support for ToolTalk on systems that have
2052 @item Packaged LISP Libraries
2053 Many more packages are provided standard with XEmacs than with GNU Emacs
2056 XEmacs 21 supports an integrated package management system which uses
2057 EFS to download, then automatically install prebuilt LISP
2058 libraries. This allows XEmacs users much more straightforward access to
2059 the "latest and greatest" version of any given library.
2061 We are working on a standard method for enabling, disabling and
2062 otherwise controlling packages, which should make them very easy to use.
2064 @item LISP Programming
2065 From XEmacs 20 on, characters are a separate type. Characters can be
2066 converted to integers (and many integers can be converted to
2067 characters), but characters are not integers. GNU Emacs 19, XEmacs 19,
2068 Mule 2.3 (an extensive patch to GNU Emacs 18.55 and 19.x), and GNU Emacs
2069 20 (incorporating Mule 3 and later Mule 4) represent them as integers.
2071 From XEmacs 20 on, the buffer is treated as an array of characters, and
2072 the representation of buffer text is not exposed to LISP. The GNU Emacs
2073 20 functions like buffer-as-multibyte are not supported.
2075 In XEmacs, events are first-class objects. GNU Emacs 19 represents them
2076 as integers, which obscures the differences between a key gesture and
2077 the ancient ASCII code used to represent a particular overlapping subset
2080 In XEmacs, keymaps are first-class opaque objects. GNU Emacs 19
2081 represents them as complicated combinations of association lists and
2082 vectors. If you use the advertised functional interface to manipulation
2083 of keymaps, the same code will work in XEmacs, GNU Emacs 18, and GNU
2084 Emacs 19; if your code depends on the underlying implementation of
2085 keymaps, it will not.
2087 XEmacs uses "extents" to represent all non-textual aspects of buffers;
2088 GNU Emacs 19 uses two distinct objects, "text properties" and
2089 "overlays", which divide up the functionality between them. Extents are
2090 a superset of the union of the functionality of the two GNU Emacs data
2091 types. The full GNU Emacs 19 interface to text properties and overlays
2092 is supported in XEmacs (with extents being the underlying
2095 Extents can be made to be copied into strings, and then restored, by
2096 kill and yank. Thus, one can specify this behavior on either "extents"
2097 or "text properties", whereas in GNU Emacs 19 text properties always
2098 have this behavior and overlays never do.
2100 @item Window System Programming Interface
2101 XEmacs uses the MIT "Xt" toolkit instead of raw Xlib calls, which makes
2102 it be a more well-behaved X citizen (and also improves portability). A
2103 result of this is that it is possible to include other Xt "Widgets" in
2104 the XEmacs window. Also, XEmacs understands the standard Xt command-line
2107 XEmacs supports Motif applications, generic Xt (e.g. Athena)
2108 applications, and raw Xlib applications. An XEmacs variant which
2109 supports GTK+ is available (integration as an option in the XEmacs
2110 mainline is planned for XEmacs 22), although code to take advantage of
2111 the support is as yet scarce.
2113 An XEmacs frame can be placed within an "external client widget" managed
2114 by another application. This allows an application to use an XEmacs
2115 frame as its text pane rather than the standard Text widget that is
2116 provided with Motif or Athena.
2118 @item Community Participation
2119 Joining the XEmacs development team is simple. Mail to
2120 @email{xemacs-beta@@xemacs.org, XEmacs Developers}, and you're in! (If
2121 you want to be, of course. You're also welcome to just post
2122 development-related questions and bug reports.) The GNU Emacs
2123 development team and internal mailing lists are still by invitation
2126 The "bleeding edge" of mainline XEmacs development is available by
2127 anonymous CVS as are some subsidiary branches (check out the xemacs-gtk
2128 module for the latest in GUI features!)
2130 Development and maintenance of Lisp libraries is separated from the core
2131 editor development at a fairly low level. This provides better
2132 modularization and a better division of responsibility between external
2133 library maintainers and the XEmacs core development team. Even for
2134 packages the size of Gnus, XEmacs users normally have access to a
2135 pre-built version within a few weeks of a major release, and minor
2136 updates often within days.
2138 CVS commit authority is broadly dispersed. Recognized maintainers of
2139 LISP libraries who are willing to maintain XEmacs packaged versions
2140 automatically qualify for CVS accounts for their packages.
2143 @node Q1.6.3, Q1.6.4, Q1.6.2, Introduction
2144 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.6.3: How much does XEmacs differ?
2146 RMS has asserted at times that XEmacs is merely a "patch" on top of
2147 GNU Emacs (@pxref{Q1.6.4}). In fact, probably not more than 5% of the
2148 code, if that, remains unchanged, and nearly 14 years of work has gone
2149 into XEmacs at this point. (GNU Emacs itself is only than 20 years
2150 old, and thus XEmacs has existed as a separate product for over 2/3 of
2151 the lifespan of GNU Emacs.) As a point of comparison, XEmacs 21.5 has
2152 perhaps 65,000 more lines of C code than GNU Emacs 21.2.
2154 However, the XEmacs developers strive to keep their code compatible with
2155 GNU Emacs, especially on the Lisp level. Much effort goes into
2156 "synching" the XEmacs Elisp code with recent GNU Emacs releases so as to
2157 benefit from GNU Emacs development work. (In contrast, almost no code
2158 from XEmacs has made it into GNU Emacs, and in fact the GNU Emacs
2159 developers are instructed by RMS not to even look at XEmacs source code!
2160 This stems from self-imposed licensing restrictions on the part of GNU
2161 Emacs -- and almost certainly out of hostility, as well.)
2163 @node Q1.6.4, Q1.6.5, Q1.6.3, Introduction
2164 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.6.4: Is XEmacs "GNU"?
2166 RMS insists on the term "GNU XEmacs" and maintains that
2169 XEmacs is GNU software because it's a modified version of a
2170 GNU program. And it is GNU software because the FSF is the copyright
2171 holder for most of it, and therefore the legal responsibility for
2172 protecting its free status falls on us whether we want it or not. This
2173 is why the term "GNU XEmacs" is legitimate.
2176 In fact, FSF is @emph{not} the copyright holder for most of the code,
2177 as very little unmodified FSF code remains (@pxref{Q1.6.3}).
2179 Furthermore, RMS's assertion that XEmacs is "GNU" seems rather bizarre
2180 to the XEmacs developers given RMS's hostility and general lack of
2181 interest in cooperation. "GNU" software in general is part of the GNU
2182 Project, is distributed by it on their FTP site, and receives support
2183 (or at least cooperation), as well as implicit endorsement, from it.
2184 The GNU Project, however, has never supported XEmacs and never
2185 distributed XEmacs, and RMS's hostility is the farthest thing possible
2186 from an endorsement. In fact, the GNU Project distributes a number of
2187 non-GNU software projects on the FSF web site, but again XEmacs is not
2190 @node Q1.6.5, Q1.6.6, Q1.6.4, Introduction
2191 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.6.5: What is the correct way to refer to XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
2193 Unfortunately even the naming of these two applications has become
2194 politicized. Much of this stems from RMS, who has a history of
2195 politicizing similar issues. (Compare the controversy over "Lignux"
2196 and "GNU/Linux".) We would prefer that the terms "XEmacs" and "GNU
2197 Emacs" be used, which are neutral and acceptable to most people. RMS,
2198 however, is not willing to accept these terms. He insists that, if
2199 his product is called "GNU Emacs", then ours must be called "GNU
2200 XEmacs". (For our opinion of this term, @xref{Q1.6.4}.) On the other
2201 hand, if our product is to be called "XEmacs", as we prefer, then his
2202 product must simply be called "Emacs". The intent of this seems
2203 clear: RMS wants to make sure the names reflect his view that his
2204 version is the "real" Emacs and ours is merely a derivative,
2205 second-class product (@pxref{Q1.6.3}).
2207 The XEmacs developers hope that you will use the neutral terms
2208 "XEmacs" and "GNU Emacs" for these two specific products. "Emacs", on
2209 the other hand, is a generic term for a class of programmable text
2210 editors with a similar look-and-feel, and usually a Lisp-based
2211 extension language. These trace themselves back to early editors such
2212 as EINE, ZWEI, ZMACS and Multics Emacs. @xref{A History of Emacs,,,
2213 internals, XEmacs Internals Manual}.
2215 We also call upon RMS, in the spirit of furthering cooperation, to
2216 stop politicizing this issue and use the neutral terms "XEmacs" and
2217 "GNU Emacs". We have already acceded to RMS' wishes in this respect,
2218 and we expect him to do the same. (In the past, the XEmacs developers
2219 often used the terms "FSF Emacs" or "FSFmacs" or "RMSmacs" in
2220 reference to GNU Emacs; these terms were apparently modeled after RMS'
2221 own usage of "Gosmacs" and "Gosling Emacs" in reference to Unipress
2222 Emacs, produced by James Gosling. RMS, however, considers such terms
2223 to be insulting, so we refrain from using them as much as possible in
2224 preference to GNU Emacs.)
2226 @node Q1.6.6, Q1.7.1, Q1.6.5, Introduction
2227 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.6.6: Why haven't XEmacs and GNU Emacs merged?
2229 There are currently irreconcilable differences in the views about
2230 technical, programming, design, organizational and legal matters
2231 between Richard Stallman (RMS), the author and leader of the GNU Emacs
2232 project, and the XEmacs development team which provide little hope for
2233 a merge to take place in the short-term future. There have been
2234 repeated attempts at merging by all of the major XEmacs developers,
2235 starting from the early days of Lucid Emacs (in 1991), but they have
2236 all failed. RMS has very strong views about how GNU Emacs should be
2237 structured and how his project should be run, and during the repeated
2238 merge efforts has never demonstrated any realistic interest in
2239 sufficiently compromising or ceding control to allow a middle ground
2240 to be found. The basic problem seems to be the very different goals
2241 of RMS and the XEmacs project. The primary goals of the XEmacs
2242 project are technical and organizational -- we want to create the best
2243 editor possible, and to make it as easy as possible for people around
2244 the world to contribute. The primary goals of RMS, on the other hand,
2245 are political, and GNU Emacs, and any potential merge efforts with
2246 XEmacs, are strictly subservient to these goals. In fact, in many
2247 ways RMS sees GNU Emacs as the "poster child" of his aims, the one
2248 program in the GNU project that above all others must set an example
2249 to the world. (This has to do with the fact that GNU Emacs was the
2250 first program in the GNU project, and the only one that he is still
2251 personally involved with on a day-to-day basis.) Given his goals, his
2252 position is completely reasonable -- but unfortunately, makes any
2255 From the XEmacs perspective, the most intractable issues appear to be
2256 legal and organizational, specifically:
2260 RMS requires "legal papers" to be signed for all contributions of code
2261 to GNU Emacs over 10 lines or so, transferring the copyright and all
2262 legal rights to the code to the Free Software Foundation. XEmacs does
2263 not and has never required this, since it has the practical effect of
2264 discouraging individual and in particular corporate contributions --
2265 corporations will almost never sign away their legal rights to code
2266 since it makes it impossible to reuse the code in any product that
2267 whose license is not compatible with the GNU General Public License.
2268 Since RMS has shown no inclination to compromise on this issue, a
2269 merge would require that most of the existing XEmacs code would need
2270 to be thrown away and rewritten -- something the XEmacs developers are
2271 understandably reluctant to do.
2274 A repeated stumbling block in the merge talks has been the issue of
2275 organizational control over the resulting product. RMS has made it
2276 clear that he intends to have final say over design issues in a merged
2277 Emacs. Unfortunately, RMS and the XEmacs developers have repeatedly
2278 clashed over design decisions, and RMS' insistence on getting his way
2279 in such disagreements was the very reason for the split in the first
2280 place. This same issue has come up again and again in merge talks and
2281 we have never been able to come to a satisfactory resolution. To the
2282 extent that RMS is willing to compromise at all, it appears to be of a
2283 purely political rather than technical nature -- "If we support this
2284 feature of yours, we also get to support this other feature of mine."
2285 The XEmacs developers cannot see how such a process would lead to
2286 anything but a mess of incompatible things hodgepodged together.
2289 Because of the years of separate development, distinct and
2290 incompatible interfaces have developed and merging would be extremely
2291 difficult even with the above non-technical issues resolved. The
2292 problem has been exacerbated by the issue of legal papers -- because
2293 XEmacs code is not "kosher" from RMS' perspective, he discourages
2294 developers from even looking at it out of legal concerns. Although it
2295 is still possible to read the XEmacs documentation and run the
2296 program, the practical effect of this prohibition has been to strongly
2297 discourage code-sharing and cooperative development -- although a
2298 great deal of GNU Emacs code has been incorporated into XEmacs,
2299 practically none has gone the other direction.
2302 If you have a comment to add regarding the merge, it is a good idea to
2303 avoid posting to the newsgroups, because of the very heated flamewars
2304 that often result. Mail your questions to
2305 @email{xemacs-beta@@xemacs.org} and @email{emacs-devel@@gnu.org}.
2307 @unnumberedsec 1.7: External Packages
2309 @node Q1.7.1, Q1.7.2, Q1.6.6, Introduction
2310 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.7.1: What is the package system?
2312 In order to reduce the size and increase the maintainability of
2313 XEmacs, the majority of the Elisp packages that came with previous
2314 releases have been unbundled. They have been replaced by the package
2315 system. Each elisp add-on (or groups of them when they are small) now
2316 comes in its own tarball that contains a small search hierarchy.
2318 You select just the ones you need. Install them by untarring them into
2319 the right place. On startup XEmacs will find them, set up the load
2320 path correctly, install autoloads, etc, etc.
2322 @xref{Q2.1.1}, for more info on how to download and install the packages.
2324 @node Q1.7.2, Q1.7.3, Q1.7.1, Introduction
2325 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.7.2: Which external packages are there?
2327 @subheading Normal Packages
2329 A very broad collection of elisp packages.
2333 Support for Sparcworks.
2336 Ada language support.
2339 A Portable Emacs Library. Used by XEmacs MIME support.
2342 Basic TeX/LaTeX support.
2345 The Big Brother Data Base: a rolodex-like database program.
2348 Build XEmacs from within (UNIX, Windows).
2351 Basic single-file add-ons for editing C code.
2357 Calendar and diary support.
2360 C, C++, Objective-C, Java, CORBA IDL, Pike and AWK language support.
2363 New Clearcase Version Control for XEmacs (UNIX, Windows).
2366 Support for the Clearcase version control system.
2369 "Fortune cookie"-style messages. Includes Spook (suspicious phrases)
2370 and Yow (Zippy quotes).
2373 Crisp/Brief emulation.
2376 GUD, gdb, dbx debugging support.
2379 Interface to RFC2229 dictionary servers.
2382 The DIRectory EDitor is for manipulating, and running commands on
2383 files in a directory.
2386 DocBook editing support.
2389 Emacs source code browser.
2392 Crypto functionality in Emacs Lisp.
2395 An Emacs Lisp debugger.
2398 Interface over GNU patch.
2401 Miscellaneous editor extensions, you probably need this.
2404 DEC EDIT/EDT emulation.
2407 Treat files on remote systems the same as local files.
2410 Enhanced Implementation of Emacs Interpreted Objects.
2413 Portable Emacs Lisp utilities library.
2416 Another interface over GNU patch.
2419 ERC is an Emacs InternetRelayChat client.
2422 Multiple editing sessions withing a single frame (like screen).
2425 Command shell implemented entirely in Emacs Lisp.
2428 ESS: Emacs Speaks Statistics.
2434 Emacs Unified Directory Client (LDAP, PH).
2437 Footnoting in mail message editing modes.
2440 Forms editing support (obsolete, use Widget instead).
2446 Fortran language support.
2449 Set up mode-specific icons for each frame under XEmacs.
2452 GNU Emacs compatibility files.
2455 Tetris, Sokoban, and Snake.
2458 General documentation. Presently, empty.
2464 The Gnus Newsreader and Mailreader.
2467 Haskell editing support.
2469 @item hm--html-menus
2473 Hyperbole: The Everyday Info Manager.
2476 Advanced replacement for buffer-menu.
2479 Editing and Shell mode for the Interactive Data Language.
2482 Enhanced front-end for Grep.
2485 Front-end for interacting with Inferior Lisp (external lisps).
2488 Spell-checking with GNU ispell.
2491 Integrated Development Environment for Java.
2494 IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client for Emacs. Note, this package is
2495 deprecated and will be removed, use riece instead.
2498 Fundamental lisp files for providing email support.
2501 Support for messaging encryption with PGP.
2504 Messaging in an Emacs World; a MIME-based email program.
2507 The XEmacs Interface to the MH Mail System.
2510 Elisp implementation of the game 'Minehunt'.
2513 Other amusements and diversions.
2516 Support for Multiple Major Modes within a single buffer.
2519 Miscellaneous Networking Utilities.
2522 Objective Caml editing support.
2525 OO-Browser: The Multi-Language Object-Oriented Code Browser.
2528 Objective Caml editing support.
2531 Miscellaneous single-file O/S utilities, for printing, archiving,
2532 compression, remote shells, etc.
2535 PC style interface emulation.
2541 Provides programmatic completion.
2547 Emacs interface to various PGP implementations.
2550 Support for various programming languages.
2553 Printing functions and utilities.
2556 Validated HTML/SGML editing.
2559 A collection of DTDs for psgml. Note that this package is deprecated
2560 and will be removed in the future, most likely Q2/2003. Instead of using
2561 this, you should install needed DTDs yourself.
2564 Python language support.
2567 Emacs support for LaTeX cross-references, citations.
2570 IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client for Emacs.
2573 An obsolete Emacs mailer. If you do not already use it don't start.
2579 Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) library.
2582 Front-end support for Inferior Scheme.
2585 Semantic bovinator (Yacc/Lex for XEmacs). Includes Senator.
2588 SGML/Linuxdoc-SGML editing.
2591 Support for editing shell scripts.
2594 Manage Sieve email filtering scripts.
2597 User interface tool.
2600 SML editing support.
2603 XEmacs Sun sound files.
2606 XEmacs Microsoft sound files.
2609 Provides a separate frame with convenient references.
2612 Mouse enhancement utility.
2615 An Emacs citation tool for News & Mail messages.
2618 XEmacs TeXinfo support.
2621 Miscellaneous support for editing text files.
2624 Miscellaneous TeX support.
2627 Display time & date on the modeline.
2630 Emacs MIME support. Not needed for gnus >= 5.8.0.
2633 Support for building with Tooltalk.
2636 DEC EDIT/TPU support.
2639 Remote shell-based file editing. This is similar to EFS or Ange-FTP,
2640 but works with rsh/ssh and rcp/scp.
2643 Version Control for Free systems.
2646 Version Control for ClearCase (UnFree) systems.
2652 A Unix process browsing tool.
2655 VI emulation support.
2664 Semi WYSIWYG for LaTeX, HTML, etc, using additional fonts.
2667 Fundamental XEmacs support, you almost certainly need this.
2670 XEmacs Lisp developer support. This package contains utilities for
2671 supporting Lisp development. It is a single-file package so it may be
2675 Emacs interface to X server.
2678 XSL editing support.
2681 A minor mode for (X)Emacs which allows running an XSLT processor on a
2685 X Emacs Window Manager.
2691 @subheading Mule Support (mule)
2693 MULti-lingual Enhancement. Support for world scripts such as
2694 Latin, Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Hebrew etc.
2695 To use these packages your XEmacs must be compiled with Mule
2700 MULE: Lisp Interface to EDICT, Kanji Dictionary.
2703 MULE: Wnn (4.2 and 6) support. SJ3 support.
2706 MULE: find single ISO 8859 character set to encode a buffer.
2709 Unify character sets in a buffer. When characters belong to disjoint
2710 character sets, this attempts to translate the characters so
2711 that they belong to one character set. If the buffer coding system is
2712 not sufficient, this suggests different coding systems.
2715 MULE: Quail. All non-English and non-Japanese language support.
2718 MULE: Localized menubars and localized splash screens.
2721 Dictionary support. (This isn't an English dictionary program)
2724 MULE: Basic Mule support, required for building with Mule.
2727 MULE: Extended coding systems (including Unicode) for XEmacs.
2730 Extended coding systems (including Unicode) for XEmacs.
2733 Another Japanese Language Input Method. Can be used without a
2734 separate process running as a dictionary server.
2737 @node Q1.7.3, Q1.7.4, Q1.7.2, Introduction
2738 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.7.3: Do I need to have the packages to run XEmacs?
2740 Strictly speaking, no. XEmacs will build and install just fine without
2741 any packages installed. However, only the most basic editing functions
2742 will be available with no packages installed, so installing packages is
2743 an essential part of making your installed XEmacs _useful_.
2745 @node Q1.7.4, Q1.8.1, Q1.7.3, Introduction
2746 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.7.4: Is there a way to find which package has particular functionality?
2748 If you want to find out which package contains the functionality you
2749 are looking for, use @kbd{M-x package-get-package-provider}, and give it a
2750 symbol that is likely to be in that package.
2752 For example, if some code you want to use has a @code{(require 'thingatpt)}
2756 M-x package-get-package-provider RET thingatpt RET
2759 which will return something like: @samp{(fsf-compat "1.08").}
2761 @unnumberedsec 1.8: Internationalization
2763 @node Q1.8.1, Q1.8.2, Q1.7.4, Introduction
2764 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.1: What is the status of internationalization support aka MULE (including Asian language support)?
2766 Both the stable and development versions of XEmacs include
2767 internationalization support (aka MULE). MULE currently (21.4) works on
2768 UNIX and Linux systems. It is possible to build with MULE on Windows
2769 systems, but if you really need MULE on Windows, it is recommended that
2770 you build and use the development (21.5) version, and deal with the
2771 instability of the development tree. Binaries compiled without MULE
2772 support run faster than MULE capable XEmacsen.
2774 @node Q1.8.2, Q1.8.3, Q1.8.1, Introduction
2775 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.2: How can I help with internationalization?
2777 If you would like to help, you may want to join the
2778 @email{xemacs-mule@@xemacs.org} mailing list. Especially needed are
2779 people who speak/write languages other than English, who are willing to
2780 use XEmacs/MULE regularly, and have some experience with Elisp.
2782 Translations of the TUTORIAL and man page are welcome, and XEmacs does
2783 support multilingual menus, but we have few current translations.
2785 @xref{Q1.5.2, How do I become a Beta Tester?}.
2787 @node Q1.8.3, Q1.8.4, Q1.8.2, Introduction
2788 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.3: How do I type non-ASCII characters?
2790 @xref{Q3.0.6, How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?}, in
2791 part 3 of this FAQ, for some simple methods that also work in non-MULE
2792 builds of XEmacs (but only for one-octet coded character sets, and
2793 mostly for ISO 8859/1). Many of the methods available for Cyrillic
2794 (@pxref{Q1.8.7, How about Cyrillic modes?}) work without MULE. MULE
2795 has more general capabilities. @xref{Q1.8.5, Please explain the
2796 various input methods in MULE/XEmacs}.
2798 @xref{Q4.0.8, How do I display non-ASCII characters?}, which covers
2799 display of non-ASCII characters.
2801 @node Q1.8.4, Q1.8.5, Q1.8.3, Introduction
2802 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.4: Can XEmacs messages come out in a different language?
2804 The message-catalog support was written but is badly bit-rotted. XEmacs
2805 20 and 21 did @emph{not} support it, and early releases of XEmacs 22
2808 However, menubar localization @emph{does} work. To enable it, add to
2809 your @file{Emacs} file entries like this:
2812 Emacs*XlwMenu.resourceLabels: True
2813 Emacs*XlwMenu.file.labelString: Fichier
2814 Emacs*XlwMenu.openInOtherWindow.labelString: In anderem Fenster oeffnen
2817 The name of the resource is derived from the non-localized entry by
2818 removing punctuation and capitalizing as above.
2820 @node Q1.8.5, Q1.8.6, Q1.8.4, Introduction
2821 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.5: Please explain the various input methods in MULE/XEmacs
2823 Mule supports a wide variety of input methods. There are three basic
2824 classes: Lisp implementations, generic platform support, and library
2827 @emph{Lisp implementations} include Quail, which provides table-driven input
2828 methods for almost all the character sets that Mule supports (including
2829 all of the ISO 8859 family, the Indic languages, Thai, and so on), and
2830 SKK, for Japanese. (SKK also supports an interface to an external
2831 "dictionary server" process.) Quail supports both typical "dead-key"
2832 methods (eg, in the "latin-1-prefix" method, @kbd{" a} produces ä, LATIN
2833 SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS), and the complex dictionary-based phonetic
2834 methods used for Asian ideographic languages like Chinese.
2836 Lisp implementations can be less powerful (but they are not perceptibly
2837 inefficient), and of course are not portable to non-Emacs applications.
2838 The incompatibility can be very annoying. On the other hand, they
2839 require no special platform support or external libraries, so if you can
2840 display the characters, Mule can input them for you and you can edit,
2843 @emph{Generic platform support} is currently limited to the X Input
2844 Method (XIM) framework, although support for MSIME (for MS Windows) is
2845 planned, and IIIMF (Sun's Internet-Intranet Input Method Framework)
2846 support is extremely desirable. XIM is enabled at build time by use of
2847 the @samp{--with-xim} flag to @code{configure}. For use of XIM, see
2848 your platform documentation. However, normally the input method you use
2849 is specified via the @samp{LANG} and @samp{XMODIFIERS} environment
2852 Of course, input skills are portable across most applications. However,
2853 especially in modern GUI systems the habit of using bucky bits has
2854 fallen into sad disuse, and many XIM systems are poorly configured for
2855 use with Emacs. For example, the kinput2 input manager (a separate
2856 process providing an interface between Japanese dictionary servers such
2857 as Canna and Wnn, and the application) tends to gobble up keystrokes
2858 generating Meta characters. This means that to edit while using an XIM
2859 input method, you must toggle the input method off every time you want
2860 to use @kbd{M-f}. Your mileage may vary.
2862 @emph{Library interfaces} are most common for Japanese, although Wnn
2863 supports Chinese (traditional and simplified) and Korean. There are
2864 Chinese and Korean input servers available, but we do not know of any
2865 patches for XEmacs to use them directly. You can use them via
2866 IM-enabled terminals, by manipulating the terminal coding systems. We
2867 describe only the Japanese-oriented systems here. The advantage of
2868 these systems is that they are very powerful, and on platforms where
2869 they are available there is typically a wide range of applications that
2870 support them. Thus your input skills are portable across applications.
2872 Mule provides built-in interfaces to the following input methods: Wnn4,
2873 Wnn6, Canna, and SJ3. These can be configured at build time. There are
2874 patches available (no URL, sorry) to support the SKK server, as well.
2875 Wnn and SJ3 use the @code{egg} user interface. The interface for Canna
2876 is specialized to Canna.
2878 Wnn supports Japanese, Chinese and Korean. It is made by OMRON and Kyôto
2879 University. It is a powerful and complex system. Wnn4 is free and Wnn6
2880 is not. Wnn uses grammatical hints and probability of word association,
2881 so in principle Wnn can be cleverer than other methods.
2883 Canna, made by NEC, supports only Japanese. It is a simple and powerful
2884 system. Canna uses only grammar, but its grammar and dictionary are
2885 quite sophisticated. So for standard modern Japanese, Canna seems
2886 cleverer than Wnn4. In addition, the UNIX version of Canna is free (now
2887 there is a Microsoft Windows version).
2889 SJ3, by Sony, supports only Japanese.
2891 Egg consists of following parts:
2895 Input character Translation System (ITS) layer.
2896 It translates ASCII inputs to Kana/PinYin/Hangul characters.
2899 Kana/PinYin/Hangul to Kanji transfer layer.
2900 The interface layer to network Kana-Kanji server (Wnn and Sj3).
2903 These input methods are modal. They have a raw (alphabet) mode, a
2904 phonetic input mode, and Kana-Kanji transfer mode. However there are
2905 mode-less input methods for Egg and Canna. @samp{boiled-egg} is a
2906 mode-less input method running on Egg. For Canna, @samp{canna.el} has a
2907 tiny boiled-egg-like command, @code{(canna-boil)}, and there are some
2908 boiled-egg-like utilities.
2910 Much of this information was provided by @email{morioka@@jaist.ac.jp,
2913 @node Q1.8.6, Q1.8.7, Q1.8.5, Introduction
2914 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.6: How do I portably code for MULE/XEmacs?
2916 MULE has evolved rapidly over the last few years, and the original third
2917 party patch (for GNU Emacs 19), GNU Emacs 20+, and XEmacs 20+ have quite
2918 different implementations. The APIs also vary although recent versions
2919 of XEmacs have tended to converge to the GNU Emacs standard.
2921 MULE implementations are going to continue to evolve. Both GNU Emacs
2922 and XEmacs are working hard on Unicode support, which will involve new
2923 APIs and probably variations on old ones. For XEmacs 22, the old ISO
2924 2022-based system for recognizing encodings will be replaced by a much
2925 more flexible system, which should improve accuracy of automatic coding
2926 detections, but will also involve new APIs.
2928 @email{morioka@@jaist.ac.jp, MORIOKA Tomohiko} writes:
2931 The application implementor must write separate code for these mule
2932 variants. [Please don't hesitate to report these variants to us; they
2933 are not, strictly speaking, bugs, but they give third-party developers
2934 the same kind of creepy-crawly feeling. We'll do what we can. -- Ed.]
2936 MULE and the next version of Emacs are similar but the symbols are very
2937 different---requiring separate code as well.
2939 Namely we must support 3 kinds of mule variants and 4 or 5 or 6 kinds of
2940 emacs variants... (;_;) I'm shocked, so I wrote a wrapper package called
2941 @code{emu} to provide a common interface. [There is an XEmacs package
2942 of APEL which provides much more comprehensive coverage. Be careful,
2943 however; APEL has problems of its own. -- Ed.]
2945 I have the following suggestions about dealing with mule variants:
2949 @code{(featurep 'mule)} @code{t} on all mule variants
2952 @code{(boundp 'MULE)} is @code{t} on only MULE. Maybe the next version
2953 of Emacs will not have this symbol.
2956 MULE has a variable @code{mule-version}. Perhaps the next version of
2957 Emacs will have this variable as well.
2960 Following is a sample to distinguish mule variants:
2963 (if (featurep 'mule)
2964 (cond ((boundp 'MULE)
2965 ;; for original Mule
2967 ((string-match "XEmacs" emacs-version)
2968 ;; for XEmacs with Mule
2971 ;; for next version of Emacs
2973 ;; for old emacs variants
2978 @node Q1.8.7, Q1.8.8, Q1.8.6, Introduction
2979 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.7: How about Cyrillic modes?
2981 @email{ilya@@math.ohio-state.edu, Ilya Zakharevich} writes:
2984 There is a cyrillic mode in the file @file{mysetup.zip} in
2988 @uref{ftp://ftp.math.ohio-state.edu/pub/users/ilya/emacs/}. This is a
2989 modification to @email{ava@@math.jhu.ed, Valery Alexeev's} @file{russian.el}
2990 which can be obtained from
2993 @uref{http://www.math.uga.edu/~valery/russian.el}.
2995 @email{d.barsky@@ee.surrey.ac.uk, Dima Barsky} writes:
2998 There is another cyrillic mode for both GNU Emacs and XEmacs by
2999 @email{manin@@camelot.mssm.edu, Dmitrii
3004 @uref{http://kulichki-lat.rambler.ru/centrolit/manin/cyr.el}.
3005 @c Link above, <URL:http://camelot.mssm.edu/~manin/cyr.el> was dead.
3006 @c Changed to russian host instead
3009 @email{rebecca.ore@@op.net, Rebecca Ore} writes:
3012 The fullest resource I found on Russian language use (in and out of
3013 XEmacs) is @uref{http://www.ibiblio.org/sergei/Software/Software.html}
3016 @node Q1.8.8, Q1.8.9, Q1.8.7, Introduction
3017 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.8: Does XEmacs support Unicode?
3019 To get Unicode support, you need a Mule-enabled XEmacs.
3021 21.5 has internal support for Unicode and supports it fully, although we
3022 don't yet use it as the internal encoding.
3024 21.4 supports Unicode partially -- as an external encoding for files,
3025 processes, and terminals, but without font support. @xref{Q1.8.9, How
3026 does XEmacs display Unicode?}. To get Unicode support in 21.4,
3027 install Mule-UCS from packages in the usual way, and put
3030 (require 'un-define)
3031 (set-coding-priority-list '(utf-8))
3032 (set-coding-category-system 'utf-8 'utf-8)
3035 in your init file to enable the UTF-8 coding system. You may wish to
3036 view the documentation of @code{set-coding-priority-list} if you find
3037 that files that are not UTF-8 are being mis-recognized as UTF-8.
3039 Install standard national fonts (not Unicode fonts) for all character
3040 sets you use. @xref{Q1.8.9, How does XEmacs display Unicode??}.
3042 Mule-UCS also supports 16-bit forms of Unicode (UTF-16). It does not
3043 support 31-bit forms of Unicode (UTF-32 or UCS-4).
3045 @node Q1.8.9, , Q1.8.8, Introduction
3046 @unnumberedsubsec Q1.8.9: How does XEmacs display Unicode?
3048 Mule doesn't have a Unicode charset internally, so there's nothing to
3049 bind a Unicode registry to. It would not be straightforward to create,
3050 either, because Unicode is not ISO 2022-compatible. You'd have to
3051 translate it to multiple 96x96 pages.
3053 This means that Mule-UCS uses ordinary national fonts for display. This
3054 is not really a problem, except for those languages that use the Unified
3055 Han characters. The problem here is that Mule-UCS maps from Unicode
3056 code points to national character sets in a deterministic way. By
3057 default, this means that Japanese fonts are tried first, then Chinese,
3058 then Korean. To change the priority ordering, use the command
3059 `un-define-change-charset-order'.
3061 It also means you can't use Unicode fonts directly, at least not without
3062 extreme hackery. You can run -nw with (set-terminal-coding-system
3063 'utf-8) if you really want a Unicode font for some reason.
3065 Real Unicode support will be introduced in XEmacs 22.0.
3067 @node Installation, Editing, Introduction, Top
3068 @unnumbered 2 Installation and Troubleshooting
3070 This is part 2 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
3071 section is devoted to Installation, Maintenance and Troubleshooting.
3074 2.0: Installation (General)
3075 * Q2.0.1:: How do I build and install XEmacs?
3076 * Q2.0.2:: Where do I find external libraries?
3077 * Q2.0.3:: How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
3078 * Q2.0.4:: Running XEmacs without installing
3079 * Q2.0.5:: XEmacs is too big
3081 2.1: Package Installation
3082 * Q2.1.1:: How do I install the packages?
3083 * Q2.1.2:: Can I install the packages individually?
3084 * Q2.1.3:: Can I install the packages automatically?
3085 * Q2.1.4:: Can I upgrade or remove packages?
3086 * Q2.1.5:: Which packages to install?
3087 * Q2.1.6:: Can you describe the package location process in more detail?
3088 * Q2.1.7:: EFS fails with "500 AUTH not understood"
3090 2.2: Unix/Mac OS X Installation (Also Relevant to Cygwin, MinGW)
3091 * Q2.2.1:: Libraries in non-standard locations
3092 * Q2.2.2:: Why can't I strip XEmacs?
3094 2.3: Windows Installation (Windows, Cygwin, MinGW)
3095 * Q2.3.1:: What exactly are all the different ways to build XEmacs under Windows?
3096 * Q2.3.2:: What compiler/libraries do I need to compile XEmacs?
3097 * Q2.3.3:: How do I compile the native port?
3098 * Q2.3.4:: What do I need for Cygwin?
3099 * Q2.3.5:: How do I compile under Cygwin?
3100 * Q2.3.6:: How do I compile using MinGW (aka @samp{the -mno-cygwin flag to gcc})?
3101 * Q2.3.7:: How do I compile with X support?
3102 * Q2.3.8:: Cygwin XEmacs won't start -- cygXpm-noX4.dll was not found (NEW)
3104 2.4: General Troubleshooting
3105 * Q2.4.1:: How do I deal with bugs or with problems building, installing, or running?
3106 * Q2.4.2:: Help! XEmacs just crashed on me!
3107 * Q2.4.3:: XEmacs crashes and I compiled it myself.
3108 * Q2.4.4:: How to debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger
3109 * Q2.4.5:: I get a cryptic error message when trying to do something.
3110 * Q2.4.6:: XEmacs hangs when I try to do something.
3111 * Q2.4.7:: I get an error message when XEmacs is running in batch mode.
3112 * Q2.4.8:: The keyboard or mouse is not working properly, or I have some other event-related problem.
3113 * Q2.4.9:: @kbd{C-g} doesn't work for me. Is it broken?
3114 * Q2.4.10:: How do I debug process-related problems?
3115 * Q2.4.11:: XEmacs is outputting lots of X errors.
3116 * Q2.4.12:: After upgrading, XEmacs won't do `foo' any more!
3118 2.5: Startup-Related Problems
3119 * Q2.5.1:: XEmacs cannot connect to my X Terminal!
3120 * Q2.5.2:: Startup problems related to paths or package locations.
3121 * Q2.5.3:: XEmacs won't start without network.
3122 * Q2.5.4:: Startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
3123 * Q2.5.5:: Warnings from incorrect key modifiers.
3124 * Q2.5.6:: XEmacs 21.1 on Windows used to spawn an ugly console window on every startup. Has that been fixed?
3127 @unnumberedsec 2.0: Installation (General)
3129 @node Q2.0.1, Q2.0.2, Installation, Installation
3130 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.1: How do I build and install XEmacs?
3132 See the file @file{etc/NEWS} for information on new features and other
3133 user-visible changes since the last version of XEmacs.
3135 The file @file{INSTALL} in the top-level directory says how to bring
3136 up XEmacs on Unix and Cygwin, once you have loaded the entire subtree
3139 See the file @file{nt/README} for instructions on building XEmacs for
3142 @xref{Q2.1.1}, for the installation of (essential) add on packages.
3144 @node Q2.0.2, Q2.0.3, Q2.0.1, Installation
3145 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.2: Where do I find external libraries?
3147 All external libraries used by XEmacs can be found on the XEmacs web
3152 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/Download/optLibs.html}.
3154 The library versions available here are known to work with XEmacs.
3155 (Newer versions will probably work as well but we can't guarantee it.)
3156 We try to keep the libraries up-to-date but may not always succeed.
3157 Check the above page for the canonical locations of the external libraries,
3158 allowing you to download the latest, bleeding-edge versions.
3160 @node Q2.0.3, Q2.0.4, Q2.0.2, Installation
3161 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.3: How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
3163 You can specify what paths to use by using a number of different flags
3164 when running configure. See the section MAKE VARIABLES in the top-level
3165 file INSTALL in the XEmacs distribution for a listing of those flags.
3167 Most of the time, however, the simplest fix is: @strong{do not} specify
3168 paths as you might for GNU Emacs. XEmacs can generally determine the
3169 necessary paths dynamically at run time. The only path that generally
3170 needs to be specified is the root directory to install into. That can
3171 be specified by passing the @code{--prefix} flag to configure. For a
3172 description of the XEmacs install tree, please consult the @file{NEWS}
3175 @node Q2.0.4, Q2.0.5, Q2.0.3, Installation
3176 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.4: Running XEmacs without installing
3178 How can I just try XEmacs without installing it?
3180 XEmacs will run in place without requiring installation and copying of
3181 the Lisp directories, and without having to specify a special build-time
3182 flag. It's the copying of the Lisp directories that requires so much
3183 space. XEmacs is largely written in Lisp.
3185 A good method is to make a shell alias for xemacs:
3188 alias xemacs=/src/xemacs-21.5/src/xemacs
3191 (You will obviously use whatever directory you downloaded the source
3192 tree to instead of @file{/src/xemacs-21.5}).
3194 This will let you run XEmacs without massive copying.
3196 @node Q2.0.5, Q2.1.1, Q2.0.4, Installation
3197 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.0.5: XEmacs is too big
3199 The space required by the installation directories can be
3200 reduced dramatically if desired. Gzip all the .el files. Remove all
3201 the packages you'll never want to use. Remove the TexInfo manuals.
3202 Remove the Info (and use just hardcopy versions of the manual). Remove
3203 most of the stuff in etc. Remove or gzip all the source code. Gzip or
3204 remove the C source code. Configure it so that copies are not made of
3207 These are all Emacs Lisp source code and bytecompiled object code. You
3208 may safely gzip everything named *.el here. You may remove any package
3209 you don't use. @emph{Nothing bad will happen if you delete a package
3210 that you do not use}. You must be sure you do not use it though, so be
3211 conservative at first.
3213 Any package with the possible exceptions of xemacs-base, and EFS are
3214 candidates for removal. Ask yourself, @emph{Do I ever want to use this
3215 package?} If the answer is no, then it is a candidate for removal.
3217 First, gzip all the .el files. Then go about package by package and
3218 start gzipping the .elc files. Then run XEmacs and do whatever it is
3219 you normally do. If nothing bad happens, then remove the package. You
3220 can remove a package via the PUI interface
3221 (@code{M-x pui-list-packages}, then press @kbd{d} to mark the packages
3222 you wish to delete, and then @kbd{x} to delete them.
3224 Another method is to do @code{M-x package-get-delete-package}.
3226 @unnumberedsec 2.1: Package Installation
3228 @node Q2.1.1, Q2.1.2, Q2.0.5, Installation
3229 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.1: How do I install the packages?
3231 There are three ways to install the packages.
3235 Manually, all at once, using the 'Sumo Tarball'.
3237 Manually, using individual package tarballs.
3239 Automatically, using the package tools from XEmacs.
3242 If you don't want to mess with the packages, it is easiest to just
3243 grab them manually, all at once. (For the other two ways,
3244 @xref{Q2.1.2}, and @xref{Q2.1.3}.) Download the file
3246 @file{xemacs-sumo.tar.gz}
3248 For an XEmacs compiled with Mule you also need
3250 @file{xemacs-mule-sumo.tar.gz}
3252 These are in the @file{packages} directory on your XEmacs mirror
3253 archive: @uref{ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/packages} or its
3254 mirrors. N.B. They are called 'Sumo Tarballs' for good reason. They
3255 are currently about 19MB and 4.5MB (gzipped) respectively.
3257 Install them on Unix and Mac OS X using the shell/Terminal command
3259 @code{cd $prefix/lib/xemacs ; gunzip -c <tarballname> | tar xf -}
3261 Where @samp{$prefix} is what you gave to the @samp{--prefix} flag to
3262 @file{configure}, and defaults to @file{/usr/local}.
3264 If you have GNU tar you can use:
3266 @code{cd $prefix/lib/xemacs ; tar zxvf <tarballname>}
3268 If you have the packages somewhere nonstandard and don't want to bother
3269 with @samp{$prefix} (for example, you're a developer and are compiling
3270 the packages yourself, and want your own private copy of everything),
3271 you can also directly specify this using @file{configure}. To do this
3272 with 21.5 and above use the @samp{--with-package-prefix} parameter to
3273 specify the directory under which you untarred the above tarballs.
3274 Under 21.4 and previous you need to use @samp{--package-path}. Using
3275 these options looks something like this:
3278 configure --package-path="~/.xemacs::/src/xemacs/site-packages:/src/xemacs/xemacs-packages:/src/xemacs/mule-packages" ...
3281 Under Windows, you need to place the above @samp{tar.gz} files in the
3282 directory specified using the @samp{PACKAGE_PREFIX} value in
3283 @file{nt/config.inc} and by default is @file{\Program Files\XEmacs}.
3284 (To untar a @samp{tar.gz} file you will need to use a utility such as
3285 WinZip, unless you have Cygwin or a similar environment installed, in
3286 which case the above Unix shell command should work fine.) If you want
3287 the packages somewhere else, just change @samp{PACKAGE_PREFIX}.
3289 Note that XEmacs finds the packages automatically anywhere underneath
3290 the directory tree where it expects to find the packages. All you
3291 need to do is put stuff there; you don't need to run any program to
3292 tell XEmacs to find the packges, or do anything of that sort.
3294 However, XEmacs will only notice newly installed packages when it
3295 starts up, so you will have to restart if you are already running
3298 For more details, @xref{Startup Paths,,,xemacs, the XEmacs User's
3299 Manual}, and @xref{Packages,,,xemacs, the XEmacs User's Manual}.
3301 As the Sumo tarballs are not regenerated as often as the individual
3302 packages, it is recommended that you use the automatic package tools
3303 afterwards to pick up any recent updates.
3305 @emph{NOTE}: For detailed information about how the package
3306 hierarchies work, @xref{Package Overview,,,lispref, the XEmacs Lisp
3309 @node Q2.1.2, Q2.1.3, Q2.1.1, Installation
3310 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.2: Can I install the packages individually?
3312 Yes, you can download individual packages from the FTP site (@pxref{Q2.1.1}). Since packages are automatically noticed at startup, you just have to put them in the right place.
3314 Note: If you are upgrading packages already installed, it's best to
3315 remove the old package first (@pxref{Q2.1.4}).
3317 For example if we are installing the @samp{xemacs-base}
3318 package (version 1.48):
3321 mkdir $prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages RET # if it does not exist yet
3322 cd $prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages RET
3323 gunzip -c /path/to/xemacs-base-1.48-pkg.tar.gz | tar xvf - RET
3326 Or if you have GNU tar, the last step can be:
3329 tar zxvf /path/to/xemacs-base-1.48-pkg.tar.gz RET
3332 For MULE related packages, it is best to untar into the @samp{mule-packages}
3333 hierarchy, i.e. for the @samp{mule-base} package, version 1.37:
3336 mkdir $prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages RET # if it does not exist yet
3337 cd $prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages RET
3338 gunzip -c /path/to/mule-base-1.37-pkg.tar.gz | tar xvf - RET
3341 Or if you have GNU tar, the last step can be:
3344 tar zxvf /path/to/mule-base-1.37-pkg.tar.gz RET
3347 @node Q2.1.3, Q2.1.4, Q2.1.2, Installation
3348 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.3: Can I install the packages automatically?
3350 XEmacs comes with some tools to make the periodic updating and
3351 installing easier. It will notice if new packages or versions are
3352 available and will fetch them from the FTP site.
3354 Unfortunately this requires that a few packages are already in place.
3355 You will have to install them by hand as above or use a SUMO tarball.
3356 This requirement will hopefully go away in the future. The packages
3360 efs - To fetch the files from the FTP site or mirrors.
3361 xemacs-base - Needed by efs.
3367 mailcrypt - For PGP verification of the package-index file.
3370 After installing these by hand, fire up XEmacs and follow these
3375 Choose a download site.
3378 via menu: Tools -> Packages -> Set Download Site
3380 via keyb: M-x customize-variable RET package-get-remote RET
3381 (put in the details of remote host and directory)
3384 If the package tarballs _AND_ the package-index file are in a
3385 local directory, you can: M-x pui-set-local-package-get-directory RET
3388 Obtain a list of packages and display the list in a buffer named
3392 menu: Tools -> Packages -> List & Install
3394 keyb: M-x pui-list-packages RET
3397 XEmacs will now connect to the remote site and download the
3398 latest package-index file.
3400 The resulting buffer, "*Packages*" has brief instructions at the
3404 Choose the packages you wish to install.
3407 mouse: Click button 2 on the package name.
3409 keyb: RET on the package name
3413 Make sure you have everything you need.
3416 menu: Packages -> Add Required
3421 XEmacs will now search for packages that are required by the
3422 ones that you have chosen to install and offer to select
3423 those packages also.
3425 For novices and gurus alike, this step can save your bacon.
3426 It's easy to forget to install a critical package.
3429 Download and install the packages.
3432 menu: Packages -> Install/Remove Selected
3438 @node Q2.1.4, Q2.1.5, Q2.1.3, Installation
3439 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.4: Can I upgrade or remove packages?
3441 As the exact files and their locations contained in a package may
3442 change it is recommended to remove a package first before installing a
3443 new version. In order to facilitate removal each package contains an
3444 pgkinfo/MANIFEST.pkgname file which list all the files belong to the
3445 package. M-x package-admin-delete-binary-package RET can be used to
3446 remove a package using this file.
3448 Note that the interactive package tools included with XEmacs already do
3451 @node Q2.1.5, Q2.1.6, Q2.1.4, Installation
3452 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.5: Which packages to install?
3454 Unless you are an advanced user, just install everything.
3456 If you really want to install only what's absolutely needed, a good
3457 minimal set of packages for XEmacs-latin1 would be
3460 xemacs-base, xemacs-devel, c-support, cc-mode, debug, dired, efs,
3461 edit-utils, fsf-compat, mail-lib, net-utils, os-utils, prog-modes,
3462 text-modes, time, mailcrypt
3465 If you are using the XEmacs package tools, don't forget to do:
3468 Packages -> Add Required
3471 To make sure you have everything that the packages you have chosen to
3474 @xref{Q1.7.2}, for a description of the various packages.
3476 @node Q2.1.6, Q2.1.7, Q2.1.5, Installation
3477 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.6: Can you describe the package location process in more detail?
3479 On startup XEmacs looks for packages in so-called package hierarchies.
3480 Normally, there are three system wide hierarchies, like this:
3483 $prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages/
3484 Normal packages go here.
3486 $prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages/
3487 Mule packages go here and are only searched by MULE-enabled XEmacsen.
3489 $prefix/lib/xemacs/site-packages/
3490 Local and 3rd party packages go here.
3493 This is what you get when you untar the SUMO tarballs under
3494 @file{$prefix/lib/xemacs}.
3496 @file{$prefix} is specified using the @samp{--prefix} parameter to
3497 @file{configure}, and defaults to @file{usr/local}.
3499 If the package path is not explicitly specified, XEmacs looks for the
3500 package directory @file{xemacs-packages} (and @file{mule-packages} and
3501 @file{site-packages}) first under @samp{~/.xemacs}, then for a sister
3502 directory @file{lib/xemacs-VERSION} of the directory in which the
3503 XEmacs executable is located, then for a sister directory
3504 @file{lib/xemacs}. The XEmacs executable (under Unix at least) is
3505 installed by default in @file{/usr/local/bin}; this explains why
3506 XEmacs in its default installation will find packages that you put
3507 under @file{/usr/local/lib/xemacs}.
3509 You can specify where exactly XEmacs looks for packages by using the
3510 @samp{--with-package-prefix} or @samp{--with-package-path} parameters to
3511 @file{configure} (or the equivalent settings in @file{config.inc}, under
3512 Windows), or setting the @samp{EMACSPACKAGEPATH} environment variable
3513 (which has the same format as @samp{--with-package-path}). @xref{Q2.1.1}.
3515 See @file{configure.usage} for more info about the format of these
3516 @file{configure} parameters.
3518 In addition to the system wide packages, each user can have his own
3519 packages installed under @file{~/.xemacs/}. If you want to install
3520 packages there using the interactive tools, you need to set
3521 @code{package-get-install-to-user-init-directory} to @code{t}.
3523 The site-packages hierarchy replaces the old @file{site-lisp}
3524 directory. XEmacs no longer looks into a @file{site-lisp} directly by
3525 default. A good place to put @file{site-start.el} would be in
3526 @file{$prefix/lib/xemacs/site-packages/lisp/}.
3528 @node Q2.1.7, Q2.2.1, Q2.1.6, Installation
3529 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.1.7: EFS fails with "500 AUTH not understood" (NEW)
3531 A typical error: FTP Error: USER request failed; 500 AUTH not understood.
3533 Thanks to giacomo boffi @email{giacomo.boffi@@polimi.it} who recommends
3534 on comp.emacs.xemacs:
3536 tell your ftp client to not attempt AUTH authentication (or do not
3537 use FTP servers that don't understand AUTH)
3539 and notes that you need to add an element (often "-u") to
3540 `efs-ftp-program-args'. Use M-x customize-variable, and verify the
3541 needed flag with `man ftp' or other local documentation.
3543 @unnumberedsec 2.2: Unix/Mac OS X Installation (Also Relevant to Cygwin, MinGW)
3545 @node Q2.2.1, Q2.2.2, Q2.1.7, Installation
3546 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.2.1: Libraries in non-standard locations
3548 If your libraries are in a non-standard location, you can specify the location
3549 using the following flags to @file{configure}. Under 21.4 or earlier:
3552 --site-libraries=WHATEVER
3553 --site-includes=WHATEVER
3556 Under 21.5 or later:
3559 --with-site-libraries=WHATEVER
3560 --with-site-includes=WHATEVER
3563 If you have multiple paths to specify, use the following syntax:
3566 --site-libraries='/path/one /path/two /path/etc'
3569 If the libraries and headers reside in the directories @samp{lib} and
3570 @samp{include} of a common root (say @samp{/sw}) then both can be
3571 specified with a single option:
3574 --site-prefixes=WHATEVER
3580 --with-site-prefixes=WHATEVER
3583 @node Q2.2.2, Q2.3.1, Q2.2.1, Installation
3584 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.2.2: Why can't I strip XEmacs?
3586 @email{cognot@@fronsac.ensg.u-nancy.fr, Richard Cognot} writes:
3589 Because of the way XEmacs (and every other Emacsen, AFAIK) is built. The
3590 link gives you a bare-boned emacs (called temacs). temacs is then run,
3591 preloading some of the lisp files. The result is then dumped into a new
3592 executable, named xemacs, which will contain all of the preloaded lisp
3595 Now, during the dump itself, the executable (code+data+symbols) is
3596 written on disk using a special unexec() function. This function is
3597 obviously heavily system dependent. And on some systems, it leads to an
3598 executable which, although valid, cannot be stripped without damage. If
3599 memory serves, this is especially the case for AIX binaries. On other
3600 architectures it might work OK.
3602 The Right Way to strip the emacs binary is to strip temacs prior to
3603 dumping xemacs. This will always work, although you can do that only if
3604 you install from sources (as temacs is @file{not} part of the binary
3608 @email{nat@@nataa.fr.eu.org, Nat Makarevitch} writes:
3615 [ ./configure; make ]
3627 cp src/xemacs /usr/local/bin/xemacs
3630 cp lib-src/DOC-19.16-XEmacs
3634 /usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.16/i586-unknown-linuxaout
3638 @unnumberedsec 2.3: Windows Installation (Windows, Cygwin, MinGW)
3640 @node Q2.3.1, Q2.3.2, Q2.2.2, Installation
3641 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.3.1: What exactly are all the different ways to build XEmacs under Windows?
3643 XEmacs can be built in several ways in the MS Windows environment.
3645 The standard way is what we call the "native" port. It uses the Win32
3646 API and has no connection with X whatsoever -- it does not require X
3647 libraries to build, nor does it require an X server to run. The native
3648 port is the most reliable version and provides the best graphical
3649 support. Almost all development is geared towards this version, and
3650 there is little reason not to use it.
3652 The second way to build is the Cygwin port. It takes advantage of
3653 Cygnus emulation library under Win32. @xref{Q1.2.5, What are Cygwin
3654 and MinGW, and do I need them to run XEmacs?}, for more information.
3656 A third way is the MinGW port. It uses the Cygwin environment to
3657 build but does not require it at runtime. @xref{Q1.2.5, What are
3658 Cygwin and MinGW, and do I need them to run XEmacs?}, for more
3661 Finally, you might also be able to build the non-Cygwin, non-MinGW "X"
3662 port. This was actually the first version of XEmacs that ran under MS
3663 Windows, and although the code is still in XEmacs, it's essentially
3664 orphaned and it's unlikely it will compile without a lot of work. If
3665 you want an MS Windows versin of XEmacs that supports X, use the Cygwin
3666 version. (The X support there is actively maintained, so that Windows
3667 developers can test the X support in XEmacs.)
3669 @node Q2.3.2, Q2.3.3, Q2.3.1, Installation
3670 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.3.2: What compiler/libraries do I need to compile XEmacs?
3672 You need Visual C++ 4.2, 5.0, or 6.0 for the native version. (We have
3673 some beta testers currently trying to compile with VC.NET, aka version
3674 7.0, but we can't yet report complete success.) For the Cygwin and
3675 MinGW versions, you need the Cygwin environment, which comes with GCC,
3676 the compiler used for those versions. @xref{Q1.2.5, What are Cygwin
3677 and MinGW, and do I need them to run XEmacs?}, for more information on
3680 @node Q2.3.3, Q2.3.4, Q2.3.2, Installation
3681 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.3.3: How do I compile the native port?
3683 Please read the file @file{nt/README} in the XEmacs distribution, which
3684 contains the full description.
3686 @node Q2.3.4, Q2.3.5, Q2.3.3, Installation
3687 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.3.4: What do I need for Cygwin?
3689 You can find the Cygwin tools and compiler at:
3691 @uref{http://www.cygwin.com/}
3693 Click on the @samp{Install or update now!} link, which will download a
3694 file @file{setup.exe}, which you can use to download everything
3695 else. (You will need to pick a mirror site; @samp{mirrors.rcn.net} is
3696 probably the best.) You should go ahead and install everything --
3697 you'll get various ancillary libraries that XEmacs needs or likes,
3698 e.g. XPM, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, etc. You can also get X Windows here, if you
3699 want to compile under X.
3701 If you want to compile without X, you will need the @file{xpm-nox}
3702 library, which must be specifically selected in the Cygwin netinstaller;
3703 it is not selected by default. The package has had various names.
3704 Currently it is called @file{cygXpm-noX4.dll}.
3706 @node Q2.3.5, Q2.3.6, Q2.3.4, Installation
3707 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.3.5: How do I compile under Cygwin?
3709 Similar as on Unix; use the usual `configure' and `make' process.
3710 Some problems to watch out for:
3714 make sure HOME is set. This controls where you
3715 @file{init.el} file comes from;
3718 @samp{CYGWIN} needs to be set to @samp{tty} for process support to work;
3721 picking up some other grep or other UNIX-like tools can kill configure;
3724 static heap too small, adjust @file{src/sheap-adjust.h} to a more positive
3728 (Unconfirmed) The Cygwin version doesn't understand
3729 @file{//machine/path} type paths so you will need to manually mount a
3730 directory of this form under a unix style directory for a build to work
3734 If you're building @strong{WITHOUT} X11, don't forget to change symlinks
3735 @file{/usr/lib/libXpm.a} and @file{/usr/lib/libXpm.dll.a} to point to
3736 the non-X versions of these libraries. By default they point to the X
3740 /usr/lib/libXpm.a -> /usr/lib/libXpm-noX.a
3741 /usr/lib/libXpm.dll.a -> /usr/lib/libXpm-noX.dll.a
3744 (This advice may now be obsolete because of the availability of the
3745 cygXpm-noX4.dll package from Cygwin. Send confirmation to
3746 @email{faq@@xemacs.org}.)
3749 Other problems are listed in the @file{PROBLEMS} file, in the top-level
3750 directory of the XEmacs sources.
3755 @node Q2.3.6, Q2.3.7, Q2.3.5, Installation
3756 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.3.6: How do I compile using MinGW (aka @samp{the -mno-cygwin flag to gcc})?
3758 Similar to the method for Unix. Things to remember:
3762 Specify the target host on the command line for @file{./configure}, e.g.
3763 @samp{./configure i586-pc-mingw32}.
3766 Be sure that your build directory is mounted such that it has the
3767 same path either as a cygwin path (@file{/build/xemacs}) or as a Windows
3768 path (@file{c:\build\xemacs}).
3771 Build @samp{gcc -mno-cygwin} versions of the extra libs, i.e. @file{libpng},
3772 @file{compface}, etc.
3775 Specify the target location of the extra libs on the command line
3776 to @file{configure}, e.g.for 21.4 or earlier
3777 @samp{./configure --site-prefixes=/build/libs i586-pc-mingw32} and for
3779 @samp{./configure --with-site-prefixes=/build/libs i586-pc-mingw32}.
3782 @node Q2.3.7, Q2.3.8, Q2.3.6, Installation
3783 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.3.7: How do I compile with X support?
3785 To compile under Cygwin, all you need to do is install XFree86, which
3786 is available as part of the standard Cygwin installation.
3787 @uref{http://www.cygwin.com/}. Once installed, @file{configure}
3788 should automatically find the X libraries and compile with X support.
3790 As noted above, the non-Cygwin X support is basically orphaned, and
3791 probably won't work. But if it want to try, it's described in
3792 @file{nt/README} in some detail. Basically, you need to get X11
3793 libraries from @uref{http://ftp.x.org}, and compile them. If the
3794 precompiled versions are available somewhere, we don't know of it.
3796 @node Q2.3.8, Q2.4.1, Q2.3.7, Installation
3797 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.3.8: Cygwin XEmacs won't start -- cygXpm-noX4.dll was not found (NEW)
3799 The Cygwin binary distributed with the netinstaller uses an external DLL
3800 to handle XPM images (such as toolbar buttons). You may get an error like
3803 This application has failed to start because cygXpm-noX4.dll was not found.
3804 Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
3807 Andy Piper <andy@@xemacs.org> sez:
3810 cygXpm-noX4 is part of the cygwin distribution under libraries or
3811 graphics, but is not installed by default. You need to run the
3812 cygwin setup again and select this package.
3815 Ie, reinstalling XEmacs won't help because it is not part of the XEmacs
3818 @unnumberedsec 2.4: General Troubleshooting
3820 @node Q2.4.1, Q2.4.2, Q2.3.8, Installation
3821 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.1: How do I deal with bugs or with problems building, installing, or running?
3823 The file @file{PROBLEMS} contains information on many common problems that
3824 occur in building, installing and running XEmacs.
3826 Reports of bugs in XEmacs should be sent to
3827 @email{xemacs-beta@@xemacs.org}. You can also post to the newsgroup
3828 comp.emacs.xemacs (or equivalentlt, send to the mailing list
3829 @email{xemacs@@xemacs.org}), but it is less likely that the developers
3830 will see it in a timely fashion. @xref{Bugs,,, xemacs, the XEmacs
3831 User's Manual}, for more information on how to report bugs.
3832 @xref{Q1.4.2}, for more information on mailing lists relating to
3835 There are three ways to read the Bugs section.
3839 In a printed copy of the XEmacs manual.
3842 With Info. First, start XEmacs. From the menu, select
3843 @samp{Help->Info (Online Docs)->Info Contents} to enter Info, then
3844 click on @samp{XEmacs}, then on @samp{Bugs}. Or, use the keyboard: do
3845 @kbd{C-h i} to enter Info, then @kbd{m XEmacs RET} to get to the Emacs
3846 manual, then @kbd{m Bugs RET} to get to the section on bugs. Or use
3847 standalone Info in a like manner. (Standalone Info is part of the
3848 Texinfo distribution, not part of the XEmacs distribution.)
3853 cat info/xemacs* | more "+/^File: xemacs.info, Node: Bugs,"
3857 @node Q2.4.2, Q2.4.3, Q2.4.1, Installation
3858 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.2: Help! XEmacs just crashed on me!
3860 First of all, don't panic. Whenever XEmacs crashes, it tries extremely
3861 hard to auto-save all of your files before dying. (The main time that
3862 this will not happen is if the machine physically lost power or if you
3863 killed the XEmacs process using @code{kill -9}). The next time you try
3864 to edit those files, you will be informed that a more recent auto-save
3865 file exists. You can use @kbd{M-x recover-file} to retrieve the
3866 auto-saved version of the file.
3868 You can use the command @kbd{M-x recover-session} after a crash to pick
3869 up where you left off.
3871 Now, XEmacs is not perfect, and there may occasionally be times, or
3872 particular sequences of actions, that cause it to crash. If you can
3873 come up with a reproducible way of doing this (or even if you have a
3874 pretty good memory of exactly what you were doing at the time), the
3875 maintainers would be very interested in knowing about it. The best
3876 way to report a bug is using @kbd{M-x report-emacs-bug} (or by
3877 selecting @samp{Send Bug Report...} from the Help menu). If that
3878 won't work (e.g. you can't get XEmacs working at all), send ordinary
3879 mail to @email{xemacs-beta@@xemacs.org}. @emph{MAKE SURE} to include
3880 the output from the crash, especially including the Lisp backtrace, as
3881 well as the XEmacs configuration from @kbd{M-x describe-installation}
3882 (or equivalently, the file @file{Installation} in the top of the build
3883 tree). Note that the developers do @emph{not} usually follow
3884 @samp{comp.emacs.xemacs} on a regular basis; thus, this is better for
3885 general questions about XEmacs than bug reports.
3887 If at all possible, include a C stack backtrace of the core dump that
3888 was produced. This shows where exactly things went wrong, and makes
3889 it much easier to diagnose problems. To do this under Unix and Mac OS
3890 X, you need to locate the core file (it's called @file{core}, and is
3891 usually sitting in the directory that you started XEmacs from, or your
3892 home directory if that other directory was not writable). Then, go to
3893 that directory and execute a command like:
3896 gdb `which xemacs` core
3899 and then issue the command @samp{where} to get the stack backtrace. You
3900 might have to use @code{dbx} or some similar debugger in place of
3901 @code{gdb}. If you don't have any such debugger available, complain to
3902 your system administrator.
3904 It's possible that a core file didn't get produced or the stack trace
3905 from gdb is garbage, in which case you're out of luck unless you can
3906 reproduce the bug. A nonexistent core file can happen in some
3907 circumstances on some operating systems, depending on what exactly
3908 triggered the crash. It's also possible, however, that your limits
3909 are set to turn them off. You may be able to reenable them using a
3910 command like @samp{unlimit coredumpsize} or @samp{ulimit -c}. (To find
3911 out how your limits are set, use the command @samp{limit}.) However, if
3912 you didn't explicitly set your limits this way, go complain to your
3913 system administrator and tell him not to disable core files by
3916 A garbaged stack trace can happen for various reasons. Some versions
3917 of gdb are broken on certain operating systems and aren't able to read
3918 the core file. It's also possible that the stack got overwritten
3919 during the crash. A very simple reason, however, is that your version
3920 of XEmacs was compiled without debugging information or had the
3921 debugging information stripped. A compilation with optimization can
3922 also result in partly or completely garbaged stack trace. In such
3923 cases, you will need to recompile XEmacs with debugging information
3924 and without optimization; @xref{Q2.4.4, How to debug an XEmacs problem
3925 with a debugger}. Note also that core files currently don't work at
3926 all under Cygwin, and the only way to get a backtrace is to run XEmacs
3929 If you cannot get a backtrace from the core dump, but can reproduce
3930 the problem, try running XEmacs under gdb. The goal is to get clean C
3931 and Lisp backtraces and submit a bug report including full
3932 configuration information as described above, as this will greatly
3933 assist in the process of tracking down the bug. However, even partial
3934 information is better than none. The process of getting backtraces
3935 from gdb is described in detail in @ref{Q2.4.4, How to debug an XEmacs
3936 problem with a debugger}.
3938 If you're under Microsoft Windows, you're out of luck unless you happen
3939 to have a debugging aid installed on your system, for example Visual
3940 C++. In this case, the crash will result in a message giving you the
3941 option to enter a debugger (for example, by pressing @samp{Cancel}). Do
3942 this and locate the stack-trace window. (If your XEmacs was built
3943 without debugging information, the stack trace may not be very useful.)
3945 When making a problem report make sure that:
3949 Report @strong{all} of the information output by XEmacs during the
3953 You mention what O/S and Hardware you are running XEmacs on.
3956 What version of XEmacs you are running.
3959 What build options you are using.
3962 If the problem is related to graphics and you are running Unix or Mac
3963 OS X, we will also need to know what version of the X Window System
3964 you are running, and what window manager you are using.
3967 If the problem happened on a TTY, please include the terminal type.
3970 Try very hard to get both C and Lisp backtraces, as described above.
3973 Much of the information above is automatically generated by @kbd{M-x
3974 report-emacs-bug}. Even more, and often useful, information can be
3975 generated by redirecting the output of @code{make} and @code{make check}
3976 to a file (@file{beta.err} is the default used by @code{build-report}),
3977 and executing @kbd{M-x build-report}.
3980 @node Q2.4.3, Q2.4.4, Q2.4.2, Installation
3981 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.3: XEmacs crashes and I compiled it myself.
3983 There have been a variety of reports of crashes due to compilers with
3984 buggy optimizers. If you are compiling with optimization, consider
3985 turning it off (@pxref{Q2.4.4, How to debug an XEmacs problem with a
3986 debugger}) and recompiling.
3988 Please see the @file{PROBLEMS} file that comes with XEmacs (it's in
3989 the top-level source directory) to read what it says about your
3992 If you compiled XEmacs 21.4 or ealier using @samp{--use-union-type}, or
3993 21.5 or later using @samp{--enable-union-type} (or in either case used
3994 the option @samp{USE_UNION_TYPE} in @file{config.inc} under Windows),
3995 try recompiling again without it. The union type has been known to
3996 trigger compiler errors in a number of cases.
3998 @node Q2.4.4, Q2.4.5, Q2.4.3, Installation
3999 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.4: How to debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger
4001 If XEmacs does crash on you, one of the most productive things you can
4002 do to help get the bug fixed is to poke around a bit with the debugger.
4003 Here are some hints:
4007 First of all, if the crash is at all reproducible, consider very
4008 strongly recompiling your XEmacs with debugging symbols and with no
4009 optimization (e.g. with GCC use the compiler flags @samp{-g -O0} --
4010 that's an "oh" followed by a zero), and with the configure options
4011 @samp{--debug=yes} and @samp{--error-checking=all}
4012 (@samp{--enable-debug=yes} and @samp{--enable-error-checking=all} on
4013 XEmacs 21.5 or later). This will make your XEmacs run somewhat slower,
4014 but you are a lot more likely to catch the problem earlier (closer to
4015 its source). It makes it a lot easier to determine what's going on with
4016 a debugger. The way to control the compiler flags is with the
4017 configuration option @samp{--cflags} (@samp{--with-cflags} in 21.5). If
4018 you have a recent version of 21.5, you should use
4019 @samp{--without-optimization} in preference to directly setting
4023 If it's not a true crash (@emph{i.e.}, XEmacs is hung, or a zombie
4024 process), or it's inconvenient to run XEmacs again because XEmacs is
4025 already running or is running in batch mode as part of a bunch of
4026 scripts, you may be able to attach to the existing process with your
4027 debugger. Under Unix and Mac OS X, the typical way to do this is to
4028 first use some variant of the @samp{ps} command to figure out the
4029 process ID of XEmacs, for example @samp{ps -auxww | grep xemacs} under
4030 a BSD variant, @samp{ps -elf | grep xemacs} under Linux or System V,
4031 or @samp{ps -aW | grep xemacs} under Cygwin. Then run
4034 gdb /path/to/xemacs/xemacs ####
4037 Where @code{####} is the process id of your XEmacs. (If you're not
4038 sure, try using @samp{which xemacs}.) When gdb attaches, the xemacs
4039 will stop and you can type @samp{where} in gdb to get a stack trace as
4040 usual. To get things moving again, you can just type @samp{quit} in
4041 gdb. It'll tell you the program is running and ask if you want to
4042 quit anyways. Say @samp{y} and it'll quit and have your emacs
4043 continue from where it was at.
4045 If you're running another debugger, a similar method may work, or you
4046 may have to run the debugger first and then use the @code{attach}
4047 command or something similar.
4049 Under Microsoft Windows, use the menu item @samp{Build->Start
4050 Debug->Attach to Process...} and select the XEmacs process from the list
4054 If you're able to run XEmacs under a debugger and reproduce the crash,
4055 here are some things you can do:
4058 If XEmacs is hitting an assertion failure, put a breakpoint on
4059 @code{assert_failed()}.
4062 If XEmacs is hitting some weird Lisp error that's causing it to crash
4063 (e.g. during startup), put a breakpoint on @code{signal_1()}---this is
4064 declared static in @file{eval.c}.
4067 If XEmacs is outputting lots of X errors, put a breakpoint on
4068 @code{x_error_handler()}; that will tell you which call is causing
4069 them. Note that the result may not be very useful by default because
4070 X Windows normally operates asynchronously: A bunch of commands are
4071 buffered up and then sent to the server all at once. This greatly
4072 improves performance over a network but means that an error may not be
4073 reported until the server receives the commands, which can be long
4074 after XEmacs made the erroneous calls. For best results, you need to
4075 make the X server synchronous before getting the backtrace. This can
4076 be done by starting XEmacs with the @samp{-sync} option or executing
4077 the Lisp code @code{(x-debug-mode t)}.
4080 Internally, you will probably see lots of variables that hold objects of
4081 type @code{Lisp_Object}. These are references to Lisp objects.
4082 Printing them out with the debugger probably won't be too
4083 useful---you'll likely just see a number. To decode them, do this:
4086 call debug_print (OBJECT)
4089 where @var{OBJECT} is whatever you want to decode (it can be a variable,
4090 a function call, etc.). This uses the Lisp printing routines to out a
4091 readable representation on the TTY from which the xemacs process was
4094 Under 21.5 and later, @code{dp} is defined as an easier-to-type equivalent
4095 of @code{debug_print}. You can also try @code{dpa} if you can't see
4096 the output from @code{debug_print} (this will return a string containing
4097 the output), or use @code{debug_p3} if @code{debug_print} itself triggers
4098 a crash (this is a less comprehensive but super-safe way to print out
4102 If you want to get a Lisp backtrace showing the Lisp call
4106 call debug_backtrace ()
4109 Under 21.5 and later, @code{db} is defined as an easier-to-type equivalent
4110 of @code{debug_backtrace}.
4113 Using @code{debug_print} and @code{debug_backtrace} has two
4114 disadvantages - they can only be used with a running (including hung
4115 or zombie) xemacs process, and they do not display the internal C
4116 structure of a Lisp Object. Even if all you've got is a core dump,
4119 If you're using GDB, there are some macros in the file
4120 @file{src/.gdbinit} in the XEmacs source distribution that should make
4121 it easier for you to decode Lisp objects. This file is automatically
4122 read by gdb if gdb is run in the directory where xemacs was built, and
4123 contains these useful macros to inspect the state of xemacs:
4127 Usage: pobj lisp_object @*
4128 Print the internal C representation of a lisp object.
4131 Usage: xtype lisp_object @*
4132 Print the Lisp type of a lisp object.
4136 Print the current Lisp stack trace.
4137 Requires a running xemacs process. (It works by calling the db
4138 routine described above.)
4141 Usage: ldp lisp_object @*
4142 Print a Lisp Object value using the Lisp printer.
4143 Requires a running xemacs process. (It works by calling the dp
4144 routine described above.)
4147 Usage: run-temacs @*
4148 Run temacs interactively, like xemacs.
4149 Use this with debugging tools (like purify) that cannot deal with dumping,
4150 or when temacs builds successfully, but xemacs does not.
4153 Usage: dump-temacs @*
4154 Run the dumping part of the build procedure.
4155 Use when debugging temacs, not xemacs!
4156 Use this when temacs builds successfully, but xemacs does not.
4159 Usage: check-xemacs @*
4160 Run the test suite. Equivalent to 'make check'.
4163 Usage: check-temacs @*
4164 Run the test suite on temacs. Equivalent to 'make check-temacs'.
4165 Use this with debugging tools (like purify) that cannot deal with dumping,
4166 or when temacs builds successfully, but xemacs does not.
4169 If you are using Sun's @file{dbx} debugger, there is an equivalent file
4170 @file{src/.dbxrc}, which defines the same commands for dbx.
4173 If you're using a debugger to get a C stack backtrace and you're seeing
4174 stack traces with some of the innermost frames mangled, it may be due to
4175 dynamic linking. (This happens especially under Linux.) Consider
4176 reconfiguring with @samp{--dynamic=no} (@samp{--with-dynamic=no} in 21.5
4177 or later). Also, sometimes (again under Linux), stack backtraces of
4178 core dumps will have the frame where the fatal signal occurred mangled;
4179 if you can obtain a stack trace while running the XEmacs process under a
4180 debugger, the stack trace should be clean.
4182 @email{1CMC3466@@ibm.mtsac.edu, Curtiss} suggests upgrading to ld.so
4183 version 1.8 if dynamic linking and debugging is a problem on Linux.
4186 If you're using a debugger to get a C stack backtrace and you're
4187 getting a completely mangled and bogus stack trace, it's probably due to
4188 one of the following:
4192 Your executable has been stripped. Bad news. Tell your sysadmin not to
4193 do this---it doesn't accomplish anything except to save a bit of disk
4194 space, and makes debugging much much harder.
4197 Your stack is getting trashed. Debugging this is hard; you have to do a
4198 binary-search type of narrowing down where the crash occurs, until you
4199 figure out exactly which line is causing the problem. Of course, this
4200 only works if the bug is highly reproducible. Also, in many cases if
4201 you run XEmacs from the debugger, the debugger can protect the stack
4202 somewhat. However, if the stack is being smashed, it is typically the
4203 case that there is a wild pointer somewhere in the program, often quite
4204 far from where the crash occurs.
4207 If your stack trace has exactly one frame in it, with address 0x0, this
4208 could simply mean that XEmacs attempted to execute code at that address,
4209 e.g. through jumping to a null function pointer. Unfortunately, under
4210 those circumstances, GDB under Linux doesn't know how to get a stack
4211 trace. (Yes, this is the fourth Linux-related problem I've mentioned. I
4212 have no idea why GDB under Linux is so bogus. Complain to the GDB
4213 authors, or to comp.os.linux.development.system.) Again, you'll have to
4214 use the narrowing-down process described above.
4217 You will get a Lisp backtrace output when XEmacs crashes, so you'll have
4223 If you compile with the newer gcc variants gcc-2.8 or egcs, you will
4224 also need gdb 4.17 or above. Earlier releases of gdb can't handle the
4225 debug information generated by the newer compilers.
4228 In versions of XEmacs before 21.2.27, @file{src/.gdbinit} was named
4229 @file{src/gdbinit}. This had the disadvantage of not being sourced
4230 automatically by gdb, so you had to set that up yourself.
4233 If you are running Microsoft Windows, the the file @file{nt/README} for
4234 further information about debugging XEmacs.
4238 @node Q2.4.5, Q2.4.6, Q2.4.4, Installation
4239 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.5: I get a cryptic error message when trying to do something.
4241 When I try to use some particular option of some particular package, I
4242 get a cryptic error message in the minibuffer.
4244 If the message went by too quickly, use @samp{Help->Recent Messages}
4245 from the menubar (or type @kbd{C-h l}) to see recent messages.
4247 If you can't figure out what's going on, select
4248 @samp{Options->Troubleshooting->Debug on Error} from the menubar (or
4249 type @kbd{M-:} then @kbd{(setq debug-on-error t)}) then try and make
4250 the error happen again. This will put in the debugger (you can get
4251 out of this and continue what you were doing before by typing @kbd{c})
4252 and give you a backtrace that may be enlightening. If not, try
4253 reading through this FAQ; if that fails, you could try posting to
4254 @samp{comp.emacs.xemacs} (making sure to include the backtrace) and
4255 someone may be able to help. If you can identify which XEmacs Lisp
4256 source file the error is coming from you can get a more detailed stack
4257 backtrace by doing the following:
4261 Visit the .el file in an XEmacs buffer.
4264 Issue the command @kbd{M-x eval-current-buffer}.
4267 Reproduce the error.
4270 For more information on debugging Lisp code, @xref{Debugging,,,
4271 lispref, XEmacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
4273 @node Q2.4.6, Q2.4.7, Q2.4.5, Installation
4274 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.6: XEmacs hangs when I try to do something.
4276 XEmacs might just be slow; some operations take a long time. XEmacs
4277 may also be waiting on a response from the network, for example when
4278 you are trying to send mail.
4280 You can usually interrupt XEmacs by typing @kbd{C-g}. If not (for
4281 example, Lisp code explicitly disabled this by setting
4282 @code{inhibit-quit}), you can use the "critical quit" mechanism by
4283 typing @kbd{Control-Shift-G}. This should also pop you into the
4284 debugger and give you a backtrace, which can tell you where the
4285 problem is (@pxref{Q2.4.4, How to debug an XEmacs problem with a
4286 debugger}). (Note that setting @code{debug-on-quit} or selecting
4287 @samp{Options->Troubleshooting->Debug on Quit} will also cause regular
4288 @kbd{C-g} to enter the debugger and give you a backtrace.)
4290 If you can't interrupt XEmacs this way, or for some reason XEmacs is
4291 not talking to the keyboard, you can try sending the @samp{SIGINT}
4292 signal using the @samp{kill} command.
4294 If the Lisp backtrace isn't enlightening, or if XEmacs is so hung that
4295 you can't interrupt it at all, you could try attaching to the process
4296 and getting a C stack backtrace. @xref{Q2.4.4, How to debug an XEmacs
4297 problem with a debugger}.
4299 @node Q2.4.7, Q2.4.8, Q2.4.6, Installation
4300 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.7: I get an error message when XEmacs is running in batch mode.
4302 Typically this happens when you are trying to compile some Elisp code.
4303 If you are doing this as part of XEmacs or the XEmacs packages, you
4304 should automatically get a backtrace, which can help you determine the
4305 source of the problem. In other cases, you can get equivalent results
4306 by setting the environment variable @samp{XEMACSDEBUG} to @samp{(setq
4307 stack-trace-on-error t load-always-display-messages t
4308 load-ignore-out-of-date-elc-files t load-show-full-path-in-messages
4309 t)} (this needs to be all on one line; to set an environment variable,
4310 use @samp{export XEMACSDEBUG='FOO'} under @samp{bash}, @samp{zsh},
4311 etc. or @samp{setenv XEMACSDEBUG 'FOO'} under @samp{csh} and
4312 @samp{tcsh}). @samp{XEMACSDEBUG} specifies Lisp code that will be
4313 executed at startup time.
4315 If the backtrace is not sufficiently useful in helping you diagnose
4316 the problem, you should consider using a debugger such as GDB.
4317 @xref{Q2.4.4, How to debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger}. You
4318 probably want to set a breakpoint on @code{signal_1}. Since such
4319 errors often occur during compiling, which is often triggered by a
4320 complex command run from a make suite, it may be easier to attach to
4321 the process once it's running.
4323 Under Microsoft Windows (and perhaps other operating systems), there is
4324 another useful trick you can do if you have configured with debugging
4325 support (configure option @samp{--debug} (@samp{--with-debug} in 21.5)
4326 or setting @samp{DEBUG_XEMACS} in @file{nt/config.inc}). Set the
4327 environment variable @samp{XEMACSDEBUG} (as described above) to
4328 @samp{(setq debug-on-error t)}. Then, when an error occurs
4329 noninteractively, instead of trying to invoke the Lisp debugger (which
4330 obviously won't work), XEmacs will break out to a C debugger using
4331 @code{(force-debugging-signal t)}. @emph{NOTE}: This runs
4332 @code{abort()}!!! (As well as and after executing INT 3 under MS
4333 Windows, which should invoke a debugger if it's active.) This is
4334 guaranteed to kill XEmacs! (But in this situation, XEmacs is about to
4335 die anyway, and if no debugger is present, this will usefully dump
4338 @node Q2.4.8, Q2.4.9, Q2.4.7, Installation
4339 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.8: The keyboard or mouse is not working properly, or I have some other event-related problem.
4341 XEmacs has various facilities for debugging event handling.
4343 First, try setting the variable @code{debug-emacs-events} to non-zero.
4344 This will output various information showing which events are being
4345 received and how they are being translated. This may show you, for
4346 example, that a key command is getting intercepted using
4347 @code{key-translation-map}; this problem can otherwise be very tricky
4350 Under X, you can see exactly which events are being received from the
4351 window system by setting @code{x-debug-events} to non-zero. (The value
4352 @samp{1} gives you regular output, and @samp{2} gives you verbose
4353 output, including all parameters.)
4355 A similar facility exists under MS Windows: Set
4356 @code{debug-mswindows-events} to non-zero. (The value @samp{1} gives
4357 you regular output. The value @samp{2} gives you verbose output,
4358 including all parameters. The value @samp{3} gives you
4359 super-gorily-detailed output.)
4361 @node Q2.4.9, Q2.4.10, Q2.4.8, Installation
4362 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.9: @kbd{C-g} doesn't work for me. Is it broken?
4364 @kbd{C-g} does work for most people in most circumstances. If it
4365 doesn't, there are two possible explanations:
4369 XEmacs is hung in a way that prevents @kbd{C-g} from working. This
4370 can happen when code is wrapped with a binding of @code{inhibit-quit}
4371 to @code{t}; you should still be able interrupt XEmacs using "critical
4372 quit". On the other hand, XEmacs may be seriously wedged. (If you're
4373 lucky, sending @samp{SIGINT} to the XEmacs process will interrupt it.)
4374 @xref{Q2.4.6, XEmacs hangs when I try to do something.}.
4377 @kbd{C-g} is indeed broken on your system. To test, try executing
4378 @code{(while t)} from the @samp{*scratch*} buffer. If @kbd{C-g}
4379 doesn't interrupt, then it's broken. This used to happen with systems
4380 where @samp{SIGIO} was broken, but @samp{BROKEN_SIGIO} wasn't defined.
4381 However, there may not be very many such systems nowadays.
4384 @node Q2.4.10, Q2.4.11, Q2.4.9, Installation
4385 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.10: How do I debug process-related problems?
4387 Under MS Windows, you can set the variable
4388 @code{debug-mswindows-process-command-lines} to non-@samp{nil} to get
4389 information on exactly what is getting passed to a process. This can
4390 be useful in determining problems with quoting. (Under Unix, a process
4391 receives each argument separately, but under MS Windows a single
4392 command line is received, and arguments with spaces or other special
4393 characters in them must be quoted. Unfortunately this means that each
4394 process, potentially at least, has its own quoting conventions, and
4395 the code to process quoting conventions in @file{cmd.exe}, the Visual
4396 C++ startup code and the like is baroque and poorly documented.
4397 XEmacs uses the variable
4398 @code{mswindows-construct-process-command-line-alist} to construct a
4399 command line from a list of arguments based on the command to be run,
4400 but it is (and cannot be) a perfect solution.)
4402 @node Q2.4.11, Q2.4.12, Q2.4.10, Installation
4403 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.11: XEmacs is outputting lots of X errors.
4405 If this is happening, we would very much like to know what's causing
4406 them. To find this out, see @ref{Q2.4.4, How to debug an XEmacs
4407 problem with a debugger}. Try to get both a C and Lisp backtrace, and
4408 send them along with the full error output to
4409 @email{xemacs-beta@@xemacs.org}.
4411 @node Q2.4.12, Q2.5.1, Q2.4.11, Installation
4412 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.4.12: After upgrading, XEmacs won't do `foo' any more!
4414 You have been used to doing `foo', but now when you invoke it (or
4415 click the toolbar button or select the menu item), nothing (or an
4416 error) happens. The simplest explanation is that you are missing a
4417 package that is essential to you. You can either track it down and
4418 install it (there is a list of packages and brief descriptions of
4419 their contents in @file{etc/PACKAGES}), or install the `Sumo Tarball'
4420 (@pxref{Q2.1.2, How do I figure out which packages to install?}).
4422 @c #### should xref to XEmacs manual here
4424 @unnumberedsec 2.5: Startup-Related Problems
4426 @node Q2.5.1, Q2.5.2, Q2.4.12, Installation
4427 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.5.1: XEmacs cannot connect to my X Terminal!
4429 Help! I can not get XEmacs to display on my Envizex X-terminal!
4431 Try setting the @code{DISPLAY} variable using the numeric IP address of
4432 the host you are running XEmacs from.
4434 @node Q2.5.2, Q2.5.3, Q2.5.1, Installation
4435 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.5.2 Startup problems related to paths or package locations.
4437 First of all, if XEmacs can't find the packages, check to make sure
4438 that you put the packages in the right place, or that you told XEmacs
4439 where to look for the packages when you compiled it. @xref{Q2.1.1}.
4441 If something is still going wrong, or you get a startup warning about
4442 not being able to deduce some paths, you can get detailed information
4443 on the path-searching process at startup by setting the environment
4444 variable @samp{EMACSDEBUGPATHS} to a non-null value. One thing to
4445 look for if you're having package problems is the value of
4446 @samp{configure-package-path}. This corresponds to what was compiled
4447 into XEmacs using the @samp{--package-prefix} or @samp{--package-path}
4448 parameter (@pxref{Q2.1.1}). If this has the value of @samp{nil},
4449 this means that no value was compiled into XEmacs using these parameters.
4451 @node Q2.5.3, Q2.5.4, Q2.5.2, Installation
4452 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.5.3: XEmacs won't start without network.
4454 If XEmacs starts when you're on the network, but fails when you're not
4455 on the network, you may be missing a "localhost" entry in your
4456 @file{/etc/hosts} file. The file should contain an entry like:
4462 Add that line, and XEmacs will be happy.
4464 @node Q2.5.4, Q2.5.5, Q2.5.3, Installation
4465 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.5.4: Startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
4467 How can I avoid the startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
4469 This is highly dependent on your installation, but try with the
4470 following font as your base font for XEmacs and see what it does:
4473 -adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
4476 More precisely, do the following in your resource file:
4479 Emacs.default.attributeFont: \
4480 -adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
4483 If you just don't want to see the @samp{*Warnings*} buffer at startup
4484 time, you can set this:
4487 (setq display-warning-minimum-level 'error)
4490 The buffer still exists; it just isn't in your face.
4492 @node Q2.5.5, Q2.5.6, Q2.5.4, Installation
4493 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.5.5: Warnings from incorrect key modifiers.
4495 The following information comes from the @file{PROBLEMS} file that comes
4498 If you're having troubles with HP/UX it is because HP/UX defines the
4499 modifiers wrong in X. Here is a shell script to fix the problem; be
4500 sure that it is run after VUE configures the X server.
4504 xmodmap 2> /dev/null - << EOF
4505 keysym Alt_L = Meta_L
4506 keysym Alt_R = Meta_R
4511 keysym Mode_switch = NoSymbol
4513 keysym Meta_R = Mode_switch
4514 add mod2 = Mode_switch
4518 @node Q2.5.6, , Q2.5.5, Installation
4519 @unnumberedsubsec Q2.5.6: XEmacs 21.1 on Windows used to spawn an ugly console window on every startup. Has that been fixed?
4523 The console was there because @file{temacs} (and in turn, @file{xemacs})
4524 was a console application, and Windows typically creates a new
4525 console for a console process unless the creating process requests that
4526 one isn't created. This used to be fixed with @file{runemacs}, a small
4527 Windows application that existed merely to start @file{xemacs}, stating
4528 that it didn't want a console.
4530 XEmacs 21.4 fixes this cleanly by the virtue of being a true "GUI"
4531 application. The explanation of what that means is included for
4534 When building an application to be run in a Win32 environment, you must
4535 state which sub-system it is to run in. Valid subsystems include
4536 "console" and "gui". The subsystem you use affects the run time
4537 libraries linked into your application, the start up function that is
4538 run before control is handed over to your application, the entry point
4539 to your program, and how Windows normally invokes your program. (Console
4540 programs automatically get a console created for them at startup if
4541 their stdin/stdout don't point anywhere useful, which is the case when
4542 run from the GUI. This is a stupid design, of course -- instead, the
4543 console should get created only when the first I/O actually occurs!
4544 GUI programs have an equally stupid design: When called from
4545 @file{CMD.EXE}/@file{COMMAND.COM}, their stdin/stdout will be set to
4546 point nowhere useful, even though the command shell has its own
4547 stdin/stdout. It's as if someone who had learned a bit about stdio but
4548 had no actual knowledge of interprocess communication designed the
4549 scheme; unfortunately, the whole process-communication aspect of the
4550 Win32 API is equally badly designed.) For example, the entry point for a
4551 console app is "main" (which is what you'd expect for a C/C++ program),
4552 but the entry point for a "gui" app is "WinMain". This confuses and
4553 annoys a lot of programmers who've grown up on Unix systems, where the
4554 kernel doesn't really care whether your application is a gui program or
4557 For reasons not altogether clear, and are lost in the mists of time and
4558 tradition, XEmacs on Win32 started out as a console application, and
4559 therefore a console was automatically created for it. (It may have been
4560 made a console application partly because a console is needed in some
4561 circumstances, especially under Win95, to interrupt, terminate, or send
4562 signals to a child process, and because of the bogosity mentioned above
4563 with GUI programs and the standard command shell. Currently, XEmacs
4564 just creates and immediately hides a console when necessary, and
4565 works around the "no useful stdio" problem by creating its own console
4566 window as necessary to display messages in.)
4568 @node Editing, Display, Installation, Top
4569 @unnumbered 3 Editing Functions
4571 This is part 3 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
4572 section is devoted to the editing-related capabilities of XEmacs (the
4573 keyboard, mouse, buffers, text selections, etc.) and how to customize
4578 * Q3.0.1:: How can I customize the keyboard?
4579 * Q3.0.2:: How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to keys?
4580 * Q3.0.3:: How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and down?
4581 * Q3.0.4:: Globally binding @kbd{Delete}?
4582 * Q3.0.5:: How to map @kbd{Help} key alone on Sun type4 keyboard?
4583 * Q3.0.6:: How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?
4584 * Q3.0.7:: Can I turn on @dfn{sticky} modifier keys?
4585 * Q3.0.8:: How do I map the arrow keys?
4586 * Q3.0.9:: HP Alt key as Meta.
4587 * Q3.0.10:: Why does edt emulation not work?
4588 * Q3.0.11:: How can I emulate VI and use it as my default mode?
4591 * Q3.1.1:: How can I turn off Mouse pasting?
4592 * Q3.1.2:: How do I set control/meta/etc modifiers on mouse buttons?
4593 * Q3.1.3:: Clicking the left button does not do anything in buffer list.
4594 * Q3.1.4:: How can I get a list of buffers when I hit mouse button 3?
4595 * Q3.1.5:: How can I set XEmacs up so that it pastes where the text cursor is?
4597 3.2: Buffers, Text Editing
4598 * Q3.2.1:: Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
4599 * Q3.2.2:: How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
4600 * Q3.2.3:: How do I get a single minibuffer frame?
4601 * Q3.2.4:: How can I enable auto-indent and/or Filladapt?
4602 * Q3.2.5:: How can I get XEmacs to come up in text/auto-fill mode by default?
4604 3.3: Text Selections
4605 * Q3.3.1:: How do I select a rectangular region?
4606 * Q3.3.2:: How can I turn off or change highlighted selections?
4607 * Q3.3.3:: How do I cause typing on an active region to remove it?
4608 * Q3.3.4:: Can I turn off the highlight during isearch?
4609 * Q3.3.5:: Why is killing so slow?
4610 * Q3.3.6:: Why does @kbd{M-w} take so long?
4612 3.4: Editing Source Code
4613 * Q3.4.1:: I do not like cc-mode. How do I use the old c-mode?
4614 * Q3.4.2:: How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
4617 @unnumberedsec 3.0: The Keyboard
4619 @node Q3.0.1, Q3.0.2, Editing, Editing
4620 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.1: How can I customize the keyboard?
4624 @node Q3.0.2, Q3.0.3, Q3.0.1, Editing
4625 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.2: How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to keys?
4627 As an example, say you want the @kbd{paste} key on a Sun keyboard to
4628 insert the current Primary X selection at point. You can accomplish this
4632 (define-key global-map [f18] 'x-insert-selection)
4635 However, this only works if there is a current X selection (the
4636 selection will be highlighted). The functionality I like is for the
4637 @kbd{paste} key to insert the current X selection if there is one,
4638 otherwise insert the contents of the clipboard. To do this you need to
4639 pass arguments to @code{x-insert-selection}. This is done by wrapping
4640 the call in a 'lambda form:
4643 (global-set-key [f18]
4644 (lambda () (interactive) (x-insert-selection t nil)))
4647 This binds the f18 key to a @dfn{generic} functional object. The
4648 interactive spec is required because only interactive functions can be
4651 For the FAQ example you could use:
4654 (global-set-key [(control ?.)]
4655 (lambda () (interactive) (scroll-up 1)))
4656 (global-set-key [(control ?;)]
4657 (lambda () (interactive) (scroll-up -1)))
4660 This is fine if you only need a few functions within the lambda body.
4661 If you're doing more it's cleaner to define a separate function.
4662 @xref{Q3.0.3, How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and
4665 @node Q3.0.3, Q3.0.4, Q3.0.2, Editing
4666 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.3: How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and down?
4668 Add the following (Thanks to @email{mly@@adoc.xerox.com, Richard Mlynarik} and
4669 @email{wayne@@zen.cac.stratus.com, Wayne Newberry}) to @file{.emacs}:
4672 (defun scroll-up-one-line ()
4676 (defun scroll-down-one-line ()
4680 (global-set-key [(control ?.)] 'scroll-up-one-line) ; C-.
4681 (global-set-key [(control ?;)] 'scroll-down-one-line) ; C-;
4684 The key point is that you can only bind simple functions to keys; you
4685 can not bind a key to a function that you're also passing arguments
4686 to. (@pxref{Q3.0.2, How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to
4687 keys?} for a better answer).
4689 @node Q3.0.4, Q3.0.5, Q3.0.3, Editing
4690 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.4: Globally binding @kbd{Delete}?
4692 I cannot manage to globally bind my @kbd{Delete} key to something other
4693 than the default. How does one do this?
4695 Answer: The problem is that many modes explicitly bind @kbd{Delete}. To
4696 get around this, try the following:
4701 (message "You hit DELETE"))
4703 (define-key key-translation-map 'delete 'redirected-delete)
4704 (global-set-key 'redirected-delete 'foo)
4707 @node Q3.0.5, Q3.0.6, Q3.0.4, Editing
4708 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.5: How to map @kbd{Help} key alone on Sun type4 keyboard?
4710 The following works in GNU Emacs 19:
4713 (global-set-key [help] 'help-command);; Help
4716 The following works in XEmacs with the addition of shift:
4719 (global-set-key [(shift help)] 'help-command);; Help
4722 But it doesn't work alone. This is in the file @file{PROBLEMS} which
4723 should have come with your XEmacs installation: @emph{Emacs ignores the
4724 @kbd{help} key when running OLWM}.
4726 OLWM grabs the @kbd{help} key, and retransmits it to the appropriate
4731 @code{XSendEvent}. Allowing Emacs to react to synthetic
4732 events is a security hole, so this is turned off by default. You can
4733 enable it by setting the variable @code{x-allow-sendevents} to t. You
4734 can also cause fix this by telling OLWM to not grab the help key, with
4735 the null binding @code{OpenWindows.KeyboardCommand.Help:}.
4737 @node Q3.0.6, Q3.0.7, Q3.0.5, Editing
4738 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.6: How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?
4739 One way is to use the package @code{x-compose}. Then you can use
4740 sequences like @kbd{Compose " a} to get ä, etc.
4742 Another way is to use the @code{iso-insert} package. Then you can use
4743 sequences like @kbd{C-x 8 " a} to get ä, etc.
4745 @email{glynn@@sensei.co.uk, Glynn Clements} writes:
4748 It depends upon your X server.
4750 Generally, the simplest way is to define a key as Multi_key with
4752 @c hey, show some respect, willya -- there's xkeycaps, isn't there? --
4755 xmodmap -e 'keycode 0xff20 = Multi_key'
4758 You will need to pick an appropriate keycode. Use xev to find out the
4759 keycodes for each key.
4761 [NB: On a `Windows' keyboard, recent versions of XFree86 automatically
4762 define the right `Windows' key as Multi_key'.]
4764 Once you have Multi_key defined, you can use e.g.
4773 Also, recent versions of XFree86 define various AltGr-<key>
4774 combinations as dead keys, i.e.
4776 AltGr [ => dead_diaeresis
4777 AltGr ] => dead_tilde
4778 AltGr ; => dead_acute
4782 Running @samp{xmodmap -pk} will list all of the defined keysyms.
4785 For the related problem of @emph{displaying} non-ASCII characters in a
4786 non-Mule XEmacs, @xref{Q4.0.8, How do I display non-ASCII characters?}.
4788 @node Q3.0.7, Q3.0.8, Q3.0.6, Editing
4789 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.7: Can I turn on @dfn{sticky} modifier keys?
4791 Yes, with @code{(setq modifier-keys-are-sticky t)}. This will give the
4792 effect of being able to press and release Shift and have the next
4793 character typed come out in upper case. This will affect all the other
4794 modifier keys like Control and Meta as well.
4796 @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing} writes:
4799 One thing about the sticky modifiers is that if you move the mouse out
4800 of the frame and back in, it cancels all currently ``stuck'' modifiers.
4803 @node Q3.0.8, Q3.0.9, Q3.0.7, Editing
4804 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.8: How do I map the arrow keys?
4806 Say you want to map @kbd{C-@key{right}} to forward-word:
4808 @email{sds@@usa.net, Sam Steingold} writes:
4812 ; both XEmacs and Emacs
4813 (define-key global-map [(control right)] 'forward-word)
4818 (define-key global-map [C-right] 'forward-word)
4823 (define-key global-map (kbd "C-<right>") 'forward-word)
4827 @node Q3.0.9, Q3.0.10, Q3.0.8, Editing
4828 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.9: HP Alt key as Meta.
4830 How can I make XEmacs recognize the Alt key of my HP workstation as a
4833 Put the following line into a file and load it with xmodmap(1) before
4837 remove Mod1 = Mode_switch
4840 @node Q3.0.10, Q3.0.11, Q3.0.9, Editing
4841 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.10: Why does edt emulation not work?
4843 We don't know, but you can use tpu-edt emulation instead, which works
4844 fine and is a little fancier than the standard edt emulation. To do
4845 this, add the following line to your @file{init.el}:
4851 If you don't want it to replace @kbd{C-h} with an edt-style help menu
4855 (global-set-key [(control h)] 'help-for-help)
4858 @node Q3.0.11, Q3.1.1, Q3.0.10, Editing
4859 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.0.11: How can I emulate VI and use it as my default mode?
4861 Our recommended VI emulator is viper. To make viper-mode the default,
4862 add this to your @file{init.el}:
4868 @email{kifer@@CS.SunySB.EDU, Michael Kifer} writes:
4871 This should be added as close to the top of @file{init.el} as you can get
4872 it, otherwise some minor modes may not get viper-ized.
4875 @unnumberedsec 3.1: The Mouse
4877 @node Q3.1.1, Q3.1.2, Q3.0.11, Editing
4878 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.1: How can I turn off Mouse pasting?
4880 I keep hitting the middle mouse button by accident and getting stuff
4881 pasted into my buffer so how can I turn this off?
4883 Here is an alternative binding, whereby the middle mouse button selects
4884 (but does not cut) the expression under the mouse. Clicking middle on a
4885 left or right paren will select to the matching one. Note that you can
4886 use @code{define-key} or @code{global-set-key}.
4889 (defun mouse-set-point-and-select (event)
4890 "Sets the point at the mouse location, then marks following form"
4892 (mouse-set-point event)
4894 (define-key global-map [button2] 'mouse-set-point-and-select)
4897 @node Q3.1.2, Q3.1.3, Q3.1.1, Editing
4898 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.2: How do I set control/meta/etc modifiers on mouse buttons?
4900 Use, for instance, @code{[(meta button1)]}. For example, here is a common
4901 setting for Common Lisp programmers who use the bundled @code{ilisp}
4902 package, whereby meta-button1 on a function name will find the file where
4903 the function name was defined, and put you at that location in the source
4906 [Inside a function that gets called by the lisp-mode-hook and
4910 (local-set-key [(meta button1)] 'edit-definitions-lisp)
4913 @node Q3.1.3, Q3.1.4, Q3.1.2, Editing
4914 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.3: Clicking the left button does not do anything in buffer list.
4916 I do @kbd{C-x C-b} to get a list of buffers and the entries get
4917 highlighted when I move the mouse over them but clicking the left mouse
4918 does not do anything.
4920 Use the middle mouse button.
4922 @node Q3.1.4, Q3.1.5, Q3.1.3, Editing
4923 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.4: How can I get a list of buffers when I hit mouse button 3?
4925 The following code will replace the default popup on button3:
4928 (global-set-key [button3] 'popup-buffer-menu)
4931 @node Q3.1.5, Q3.2.1, Q3.1.4, Editing
4932 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.1.5: How can I set XEmacs up so that it pastes where the text cursor is?
4934 By default XEmacs pastes X selections where the mouse pointer is. How
4937 Examine the function @code{mouse-yank}, by typing @kbd{C-h f mouse-yank
4940 To get XEmacs to paste at the text cursor, add this your @file{init.el}:
4943 (setq mouse-yank-at-point t)
4946 You can also change this with Customize. Select from the
4947 @code{Options} menu @code{Advanced
4948 (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Mouse->Yank At Point...} or type @kbd{M-x
4949 customize @key{RET} mouse @key{RET}}.
4951 @unnumberedsec 3.2: Buffers, Text Editing
4953 @node Q3.2.1, Q3.2.2, Q3.1.5, Editing
4954 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.1: Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
4956 Say, with: @samp{[END]}?
4961 (let ((ext (make-extent (point-min) (point-max))))
4962 (set-extent-property ext 'start-closed t)
4963 (set-extent-property ext 'end-closed t)
4964 (set-extent-property ext 'detachable nil)
4965 (set-extent-end-glyph ext (make-glyph [string :data "[END]"])))
4968 Since this is XEmacs, you can specify an icon to be shown on
4969 window-system devices. To do so, change the @code{make-glyph} call to
4970 something like this:
4973 (make-glyph '([xpm :file "~/something.xpm"]
4974 [string :data "[END]"]))
4977 You can inline the @sc{xpm} definition yourself by specifying
4978 @code{:data} instead of @code{:file}. Here is such a full-featured
4979 version that works on both X and TTY devices:
4982 (let ((ext (make-extent (point-min) (point-max))))
4983 (set-extent-property ext 'start-closed t)
4984 (set-extent-property ext 'end-closed t)
4985 (set-extent-property ext 'detachable nil)
4986 (set-extent-end-glyph ext (make-glyph '([xpm :data "\
4988 static char* eye = @{
4997 \"___________`_`_`___b_b_b_b_________`____\",
4998 \"_________`_`_`___b_c_c_c_b_b____________\",
4999 \"_____`_`_`_e___b_b_c_c_c___b___b_______`\",
5000 \"___`_`_e_a___b_b_d___b___b___b___b______\",
5001 \"_`_`_e_a_e___b_b_d_b___b___b___b___b____\",
5002 \"_`_`_a_e_a___b_b_d___b___b___b___b___b__\",
5003 \"_`_`_e_a_e___b_b_d_b___b___b___b___b_b__\",
5004 \"___`_`_e_a___b_b_b_d_c___b___b___d_b____\",
5005 \"_____`_`_e_e___b_b_b_d_c___b_b_d_b______\",
5006 \"_`_____`_`_`_`___b_b_b_d_d_d_d_b________\",
5007 \"___`_____`_`_`_`___b_b_b_b_b_b__________\",
5009 [string :data "[END]"]))))
5012 Note that you might want to make this a function, and put it to a hook.
5013 We leave that as an exercise for the reader.
5015 @node Q3.2.2, Q3.2.3, Q3.2.1, Editing
5016 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.2: How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
5021 (insert (current-time-string))
5024 @node Q3.2.3, Q3.2.4, Q3.2.2, Editing
5025 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.3: How do I get a single minibuffer frame?
5027 @email{acs@@acm.org, Vin Shelton} writes:
5030 (setq initial-frame-plist '(minibuffer nil))
5031 (setq default-frame-plist '(minibuffer nil))
5032 (setq default-minibuffer-frame
5037 menubar-visible-p nil
5038 default-toolbar-visible-p nil
5042 has-modeline-p nil)))
5043 (frame-notice-user-settings)
5046 @strong{Please note:} The single minibuffer frame may not be to everyone's
5047 taste, and there any number of other XEmacs options settings that may
5048 make it difficult or inconvenient to use.
5050 @node Q3.2.4, Q3.2.5, Q3.2.3, Editing
5051 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.4: How can I enable auto-indent and/or Filladapt?
5053 Put the following line in your @file{init.el}:
5056 (setq indent-line-function 'indent-relative-maybe)
5059 If you want to get fancy, try the @code{filladapt} package available
5060 standard with XEmacs. Put this into your @file{init.el}:
5063 (require 'filladapt)
5064 (setq-default filladapt-mode t)
5065 (add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-off-filladapt-mode)
5068 This will enable Filladapt for all modes except C mode, where it doesn't
5069 work well. To turn Filladapt on only in particular major modes, remove
5070 the @code{(setq-default ...)} line and use
5071 @code{turn-on-filladapt-mode}, like this:
5074 (add-hook 'text-mode-hook 'turn-on-filladapt-mode)
5077 You can customize filling and adaptive filling with Customize.
5078 Select from the @code{Options} menu
5079 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Fill->Fill...}
5080 or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} fill @key{RET}}.
5082 Note that well-behaving text-lookalike modes will run
5083 @code{text-mode-hook} by default (e.g. that's what Message does). For
5084 the nasty ones, you'll have to provide the @code{add-hook}s yourself.
5086 Please note that the @code{fa-extras} package is no longer useful.
5088 @node Q3.2.5, Q3.3.1, Q3.2.4, Editing
5089 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.2.5: How can I get XEmacs to come up in text/auto-fill mode by default?
5091 Try the following lisp in your @file{init.el}:
5094 (setq default-major-mode 'text-mode)
5095 (add-hook 'text-mode-hook 'turn-on-auto-fill)
5098 @strong{WARNING}: note that changing the value of
5099 @code{default-major-mode} from @code{fundamental-mode} can break a large
5100 amount of built-in code that expects newly created buffers to be in
5101 @code{fundamental-mode}. (Changing from @code{fundamental-mode} to
5102 @code{text-mode} might not wreak too much havoc, but changing to
5103 something more exotic like a lisp-mode would break many Emacs packages).
5105 Note that Emacs by default starts up in buffer @code{*scratch*} in
5106 @code{initial-major-mode}, which defaults to
5107 @code{lisp-interaction-mode}. Thus adding the following form to your
5108 Emacs init file will cause the initial @code{*scratch*} buffer to be put
5109 into auto-fill'ed @code{text-mode}:
5112 (setq initial-major-mode
5115 (turn-on-auto-fill)))
5118 Note that after your init file is loaded, if
5119 @code{inhibit-startup-message} is @code{nil} (the default) and the
5120 startup buffer is @code{*scratch*} then the startup message will be
5121 inserted into @code{*scratch*}; it will be removed after a timeout by
5122 erasing the entire @code{*scratch*} buffer. Keep in mind this default
5123 usage of @code{*scratch*} if you desire any prior manipulation of
5124 @code{*scratch*} from within your Emacs init file. In particular,
5125 anything you insert into @code{*scratch*} from your init file will be
5126 later erased. Also, if you change the mode of the @code{*scratch*}
5127 buffer, be sure that this will not interfere with possible later
5128 insertion of the startup message (e.g. if you put @code{*scratch*} into
5129 a nonstandard mode that has automatic font lock rules, then the startup
5130 message might get fontified in a strange foreign manner, e.g. as code in
5131 some programming language).
5133 @unnumberedsec 3.3: Text Selections
5135 @node Q3.3.1, Q3.3.2, Q3.2.5, Editing
5136 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.1: How do I select a rectangular region?
5138 Just select the region normally, then use the rectangle commands (e.g.
5139 @code{kill-rectangle} on it. The region does not highlight as a
5140 rectangle, but the commands work just fine.
5142 To actually sweep out rectangular regions with the mouse you can use
5143 @code{mouse-track-do-rectangle} which is assigned to @kbd{M-button1}.
5144 Then use rectangle commands.
5146 You can also do the following to change default behavior to sweep out
5147 rectangular regions:
5150 (setq mouse-track-rectangle-p t)
5153 You can also change this with Customize.
5154 Select from the @code{Options} menu
5155 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Mouse->Track Rectangle...} or type
5156 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} mouse @key{RET}}.
5160 mouse-track-do-rectangle: (event)
5161 -- an interactive compiled Lisp function.
5162 Like `mouse-track' but selects rectangles instead of regions.
5165 @node Q3.3.2, Q3.3.3, Q3.3.1, Editing
5166 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.2: How can I turn off or change highlighted selections?
5168 The @code{zmacs} mode allows for what some might call gratuitous
5169 highlighting for selected regions (either by setting mark or by using
5170 the mouse). This is the default behavior. To turn off, add the
5171 following line to your @file{init.el} file:
5174 (setq zmacs-regions nil)
5177 You can also change this with Customize. Select from the
5179 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Basics->Zmacs Regions}
5180 or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} editing-basics @key{RET}}.
5182 To change the face for selection, look at @code{Options->Advanced (Customize)}
5185 @node Q3.3.3, Q3.3.4, Q3.3.2, Editing
5186 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.3: How do I cause typing on an active region to remove it?
5188 I want to change things so that if I select some text and start typing,
5189 the typed text replaces the selected text, similar to Motif.
5191 You want to use something called @dfn{pending delete}. Pending delete
5192 is what happens when you select a region (with the mouse or keyboard)
5193 and you press a key to replace the selected region by the key you typed.
5194 Usually backspace kills the selected region.
5196 To get this behavior, ensure that you have the @file{pc} package
5197 installed, and add the following lines to your
5202 ((fboundp 'turn-on-pending-delete)
5203 (turn-on-pending-delete))
5204 ((fboundp 'pending-delete-on)
5205 (pending-delete-on t)))
5208 Note that this will work with both Backspace and Delete. This code is a
5209 tad more complicated than it has to be for XEmacs in order to make it
5212 @node Q3.3.4, Q3.3.5, Q3.3.3, Editing
5213 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.4: Can I turn off the highlight during isearch?
5215 I do not like my text highlighted while I am doing isearch as I am not
5216 able to see what's underneath. How do I turn it off?
5218 Put the following in your @file{init.el}:
5221 (setq isearch-highlight nil)
5224 You can also change this with Customize. Type
5225 @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET} isearch-highlight @key{RET}}.
5227 Note also that isearch-highlight affects query-replace and ispell.
5228 Instead of disabling isearch-highlight you may find that a better
5229 solution consists of customizing the @code{isearch} face.
5231 @node Q3.3.5, Q3.3.6, Q3.3.4, Editing
5232 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.5: Why is killing so slow?
5234 This actually is an X Windows question, although you'll notice it with
5235 keyboard operations as well as while using the GUI. Basically, there
5236 are four ways to communicate interprogram via the X server:
5239 @item Primary selection
5240 a transient selection that gets replaced every time a new selection is made
5242 @item Secondary selection
5243 for "exchanging" with the primary selection
5246 a clipboard internal to the X server (deprecated)
5248 @item Clipboard selection
5249 a selection with a notification protocol that allows a separate app to
5250 manage the clipboard
5253 The cut buffers are deprecated because managing them is even more
5254 inefficient than the clipboard notification protocol. The primary
5255 selection works fine for many users and applications, but is not very
5256 robust under intensive or sophisticated use.
5258 In Motif and MS Windows, a clipboard has become the primary means for
5259 managing cut and paste. These means that "modern" applications tend to
5260 be oriented toward a true clipboard, rather than the primary selection.
5261 (On Windows, there is nothing equivalent to the primary selection.)
5262 It's not that XEmacs doesn't support the simple primary selection
5263 method, it's that more and more other applications don't.
5265 So the slowdown occurs because XEmacs now engages in the clipboard
5266 notification protocol on @emph{every} kill. This is especially slow on
5269 With most people running most clients and server on the same host, and
5270 many of the rest working over very fast communication, you may expect
5271 that the situation is not going to improve.
5273 There are a number of workarounds. The most effective is to use a
5274 special command to do selection ownership only when you intend to paste
5275 to another application. Useful commands are @code{kill-primary-selection}
5276 and @code{copy-primary-selection}. These work only on text selected
5277 with the mouse (probably; experiment), and are bound by default to the
5278 @kbd{Cut} and @kbd{Copy}, respectively, buttons on the toolbar.
5279 @code{copy-primary-selection} is also bound to @kbd{C-Insert}. You can
5280 yank the clipboard contents with @code{yank-primary-selection}, bound to
5281 the @kbd{Paste} toolbar button and @kbd{Sh-Insert}.
5283 If you are communicating by cut and paste with applications that use the
5284 primary selection, then you can customize
5285 @code{interprogram-cut-function} to @code{nil}, restoring the XEmacs
5286 version 20 behavior. How can you tell if a program will support this?
5287 Motifly-correct programs require the clipboard; you lose. For others,
5288 only by trying it. You also need to customize the complementary
5289 @code{interprogram-paste-function} to @code{nil}. (Otherwise
5290 XEmacs-to-XEmacs pastes will not work correctly.)
5292 You may get some relief on Motif by setting
5293 @code{x-selection-strict-motif-ownership} to nil, but this means you will
5294 only intermittently be able to paste XEmacs kills to Motif applications.
5296 Thanks to Jeff Mincy and Glynn Clements for corrections.
5298 @node Q3.3.6, Q3.4.1, Q3.3.5, Editing
5299 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.3.6: Why does @kbd{M-w} take so long?
5301 It actually doesn't. It leaves the region visible for a second so that
5302 you can see what area is being yanked. If you start working, though, it
5303 will immediately complete its operation. In other words, it will only
5304 delay for a second if you let it.
5306 @unnumberedsec 3.4: Editing Source Code
5308 @node Q3.4.1, Q3.4.2, Q3.3.6, Editing
5309 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.4.1: I do not like cc-mode. How do I use the old c-mode?
5311 Well, first off, consider if you really want to do this. cc-mode is
5312 much more powerful than the old c-mode. If you're having trouble
5313 getting your old offsets to work, try using @code{c-set-offset} instead.
5314 You might also consider using the package @code{cc-compat}.
5316 But, if you still insist, add the following lines to your @file{init.el}:
5319 (fmakunbound 'c-mode)
5320 (makunbound 'c-mode-map)
5321 (fmakunbound 'c++-mode)
5322 (makunbound 'c++-mode-map)
5323 (makunbound 'c-style-alist)
5324 (load-library "old-c-mode")
5325 (load-library "old-c++-mode")
5328 This must be done before any other reference is made to either c-mode or
5331 @node Q3.4.2, , Q3.4.1, Editing
5332 @unnumberedsubsec Q3.4.2: How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
5334 I'd like XEmacs to indent all the clauses of a Common Lisp @code{if} the
5335 same amount instead of indenting the 3rd clause differently from the
5338 The package @code{cl-indent} that comes with XEmacs sets up this kind
5339 of indentation by default. @code{cl-indent} also knows about many
5340 other CL-specific forms. To use @code{cl-indent}, one can do this:
5343 (setq lisp-indent-function 'common-lisp-indent-function)
5346 One can also customize @file{cl-indent.el} so it mimics the default
5347 @code{if} indentation @code{then} indented more than the @code{else}.
5351 (put 'if 'common-lisp-indent-function '(nil nil &body))
5354 @node Display, External Subsystems, Editing, Top
5355 @unnumbered 4 Display Functions
5357 This is part 4 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
5358 section is devoted to the display-related capabilities of XEmacs
5359 (fonts, colors, modeline, menubar, toolbar, scrollbar, etc.) and how
5363 4.0: Textual Fonts and Colors
5364 * Q4.0.1:: How do I specify a font?
5365 * Q4.0.2:: How do I set the text, menu and modeline fonts?
5366 * Q4.0.3:: How can I set color options from @file{init.el}?
5367 * Q4.0.4:: How can I set the colors when highlighting a region?
5368 * Q4.0.5:: How can I limit color map usage?
5369 * Q4.0.6:: My tty supports color, but XEmacs doesn't use them.
5370 * Q4.0.7:: Can I have pixmap backgrounds in XEmacs?
5371 * Q4.0.8:: How do I display non-ASCII characters?
5372 * Q4.0.9:: Font selections in don't get saved after @code{Save Options}.
5374 4.1: Syntax Highlighting (Font Lock)
5375 * Q4.1.1:: How can I do source code highlighting using font-lock?
5376 * Q4.1.2:: How do I get @samp{More} Syntax Highlighting on by default?
5379 * Q4.2.1:: How can I make the modeline go away?
5380 * Q4.2.2:: How do you have XEmacs display the line number in the modeline?
5381 * Q4.2.3:: How do I get XEmacs to put the time of day on the modeline?
5382 * Q4.2.4:: How can I change the modeline color based on the mode used?
5385 * Q4.3.1:: Is there a way to make the bar cursor thicker?
5386 * Q4.3.2:: Is there a way to get back the block cursor?
5387 * Q4.3.3:: Can I make the cursor blink?
5390 * Q4.4.1:: How do I get rid of the menubar?
5391 * Q4.4.2:: How can I customize the menubar?
5392 * Q4.4.3:: How do I enable use of the keyboard (@kbd{Alt}) to access menu items?
5393 * Q4.4.4:: How do I control how many buffers are listed in the menu @code{Buffers List}?
5394 * Q4.4.5:: Resources like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} are not working?
5397 * Q4.5.1:: How do I get rid of the toolbar?
5398 * Q4.5.2:: How can I customize the toolbar?
5399 * Q4.5.3:: How can I bind a key to a function to toggle the toolbar?
5400 * Q4.5.4:: @samp{Can't instantiate image error...} in toolbar
5402 4.6: Scrollbars and Scrolling
5403 * Q4.6.1:: How can I disable the scrollbar?
5404 * Q4.6.2:: How can I change the scrollbar width?
5405 * Q4.6.3:: How can I use resources to change scrollbar colors?
5406 * Q4.6.4:: Moving the scrollbar can move the point; can I disable this?
5407 * Q4.6.5:: Scrolling one line at a time.
5408 * Q4.6.6:: How can I turn off automatic horizontal scrolling in specific modes?
5409 * Q4.6.7:: I find auto-show-mode disconcerting. How do I turn it off?
5411 4.7: The Gutter Tabs, The Progress Bar, Widgets
5412 * Q4.7.1:: How can I disable the gutter tabs?
5413 * Q4.7.2:: How can I disable the progress bar?
5414 * Q4.7.3:: There are bugs in the gutter or widgets.
5415 * Q4.7.4:: How can I customize the gutter or gutter tabs?
5418 @unnumberedsec 4.0: Textual Fonts and Colors
5420 @node Q4.0.1, Q4.0.2, Display, Display
5421 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.1: How do I specify a font?
5425 In 21.4 and above, you can use the @samp{Options} menu to change the font.
5426 You can also do it in your init file, e.g. like this (for MS Windows):
5429 (set-face-font 'default "Lucida Console:Regular:10")
5430 (set-face-font 'modeline "MS Sans Serif:Regular:10")
5433 @node Q4.0.2, Q4.0.3, Q4.0.1, Display
5434 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.2: How do I set the text, menu and modeline fonts?
5438 Note that you should use @samp{Emacs.} and not @samp{Emacs*} when
5439 setting face values.
5441 In @file{.Xresources}:
5444 Emacs.default.attributeFont: -*-*-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-m-*-*-*
5445 Emacs*menubar*font: fixed
5446 Emacs.modeline.attributeFont: fixed
5449 This is confusing because @samp{default} and @samp{modeline} are face
5450 names, and can be found listed with all faces in the current mode by
5451 using @kbd{M-x set-face-font (enter) ?}. They use the face-specific
5452 resource @samp{attributeFont}.
5454 On the other hand, @samp{menubar} is a normal X thing that uses the
5455 resource @samp{font}. With Motif it @emph{may be} necessary to use
5456 @samp{fontList} @emph{instead of} @samp{font}. In @emph{non-Motif}
5457 configurations with Mule it @emph{is} necessary to use @samp{fontSet}
5458 instead of @samp{font}. (Sorry, there just is no simple recipe here.)
5460 @node Q4.0.3, Q4.0.4, Q4.0.2, Display
5461 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.3: How can I set color options from @file{init.el}?
5463 How can I set the most commonly used color options from my
5464 @file{init.el} instead of from my @file{.Xresources}?
5469 (set-face-background 'default "bisque") ; frame background
5470 (set-face-foreground 'default "black") ; normal text
5471 (set-face-background 'zmacs-region "red") ; When selecting w/
5473 (set-face-foreground 'zmacs-region "yellow")
5474 (set-face-font 'default "*courier-bold-r*120-100-100*")
5475 (set-face-background 'highlight "blue") ; Ie when selecting
5477 (set-face-foreground 'highlight "yellow")
5478 (set-face-background 'modeline "blue") ; Line at bottom
5480 (set-face-foreground 'modeline "white")
5481 (set-face-font 'modeline "*bold-r-normal*140-100-100*")
5482 (set-face-background 'isearch "yellow") ; When highlighting
5484 (set-face-foreground 'isearch "red")
5485 (setq x-pointer-foreground-color "black") ; Adds to bg color,
5487 (setq x-pointer-background-color "blue") ; This is color
5492 @node Q4.0.4, Q4.0.5, Q4.0.3, Display
5493 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.4: How can I set the colors when highlighting a region?
5495 How can I set the background/foreground colors when highlighting a
5498 You can change the face @code{zmacs-region} either in your
5502 Emacs.zmacs-region.attributeForeground: firebrick
5503 Emacs.zmacs-region.attributeBackground: lightseagreen
5506 or in your @file{init.el}:
5509 (set-face-background 'zmacs-region "red")
5510 (set-face-foreground 'zmacs-region "yellow")
5513 @node Q4.0.5, Q4.0.6, Q4.0.4, Display
5514 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.5: How can I limit color map usage?
5516 I'm using Netscape (or another color grabber like XEmacs);
5517 is there any way to limit the number of available colors in the color map?
5519 Answer: No, but you can start Netscape before XEmacs, and it will use
5520 the closest available color if the colormap is full. You can also limit
5521 the number of colors Netscape uses, using the flags -mono, -ncols <#> or
5522 -install (for mono, limiting to <#> colors, or for using a private color
5525 If you have the money, another solution would be to use a truecolor or
5528 @node Q4.0.6, Q4.0.7, Q4.0.5, Display
5529 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.6: My tty supports color, but XEmacs doesn't use them.
5531 XEmacs tries to automatically determine whether your tty supports color,
5532 but sometimes guesses wrong. In that case, you can make XEmacs Do The
5533 Right Thing using this Lisp code:
5536 (if (eq 'tty (device-type))
5537 (set-device-class nil 'color))
5540 @node Q4.0.7, Q4.0.8, Q4.0.6, Display
5541 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.7: Can I have pixmap backgrounds in XEmacs?
5543 @email{jvillaci@@wahnsinnig.extreme.indiana.edu, Juan Villacis} writes:
5546 There are several ways to do it. For example, you could specify a
5547 default pixmap image to use in your @file{~/.Xresources}, e.g.,
5551 Emacs*EmacsFrame.default.attributeBackgroundPixmap: /path/to/image.xpm
5555 and then reload ~/.Xresources and restart XEmacs. Alternatively,
5556 since each face can have its own pixmap background, a better way
5557 would be to set a face's pixmap within your XEmacs init file, e.g.,
5560 (set-face-background-pixmap 'default "/path/to/image.xpm")
5561 (set-face-background-pixmap 'bold "/path/to/another_image.xpm")
5564 and so on. You can also do this interactively via @kbd{M-x edit-faces}.
5568 @node Q4.0.8, Q4.0.9, Q4.0.7, Display
5569 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.8: How do I display non-ASCII characters?
5572 If you're using a Mule-enabled XEmacs, then display is automatic. If
5573 you're not seeing the characters you expect, either (1) you don't have
5574 appropriate fonts available or (2) XEmacs did not correctly detect the
5575 coding system (@pxref{Recognize Coding, , , xemacs}). In case (1),
5576 install fonts as is customary for your platform. In case (2), you
5577 need to tell XEmacs explicitly what coding systems you're using.
5578 @ref{Specify Coding, , , xemacs}.
5580 If your XEmacs is not Mule-enabled, and for some reason getting a
5581 Mule-enabled XEmacs seems like the wrong thing to do, all is not lost.
5582 You can arrange it by brute force. In @file{event-Xt.c} (suppress the
5583 urge to look in this file---play Doom instead, because you'll survive
5584 longer), it is written:
5587 In a non-Mule world, a user can still have a multi-lingual editor, by
5588 doing @code{(set-face-font "-*-iso8859-2" (current-buffer))} for all
5589 their Latin-2 buffers, etc.
5592 For the related problem of @emph{inputting} non-ASCII characters in a
5593 non-Mule XEmacs, @xref{Q3.0.6, How can you type in special characters
5596 @node Q4.0.9, Q4.1.1, Q4.0.8, Display
5597 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.0.9: Font selections in don't get saved after @code{Save Options}.
5599 @email{mannj@@ll.mit.edu, John Mann} writes:
5602 You have to go to @samp{Options->Menubars} and unselect
5603 @samp{Frame-Local Font Menu}. If this option is selected, font changes
5604 are only applied to the @emph{current} frame and do @emph{not} get saved
5605 when you save options.
5608 Also, set the following in your @file{init.el}:
5611 (setq options-save-faces t)
5614 @unnumberedsec 4.1: Syntax Highlighting (Font Lock)
5616 @node Q4.1.1, Q4.1.2, Q4.0.9, Display
5617 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.1.1: How can I do source code highlighting using font-lock?
5619 For most modes, font-lock is already set up and just needs to be turned
5620 on. This can be done by adding the line:
5623 (require 'font-lock)
5626 to your @file{init.el}. (You can turn it on for the
5627 current buffer and session only by @kbd{M-x font-lock-mode}.) See the
5628 file @file{etc/sample.init.el} (@file{etc/sample.emacs} in XEmacs
5629 versions prior to 21.4) for more information.
5632 @c (add-hook 'emacs-lisp-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
5633 @c (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
5635 See also @code{Syntax Highlighting} from the @code{Options} menu.
5636 Remember to save options.
5638 @node Q4.1.2, Q4.2.1, Q4.1.1, Display
5639 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.1.2: How do I get @samp{More} Syntax Highlighting on by default?
5641 Use the following code in your @file{init.el}:
5644 (setq-default font-lock-maximum-decoration t)
5647 See also @code{Syntax Highlighting} from the @code{Options} menu.
5648 Remember to save options.
5650 @unnumberedsec 4.2: The Modeline
5652 @node Q4.2.1, Q4.2.2, Q4.1.2, Display
5653 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.2.1: How can I make the modeline go away?
5656 (set-specifier has-modeline-p nil)
5659 @node Q4.2.2, Q4.2.3, Q4.2.1, Display
5660 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.2.2: How do you have XEmacs display the line number in the modeline?
5662 Add the following line to your @file{init.el} file to
5663 display the line number:
5666 (line-number-mode 1)
5669 Use the following to display the column number:
5672 (column-number-mode 1)
5675 Or select from the @code{Options} menu
5679 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Basics->Line Number Mode}
5684 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Editing->Basics->Column Number Mode}
5686 Or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} editing-basics @key{RET}}.
5688 @node Q4.2.3, Q4.2.4, Q4.2.2, Display
5689 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.2.3: How do I get XEmacs to put the time of day on the modeline?
5691 Add the following line to your @file{init.el} file to
5698 See @code{Customize} from the @code{Options} menu for customization.
5700 @node Q4.2.4, Q4.3.1, Q4.2.3, Display
5701 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.2.4: How can I change the modeline color based on the mode used?
5703 You can use something like the following:
5706 (add-hook 'lisp-mode-hook
5708 (set-face-background 'modeline "red" (current-buffer))))
5711 Then, when editing a Lisp file (i.e. when in Lisp mode), the modeline
5712 colors change from the default set in your @file{init.el}.
5713 The change will only be made in the buffer you just entered (which
5714 contains the Lisp file you are editing) and will not affect the modeline
5715 colors anywhere else.
5721 @item The hook is the mode name plus @code{-hook}. eg. c-mode-hook,
5722 c++-mode-hook, emacs-lisp-mode-hook (used for your
5723 @file{init.el} or a @file{xx.el} file),
5724 lisp-interaction-mode-hook (the @samp{*scratch*} buffer),
5725 text-mode-hook, etc.
5728 Be sure to use @code{add-hook}, not @code{(setq c-mode-hook xxxx)},
5729 otherwise you will erase anything that anybody has already put on the
5733 You can also do @code{(set-face-font 'modeline @var{font})},
5734 eg. @code{(set-face-font 'modeline "*bold-r-normal*140-100-100*"
5735 (current-buffer))} if you wish the modeline font to vary based on the
5739 There are additional modeline faces, @code{modeline-buffer-id},
5740 @code{modeline-mousable}, and @code{modeline-mousable-minor-mode}, which
5741 you may want to customize.
5743 @unnumberedsec 4.3: The Cursor
5745 @node Q4.3.1, Q4.3.2, Q4.2.4, Display
5746 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.3.1: Is there a way to make the bar cursor thicker?
5748 I'd like to have the bar cursor a little thicker, as I tend to "lose" it
5751 For a 1 pixel bar cursor, use:
5757 For a 2 pixel bar cursor, use:
5760 (setq bar-cursor 'anything-else)
5763 You can also change these with Customize.
5764 Select from the @code{Options} menu
5765 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Display->Bar Cursor...} or type
5766 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} display @key{RET}}.
5768 You can use a color to make it stand out better:
5771 Emacs*cursorColor: Red
5774 @node Q4.3.2, Q4.3.3, Q4.3.1, Display
5775 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.3.2: Is there a way to get back the block cursor?
5778 (setq bar-cursor nil)
5781 You can also change this with Customize.
5782 Select from the @code{Options} menu
5783 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Display->Bar Cursor...} or type
5784 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} display @key{RET}}.
5786 @node Q4.3.3, Q4.4.1, Q4.3.2, Display
5787 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.3.3: Can I make the cursor blink?
5795 This function toggles between a steady cursor and a blinking cursor.
5796 You may also set this mode from the menu bar by selecting
5797 @samp{Options->Display->Blinking Cursor}. Remember to save options.
5799 @unnumberedsec 4.4: The Menubar
5801 @node Q4.4.1, Q4.4.2, Q4.3.3, Display
5802 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.4.1: How do I get rid of the menubar?
5805 (set-specifier menubar-visible-p nil)
5808 @node Q4.4.2, Q4.4.3, Q4.4.1, Display
5809 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.4.2: How can I customize the menubar?
5811 For an extensive menubar, add this line to your @file{init.el}:
5814 (load "big-menubar")
5817 If you'd like to write your own, this file provides as good a set of
5818 examples as any to start from. The file is located in edit-utils
5821 @node Q4.4.3, Q4.4.4, Q4.4.2, Display
5822 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.4.3: How do I enable use of the keyboard (@kbd{Alt}) to access menu items?
5826 @node Q4.4.4, Q4.4.5, Q4.4.3, Display
5827 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.4.4: How do I control how many buffers are listed in the menu @code{Buffers List}?
5829 Add the following to your @file{init.el} (suit to fit):
5832 (setq buffers-menu-max-size 20)
5835 For no limit, use an argument of @samp{nil}.
5837 You can also change this with Customize. Select from the
5839 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Menu->Buffers Menu->Max Size...}
5840 or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} buffers-menu @key{RET}}.
5842 @node Q4.4.5, Q4.5.1, Q4.4.4, Display
5843 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.4.5: Resources like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} are not working?
5845 I am trying to use a resource like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} to set the
5846 font of the menubar but it's not working.
5848 In Motif, the use of @samp{font} resources is obsoleted in order to
5849 support internationalization. If you are using the real Motif menubar,
5850 this resource is not recognized at all; you have to say:
5853 Emacs*menubar*fontList: FONT
5856 If you are using the Lucid menubar, for backward compatibility with
5857 existing user configurations, the @samp{font} resource is recognized.
5858 Since this is not supported by Motif itself, the code is a kludge and
5859 the @samp{font} resource will be recognized only if the @samp{fontList}
5860 resource resource is unset. This means that the resource
5869 Emacs*menubar*font: FONT
5872 even though the latter is more specific.
5874 In non-Motif configurations using @samp{--with-mule} and
5875 @samp{--with-xfs} it @emph{is} necessary to use the @code{fontSet}
5876 resource @emph{instead of} the @code{font} resource. The backward
5877 compatibility kludge was never implemented for non-Motif builds.
5884 @unnumberedsec 4.5: The Toolbar
5886 @node Q4.5.1, Q4.5.2, Q4.4.5, Display
5887 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.5.1: How do I get rid of the toolbar?
5891 @node Q4.5.2, Q4.5.3, Q4.5.1, Display
5892 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.5.2: How can I customize the toolbar?
5896 @node Q4.5.3, Q4.5.4, Q4.5.2, Display
5897 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.5.3: How can I bind a key to a function to toggle the toolbar?
5902 (defun my-toggle-toolbar ()
5904 (set-specifier default-toolbar-visible-p
5905 (not (specifier-instance default-toolbar-visible-p))))
5906 (global-set-key "\C-xT" 'my-toggle-toolbar)
5910 @c Probably not relevant any more
5911 There are redisplay bugs in 19.14 that may make the preceding result in
5912 a messed-up display, especially for frames with multiple windows. You
5913 may need to resize the frame before XEmacs completely realizes the
5914 toolbar is really gone.
5917 Thanks to @email{martin@@xemacs.org, Martin Buchholz} for the correct
5920 @node Q4.5.4, Q4.6.1, Q4.5.3, Display
5921 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.5.4: @samp{Can't instantiate image error...} in toolbar
5923 @email{expt@@alanine.ram.org, Dr. Ram Samudrala} writes:
5925 I just installed the XEmacs (20.4-2) RPMS that I downloaded from
5926 @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/}. Everything works fine, except that when
5927 I place my mouse over the toolbar, it beeps and gives me this message:
5930 Can't instantiate image (probably cached):
5931 [xbm :mask-file "/usr/include/X11/bitmaps/leftptrmsk :mask-data
5932 (16 16 <strange control characters> ...
5935 @email{kyle_jones@@wonderworks.com, Kyle Jones} writes:
5937 This is problem specific to some Chips and Technologies video
5938 chips, when running XFree86. Putting
5940 @code{Option "sw_cursor"}
5942 in @file{XF86Config} gets rid of the problem.
5945 @unnumberedsec 4.6: Scrollbars and Scrolling
5947 @node Q4.6.1, Q4.6.2, Q4.5.4, Display
5948 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.6.1: How can I disable the scrollbar?
5950 To disable them for all frames, add the following line to
5951 your @file{.Xresources}:
5954 Emacs.scrollBarWidth: 0
5957 Or select @samp{Options->Display->Scrollbars}.
5958 Remember to save options.
5960 To turn the scrollbar off on a per-frame basis, use the following
5964 (set-specifier scrollbar-width 0 (selected-frame))
5967 You can actually turn the scrollbars on at any level you want by
5968 substituting for (selected-frame) in the above command. For example, to
5969 turn the scrollbars off only in a single buffer:
5972 (set-specifier scrollbar-width 0 (current-buffer))
5975 @node Q4.6.2, Q4.6.3, Q4.6.1, Display
5976 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.6.2: How can I change the scrollbar width?
5980 @node Q4.6.3, Q4.6.4, Q4.6.2, Display
5981 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.6.3: How can I use resources to change scrollbar colors?
5983 Here's a recap of how to use resources to change your scrollbar colors:
5988 Emacs*XmScrollBar.Background: skyblue
5989 Emacs*XmScrollBar.troughColor: lightgray
5993 Emacs*Scrollbar.Foreground: skyblue
5994 Emacs*Scrollbar.Background: lightgray
5997 Note the capitalization of @code{Scrollbar} for the Athena widget.
5999 @node Q4.6.4, Q4.6.5, Q4.6.3, Display
6000 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.6.4: Moving the scrollbar can move the point; can I disable this?
6002 When I move the scrollbar in an XEmacs window, it moves the point as
6003 well, which should not be the default behavior. Is this a bug or a
6004 feature? Can I disable it?
6006 The current behavior is a feature, not a bug. Point remains at the same
6007 buffer position as long as that position does not scroll off the screen.
6008 In that event, point will end up in either the upper-left or lower-left
6011 This cannot be changed.
6013 @node Q4.6.5, Q4.6.6, Q4.6.4, Display
6014 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.6.5: Scrolling one line at a time.
6016 Can the cursor keys scroll the screen a line at a time, rather than the
6017 default half page jump? I tend it to find it disorienting.
6022 (setq scroll-step 1)
6025 You can also change this with Customize. Select from the
6027 @code{Advanced (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Windows->Scroll Step...}
6028 or type @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} windows @key{RET}}.
6030 @node Q4.6.6, Q4.6.7, Q4.6.5, Display
6031 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.6.6: How can I turn off automatic horizontal scrolling in specific modes?
6033 Do @code{(setq truncate-lines t)} in the mode-hooks for any modes
6034 in which you want lines truncated.
6036 More precisely: If @code{truncate-lines} is nil, horizontal scrollbars
6037 will never appear. Otherwise, they will appear only if the value of
6038 @code{scrollbar-height} for that buffer/window/etc. is non-zero. If you
6042 (set-specifier scrollbar-height 0)
6045 then horizontal scrollbars will not appear in truncated buffers unless
6046 the package specifically asked for them.
6048 @node Q4.6.7, Q4.7.1, Q4.6.6, Display
6049 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.6.7: I find auto-show-mode disconcerting. How do I turn it off?
6051 @code{auto-show-mode} controls whether or not a horizontal scrollbar
6052 magically appears when a line is too long to be displayed. This is
6053 enabled by default. To turn it off, put the following in your
6057 (setq auto-show-mode nil)
6058 (setq-default auto-show-mode nil)
6061 @unnumberedsec 4.7: The Gutter Tabs, The Progress Bar, Widgets
6063 @node Q4.7.1, Q4.7.2, Q4.6.7, Display
6064 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.1: How can I disable the gutter tabs?
6068 @node Q4.7.2, Q4.7.3, Q4.7.1, Display
6069 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.2: How can I disable the progress bar?
6073 @node Q4.7.3, Q4.7.4, Q4.7.2, Display
6074 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.3: There are bugs in the gutter or widgets.
6078 @node Q4.7.4, , Q4.7.3, Display
6079 @unnumberedsubsec Q4.7.4: How can I customize the gutter or gutter tabs?
6083 @node External Subsystems, Internet, Display, Top
6084 @unnumbered 5 Interfacing with the Operating System and External Devices
6086 This is part 5 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
6087 section is devoted to the various ways that XEmacs interfaces with the
6088 operating system, with other processes and with external devices such
6089 as speakers and the printer.
6092 5.0: X Window System and Resources
6093 * Q5.0.1:: Where is a list of X resources?
6094 * Q5.0.2:: How can I detect a color display?
6095 * Q5.0.3:: How can I get the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}?
6096 * Q5.0.4:: How can I have the window title area display the full path?
6097 * Q5.0.5:: @samp{xemacs -name junk} doesn't work?
6098 * Q5.0.6:: @samp{-iconic} doesn't work.
6100 5.1: Microsoft Windows
6101 * Q5.1.1:: Does XEmacs rename all the @samp{win32-*} symbols to @samp{w32-*}?
6102 * Q5.1.2:: How do I get Windows Explorer to associate a file type with XEmacs?
6105 * Q5.2.1:: What do I need to change to make printing work?
6106 * Q5.2.2:: How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
6107 * Q5.2.3:: Getting @kbd{M-x lpr} to work with postscript printer.
6108 * Q5.2.4:: Can you print under MS Windows?
6111 * Q5.3.1:: How do I turn off the sound?
6112 * Q5.3.2:: How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
6113 * Q5.3.3:: What are NAS and ESD (EsounD)?
6114 * Q5.3.4:: Sunsite sounds don't play.
6116 5.4: Running an Interior Shell, Invoking Subprocesses
6117 * Q5.4.1:: What is an interior shell?
6118 * Q5.4.2:: How do I start up a second shell buffer?
6119 * Q5.4.3:: Telnet from shell filters too much
6120 * Q5.4.4:: Strange things are happening in Shell Mode.
6121 * Q5.4.5:: XEmacs complains "No such file or directory, diff"
6122 * Q5.4.6:: Cygwin error "fork_copy: linked dll/bss pass 0 failed"
6124 5.5: Multiple Device Support
6125 * Q5.5.1:: How do I open a frame on another screen of my multi-headed display?
6126 * Q5.5.2:: Can I really connect to a running XEmacs after calling up over a modem? How?
6127 * Q5.5.3:: How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?
6128 * Q5.5.4:: How do I start gnuserv so that each subsequent XEmacs is a client?
6129 * Q5.5.5:: Is there a way to start a new XEmacs if there's no gnuserv running, and otherwise use gnuclient?
6132 @unnumberedsec 5.0: X Window System and Resources
6134 @node Q5.0.1, Q5.0.2, External Subsystems, External Subsystems
6135 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.1: Where is a list of X resources?
6137 Search through the @file{NEWS} file for @samp{X Resources}. A fairly
6138 comprehensive list is given after it.
6140 In addition, an @file{app-defaults} file @file{etc/Emacs.ad} is
6141 supplied, listing the defaults. The file @file{etc/sample.Xresources}
6142 gives a different set of defaults that you might consider for
6143 installation in your @file{~/.Xresources} file. It is nearly the same
6144 as @file{etc/Emacs.ad}, but a few entries are altered. Be careful about
6145 installing the contents of this file into your @file{.Xresources} (or
6146 legacy @file{.Xdefaults}) file if you use GNU Emacs under X11 as well.
6148 @node Q5.0.2, Q5.0.3, Q5.0.1, External Subsystems
6149 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.2: How can I detect a color display?
6151 You can test the return value of the function @code{(device-class)}, as
6155 (when (eq (device-class) 'color)
6156 (set-face-foreground 'font-lock-comment-face "Grey")
6157 (set-face-foreground 'font-lock-string-face "Red")
6162 @node Q5.0.3, Q5.0.4, Q5.0.2, External Subsystems
6163 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.3: How can I get the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}?
6165 I'd like the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}, and not include the name of
6166 the current file in it.
6168 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}:
6171 (setq frame-icon-title-format "XEmacs")
6174 @node Q5.0.4, Q5.0.5, Q5.0.3, External Subsystems
6175 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.4: How can I have the window title area display the full path?
6177 I'd like to have the window title area display the full directory/name
6178 of the current buffer file and not just the name.
6180 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}:
6183 (setq frame-title-format "%S: %f")
6186 A more sophisticated title might be:
6189 (setq frame-title-format
6190 '("%S: " (buffer-file-name "%f"
6191 (dired-directory dired-directory "%b"))))
6194 That is, use the file name, or the dired-directory, or the buffer name.
6196 @node Q5.0.5, Q5.0.6, Q5.0.4, External Subsystems
6197 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.5: @samp{xemacs -name junk} doesn't work?
6199 When I run @samp{xterm -name junk}, I get an xterm whose class name
6200 according to xprop, is @samp{junk}. This is the way it's supposed to
6201 work, I think. When I run @samp{xemacs -name junk} the class name is
6202 not set to @samp{junk}. It's still @samp{emacs}. What does
6203 @samp{xemacs -name} really do? The reason I ask is that my window
6204 manager (fvwm) will make a window sticky and I use XEmacs to read my
6205 mail. I want that XEmacs window to be sticky, without having to use the
6206 window manager's function to set the window sticky. What gives?
6208 @samp{xemacs -name} sets the application name for the program (that is,
6209 the thing which normally comes from @samp{argv[0]}). Using @samp{-name}
6210 is the same as making a copy of the executable with that new name. The
6211 @code{WM_CLASS} property on each frame is set to the frame-name, and the
6212 application-class. So, if you did @samp{xemacs -name FOO} and then
6213 created a frame named @var{BAR}, you'd get an X window with WM_CLASS =
6214 @code{( "BAR", "Emacs")}. However, the resource hierarchy for this
6218 Name: FOO .shell .container .BAR
6219 Class: Emacs .TopLevelEmacsShell.EmacsManager.EmacsFrame
6222 instead of the default
6225 Name: xemacs.shell .container .emacs
6226 Class: Emacs .TopLevelEmacsShell.EmacsManager.EmacsFrame
6230 It is arguable that the first element of WM_CLASS should be set to the
6231 application-name instead of the frame-name, but I think that's less
6232 flexible, since it does not give you the ability to have multiple frames
6233 with different WM_CLASS properties. Another possibility would be for
6234 the default frame name to come from the application name instead of
6235 simply being @samp{emacs}. However, at this point, making that change
6236 would be troublesome: it would mean that many users would have to make
6237 yet another change to their resource files (since the default frame name
6238 would suddenly change from @samp{emacs} to @samp{xemacs}, or whatever
6239 the executable happened to be named), so we'd rather avoid it.
6241 To make a frame with a particular name use:
6244 (make-frame '((name . "the-name")))
6247 @node Q5.0.6, Q5.1.1, Q5.0.5, External Subsystems
6248 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.0.6: @samp{-iconic} doesn't work.
6250 When I start up XEmacs using @samp{-iconic} it doesn't work right.
6251 Using @samp{-unmapped} on the command line, and setting the
6252 @code{initiallyUnmapped} X Resource don't seem to help much either...
6254 @email{ben@@xemacs.org, Ben Wing} writes:
6257 Ugh, this stuff is such an incredible mess that I've about given up
6258 getting it to work. The principal problem is numerous window-manager
6262 @unnumberedsec 5.1: Microsoft Windows
6264 @node Q5.1.1, Q5.1.2, Q5.0.6, External Subsystems
6265 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.1: Does XEmacs rename all the @samp{win32-*} symbols to @samp{w32-*}?
6267 In his flavor of Emacs 20, Richard Stallman has renamed all the @samp{win32-*}
6268 symbols to @samp{w32-*}. Does XEmacs do the same?
6270 We consider such a move counter-productive, thus we do not use the
6271 @samp{w32} prefix. (His rather questionable justification was that he
6272 did not consider Windows to be a "winning" platform.) However, the name
6273 @samp{Win32} is not particularly descriptive outside the Windows world,
6274 and using just @samp{windows-} would be too generic. So we chose a
6275 compromise, the prefix @samp{mswindows-} for Windows-related variables
6278 Thus all the XEmacs variables and functions directly related to either
6279 the Windows GUI or OS are prefixed @samp{mswindows-} (except for a
6280 couple of debugging variables, prefixed @samp{debug-mswindows-}). From
6281 an architectural perspective, however, we believe that this is mostly a
6282 non-issue because there should be a very small number of
6283 window-systems-specific variables anyway. Whenever possible, we try to
6284 provide generic interfaces that apply to all window systems.
6287 @c The user variables
6288 @c that share functionality with existing NT Emacs variables are be named
6289 @c with our convention, but we provide the GNU Emacs names as
6290 @c compatibility aliases.
6292 @node Q5.1.2, Q5.2.1, Q5.1.1, External Subsystems
6293 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.1.2: How do I get Windows Explorer to associate a file type with XEmacs?
6295 @unnumberedsubsubsec Associating a new file type with XEmacs.
6297 In Explorer select @samp{View->Options->File Types}, press @samp{[New
6298 Type...]} and fill in the dialog box, e.g.:
6301 Description of type: Emacs Lisp source
6302 Associated extension: el
6303 Content Type (MIME): text/plain
6306 then press @samp{[New...]} and fill in the @samp{Action} dialog box as
6313 Application used to perform action:
6314 D:\Full\path\for\xemacs.exe "%1"
6324 DDE Application Not Running:
6331 @unnumberedsubsubsec Associating an existing file type with XEmacs.
6333 In Explorer select @samp{View->Options->File Types}. Click on the file
6334 type in the list and press @samp{[Edit...]}. If the file type already
6335 has an @samp{Open} action, double click on it and fill in the
6336 @samp{Action} dialog box as described above; otherwise create a new
6339 If the file type has more than one action listed, you probably want to
6340 make the @samp{Open} action that you just edited the default by clicking on
6341 it and pressing @samp{Set Default}.
6343 Note for Windows 2000 users: Under Windows 2000, get to @samp{File Types}
6344 using @samp{Control Panel->Folder Options->File Types}.
6346 @unnumberedsec 5.2: Printing
6348 @node Q5.2.1, Q5.2.2, Q5.1.2, External Subsystems
6349 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.2.1: What do I need to change to make printing work?
6351 For regular printing there are two variables that can be customized.
6355 This should be set to a command that takes standard input and sends
6356 it to a printer. Something like:
6359 (setq lpr-command "lp")
6363 This should be set to a list that contains whatever the print command
6364 requires to do its job. Something like:
6367 (setq lpr-switches '("-depson"))
6371 For postscript printing there are three analogous variables to
6375 @item ps-lpr-command
6376 This should be set to a command that takes postscript on standard input
6377 and directs it to a postscript printer.
6379 @item ps-lpr-switches
6380 This should be set to a list of switches required for
6381 @code{ps-lpr-command} to do its job.
6383 @item ps-print-color-p
6384 This boolean variable should be set @code{t} if printing will be done in
6385 color, otherwise it should be set to @code{nil}.
6388 NOTE: It is an undocumented limitation in XEmacs that postscript
6389 printing (the @code{Pretty Print Buffer} menu item) @strong{requires} a
6390 window system environment. It cannot be used outside of X11.
6392 @node Q5.2.2, Q5.2.3, Q5.2.1, External Subsystems
6393 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.2.2: How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
6395 Font-lock looks nice. How can I print (WYSIWYG) the highlighted
6398 The package @code{ps-print}, which is now included with XEmacs, provides
6399 the ability to do this. The source code contains complete instructions
6401 @file{$prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages/lisp/ps-print/ps-print.el},
6402 being the default location of an installed ps-print package.
6404 @node Q5.2.3, Q5.2.4, Q5.2.2, External Subsystems
6405 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.2.3: Getting @kbd{M-x lpr} to work with postscript printer.
6407 My printer is a Postscript printer and @code{lpr} only works for
6408 Postscript files, so how do I get @kbd{M-x lpr-region} and @kbd{M-x
6409 lpr-buffer} to work?
6411 Put something like this in your @file{init.el}:
6414 (setq lpr-command "a2ps")
6415 (setq lpr-switches '("-p" "-1"))
6418 If you don't use a2ps to convert ASCII to postscript (why not, it's
6419 free?), replace with the command you do use. Note also that some
6420 versions of a2ps require a @samp{-Pprinter} to ensure spooling.
6422 @node Q5.2.4, Q5.3.1, Q5.2.3, External Subsystems
6423 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.2.4: Can you print under MS Windows?
6425 As of 21.4, printing works on Windows, using simply
6426 @samp{File->Print BUFFER...}, and can be configured with
6427 @samp{File->Page Setup...}.
6429 Prior to 21.4, there is no built-in support, but there are some clever
6430 hacks out there. If you know how, please let us know and we'll put it
6433 @unnumberedsec 5.3: Sound
6435 @node Q5.3.1, Q5.3.2, Q5.2.4, External Subsystems
6436 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.1: How do I turn off the sound?
6438 Add the following line to your @file{init.el}:
6441 (setq bell-volume 0)
6442 (setq sound-alist nil)
6445 That will make your XEmacs totally silent---even the default ding sound
6446 (TTY beep on TTY-s) will be gone.
6448 You can also change these with Customize. Select from the
6449 @code{Options} menu @code{Advanced
6450 (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Sound->Sound...} or type @kbd{M-x
6451 customize @key{RET} sound @key{RET}}.
6454 @node Q5.3.2, Q5.3.3, Q5.3.1, External Subsystems
6455 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.2: How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
6457 Make sure your XEmacs was compiled with sound support, and then put this
6458 in your @file{init.el}:
6461 (load-default-sounds)
6464 @node Q5.3.3, Q5.3.4, Q5.3.2, External Subsystems
6465 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.3: What are NAS and ESD (EsounD)?
6467 @dfn{Network Audio System} (NAS) is a client-server sound library for X.
6469 @uref{http://radscan.com/nas.html}.
6471 To build XEmacs with it, use the @file{configure} flag
6472 @samp{--with-sound=nas} (@samp{--enable-sound=nas} in 21.5 or later).
6474 @dfn{Enlightened Sound Daemon} (ESD or EsounD) is yet another sound system.
6476 @uref{http://www.tux.org/~ricdude/EsounD.html}.
6478 To build XEmacs with it, use the @file{configure} flag
6479 @samp{--with-sound=esd} (@samp{--enable-sound=esd} in 21.5 or later).
6481 You can specify support for both with a flag like
6482 @samp{--with-sound=nas,esd} (@samp{--enable-sound=nas,esd} in 21.5 or
6485 @node Q5.3.4, Q5.4.1, Q5.3.3, External Subsystems
6486 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.3.4: Sunsite sounds don't play.
6488 I'm having some trouble with sounds I've downloaded from sunsite. They
6489 play when I run them through @code{showaudio} or cat them directly to
6490 @file{/dev/audio}, but XEmacs refuses to play them.
6492 @email{gutschk@@uni-muenster.de, Markus Gutschke} writes:
6495 [Many of] These files have an (erroneous) 24byte header that tells about
6496 the format that they have been recorded in. If you cat them to
6497 @file{/dev/audio}, the header will be ignored and the default behavior
6498 for /dev/audio will be used. This happens to be 8kHz uLaw. It is
6499 probably possible to fix the header by piping through @code{sox} and
6500 passing explicit parameters for specifying the sampling format; you then
6501 need to perform a 'null' conversion from SunAudio to SunAudio.
6504 @unnumberedsec 5.4: Running an Interior Shell, Invoking Subprocesses
6506 @node Q5.4.1, Q5.4.2, Q5.3.4, External Subsystems
6507 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.4.1: What is an interior shell?
6511 @node Q5.4.2, Q5.4.3, Q5.4.1, External Subsystems
6512 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.4.2: How do I start up a second shell buffer?
6514 In the @code{*shell*} buffer:
6517 M-x rename-buffer @key{RET} *shell-1* @key{RET}
6521 This will then start a second shell. The key is that no buffer named
6522 @samp{*shell*} can exist. It might be preferable to use @kbd{M-x
6523 rename-uniquely} to rename the @code{*shell*} buffer instead of @kbd{M-x
6526 Alternately, you can set the variable @code{shell-multiple-shells}.
6527 If the value of this variable is non-nil, each time shell mode is invoked,
6530 @node Q5.4.3, Q5.4.4, Q5.4.2, External Subsystems
6531 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.4.3: Telnet from shell filters too much
6533 I'm using the Emacs @kbd{M-x shell} function, and I would like to invoke
6534 and use a telnet session within it. Everything works fine except that
6535 now all @samp{^M}'s are filtered out by Emacs. Fixes?
6537 Use @kbd{M-x rsh} or @kbd{M-x telnet} to open remote sessions rather
6538 than doing rsh or telnet within the local shell buffer. You can also
6539 use @kbd{M-x ssh} to open secure remote session if you have @code{ssh}
6542 @node Q5.4.4, Q5.4.5, Q5.4.3, External Subsystems
6543 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.4.4: Strange things are happening in Shell Mode.
6545 Sometimes (i.e. it's not repeatable, and I can't work out why it
6546 happens) when I'm typing into shell mode, I hit return and only a
6547 portion of the command is given to the shell, and a blank prompt is
6548 returned. If I hit return again, the rest of the previous command is
6551 @email{martin@@xemacs.org, Martin Buchholz} writes:
6554 There is a known problem with interaction between @code{csh} and the
6555 @code{filec} option and XEmacs. You should add the following to your
6559 if ( "$TERM" == emacs || "$TERM" == unknown ) unset filec
6563 @node Q5.4.5, Q5.4.6, Q5.4.4, External Subsystems
6564 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.4.5: XEmacs complains "No such file or directory, diff"
6566 or "ispell" or other commands that seem related to whatever you just
6567 tried to do (M-x ediff or M-$, for example).
6569 There are a large number of common (in the sense that "everyone has
6570 these, they really do") Unix utilities that are not provided with
6571 XEmacs. The GNU Project's implementations are available for Windows in
6572 the the Cygwin distribution (@uref{http://www.cygwin.com/}), which also
6573 provides a complete Unix emulation environment (and thus makes ports of
6574 Unix utilities nearly trivial). Another implementation is that from
6575 MinGW (@uref{http://www.mingw.org/msys.shtml}). If you know of others,
6578 @node Q5.4.6, Q5.5.1, Q5.4.5, External Subsystems
6579 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.4.6: Cygwin error "fork_copy: linked dll/bss pass 0 failed"
6581 If you are getting an error like
6584 17797832 [main] bash 3468 fork_copy: linked dll/bss pass 0 failed,
6585 0x675000..0x6756A0, done 0, windows pid 2708, Win 32 error 487
6586 bash: fork: resource temporarily unavailable
6589 when trying to run bash using @kbd{M-x shell}, then you need to rebase
6590 your Cygwin DLL's. This is a known problem with Cygwin. To fix:
6594 Download the @file{rebase} utility from Cygwin setup (it's under
6597 Kill @strong{all} of your Cygwin processes, including all of your
6598 shells and all background processes. Use @code{ps -a} to list all the
6599 processes you need to kill.
6601 From a DOS prompt, run @file{ash} (@strong{not} @file{bash},
6602 @file{tcsh} or @file{zsh}). Do not try to be clever and @code{exec
6603 /bin/ash} from your last shell; it won't work.
6605 Type @code{/bin/rebaseall -v}.
6608 The problem should now be fixed -- at least, until you install another
6609 Cygwin package with DLL's, in which case you may have to repeat the
6612 @unnumberedsec 5.5: Multiple Device Support
6614 @node Q5.5.1, Q5.5.2, Q5.4.6, External Subsystems
6615 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.5.1: How do I open a frame on another screen of my multi-headed display?
6617 Use the command @kbd{M-x make-frame-on-display}. This command is also
6618 on the File menu in the menubar.
6620 The command @code{make-frame-on-tty} also exists, which will establish a
6621 connection to any tty-like device. Opening the TTY devices should be
6622 left to @code{gnuclient}, though.
6624 @node Q5.5.2, Q5.5.3, Q5.5.1, External Subsystems
6625 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.5.2: Can I really connect to a running XEmacs after calling up over a modem? How?
6627 Yes. Use @code{gnuclient -nw}.
6629 Also see @ref{Q5.5.3, How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?}.
6631 @node Q5.5.3, Q5.5.4, Q5.5.2, External Subsystems
6632 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.5.3: How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?
6634 If you set the @code{gnuserv-frame} variable to the frame that should be
6635 used to display buffers that are pulled up, a new frame will not be
6636 created. For example, you could put
6639 (setq gnuserv-frame (selected-frame))
6642 early on in your @file{init.el}, to ensure that the first frame created
6643 is the one used for your gnuserv buffers.
6645 There is an option to set the gnuserv target to the current frame. See
6646 @code{Options->Display->"Other Window" Location->Make Current Frame Gnuserv Target}
6648 You can also change this with Customize. Select from the
6649 @code{Options} menu @code{Advanced
6650 (Customize)->Emacs->Environment->Gnuserv->Gnuserv Frame...} or type
6651 @kbd{M-x customize @key{RET} gnuserv @key{RET}}.
6654 @node Q5.5.4, Q5.5.5, Q5.5.3, External Subsystems
6655 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.5.4: How do I start gnuserv so that each subsequent XEmacs is a client?
6657 Put the following in your @file{init.el} file to start the server:
6663 Start your first XEmacs as usual. After that, you can do:
6666 gnuclient randomfilename
6669 from the command line to get your existing XEmacs process to open a new
6670 frame and visit randomfilename in that window. When you're done editing
6671 randomfilename, hit @kbd{C-x #} to kill the buffer and get rid of the
6674 See also man page of gnuclient.
6676 @node Q5.5.5, , Q5.5.4, External Subsystems
6677 @unnumberedsubsec Q5.5.5: Is there a way to start a new XEmacs if there's no gnuserv running, and otherwise use gnuclient?
6679 @email{vroonhof@@math.ethz.ch, Jan Vroonhof} writes:
6681 Here is one of the solutions, we have this in a script called
6682 @file{etc/editclient.sh}.
6685 if gnuclient -batch -eval t >/dev/null 2>&1
6687 exec gnuclient $@{1+"$@@"@}
6689 xemacs -unmapped -f gnuserv-start &
6690 until gnuclient -batch -eval t >/dev/null 2>&1
6694 exec gnuclient $@{1+"$@@"@}
6698 Note that there is a known problem when running XEmacs and 'gnuclient
6699 -nw' on the same TTY.
6702 @node Internet, Advanced, External Subsystems, Top
6703 @unnumbered 6 Connecting to the Internet
6705 This is part 6 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
6706 section is devoted connecting to the Internet.
6709 6.0: General Mail and News
6710 * Q6.0.1:: What are the various packages for reading mail?
6711 * Q6.0.2:: How can I send mail?
6712 * Q6.0.3:: How do I get my outgoing mail archived?
6713 * Q6.0.4:: How can I read and/or compose MIME messages?
6714 * Q6.0.5:: How do I customize the From line?
6715 * Q6.0.6:: How do I get my MUA to filter mail for me?
6716 * Q6.0.7:: Remote mail reading with an MUA.
6717 * Q6.0.8:: An MUA gets an error incorporating new mail.
6718 * Q6.0.9:: Why isn't @file{movemail} working?
6719 * Q6.0.10:: How do I make my MUA display graphical smilies?
6720 * Q6.0.11:: How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
6722 6.1: Reading Mail with VM
6723 * Q6.1.1:: How do I set up VM to retrieve mail from a remote site using POP?
6724 * Q6.1.2:: How can I get VM to automatically check for new mail?
6725 * Q6.1.3:: I have various addresses at which I receive mail. How can I tell VM to ignore them when doing a "reply-all"?
6726 * Q6.1.4:: Is there a mailing list or FAQ for VM?
6727 * Q6.1.5:: How do I make VM stay in a single frame?
6728 * Q6.1.6:: Customization of VM not covered in the manual, or here.
6730 6.2: Reading Netnews and Mail with Gnus
6731 * Q6.2.1:: GNUS, (ding) Gnus, Gnus 5, September Gnus, Red Gnus, Quassia Gnus, argh!
6732 * Q6.2.2:: How do I make Gnus stay within a single frame?
6735 * Q6.3.1:: Can I edit files on other hosts?
6736 * Q6.3.2:: What is EFS?
6738 6.4: Web Browsing with W3
6739 * Q6.4.1:: What is W3?
6740 * Q6.4.2:: How do I run W3 from behind a firewall?
6741 * Q6.4.3:: Is it true that W3 supports style sheets and tables?
6744 @unnumberedsec 6.0: General Mail and News
6746 @node Q6.0.1, Q6.0.2, Internet, Internet
6747 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.1: What are the various packages for reading mail?
6751 @node Q6.0.2, Q6.0.3, Q6.0.1, Internet
6752 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.2: How can I send mail?
6754 Under Unix and Mac OS X, the @samp{sendmail} package is normally used
6758 Under Windows, you need to use @samp{smtpmail}, which communicates
6759 directly with the mail server, as there is no @file{sendmail} program
6760 running. To get it working, use code like the following in your
6761 @file{init.el} file:
6764 ;; Get mail working under Windows.
6765 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it) ; for message/Gnus
6766 (setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it) ; for C-x m, etc.
6767 ;; the following ensures that mail problems can be debugged: it logs a trace
6768 ;; of the SMTP conversation to *trace of SMTP session to <somewhere>*.
6769 (setq smtpmail-debug-info t)
6770 ;; Substitute your info here.
6771 ;(setq user-mail-address "ben@@xemacs.org")
6772 ;(setq user-full-name "Ben Wing")
6773 ;(setq smtpmail-default-smtp-server "smtp.myserver.myisp.com")
6774 ;; The following two aren't completely necessary but may help.
6775 ;(setq smtpmail-local-domain "666.com")
6776 ;(setq smtpmail-sendto-domain "666.com")
6777 ;; If your SMTP server requires a username/password to authenticate, as
6778 ;; many do nowadays, set them like this:
6779 ;(setq smtpmail-auth-credentials ; or use ~/.authinfo
6780 ; '(("smtp.myserver.myisp.com" 25 "USER@@SOMEWHERE" "PASSWORD")))
6782 ;; Other possibilities for getting smtpmail to work:
6784 ;; If for some reason you need to authenticate using the STARTTLS protocol
6785 ;; (don't look into this unless you know what it is), use
6786 ;; (setq smtpmail-starttls-credentials
6787 ;; '(("YOUR SMTP HOST" 25 "~/.my_smtp_tls.key" "~/.my_smtp_tls.cert")))
6788 ;; Requires external program
6789 ;; ftp://ftp.opaopa.org/pub/elisp/starttls-*.tar.gz.
6790 ;; See http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2246.txt,
6791 ;; http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2487.txt
6794 The lines you need to care about are those that set
6795 @code{user-mail-address}, @code{user-full-name},
6796 @code{smtpmail-default-smtp-server}, and
6797 @code{smtpmail-auth-credentials}. You need to set these with,
6798 respectively, your email address, your full name, the SMTP server you
6799 use for outgoing mail, and the username and password you need to log
6800 in to your SMTP server. (If for some reason your SMTP server doesn't
6801 require logging in to send mail, don't uncomment this last line.)
6803 The other settings may be useful in specific cases, but you should know what
6804 you're doing before enabling them.
6806 @node Q6.0.3, Q6.0.4, Q6.0.2, Internet
6807 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.3: How do I get my outgoing mail archived?
6810 (setq mail-archive-file-name "~/outbox")
6813 @node Q6.0.4, Q6.0.5, Q6.0.3, Internet
6814 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.4: How can I read and/or compose MIME messages?
6816 VM, MH-E and GNUS support MIME natively. Other MUAs may or may not
6817 have MIME support; refer to their documentation and other resources,
6818 such as web pages and mailing lists. Packages like SEMI/WEMI may be
6819 useful in connection with MUAs like mew and Wanderlust.
6821 @node Q6.0.5, Q6.0.6, Q6.0.4, Internet
6822 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.5: How do I customize the From line?
6824 How do I change the @samp{From:} line? I have set gnus-user-from-line
6827 Gail Gurman <gail.gurman@@sybase.com>
6829 @noindent , but XEmacs Gnus doesn't use
6830 it. [This should apply to all MUA's. --ed] Instead it uses
6832 Gail Mara Gurman @email{gailg@@deall}
6834 @noindent and then complains
6835 that it's incorrect. Also, as you perhaps can see, my Message-ID is
6836 screwy. How can I change that?
6838 @email{larsi@@ifi.uio.no, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen} writes:
6841 Set @code{user-mail-address} to @samp{gail.gurman@@sybase.com} or
6842 @code{mail-host-address} to @samp{sybase.com}.
6845 @node Q6.0.6, Q6.0.7, Q6.0.5, Internet
6846 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.6: How do I get my MUA to filter mail for me?
6848 One possibility is to use procmail to split your mail before it gets to
6849 the MUA. I prefer this personally, since there are many strange and
6850 wonderful things one can do with procmail. Procmail may be found at
6851 @uref{http://www.procmail.org/}.
6853 Also see the Mail Filtering FAQ at:
6857 @uref{http://www.faqs.org/faqs/mail/filtering-faq/}.
6859 @node Q6.0.7, Q6.0.8, Q6.0.6, Internet
6860 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.7: Remote mail reading with an MUA.
6862 My mailbox lives at the office on a big honkin server. My regular INBOX
6863 lives on my honkin desktop machine. I now can PPP to the office from
6864 home which is far from honking... I'd like to be able to read mail at
6865 home without storing it here and I'd like to use xemacs and the MUA at
6866 home... Is there a recommended setup?
6868 @email{nuspl@@nvwls.cc.purdue.edu, Joseph J. Nuspl Jr.} writes:
6871 There are several ways to do this.
6875 Set your display to your home machine and run dxpc or one of the other X
6879 NFS mount your desktop machine on your home machine and modify your pop
6880 command on your home machine to rsh to your desktop machine and actually
6884 Run a POP server on your desktop machine as well and do a sort of two
6889 @email{wmperry@@monolith.spry.com, William Perry} adds:
6892 Or you could run a pop script periodically on your desktop machine, and
6893 just use ange-ftp or NFS to get to your mailbox. I used to do this all
6894 the time back at IU.
6897 @node Q6.0.8, Q6.0.9, Q6.0.7, Internet
6898 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.8: An MUA gets an error incorporating new mail.
6900 rmail and VM, and probably other MUA's as well, get new mail from
6901 your mailbox (called @file{/var/mail/$USER} or @file{/var/spool/mail/$USER}
6902 or something similar) using a program called @code{movemail}.
6903 This program interlocks with @code{/bin/mail} using the protocol
6904 defined by @code{/bin/mail}.
6906 There are various different protocols in general use, which you need to
6907 specify using the @samp{--mail-locking} option
6908 (@samp{--with-mail-locking} in 21.5 or later) to @file{configure}:
6912 POSIX file locking with @code{lockf()}
6914 BSD file locking with @code{flock()}
6916 To manipulate mail file @file{foo}, first create file @file{foo.lock}
6918 Use @code{locking()}, Microsoft's renamed @code{flock()}
6920 Use @code{lk_open()} and @code{lk_close()} as defined by the Multi-channel
6921 Memo Distribution Facility
6923 Retrieve mail using POP (the Post Office Protocol). This is the
6924 default for Cygwin/MinGW.
6927 @strong{IF YOU DON'T USE THE FORM OF INTERLOCKING THAT IS NORMAL ON YOUR
6928 SYSTEM, YOU CAN LOSE MAIL!}
6930 Usually the value is correctly determined automatically:
6931 @file{configure} tries to detect the method in use, and defaults exist
6932 on systems for which this doesn't work.
6934 However, if you run into problems incorporating new mail, it may be
6935 because an incorrect method is being used.
6937 If your system uses the lock file protocol, and permissions are set
6938 so that ordinary users cannot write lock files in the mail spool
6939 directory, you may need to make @file{movemail} setgid to a
6940 suitable group such as @samp{mail}. You can use these commands (as
6948 If you are using the @samp{pop} locking method, @file{movemail} must
6951 Installation normally copies movemail from the build directory to an
6952 installation directory which is usually under @file{/usr/local/lib}.
6953 The installed copy of @file{movemail} is usually in the directory
6954 @file{/usr/local/lib/xemacs-VERSION/TARGET} (for example,
6955 @file{/usr/local/lib/xemacs-21.4.15/i686-pc-cygwin}). You must change
6956 the group and mode of the installed copy; changing the group and mode
6957 of the build directory copy is ineffective.
6959 @node Q6.0.9, Q6.0.10, Q6.0.8, Internet
6960 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.9: Why isn't @file{movemail} working?
6964 Note also that older versions of Mozilla came with a @file{movemail}
6965 program that is @strong{not} compatible with XEmacs. Do not use it.
6966 Always use the @file{movemail} installed with your XEmacs. Failure to
6967 do so can result in lost mail.
6969 @node Q6.0.10, Q6.0.11, Q6.0.9, Internet
6970 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.10: How do I make my MUA display graphical smilies?
6971 For mh-e use the following:
6974 (add-hook 'mh-show-mode-hook '(lambda ()
6975 (smiley-region (point-min)
6979 @email{bill@@carpenter.ORG, WJCarpenter} writes:
6980 For VM use the following:
6982 (autoload 'smiley-region "smiley" nil t)
6983 (add-hook 'vm-select-message-hook
6985 (smiley-region (point-min)
6989 For tm use the following:
6991 (autoload 'smiley-buffer "smiley" nil t)
6992 (add-hook 'mime-viewer/plain-text-preview-hook 'smiley-buffer)
6995 @node Q6.0.11, Q6.1.1, Q6.0.10, Internet
6996 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.0.11: How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
6998 Firstly there is an ftp site which describes X-faces and has the
6999 associated tools mentioned below, at
7000 @uref{http://ftp.cs.indiana.edu/pub/faces/}.
7006 Create 48x48x1 bitmap with your favorite tool
7009 Convert to "icon" format using one of xbm2ikon, pbmtoicon, etc.,
7010 and then compile the face.
7014 cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon |compface > file.face
7018 Then be sure to quote things that are necessary for emacs strings:
7021 cat ./file.face | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g'
7025 | sed 's/\"/\\\"/g' > ./file.face.quoted
7029 Then set up emacs to include the file as a mail header - there were a
7030 couple of suggestions here---either something like:
7033 (setq mail-default-headers
7034 "X-Face: @email{Ugly looking text string here}")
7037 Or, alternatively, as:
7040 (defun mail-insert-x-face ()
7042 (goto-char (point-min))
7043 (search-forward mail-header-separator)
7046 (insert-file-contents "~/.face")))
7048 (add-hook 'mail-setup-hook 'mail-insert-x-face)
7052 However, 2 things might be wrong:
7054 Some versions of pbmtoicon produces some header lines that is not
7055 expected by the version of compface that I grabbed. So I found I had to
7056 include a @code{tail +3} in the pipeline like this:
7059 cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon | tail +3 |compface > file.face
7062 Some people have also found that if one uses the @code{(insert-file)}
7063 method, one should NOT quote the face string using the sed script .
7065 It might also be helpful to use @email{stig@@hackvan.com, Stig's} script
7066 xbm2face (included in the compface distribution at XEmacs.org) to do the
7069 Contributors for this item:
7080 @unnumberedsec 6.1: Reading Mail with VM
7082 @node Q6.1.1, Q6.1.2, Q6.0.11, Internet
7083 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.1: How do I set up VM to retrieve mail from a remote site using POP?
7085 Use @code{vm-spool-files}, like this for example:
7088 (setq vm-spool-files '("/var/spool/mail/wing"
7089 "netcom23.netcom.com:110:pass:wing:MYPASS"))
7092 Of course substitute your actual password for MYPASS.
7094 @node Q6.1.2, Q6.1.3, Q6.1.1, Internet
7095 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.2: How can I get VM to automatically check for new mail?
7097 @email{turner@@lanl.gov, John Turner} writes:
7103 (setq vm-auto-get-new-mail 60)
7107 @node Q6.1.3, Q6.1.4, Q6.1.2, Internet
7108 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.3: I have various addresses at which I receive mail. How can I tell VM to ignore them when doing a "reply-all"?
7110 Set @code{vm-reply-ignored-addresses} to a list, like
7113 (setq vm-reply-ignored-addresses
7114 '("wing@@nuspl@@nvwls.cc.purdue.edu,netcom[0-9]*.netcom.com"
7115 "wing@@netcom.com" "wing@@xemacs.org"))
7118 Note that each string is a regular expression.
7120 @node Q6.1.4, Q6.1.5, Q6.1.3, Internet
7121 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.4: Is there a mailing list or FAQ for VM?
7123 A FAQ for VM exists at @uref{http://www.wonderworks.com/vm/FAQ.html}.
7125 VM has its own newsgroups gnu.emacs.vm.info and gnu.emacs.vm.bug.
7127 @node Q6.1.5, Q6.1.6, Q6.1.4, Internet
7128 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.5: How do I make VM stay in a single frame?
7130 John.@email{Cooper@@Eng.Sun.COM, John S Cooper} writes:
7134 ; Don't use multiple frames
7135 (setq vm-frame-per-composition nil)
7136 (setq vm-frame-per-folder nil)
7137 (setq vm-frame-per-edit nil)
7138 (setq vm-frame-per-summary nil)
7142 @node Q6.1.6, Q6.2.1, Q6.1.5, Internet
7143 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.1.6: Customization of VM not covered in the manual, or here.
7145 @email{boffi@@hp735.stru.polimi.it, giacomo boffi} writes:
7148 The meta-answer is to look into the file @file{vm-vars.el}, in the vm
7149 directory of the lisp library.
7151 @file{vm-vars.el} contains, initializes and carefully describes, with
7152 examples of usage, the plethora of user options that @emph{fully}
7153 control VM's behavior.
7155 Enter vm-vars, @code{forward-search} for toolbar, find the variables
7156 that control the toolbar placement, appearance, existence, copy to your
7157 @file{init.el} or @file{.vm} and modify according to the
7158 detailed instructions.
7160 The above also applies to all the various features of VM: search for
7161 some keywords, maybe the first you conjure isn't appropriate, find the
7162 appropriate variables, copy and experiment.
7165 @unnumberedsec 6.2: Reading Netnews and Mail with Gnus
7167 @node Q6.2.1, Q6.2.2, Q6.1.6, Internet
7168 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.2.1: GNUS, (ding) Gnus, Gnus 5, September Gnus, Red Gnus, Quassia Gnus, argh!
7170 The Gnus numbering issues are not meant for mere mortals to know them.
7171 If you feel you @emph{must} enter the muddy waters of Gnus, visit the
7172 excellent FAQ, maintained by Justin Sheehy, at:
7175 @uref{http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/}
7178 See also Gnus home page
7180 @uref{http://www.gnus.org/}
7183 @node Q6.2.2, Q6.3.1, Q6.2.1, Internet
7184 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.2.2: How do I make Gnus stay within a single frame?
7186 The toolbar code to start Gnus opens the new frame---and it's a feature
7187 rather than a bug. If you don't like it, but would still like to click
7188 on the seemly icon, use the following code:
7191 (defun toolbar-news ()
7195 It will redefine the callback function of the icon to just call
7196 @code{gnus}, without all the fancy frame stuff.
7198 @unnumberedsec 6.3: FTP Access
7200 @node Q6.3.1, Q6.3.2, Q6.2.2, Internet
7201 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.3.1: Can I edit files on other hosts?
7203 Yes. Of course XEmacs can use any network file system (such as NFS or
7204 Windows file sharing) you have available, and includes some
7205 optimizations and safety features appropriate to those environments.
7207 It is also possible to transparently edit files via FTP, ssh, or rsh. That
7208 is, XEmacs makes a local copy using the transport in the background, and
7209 automatically refreshes the remote original from that copy when you save
7210 it. XEmacs also is capable of doing file system manipulations like
7211 creating and removing directories and files. The FTP interface is
7212 provided by the standard @samp{efs} package @ref{Top, EFS, , efs}. The
7213 ssh/rsh interface is provided by the optional @samp{tramp} package
7214 @ref{Top, TRAMP, , tramp}.
7216 @node Q6.3.2, Q6.4.1, Q6.3.1, Internet
7217 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.3.2: What is EFS?
7221 @unnumberedsec 6.4: Web Browsing with W3
7223 @node Q6.4.1, Q6.4.2, Q6.3.2, Internet
7224 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.4.1: What is W3?
7226 W3 is an advanced graphical browser written in Emacs lisp that runs on
7227 XEmacs. It has full support for cascaded style sheets, and more...
7229 It has a home web page at
7230 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/elisp/w3/docs.html}.
7232 @node Q6.4.2, Q6.4.3, Q6.4.1, Internet
7233 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.4.2: How do I run W3 from behind a firewall?
7235 There is a long, well-written, detailed section in the W3 manual that
7236 describes how to do this. Look in the section entitled "Firewalls".
7238 @node Q6.4.3, , Q6.4.2, Internet
7239 @unnumberedsubsec Q6.4.3: Is it true that W3 supports style sheets and tables?
7241 Yes, and much more. W3, as distributed with the latest XEmacs is a
7242 full-featured web browser.
7244 @node Advanced, Other Packages, Internet, Top
7245 @unnumbered 7 Advanced Customization Using XEmacs Lisp
7247 This is part 7 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
7248 section is devoted to advanced customization using XEmacs Lisp.
7251 7.0: Emacs Lisp and @file{init.el}
7252 * Q7.0.1:: What version of Emacs am I running?
7253 * Q7.0.2:: How can I evaluate Emacs-Lisp expressions?
7254 * Q7.0.3:: @code{(setq tab-width 6)} behaves oddly.
7255 * Q7.0.4:: How can I add directories to the @code{load-path}?
7256 * Q7.0.5:: How to check if a lisp function is defined?
7257 * Q7.0.6:: Can I force the output of @code{(face-list)} to a buffer?
7259 7.1: Emacs Lisp Programming Techniques
7260 * Q7.1.1:: What is the difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
7261 * Q7.1.2:: Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?
7262 * Q7.1.3:: Could you explain @code{read-kbd-macro} in more detail?
7263 * Q7.1.4:: What is the performance hit of @code{let}?
7264 * Q7.1.5:: What is the recommended use of @code{setq}?
7265 * Q7.1.6:: What is the typical misuse of @code{setq}?
7266 * Q7.1.7:: I like the @code{do} form of cl, does it slow things down?
7267 * Q7.1.8:: I like recursion, does it slow things down?
7268 * Q7.1.9:: How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?
7269 * Q7.1.10:: @code{map-extents} won't traverse all of my extents!
7270 * Q7.1.11:: My elisp program is horribly slow. Is there an easy way to find out where it spends time?
7273 * Q7.2.1:: What are bignums, ratios, and bigfloats in Lisp?
7274 * Q7.2.2:: XEmacs segfaults when I use very big numbers!
7275 * Q7.2.3:: Bignums are really slow!
7276 * Q7.2.4:: Equal bignums don't compare as equal! What gives?
7279 @unnumberedsec 7.0: Emacs Lisp and @file{init.el}
7281 @node Q7.0.1, Q7.0.2, Advanced, Advanced
7282 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.1: What version of Emacs am I running?
7284 How can @file{init.el} determine which of the family of
7287 To determine if you are currently running GNU Emacs 18, GNU Emacs 19,
7288 XEmacs 19, XEmacs 20, or Epoch, and use appropriate code, check out the
7289 example given in @file{etc/sample.init.el} (@file{etc/sample.emacs} in
7290 XEmacs versions prior to 21.4). There are other nifty things in there
7293 For all new code, all you really need to do is:
7296 (defvar running-xemacs (string-match "XEmacs\\|Lucid" emacs-version))
7299 @node Q7.0.2, Q7.0.3, Q7.0.1, Advanced
7300 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.2: How can I evaluate Emacs-Lisp expressions?
7302 I know I can evaluate Elisp expressions from @code{*scratch*} buffer
7303 with @kbd{C-j} after the expression. How do I do it from another
7306 Press @kbd{M-:} (the default binding of @code{eval-expression}), and
7307 enter the expression to the minibuffer.
7309 @node Q7.0.3, Q7.0.4, Q7.0.2, Advanced
7310 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.3: @code{(setq tab-width 6)} behaves oddly.
7312 If you put @code{(setq tab-width 6)} in your
7313 @file{init.el} file it does not work! Is there a reason
7314 for this? If you do it at the EVAL prompt it works fine!! How strange.
7316 Use @code{setq-default} instead, since @code{tab-width} is
7319 @node Q7.0.4, Q7.0.5, Q7.0.3, Advanced
7320 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.4: How can I add directories to the @code{load-path}?
7322 Here are two ways to do that, one that puts your directories at the
7323 front of the load-path, the other at the end:
7326 ;;; Add things at the beginning of the load-path, do not add
7327 ;;; duplicate directories:
7328 (pushnew "bar" load-path :test 'equal)
7330 (pushnew "foo" load-path :test 'equal)
7332 ;;; Add things at the end, unconditionally
7333 (setq load-path (nconc load-path '("foo" "bar")))
7336 @email{keithh@@nortel.ca, keith (k.p.) hanlan} writes:
7339 To add directories using Unix shell metacharacters use
7340 @file{expand-file-name} like this:
7343 (push (expand-file-name "~keithh/.emacsdir") load-path)
7347 @node Q7.0.5, Q7.0.6, Q7.0.4, Advanced
7348 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.5: How to check if a lisp function is defined?
7350 Use the following elisp:
7356 It's almost always a mistake to test @code{emacs-version} or any similar
7359 Instead, use feature-tests, such as @code{featurep}, @code{boundp},
7360 @code{fboundp}, or even simple behavioral tests, eg.:
7363 (defvar foo-old-losing-code-p
7364 (condition-case nil (progn (losing-code t) nil)
7365 (wrong-number-of-arguments t)))
7368 There is an incredible amount of broken code out there which could work
7369 much better more often in more places if it did the above instead of
7370 trying to divine its environment from the value of one variable.
7372 @node Q7.0.6, Q7.1.1, Q7.0.5, Advanced
7373 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.0.6: Can I force the output of @code{(face-list)} to a buffer?
7375 It would be good having it in a buffer, as the output of
7376 @code{(face-list)} is too wide to fit to a minibuffer.
7378 Evaluate the expression in the @samp{*scratch*} buffer with point after
7379 the rightmost paren and typing @kbd{C-j}.
7381 If the minibuffer smallness is the only problem you encounter, you can
7382 simply press @kbd{C-h l} to get the former minibuffer contents in a
7385 @unnumberedsec 7.1: Emacs Lisp Programming Techniques
7387 @node Q7.1.1, Q7.1.2, Q7.0.6, Advanced
7388 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.1: What is the difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
7390 @email{clerik@@naggum.no, Erik Naggum} writes;
7393 Emacs has a legacy of keyboards that produced characters with modifier
7394 bits, and therefore map a variety of input systems into this scheme even
7395 today. XEmacs is instead optimized for X events. This causes an
7396 incompatibility in the way key sequences are specified, but both Emacs
7397 and XEmacs will accept a key sequence as a vector of lists of modifiers
7398 that ends with a key, e.g., to bind @kbd{M-C-a}, you would say
7399 @code{[(meta control a)]} in both Emacsen. XEmacs has an abbreviated
7400 form for a single key, just (meta control a). Emacs has an abbreviated
7401 form for the Control and the Meta modifiers to string-characters (the
7402 ASCII characters), as in @samp{\M-\C-a}. XEmacs users need to be aware
7403 that the abbreviated form works only for one-character key sequences,
7404 while Emacs users need to be aware that the string-character is rather
7405 limited. Specifically, the string-character can accommodate only 256
7406 different values, 128 of which have the Meta modifier and 128 of which
7407 have not. In each of these blocks, only 32 characters have the Control
7408 modifier. Whereas @code{[(meta control A)]} differs from @code{[(meta
7409 control a)]} because the case differs, @samp{\M-\C-a} and @samp{\M-\C-A}
7410 do not. Programmers are advised to use the full common form, both
7411 because it is more readable and less error-prone, and because it is
7412 supported by both Emacsen.
7415 Another (even safer) way to be sure of the key-sequences is to use the
7416 @code{read-kbd-macro} function, which takes a string like @samp{C-c
7417 <up>}, and converts it to the internal key representation of the Emacs
7418 you use. The function is available both on XEmacs and GNU Emacs.
7420 @node Q7.1.2, Q7.1.3, Q7.1.1, Advanced
7421 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.2: Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?
7423 I wonder if there is an interactive function that can generate
7424 @dfn{fake} keyboard events. This way, I could simply map them inside
7430 (defun cg--generate-char-event (ch)
7431 "Generate an event, as if ch has been typed"
7432 (dispatch-event (character-to-event ch)))
7434 ;; Backspace and Delete stuff
7435 (global-set-key [backspace]
7436 (lambda () (interactive) (cg--generate-char-event 127)))
7437 (global-set-key [unknown_keysym_0x4]
7438 (lambda () (interactive) (cg--generate-char-event 4)))
7441 @node Q7.1.3, Q7.1.4, Q7.1.2, Advanced
7442 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.3: Could you explain @code{read-kbd-macro} in more detail?
7444 The @code{read-kbd-macro} function returns the internal Emacs
7445 representation of a human-readable string (which is its argument).
7449 (read-kbd-macro "C-c C-a")
7450 @result{} [(control ?c) (control ?a)]
7452 (read-kbd-macro "C-c C-. <up>")
7453 @result{} [(control ?c) (control ?.) up]
7456 In GNU Emacs the same forms will be evaluated to what GNU Emacs
7457 understands internally---the sequences @code{"\C-x\C-c"} and @code{[3
7458 67108910 up]}, respectively.
7460 The exact @dfn{human-readable} syntax is defined in the docstring of
7461 @code{edmacro-mode}. I'll repeat it here, for completeness.
7464 Format of keyboard macros during editing:
7466 Text is divided into @dfn{words} separated by whitespace. Except for
7467 the words described below, the characters of each word go directly as
7468 characters of the macro. The whitespace that separates words is
7469 ignored. Whitespace in the macro must be written explicitly, as in
7470 @kbd{foo @key{SPC} bar @key{RET}}.
7474 The special words @kbd{RET}, @kbd{SPC}, @kbd{TAB}, @kbd{DEL}, @kbd{LFD},
7475 @kbd{ESC}, and @kbd{NUL} represent special control characters. The
7476 words must be written in uppercase.
7479 A word in angle brackets, e.g., @code{<return>}, @code{<down>}, or
7480 @code{<f1>}, represents a function key. (Note that in the standard
7481 configuration, the function key @code{<return>} and the control key
7482 @key{RET} are synonymous.) You can use angle brackets on the words
7483 @key{RET}, @key{SPC}, etc., but they are not required there.
7486 Keys can be written by their @sc{ascii} code, using a backslash followed
7487 by up to six octal digits. This is the only way to represent keys with
7491 One or more prefixes @kbd{M-} (meta), @kbd{C-} (control), @kbd{S-}
7492 (shift), @kbd{A-} (alt), @kbd{H-} (hyper), and @kbd{s-} (super) may
7493 precede a character or key notation. For function keys, the prefixes
7494 may go inside or outside of the brackets: @code{C-<down>} @equiv{}
7495 @code{<C-down>}. The prefixes may be written in any order: @kbd{M-C-x}
7496 @equiv{} @kbd{C-M-x}.
7498 Prefixes are not allowed on multi-key words, e.g., @kbd{C-abc}, except
7499 that the Meta prefix is allowed on a sequence of digits and optional
7500 minus sign: @kbd{M--123} @equiv{} @kbd{M-- M-1 M-2 M-3}.
7503 The @code{^} notation for control characters also works: @kbd{^M}
7507 Double angle brackets enclose command names: @code{<<next-line>>} is
7508 shorthand for @kbd{M-x next-line @key{RET}}.
7511 Finally, @code{REM} or @code{;;} causes the rest of the line to be
7512 ignored as a comment.
7515 Any word may be prefixed by a multiplier in the form of a decimal number
7516 and @code{*}: @code{3*<right>} @equiv{} @code{<right> <right> <right>},
7517 and @code{10*foo} @equiv{}
7521 @code{foofoofoofoofoofoofoofoofoofoo}.
7523 Multiple text keys can normally be strung together to form a word, but
7524 you may need to add whitespace if the word would look like one of the
7525 above notations: @code{; ; ;} is a keyboard macro with three semicolons,
7526 but @code{;;;} is a comment. Likewise, @code{\ 1 2 3} is four keys but
7527 @code{\123} is a single key written in octal, and @code{< right >} is
7528 seven keys but @code{<right>} is a single function key. When in doubt,
7532 @node Q7.1.4, Q7.1.5, Q7.1.3, Advanced
7533 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.4: What is the performance hit of @code{let}?
7535 In most cases, not noticeable. Besides, there's no avoiding
7536 @code{let}---you have to bind your local variables, after all. Some
7537 pose a question whether to nest @code{let}s, or use one @code{let} per
7538 function. I think because of clarity and maintenance (and possible
7539 future implementation), @code{let}-s should be used (nested) in a way to
7540 provide the clearest code.
7542 @node Q7.1.5, Q7.1.6, Q7.1.4, Advanced
7543 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.5: What is the recommended use of @code{setq}?
7546 @item Global variables
7548 You will typically @code{defvar} your global variable to a default
7549 value, and use @code{setq} to set it later.
7551 It is never a good practice to @code{setq} user variables (like
7552 @code{case-fold-search}, etc.), as it ignores the user's choice
7553 unconditionally. Note that @code{defvar} doesn't change the value of a
7554 variable if it was bound previously. If you wish to change a
7555 user-variable temporarily, use @code{let}:
7558 (let ((case-fold-search nil))
7559 ... ; code with searches that must be case-sensitive
7563 You will notice the user-variables by their docstrings beginning with an
7564 asterisk (a convention).
7566 @item Local variables
7568 Bind them with @code{let}, which will unbind them (or restore their
7569 previous value, if they were bound) after exiting from the @code{let}
7570 form. Change the value of local variables with @code{setq} or whatever
7571 you like (e.g. @code{incf}, @code{setf} and such). The @code{let} form
7572 can even return one of its local variables.
7577 ;; iterate through the elements of the list returned by
7578 ;; `hairy-function-that-returns-list'
7579 (let ((l (hairy-function-that-returns-list)))
7581 ... do something with (car l) ...
7585 Another typical usage includes building a value simply to work with it.
7588 ;; Build the mode keymap out of the key-translation-alist
7589 (let ((inbox (file-truename (expand-file-name box)))
7591 ... code dealing with inbox ...
7595 This piece of code uses the local variable @code{inbox}, which becomes
7596 unbound (or regains old value) after exiting the form. The form also
7597 returns the value of @code{inbox}, which can be reused, for instance:
7600 (setq foo-processed-inbox
7605 @node Q7.1.6, Q7.1.7, Q7.1.5, Advanced
7606 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.6: What is the typical misuse of @code{setq}?
7608 A typical misuse is probably @code{setq}ing a variable that was meant to
7609 be local. Such a variable will remain bound forever, never to be
7610 garbage-collected. For example, the code doing:
7613 (defun my-function (whatever)
7615 ... build a large list ...
7619 does a bad thing, as @code{a} will keep consuming memory, never to be
7620 unbound. The correct thing is to do it like this:
7623 (defun my-function (whatever)
7624 (let (a) ; default initialization is to nil
7625 ... build a large list ...
7626 ... and exit, unbinding `a' in the process ...)
7629 Not only is this prettier syntactically, but it makes it possible for
7630 Emacs to garbage-collect the objects which @code{a} used to reference.
7632 Note that even global variables should not be @code{setq}ed without
7633 @code{defvar}ing them first, because the byte-compiler issues warnings.
7634 The reason for the warning is the following:
7637 (defun flurgoze nil) ; ok, global internal variable
7640 (setq flurghoze t) ; ops! a typo, but semantically correct.
7641 ; however, the byte-compiler warns.
7643 While compiling toplevel forms:
7644 ** assignment to free variable flurghoze
7647 @node Q7.1.7, Q7.1.8, Q7.1.6, Advanced
7648 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.7: I like the @code{do} form of cl, does it slow things down?
7650 It shouldn't. Here is what Dave Gillespie has to say about cl.el
7654 Many of the advanced features of this package, such as @code{defun*},
7655 @code{loop}, and @code{setf}, are implemented as Lisp macros. In
7656 byte-compiled code, these complex notations will be expanded into
7657 equivalent Lisp code which is simple and efficient. For example, the
7665 are expanded at compile-time to the Lisp forms
7669 (setcar p (cons x (car p)))
7672 which are the most efficient ways of doing these respective operations
7673 in Lisp. Thus, there is no performance penalty for using the more
7674 readable @code{incf} and @code{push} forms in your compiled code.
7676 @emph{Interpreted} code, on the other hand, must expand these macros
7677 every time they are executed. For this reason it is strongly
7678 recommended that code making heavy use of macros be compiled. (The
7679 features labelled @dfn{Special Form} instead of @dfn{Function} in this
7680 manual are macros.) A loop using @code{incf} a hundred times will
7681 execute considerably faster if compiled, and will also garbage-collect
7682 less because the macro expansion will not have to be generated, used,
7683 and thrown away a hundred times.
7685 You can find out how a macro expands by using the @code{cl-prettyexpand}
7689 @node Q7.1.8, Q7.1.9, Q7.1.7, Advanced
7690 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.8: I like recursion, does it slow things down?
7692 Yes. The Emacs byte-compiler cannot do much to optimize recursion. But
7693 think well whether this is a real concern in Emacs. Much of the Emacs
7694 slowness comes from internal mechanisms such as redisplay, or from the
7695 fact that it is an interpreter.
7697 Please try not to make your code much uglier to gain a very small speed
7698 gain. It's not usually worth it.
7700 @node Q7.1.9, Q7.1.10, Q7.1.8, Advanced
7701 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.9: How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?
7703 Here is a solution that will insert the glyph annotation at the
7704 beginning of buffer:
7707 (make-annotation (make-glyph '([FORMAT :file FILE]
7708 [string :data "fallback-text"]))
7714 Replace @samp{FORMAT} with an unquoted symbol representing the format of
7715 the image (e.g. @code{xpm}, @code{xbm}, @code{gif}, @code{jpeg}, etc.)
7716 Instead of @samp{FILE}, use the image file name
7721 @file{/usr/local/lib/xemacs-21.4/etc/recycle.xpm}).
7723 You can turn this to a function (that optionally prompts you for a file
7724 name), and inserts the glyph at @code{(point)} instead of
7727 @node Q7.1.10, Q7.1.11, Q7.1.9, Advanced
7728 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.10: @code{map-extents} won't traverse all of my extents!
7730 I tried to use @code{map-extents} to do an operation on all the extents
7731 in a region. However, it seems to quit after processing a random number
7732 of extents. Is it buggy?
7734 No. The documentation of @code{map-extents} states that it will iterate
7735 across the extents as long as @var{function} returns @code{nil}.
7736 Unexperienced programmers often forget to return @code{nil} explicitly,
7737 which results in buggy code. For instance, the following code is
7738 supposed to delete all the extents in a buffer, and issue as many
7739 @samp{fubar!} messages.
7742 (map-extents (lambda (ext ignore)
7744 (message "fubar!")))
7747 Instead, it will delete only the first extent, and stop right there --
7748 because @code{message} will return a non-nil value. The correct code
7752 (map-extents (lambda (ext ignore)
7758 @node Q7.1.11, Q7.2.1, Q7.1.10, Advanced
7759 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.1.11: My elisp program is horribly slow. Is there an easy way to find out where it spends time?
7762 @email{hniksic@@xemacs.org, Hrvoje Niksic} writes:
7764 Under XEmacs 20.4 and later you can use @kbd{M-x profile-key-sequence},
7765 press a key (say @key{RET} in the Gnus Group buffer), and get the
7766 results using @kbd{M-x profile-results}. It should give you an idea of
7767 where the time is being spent.
7770 @unnumberedsec 7.2: Mathematics
7772 @node Q7.2.1, Q7.2.2, Q7.1.11, Advanced
7773 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.2.1: What are bignums, ratios, and bigfloats in Lisp?
7775 Thanks to @email{james@@xemacs.org, Jerry James}, XEmacs 21.5.18 and
7776 later can use the capabilities of multiple-precision libraries that may
7777 be available for your platform. The GNU Multiple Precision (GMP) and
7778 BSD Multiple Precision (MP) libraries are partially supported. GMP
7779 gives you @dfn{bignums} (arbitrary precision integers), @dfn{ratios}
7780 (arbitrary precision fractions), and @dfn{bigfloats} (arbitrary
7781 precision floating point numbers). GNU MP is better-supported by XEmacs
7782 at the time of writing (2004-04-06). BSD MP support does not include
7783 ratios or bigfloats, and it throws errors that aren't understood.
7785 In most cases, bignum support should be transparent to users and Lisp
7786 programmers. A bignum-enabled XEmacs will automatically convert from
7787 fixnums to bignums and back in pure integer arithmetic, and for GNU MP,
7788 from floats to bigfloats. (Bigfloats must be explicitly coerced to
7789 other types, even if they are exactly representable by less precise
7790 types.) The Lisp reader and printer have been enhanced to handle
7791 bignums, as have the mathematical functions. Rationals (fixnums,
7792 bignums, and ratios) are printed using the @samp{%d}, @samp{%o},
7793 @samp{%x}, and @samp{%u} format conversions. The read syntax for ratios
7796 User-visible changes in behavior include (in probable order of annoyance)
7800 Arithmetic can cause a segfault, depending on your MP library
7801 @ref{Q7.2.2, XEmacs segfaults when I use very big numbers!}.
7804 Terminology is not Common-Lisp-conforming. For example, ``integer'' for
7805 Emacs Lisp means what Common Lisp calls ``fixnum''. This issue is being
7806 investigated, but the use of ``integer'' for fixnum is pervasive and may
7807 cause backward-compatibility and GNU-Emacs-compatibility problems.
7810 Many operations that used to cause a range error now succeed, with
7811 intermediate results and return values coerced to bignums as needed.
7814 An atom with ratio read syntax now returns a number, not a symbol.
7817 The @samp{%u} format conversion will now give an error if its argument
7818 is negative. (Without MP, it prints a number which Lisp can't read.)
7821 @emph{Surgeon General's Warning}: The automatic conversions cannot be
7822 disabled at runtime. New functions have been added which produce
7823 ratios, so there should be few surprises with type conflicts, but they
7824 can't be ruled out. ``Arbitrary'' precision means precisely what it
7825 says. If you work with extremely large numbers, your machine may
7826 arbitrarily decide to hand you an unpleasant surprise rather than a
7827 bignum @ref{Q7.2.2, XEmacs segfaults when I use very big numbers!}.
7829 To configure with GNU MP, add @samp{--use-number-lib=gmp}
7830 (@samp{--enable-bignum=gmp} in 21.5 or later) to your invocation of
7831 @file{configure}. For BSD MP, use @samp{--use-number-lib=mp}
7832 (@samp{--enable-bignum=mp} for 21.5).
7834 If you would like to help with bignum support, especially on BSD MP,
7835 please subscribe to the @uref{http://www.xemacs.org/Lists/#xemacs-beta,
7836 XEmacs Beta mailing list}, and book up on @file{number-gmp.h} and
7837 @file{number-mp.h}. Jerry has promised to write internals documentation
7838 eventually, but if your skills run more to analysis and documentation
7839 than to writing new code, feel free to fill in the gap!
7842 @node Q7.2.2, Q7.2.3, Q7.2.1, Advanced
7843 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.2.2: XEmacs segfaults when I use very big numbers!
7845 GMP by default allocates temporaries on the stack. If you run out of
7846 stack space, you're dead; there is no way that we know of to reliably
7847 detect this condition, because @samp{alloca} is typically implemented to
7848 be @emph{fast} rather than robust. If you just need a little more
7849 oomph, use a bigger stack (@emph{e.g.}, the @file{ulimit -s} command in
7850 bash(1)). If you want robustness at the cost of speed, configure GMP
7851 with @samp{--disable-alloca} and rebuild the GMP library.
7853 We do not know whether BSD MP uses @samp{alloca} or not. Please send
7854 any information you have as a bug report (@kbd{M-x report-xemacs-bug
7855 @key{RET}}), which will give us platform information. (We do know that
7856 BSD MP implementations vary across vendors, but how much, we do not know
7860 @node Q7.2.3, Q7.2.4, Q7.2.2, Advanced
7861 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.2.3: Bignums are really slow!
7863 Many Linux distributions compile all their packages for the i386, and
7864 this is costly. An optimized version can give you two or three orders
7865 of magnitude better performance for a Pentium III or IV. (Yes, really.
7866 See @uref{http://www.swox.com/gmp/gmp-speed.html}.)
7869 @node Q7.2.4, , Q7.2.3, Advanced
7870 @unnumberedsubsec Q7.2.4: Equal bignums don't compare as equal! What gives?
7872 Ah, Grasshopper, I see you are using @code{(eq x y)}. The Bodhisattva
7873 CLTL2 warned of the illusion that equal numbers would be @samp{eq}!
7874 Meditate on the deeper truths of @samp{eql}, in which numbers of the same
7875 type which have equal values compare equal, and @samp{=}, which does any
7876 necessary type coercions before comparing for equality.
7878 Yeah, yeah, it has always worked for integer types, because fixnums and
7879 characters have an immediate representation. Sorry about that;
7880 arbitrary precision obviously requires consing new objects because the
7881 objects are ``large'' and of variable size, and the definition of
7882 @samp{eq} does not permit different objects to compare as equal.
7884 @node Other Packages, Current Events, Advanced, Top
7885 @unnumbered 8 Other External Packages
7887 This is part 8 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
7888 section is devoted to miscellaneous external packages not covered
7889 elsewhere in XEmacs.
7893 * Q8.0.1:: Is there something better than LaTeX mode?
7894 * Q8.0.2:: What is AUCTeX? Where do you get it?
7895 * Q8.0.3:: Problems installing AUCTeX.
7896 * Q8.0.4:: How do I turn off current chapter from AUCTeX modeline?
7898 8.1: Other Unbundled Packages
7899 * Q8.1.1:: Is there a reason for an Emacs package not to be included in XEmacs?
7900 * Q8.1.2:: Are there any Emacs Lisp Spreadsheets?
7901 * Q8.1.3:: Is there a MatLab mode?
7903 8.2: Environments Built Around XEmacs
7904 * Q8.2.1:: What are SPARCworks, EOS, and WorkShop?
7905 * Q8.2.2:: How do I start the Sun Workshop support in XEmacs 21?
7906 * Q8.2.3:: What is/was Energize?
7907 * Q8.2.4:: What is Infodock?
7910 @unnumberedsec 8.0: TeX
7912 @node Q8.0.1, Q8.0.2, Other Packages, Other Packages
7913 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.0.1: Is there something better than LaTeX mode?
7915 @email{dak@@fsnif.neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de, David Kastrup} writes:
7918 The standard TeX modes leave much to be desired, and are somewhat
7919 leniently maintained. Serious TeX users use AUCTeX (@pxref{Q8.0.2,
7920 What is AUCTeX? Where do you get it?}).
7923 @node Q8.0.2, Q8.0.3, Q8.0.1, Other Packages
7924 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.0.2: What is AUCTeX? Where do you get it?
7926 AUCTeX is a complex and sophisticated editing package dedicated to TeX
7927 and related text formatting languages, including LaTeX and Texinfo.
7928 It provides support for running TeX on a file or part of a file,
7929 include files, and of course shortcuts for entering common TeX macros,
7930 LaTeX environments, etc, and for fontlock.
7932 AUCTeX is a standard package provided by XEmacs. You can get it as
7933 usual through the @kbd{M-x list-packages} interface. It is also
7934 included in the (non-Mule) SUMO package. The AUCTeX XEmacs package is
7935 maintained by Uwe Brauer <GET MAIL ADDRESS>.
7937 AUCTeX is extremely complicated, and its developers primarily
7938 use GNU Emacs. Not all features of the bleeding edge version
7939 of AUCTeX are immediately ported to XEmacs; if you need
7940 these, you may be better off getting the most recent versions
7941 from the GNU AUCTeX project on @uref{http://savannah.gnu.org}.
7943 @node Q8.0.3, Q8.0.4, Q8.0.2, Other Packages
7944 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.0.3: Problems installing AUCTeX.
7946 @email{vroonhof@@math.ethz.ch, Jan Vroonhof} writes:
7949 AUCTeX works fine on both stock Emacs and XEmacs has been doing so for
7950 a very very long time. This is mostly due to the work of
7951 @email{abraham@@dina.kvl.dk, Per Abrahamsen} (clap clap) in particular his @file{easymenu}
7952 package. Which leads to what is probably the problem...
7955 Most problems with AUCTeX are one of two things:
7959 The TeX-lisp-directory in @file{tex-site.el} and the makefile don't
7962 Fix: make sure you configure AUCTeX properly @strong{before} installing.
7965 You have an old version of easymenu.el in your path.
7967 Fix: use @code{locate-library} and remove old versions to make sure it
7968 @strong{only} finds the one that came with XEmacs.
7971 @node Q8.0.4, Q8.1.1, Q8.0.3, Other Packages
7972 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.0.4: How do I turn off current chapter from AUCTeX modeline?
7974 With AUCTeX, fast typing is hard because the current chapter, section
7975 etc. are given in the modeline. How can I turn this off?
7977 It's not AUCTeX, it comes from @code{func-menu} in @file{func-menu.el}.
7979 @c Add this code to your @file{init.el} to turn it off:
7982 @c (setq fume-display-in-modeline-p nil)
7985 @c Or just add a hook to @code{TeX-mode-hook} to turn it off only for TeX
7989 @c (add-hook 'TeX-mode-hook
7990 @c '(lambda () (setq fume-display-in-modeline-p nil)))
7993 @email{dhughes@@origin-at.co.uk, David Hughes} writes:
7996 Try this; you'll still get the function name displayed in the modeline,
7997 but it won't attempt to keep track when you modify the file. To refresh
7998 when it gets out of synch, you simply need click on the @samp{Rescan
7999 Buffer} option in the function-menu.
8002 (setq-default fume-auto-rescan-buffer-p nil)
8006 @unnumberedsec 8.1: Other Unbundled Packages
8008 @node Q8.1.1, Q8.1.2, Q8.0.4, Other Packages
8009 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.1.1: Is there a reason for an Emacs package not to be included in XEmacs?
8011 The reason for an Emacs package not to be included in XEmacs is
8012 usually one or more of the following:
8016 The package has not been ported to XEmacs. This will typically happen
8017 when it uses GNU-Emacs-specific features, which make it fail under
8020 Porting a package to XEmacs can range from a trivial amount of change to
8021 a partial or full rewrite. Fortunately, the authors of modern packages
8022 usually choose to support both Emacsen themselves.
8025 The package has been decided not to be appropriate for XEmacs. It may
8026 have an equivalent or better replacement within XEmacs, in which case
8027 the developers may choose not to burden themselves with supporting an
8030 Each package bundled with XEmacs means more work for the maintainers,
8031 whether they want it or not. If you are ready to take over the
8032 maintenance responsibilities for the package you port, be sure to say
8033 so---we will more likely include it.
8036 The package simply hasn't been noted by the XEmacs development. If
8037 that's the case, the messages like yours are very useful for attracting
8041 The package was noted by the developers, but they simply haven't yet
8042 gotten around to including/porting it. Wait for the next release or,
8043 even better, offer your help. It will be gladly accepted and
8047 @node Q8.1.2, Q8.1.3, Q8.1.1, Other Packages
8048 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.1.2: Are there any Emacs Lisp Spreadsheets?
8050 Yes. Check out @dfn{dismal} (which stands for Dis' Mode Ain't Lotus) at
8054 @uref{http://acs.ist.psu.edu/dismal/dismal.html}.
8056 @node Q8.1.3, Q8.2.1, Q8.1.2, Other Packages
8057 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.1.3: Is there a MatLab mode?
8059 Yes, a matlab mode and other items are available at the
8060 @uref{http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/files/104/matlab.el}.
8062 @unnumberedsec 8.2: Environments Built Around XEmacs
8064 @node Q8.2.1, Q8.2.2, Q8.1.3, Other Packages
8065 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.2.1: What are SPARCworks, EOS, and WorkShop?
8067 SPARCworks was a development environment from Sun (circa 1993-1996)
8068 and consisted of compilers (C, C++, FORTRAN 77, Fortran 90, Ada, and
8069 Pascal), a debugger, and other tools such as TeamWare (for
8070 configuration management), MakeTool, etc.
8072 EOS is the integration of XEmacs with the SPARCworks debugger. It
8073 allows one to use an XEmacs frame to view code (complete with
8074 fontification, etc.), set breakpoints, print variables, etc., while
8075 using the SPARCworks debugger.
8077 EOS stands for "Era on SPARCworks"; Era stood for "Emacs Rewritten
8078 Again" and was the name used by Sun for its modified version of Lucid
8079 Emacs (later XEmacs) in the early-mid 90's. This is documented in
8080 more detail in the history section of the XEmacs About page.
8082 EOS was replaced around 1996 with a newer graphical development
8083 environment called Sun WorkShop. The current status of this is
8086 @node Q8.2.2, Q8.2.3, Q8.2.1, Other Packages
8087 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.2.2: How do I start the Sun Workshop support in XEmacs 21?
8089 Add the switch ---with-workshop to the configure command when building
8090 XEmacs and put the following in one of your startup files
8091 (e.g. site-start.el or .emacs):
8094 (when (featurep 'tooltalk)
8095 (load "tooltalk-macros")
8096 (load "tooltalk-util")
8097 (load "tooltalk-init"))
8098 (when (featurep 'sparcworks)
8099 (load "sunpro-init")
8102 (load "annotations")
8106 If you are not using the latest Workshop (5.0) you have to apply the
8110 --- /opt/SUNWspro/lib/eserve.el.ORIG Fri May 14 15:23:26 1999
8111 +++ /opt/SUNWspro/lib/eserve.el Fri May 14 15:24:54 1999
8112 @@@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@@@
8113 (defvar running-xemacs nil "t if we're running XEmacs")
8114 (defvar running-emacs nil "t if we're running GNU Emacs 19")
8116 -(if (string-match "^\\(19\\|20\\)\..*\\(XEmacs\\|Lucid\\)" emacs-version)
8117 +(if (string-match "\\(XEmacs\\|Lucid\\)" emacs-version)
8118 (setq running-xemacs t)
8119 (setq running-emacs t))
8122 @node Q8.2.3, Q8.2.4, Q8.2.2, Other Packages
8123 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.2.3: What is/was Energize?
8125 The "Energize Programming System" was a C and C++ development environment
8126 sold by Lucid, Inc. It was the reason why Lucid Emacs, now XEmacs, was
8127 created in the first place. Unfortunately, Lucid went out of business in
8128 1994. The rights to sell it in Japan were purchased by INS
8129 Engineering (which briefly employed Stig Hackvan aka Jonathan
8130 Stigelman to work on Japanese support for XEmacs, in late 1994 and
8131 early 1995) and Tartan bought the rights to sell it in the rest of the
8132 world. However, INS is not selling Energize at this point and may or
8133 may not have ever done so; Tartan certainly never did.
8135 @node Q8.2.4, , Q8.2.3, Other Packages
8136 @unnumberedsubsec Q8.2.4: What is Infodock?
8138 @uref{http://sourceforge.net/projects/infodock/, InfoDock} is an
8139 integrated productivity toolset, mainly aimed at technical people,
8140 hosted at SourceForge.
8142 InfoDock is built atop the XEmacs variant of GNU Emacs and so has all of
8143 the power of Emacs, but with an easier to use and more comprehensive
8144 menu-based user interface. The bottom portion of this text describes
8145 how it differs from XEmacs and GNU Emacs from the Free Software
8148 InfoDock is aimed at people who want a free, turn-key productivity
8149 environment. Although InfoDock is customizable, it is not intended for
8150 people who like basic versions of Emacs which need to be customized
8151 extensively for local use; standard Emacs distributions are better for
8152 such uses. InfoDock is for those people who want a complete,
8153 pre-customized environment in one package, which they need not touch
8154 more than once or twice a year to update to new revisions.
8156 InfoDock is pre-built for SPARC SunOS/Solaris systems, PA-RISC HP-UX,
8157 and Intel Linux systems. It is intended for use on a color display,
8158 although most features will work on monochrome monitors. Simply unpack
8159 InfoDock according to the instructions in the ID-INSTALL file and you
8162 The InfoDock Manual is concise, yet sufficient as a user guide for users
8163 who have never used an Emacs-type editor before. For users who are
8164 already familiar with Emacs, it supplements the information in the GNU
8167 InfoDock menus are much more extensive and more mature than standard
8168 Emacs menus. Each menu offers a @samp{Manual} item which displays
8169 documentation associated with the menu's functions.
8172 Four types of menubars are provided:
8175 An extensive menubar providing access to global InfoDock commands.
8177 Mode-specific menubars tailored to the current major mode.
8179 A simple menubar for basic editing to help novices get started with InfoDock.
8181 The standard XEmacs menubar.
8184 Most modes also include mode-specific popup menus. Additionally, region and
8185 rectangle popup menus are included.
8187 @samp{Hyperbole}, the everyday information manager, is a core part of
8188 InfoDock. This provides context-sensitive mouse keys, a rolodex-type
8189 contact manager, programmable hypertext buttons, and an autonumbered
8190 outliner with embedded hyperlink anchors.
8192 The @samp{OO-Browser}, a multi-language object-oriented code browser, is a
8193 standard part of InfoDock.
8195 InfoDock saves a more extensive set of user options than other Emacs
8198 InfoDock inserts a useful file header in many file types, showing the
8199 author, summary, and last modification time of each file. A summary
8200 program can then be used to summarize all of the files in a directory,
8201 for easy MANIFEST file creation.
8203 Your working set of buffers is automatically saved and restored (if you
8204 answer yes to a prompt) between InfoDock sessions.
8206 Refined color choices for code highlighting are provided for both dark and
8207 light background display frames.
8209 The @kbd{C-z} key prefix performs frame-based commands which parallel the
8210 @kbd{C-x} key prefix for window-based commands.
8212 The Smart Menu system is included for producing command menus on dumb
8215 Lisp libraries are better categorized according to function.
8217 Extensions and improvements to many areas of Emacs are included, such as:
8218 paragraph filling, mail reading with Rmail, shell handling, outlining, code
8219 highlighting and browsing, and man page browsing.
8221 InfoDock questions, answers and discussion should go to the mail list
8225 @email{infodock@@infodock.com}. Use
8226 @email{infodock-request@@infodock.com} to be added or removed from the
8227 list. Always include your InfoDock version number when sending help
8230 @node Current Events, Legacy Versions, Other Packages, Top
8231 @unnumbered 9 What the Future Holds
8233 This is part 9 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. This
8234 section will change frequently, and (in theory) should contain any
8235 interesting items that have transpired recently. (But in practice it's
8236 not getting updated like this.)
8238 This section also contains descriptions of the new features in all the
8239 recent releases of XEmacs. For the most part, the information below is
8240 a synopsis of the more complete information that can be found in the
8241 file @file{NEWS} in the @file{etc} directory of the XEmacs distribution.
8242 You can view this file in XEmacs using @kbd{C-h n} or the @samp{Help}
8245 Information on older versions of XEmacs can be find in @file{ONEWS} in
8246 the same directory, or @file{OONEWS} for really old versions.
8250 * Q9.0.1:: What new features will be in XEmacs soon?
8251 * Q9.0.2:: What's new in XEmacs 21.4?
8252 * Q9.0.3:: What's new in XEmacs 21.1?
8253 * Q9.0.4:: What's new in XEmacs 20.4?
8254 * Q9.0.5:: What's new in XEmacs 20.3?
8255 * Q9.0.6:: What's new in XEmacs 20.2?
8258 @unnumberedsec 9.0: Changes
8260 @node Q9.0.1, Q9.0.2, Current Events, Current Events
8261 @unnumberedsubsec Q9.0.1: What new features will be in XEmacs soon?
8265 @node Q9.0.2, Q9.0.3, Q9.0.1, Current Events
8266 @unnumberedsubsec Q9.0.2: What's new in XEmacs 21.4?
8268 21.4 was the "stable" version of the 21.2 series, which was considered
8269 "experimental" throughout its life; thus there were no "official"
8270 releases at all. In essence, XEmacs is now following the "alternating"
8271 scheme of Linux, where at any point there are at least two different
8272 development branches, one "stable" and one "experimental". Periodic
8273 releases happen in both branches, but those in the experimental branch
8274 are not tested as well, and there's no guarantee they will work at all.
8275 The experiemental branch is open to any and all code that's acceptable
8276 to the developers; the stable branch, however, is in general limited
8277 only to bug fixes, and all contributions are carefully reviewed to make
8278 sure they will increase and not decrease stability.
8280 21.3 never existed at all; it was decided to follow the Linux scheme
8281 exactly, where odd-numbered series are experimental and even-numbered
8284 The following lists summarizes the essential changes made in this
8285 version. For a fuller list, see the @file{NEWS} in the @file{etc}
8286 directory of the XEmacs distribution, or use @kbd{C-h n} or the
8287 @samp{Help} menu to view this file inside of XEmacs.
8289 @unnumberedsubsubsec User-visible changes in XEmacs 21.4
8294 The delete key now deletes forward by default.
8296 Shifted motion keys now select text by default.
8298 You can now build XEmacs with support for GTK+ widget set.
8300 ~/.xemacs/init.el is now the preferred location for the init
8301 file. (XEmacs now supports a `~/.xemacs/init.el' startup file. Custom
8302 file will move to ~/.xemacs/custom.el.)
8304 Much-improved sample init.el, showing how to use many useful features.
8306 XEmacs support for menu accelerators has been much improved.
8308 Default menubar improvements. (Default menubar has many new commands and
8309 better organization. The font-menu is now available under MS Windows.)
8311 Dialog box improvements, including a real file dialog box. (XEmacs now
8312 has a proper file dialog box under MS Windows (and GTK)! The old
8313 clunky file dialog box is improved. Keyboard traversal now works
8314 correctly in MS Windows dialog boxes. There is a Search dialog box
8315 available from @samp{Edit->Find...})
8319 There is a new MS Windows installer, netinstall, ported from Cygwin.
8321 The subprocess quote-handling mechanism under Windows is much improved.
8323 Printing support now available under MS Windows.
8325 Selection improvements. (Kill and yank now interact with the clipboard under Windows. MS Windows support for selection is now much more robust. Motif selection support is now more correct (but slower).)
8327 Mail spool locking now works correctly.
8329 International support changes. (The default coding-priority-list is now
8330 safer. International keysyms are now supported under X. MS Windows
8331 1251 code page now supported. Czech, Thai, Cyrillic-KOI8, Vietnamese,
8332 Ethiopic now supported. Proper support for words in Latin 3 and Latin
8335 Help buffers contain hyperlinks, and other changes.
8337 The modeline's text is now scrollable.
8339 The mouse wheel under MS Windows now functions correctly.
8341 Interactive searching and matching case improvements. (Incremental search will now highlight all visible matches. Interactive searches always respect uppercase characters.)
8343 Rectangle functions rewritten to avoid inserting extra spaces.
8345 New command `kill-entire-line' that always kills the entire line.
8347 Default values correctly stored in minibuffer histories.
8349 You can now create "indirect buffers", like in GNU Emacs.
8351 Pixel-based scrolling has been implemented.
8353 Operation progress can be displayed using graphical widgets.
8355 User names following a tilde can now be completed at file name prompts.
8357 XEmacs can now play sound using Enlightenment Sound Daemon (ESD).
8359 X-Face support is now available under MS Windows.
8361 The PostgreSQL Relational Database Management System is now supported.
8363 Indentation no longer indents comments that begin at column zero.
8365 Face and variable settings can have comments in Customize.
8367 New locations for early package hierarchies.
8369 The `auto-save' library has been greatly improved.
8371 New variable `mswindows-alt-by-itself-activates-menu'.
8373 Other init-file-related changes. (Init file in your home directory may be called `.emacs.el'. New command-line switches -user-init-file and -user-init-directory.)
8375 Etags changes. See @file{NEWS} for full details.
8378 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lisp and internal changes in XEmacs 21.4
8382 @c APA: Texi2html produces invalid HTML from an empty list of bullets!
8383 @c Please uncomment following list when it does contain bullets.
8387 @node Q9.0.3, Q9.0.4, Q9.0.2, Current Events
8388 @unnumberedsubsec Q9.0.3: What's new in XEmacs 21.1?
8390 21.1 was the "stable" version of "experimental" 21.0 series.
8391 @xref{Q9.0.2, What's new in XEmacs 21.4?}.
8393 The following lists summarizes the essential changes made in this
8394 version. For a fuller list, see the @file{NEWS} in the @file{etc}
8395 directory of the XEmacs distribution, or use @kbd{C-h n} or the
8396 @samp{Help} menu to view this file inside of XEmacs.
8398 @unnumberedsubsubsec User-visible changes in XEmacs 21.1
8403 XEmacs is now supported under Microsoft Windows 95/98 and Windows
8404 NT/2000/XP operating systems. To discuss Windows-specific issues,
8405 subscribe to the mailing list at
8406 @email{xemacs-winnt-request@@xemacs.org}.
8409 XEmacs has been unbundled into constituent installable packages.
8412 @strong{Other notable changes}: The @samp{Options} menu has been ported to
8413 Custom; XEmacs now is able to choose X visuals and use private
8414 colormaps; You can drag the vertical divider of "horizontally"
8415 (side-by-side) split windows.
8418 @strong{Building changes}: XEmacs can be built with support for 31-bit Lisp
8419 integers and 32-bit pointers (previously, it was 28-bit integers and
8420 pointers); XEmacs can be built with LDAP support; @file{dir} files can be
8421 removed in the Info subsystem, and will be regenerated on-the-fly.
8424 @strong{New packages}: @file{imenu}, @file{popper}, @file{gdb-highlight}
8427 @strong{Package changes}: Many changes to @file{cc-mode}, @file{gnus},
8428 @file{gnuclient}. See @file{NEWS} for full details.
8431 @strong{New commands, variables and functions}:
8432 @code{center-to-window-line} (like @code{recenter} but doesn't force a
8433 redisplay); variable @code{user-full-name} (customize what your full
8434 name looks like in mail); @kbd{M-x customize-changed-options} (customize
8435 options whose default values changes because you upgraded your XEmacs);
8436 @kbd{M-x add-log-convert} (converts an old-style ChangeLog buffer to
8437 new-style); @kbd{M-x zap-up-to-char} (like @code{zap-to-char} but
8438 doesn't delete the char searched for); commands to store, retrieve and
8439 increment numbers in registers, useful for macros.
8442 @strong{Changes to commands, variables, and functions}: @kbd{M-x
8443 query-replace} and friends operate only on the region when it's active;
8444 @code{echo-keystrokes} can now be a floating-point number; @kbd{M-.}
8445 searches exact tag matches before inexact ones; function
8446 @code{user-full-name} with no arguments returns the var
8447 @code{user-full-name}; a prefix arg to @kbd{M-:} and @kbd{C-h c} inserts
8448 the result in the current buffer.
8451 @strong{Other changes}: Under X, new application class @samp{XEmacs};
8452 byte-compilation of user-specs now works.
8455 @strong{XEmacs/Mule (internationalization) changes}: Mule support now
8456 works on TTY's; Egg/SJ3 input method now officially supported (Quail and
8457 Egg/Skk already available through LEIM since 20.3); localized Japanese
8458 menubars if XEmacs is built with the right support.
8462 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lisp and internal changes in XEmacs 21.1
8467 @strong{Specifier changes}: The window locale now has a higher
8468 precedence than the buffer locale when instantiating; new macro
8469 @code{let-specifier}; new specifiers
8470 @code{vertical-scrollbar-visible-p}, horizontal-scrollbar-visible-p',
8471 @code{scrollbar-on-left-p}, @code{scrollbar-on-top-p},
8472 @code{vertical-divider-always-visible-p},
8473 @code{vertical-divider-shadow-thickness},
8474 @code{vertical-divider-line-width}, @code{vertical-divider-spacing};
8475 specifiers and symbols whose value is a specifier allowed as modeline
8479 @strong{Frame focus changes}: @code{focus-follows-mouse} works like FSF,
8480 prevents any attempt to permanently change the selected frame; new
8481 function @code{focus-frame} sets the window system focus a frame; new
8482 special forms @code{save-selected-frame} and @code{with-selected-frame}.
8485 @strong{Window function changes}: @code{select-window} now has optional
8486 argument @var{NORECORD} to inhibit recording a buffer change;
8487 @code{vertical-motion} now correctly handles optional @var{WINDOW}
8488 argument and has new optional argument @var{PIXELS}, to have the
8489 returned values be in pixels; new function
8490 @code{vertical-motion-pixels}; new functions
8491 @code{window-text-area-pixel-@{width,height,edges@}}; new functions
8492 @code{shrink-window-pixels} and @code{enlarge-window-pixels}; new
8493 function @code{window-displayed-text-pixel-height}.
8496 @strong{Other function changes}: Arithmetic comparison functions
8497 @code{<}, @code{>}, @code{=}, @code{/=} now accept a variable number of
8498 arguments; hashtables now have a consistent read/print syntax; keyword
8499 symbols cannot be set to a value other than themselves; @code{concat} no
8500 longer accepts integer arguments; new function @code{string}, like
8501 @code{list}, @code{vector}, etc.; new function @code{temp-directory}
8502 (OS-independent way to get a temp directory); @code{load-average} has
8503 optional argument @var{USE-FLOATS}; @code{make-event} implemented
8504 completely; new function @code{function-interactive} (returns a
8505 function's interactive spec); new functions @code{lmessage},
8506 @code{lwarn} (printf-like versions of @code{display-wessage},
8507 @code{display-warning}); new keyword @code{:version} to
8511 @strong{Performance}: when the new GNU Malloc aka Doug Lea Malloc is
8512 available, it will be used (better performance on libc6 Linux systems);
8513 tracking line-numbers in modeline is now efficient; profiling records a
8514 call-count of all called functions, retrievable through
8515 @code{profile-call-count-results}.
8518 @strong{Startup and path searching}: code to assemble paths at startup
8519 rewritten for new package system; new function @code{split-path} (splits
8520 by @code{path-separator}); @code{Info-default-directory-list} obsolete,
8521 use @code{Info-directory-list} instead; site-lisp is deprecated and no
8522 longer on the load-path by default.
8526 @node Q9.0.4, Q9.0.5, Q9.0.3, Current Events
8527 @unnumberedsubsec Q9.0.4: What's new in XEmacs 20.4?
8529 XEmacs 20.4 is a bugfix release with no user-visible changes.
8530 @c Filled in from NEWS file of 20.5-b33
8532 @node Q9.0.5, Q9.0.6, Q9.0.4, Current Events
8533 @unnumberedsubsec Q9.0.5: What's new in XEmacs 20.3?
8535 XEmacs 20.3 was released in November 1997. It contains many bugfixes,
8536 and a number of new features, including Autoconf 2 based configuration,
8537 additional support for Mule (Multi-language extensions to Emacs), many
8538 more customizations, multiple frames on TTY-s, support for multiple info
8539 directories, an enhanced gnuclient, improvements to regexp matching,
8540 increased MIME support, and many, many synches with GNU Emacs 20.
8542 The XEmacs/Mule support has been only seriously tested in a Japanese
8543 locale, and no doubt many problems still remain. The support for
8544 ISO-Latin-1 and Japanese is fairly strong. MULE support comes at a
8545 price---about a 30% slowdown from 19.16. We're making progress on
8546 improving performance and XEmacs 20.3 compiled without Mule (which is
8547 the default) is definitely faster than XEmacs 19.16.
8549 XEmacs 20.3 is the first non-beta v20 release, and will be the
8550 basis for all further development.
8552 @node Q9.0.6, , Q9.0.5, Current Events
8553 @unnumberedsubsec Q9.0.6: What's new in XEmacs 20.2?
8555 The biggest changes in 20.2 include integration of EFS (the next
8556 generation of ange-ftp) and AUC Tex (the Emacs subsystem that includes a
8557 major mode for editing Tex and LaTeX, and a lot of other stuff). Many
8558 bugs from 20.0 have been fixed for this release. 20.2 also contains a
8559 new system for customizing XEmacs options, invoked via @kbd{M-x
8562 XEmacs 20.2 is the development release (20.0 was beta), and is no longer
8563 considered unstable.
8565 For older news, see the file @file{ONEWS} in the @file{etc} directory of
8566 the XEmacs distribution.
8568 @node Legacy Versions, , Current Events, Top
8569 @unnumbered 10 New information about old XEmacsen
8571 This is part 10 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list. It will
8572 occasionally be updated to reflect new information about versions which
8573 are no longer being revised by the XEmacs Project. The primary purpose
8574 is advice on compatibility of older XEmacsen with new packages and
8575 updated versions of packages, but bug fixes (which will not be applied
8576 to released XEmacsen, but users can apply themselves) are also accepted.
8580 * Q10.0.1:: Gnus 5.10 won't display smileys in XEmacs 21.1.
8581 * Q10.0.2:: XEmacs won't start on Windows in XEmacs 21.1.
8584 @unnumberedsec 10.0: XEmacs 21.1
8586 @node Q10.0.1, Q10.0.2, Legacy Versions, Legacy Versions
8587 @unnumberedsubsec Q10.0.1: Gnus 5.10 won't display smileys in XEmacs 21.1.
8589 @email{eeide@@cs.utah.edu, Eric Eide} wrote:
8594 Eric> Summary: with Gnus 5.10.1 in XEmacs 21.1.14, I don't see
8595 Eric> any smileys :-(.
8597 After a bit of sleuthing, I discovered the essence of the problem.
8602 (insert-file-contents "foo.xpm")
8606 returns the empty string. This is because something somewhere
8607 replaces the XPM data with a glyph --- I haven't figured out where
8611 @email{kyle_jones@@wonderworks.com, Kyle Jones} replies:
8617 (setq format-alist nil)
8620 The image-mode stuff is gone from format-alist in the 21.4
8624 @node Q10.0.2, , Q10.0.1, Legacy Versions
8625 @unnumberedsubsec Q10.0.2: XEmacs won't start on Windows in XEmacs 21.1.
8627 XEmacs relies on a process called "dumping" to generate a working
8628 executable. Under MS-Windows this process effectively fixes the memory
8629 addresses of information in the executable. When XEmacs starts up it tries
8630 to reserve these memory addresses so that the dumping process can be
8631 reversed -- putting the information back at the correct addresses.
8632 Unfortunately some .DLLs (for instance the soundblaster driver) occupy
8633 memory addresses that can conflict with those needed by the dumped XEmacs
8634 executable. In this instance XEmacs will fail to start without any
8635 explanation. Note that this is extremely machine specific.
8637 21.1.10 includes a fix for this that makes more intelligent guesses
8638 about which memory addresses will be free, and this should cure the
8639 problem for most people. 21.4 implements "portable dumping", which
8640 eliminates the problem altogether. We recommend you use the 21.4
8641 binaries, but you can use the 21.1 binaries if you are very paranoid
8642 about stability. @xref{Q1.1.2, Are binaries available?}.