* entering.texi (Entering Emacs): Document initial-buffer-choice.

* building.texi (Lisp Interaction): Document initial-scratch-message.

3 files changed, 28 insertions, 7 deletions

diff --git a/doc/emacs/ChangeLog b/doc/emacs/ChangeLog
index 05778295905..ae57d3f74a9 100644
--- a/doc/emacs/ChangeLog
+++ b/doc/emacs/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+2009-04-22  Chong Yidong  <cyd@stupidchicken.com>
+
+        * entering.texi (Entering Emacs): Document initial-buffer-choice.
+
+        * building.texi (Lisp Interaction): Document initial-scratch-message.
+
 2009-04-18  Juanma Barranquero  <lekktu@gmail.com>
 
         * msdog.texi (Windows Fonts): Fix typos.
diff --git a/doc/emacs/building.texi b/doc/emacs/building.texi
index 4c79c047170..19c09ab9a12 100644
--- a/doc/emacs/building.texi
+++ b/doc/emacs/building.texi
@@ -1404,6 +1404,13 @@ point, evaluates it, and inserts the value in printed representation
 before point.  The result is a complete typescript of the expressions
 you have evaluated and their values.
 
+@vindex initial-scratch-message
+  At startup, the @samp{*scratch*} buffer contains a short message, in
+the form of a Lisp comment, that explains what it is for.  This
+message is controlled by the variable @code{initial-scratch-message},
+which should be either a string or @code{nil}.  If you set it to the
+empty string, or @code{nil}, the initial message is suppressed.
+
 @findex lisp-interaction-mode
   All other commands in Lisp Interaction mode are the same as in Emacs
 Lisp mode.  You can enable Lisp Interaction mode by typing @kbd{M-x
diff --git a/doc/emacs/entering.texi b/doc/emacs/entering.texi
index 213d688b363..d7ebb39339b 100644
--- a/doc/emacs/entering.texi
+++ b/doc/emacs/entering.texi
@@ -64,13 +64,13 @@ certain Lisp files, call certain functions, and so forth.  These
 features exist mainly for advanced users.  @xref{Emacs Invocation}.
 
 @vindex inhibit-startup-screen
-  If the value of the variable @code{inhibit-startup-screen} is
-non-@code{nil}, Emacs does not display the startup screen.  In that
-case, if one or more files were specified on the command line, Emacs
-simply displays those files; otherwise, it displays a buffer named
-@samp{*scratch*}, which can be used to evaluate Emacs Lisp expressions
-interactively (@pxref{Lisp Interaction}).  You can set the variable
-@code{inhibit-startup-screen} by using the Customize facility
+  If the variable @code{inhibit-startup-screen} is non-@code{nil},
+Emacs does not display the startup screen.  In that case, if one or
+more files were specified on the command line, Emacs simply displays
+those files; otherwise, it displays a buffer named @samp{*scratch*},
+which can be used to evaluate Emacs Lisp expressions interactively.
+@xref{Lisp Interaction}.  You can set the variable
+@code{inhibit-startup-screen} using the Customize facility
 (@pxref{Easy Customization}), or by editing your initialization file
 (@pxref{Init File}).@footnote{Note that setting
 @code{inhibit-startup-screen} in @file{site-start.el} doesn't work,
@@ -78,6 +78,14 @@ because the startup screen is set up before reading
 @file{site-start.el}.  @xref{Init File}, for information about
 @file{site-start.el}.}
 
+  You can also force Emacs to display a file or directory at startup
+by setting the variable @code{initial-buffer-choice} to a
+non-@code{nil} value.  (In that case, even if you specify one or more
+files on the command line, Emacs opens but does not display them.)
+The value of @code{initial-buffer-choice} can be either the name of
+the desired file or directory, or @code{t}, which means to display the
+@samp{*scratch*} buffer.
+
 @node Exiting, Basic, Entering Emacs, Top
 @section Exiting Emacs
 @cindex exiting