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authorRichard M. Stallman1993-01-05 22:25:05 +0000
committerRichard M. Stallman1993-01-05 22:25:05 +0000
commitc2fabcbf95e924e4cb947cf89d3581b3f0c9ab20 (patch)
tree4516bfc39caf73254bca4a090b3b58224e26ce28 /etc/FAQ
parent7617f113cd3b5dd4551485e0b6127405414551bb (diff)
downloademacs-c2fabcbf95e924e4cb947cf89d3581b3f0c9ab20.tar.gz
emacs-c2fabcbf95e924e4cb947cf89d3581b3f0c9ab20.zip
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1 GNU Emacs FAQ: Introduction 1 GNU Emacs FAQ: Introduction
2 2
3[To find what has changed, view the `Changes' posting or inspect the change 3[To find what has changed, see the "Changes" posting.]
4 bars in the text of the questions.] 4
5[Joe Wells (me) has quit as FAQ coordinator. Steven Byrnes is taking over this
6 responsibility. Let's give him a big round of applause! More volunteers are
7 still needed to help by taking charge of a section of the FAQ list. Send
8 e-mail if you are interested. - jbw]
9
10[First, I'd like to thank Joe for all of the work he's done on the FAQ to
11 date. Second: due to a hectic schedule, getting up to speed with
12 maintaining the FAQ, and trying to fix up some loose ends, this release of
13 the FAQ is coming out a bit late. (Ok, a lot late. :) I hope to get
14 another release, fixing up some lose ends, by the end of the month.
15 - sbyrnes]
5 16
6This is the introduction to a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about 17This is the introduction to a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about
7GNU Emacs with answers. This article contains a listing of the questions; 18GNU Emacs with answers. This article contains a listing of the questions;
8subsequent articles contain the questions and answers. 19subsequent articles contain the questions and answers.
9 20
10The FAQ is posted to reduce the noise level in the `gnu.emacs.help' newsgroup 21The FAQ list is posted to reduce the noise level in the `gnu.emacs.help'
11(which is also the `help-gnu-emacs' mailing list) which results from the 22newsgroup (which is also the `help-gnu-emacs' mailing list) which results from
12repetition of frequently asked questions, wrong answers to these questions, 23the repetition of frequently asked questions, wrong answers to these questions,
13corrections to the wrong answers, corrections to the corrections, debate, name 24corrections to the wrong answers, corrections to the corrections, debate, name
14calling, etc. Also, it serves as a repository of the canonical "best" answers 25calling, etc. Also, it serves as a repository of the canonical "best" answers
15to these questions. However, if you know a better answer or even a slight 26to these questions. However, if you know a better answer or even a slight
16change that improves an answer, please tell me! 27change that improves an answer, please tell us!
17 28
18If you know the answer of a question is in the FAQ, please reply to the 29If you know the answer of a question is in the FAQ list, please reply to the
19question by e-mail instead of posting. Help reduce noise! 30question by e-mail instead of posting. Help reduce noise!
20 31
21The FAQ is crossposted to `comp.emacs' because some sites do not receive the 32The FAQ list is crossposted to `comp.emacs' because some sites do not receive
22`gnu.*' newsgroups. The FAQ is also crossposted to `news.answers'. 33the `gnu.*' newsgroups. The FAQ list is also crossposted to `news.answers'.
23 34
24Please suggest new questions, answers, wording changes, deletions, etc. The 35Please suggest new questions, answers, wording changes, deletions, etc. The
25most helpful form for suggestions is a context diff (ie., the output of `diff 36most helpful form for suggestions is a context diff (ie., the output of `diff
26-c'). Include `FAQ' in the subject of messages sent to me about the FAQ. 37-c'). Include `FAQ' in the subject of messages sent to us about the FAQ list.
27 38
28Please do not send questions to me just because you do not want to disturb a 39Please do not send questions to us just because you do not want to disturb a
29lot of people and you think I would know the answer. I do not have time to 40lot of people and you think we would know the answer. We do not have time to
30answer questions individually. :-( 41answer questions individually. :-(
31 42
32Full instructions for getting the latest FAQ are in question 29. Also see the 43Full instructions for getting the latest FAQ are in question 22. Also see the
33`Introduction to news.answers' posting in the `news.answers' newsgroup, or send 44`Introduction to news.answers' posting in the `news.answers' newsgroup, or send
34e-mail to `mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu' with `help' on a body line, or use 45e-mail to `mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with `help' on a body line, or use FTP,
35FTP, WAIS, or Prospero to pit-manager.mit.edu. 46WAIS, or Prospero to rtfm.mit.edu.
36 47
37Future plans for this FAQ list include: 48These ideas have already been suggested, but we have not had time to
49implement them:
38 50
39 * A new section devoted to GNUS questions.
40 * Verification for files available via FTP and for mailing lists.
41 * Up-to-date IP addresses for sites mentioned for FTP access.
42 * A Texinfo version. 51 * A Texinfo version.
43 * Marking questions in the list below that have been changed recently. 52 * Marking questions in the table of contents that have been changed
53 recently.
44 54
45-- 55--
46Joe Wells <jbw@cs.bu.edu> 56Steven Byrnes <sbyrnes@rice.edu> (and Joe Wells <jbw@cs.bu.edu>)
57
58E-mail lpf@uunet.uu.net for details about the League for Programming Freedom.
47 59
48Member of the League for Programming Freedom --- send e-mail for details
49---------------------------------------------------------------------- 60----------------------------------------------------------------------
50 61
51Notation Used in the Answers 62 GNU Emacs FAQ: Table of Contents
52 63
531: What do things like this mean: C-h, M-C-a, RET, etc.? 64Notation Used in FAQ
542: What do you mean when you write things like this: type "ESC a"? 65
553: What if I don't have a Meta key? 661: What do these mean: C-h, M-C-a, RET, "ESC a", etc.?
564: What if I don't have an Escape key? 672: What does "M-x command" mean?
575: What does "M-x command" mean? 683: How do I read topic XXX in the on-line manual?
586: What do things like this mean: etc/SERVICE, src/config.h, 694: What do these mean: etc/SERVICE, src/config.h, lisp/default.el?
59 lisp/default.el? 705: What are FSF, LPF, OSF, GNU, RMS, FTP, and GPL?
607: What are FSF, LPF, OSF, GNU, RMS, FTP, and GPL? 71
61 72General Questions
62Sources of Information and Help 73
63 746: What is the LPF and why should I join it?
648: I'm just starting GNU Emacs; how do I do basic editing? 757: What is the real legal meaning of the GNU copyleft?
659: How do I find out how to do something in GNU Emacs? 768: What are appropriate messages for gnu.emacs.help, gnu.emacs.bug,
6610: Where can I get GNU Emacs on the net (or by snail mail)? 77 comp.emacs, etc.?
6711: Where can I get help in installing GNU Emacs? 789: Where can I get old postings to gnu.emacs.help and other GNU groups?
6812: How do I get a printed copy of the GNU Emacs manual? 7910: Where should I report bugs and other problems with GNU Emacs?
6913: How do I install a piece of Texinfo documentation? 8011: How do I unsubscribe to this mailing list?
7014: How do I print a Texinfo file? 8112: What is the current address of the FSF?
7115: Can I view Info files without using GNU Emacs? 82
83On-line Help, Printed Manuals, Other Sources of Help
84
8513: I'm just starting GNU Emacs; how do I do basic editing?
8614: How do I find out how to do something in GNU Emacs?
8715: How do I get a printed copy of the GNU Emacs manual?
7216: Where can I get documentation on GNU Emacs Lisp? 8816: Where can I get documentation on GNU Emacs Lisp?
7317: Has someone written an GNU Emacs Lisp package that does XXX? 8917: How do I install a piece of Texinfo documentation?
7418: Where can I get GNU Emacs Lisp packages that don't come with Emacs? 9018: How do I print a Texinfo file?
7519: How do I submit code to the Emacs Lisp Archive? 9119: Can I view Info files without using GNU Emacs?
7620: What informational files are available for GNU Emacs? 9220: What informational files are available for GNU Emacs?
7721: Where can I get the latest VM, Supercite, GNUS, Calc, Calendar, 9321: Where can I get help in installing GNU Emacs?
78 Ange-FTP, VIP, Dired, Ispell, Epoch, Demacs, Freemacs, or Patch? 9422: Where can I get the latest version of this document (the FAQ list)?
7922: What is the real legal meaning of the GNU copyleft? 95
8023: What are appropriate messages for gnu.emacs.help, gnu.emacs.bug, 96Status of Emacs
81 comp.emacs, etc.? 97
8224: How do I unsubscribe to this mailing list? 9823: Where does the name "Emacs" come from?
8325: What is the LPF and why should I join it? 9924: What is the latest version of GNU Emacs?
8426: What is the current address of the FSF? 10025: When will GNU Emacs 19 be available?
8527: What is the current address of the LPF? 10126: What is different about GNU Emacs 19?
8628: Where can I get other up-to-date GNU stuff? 10227: What variants of GNU Emacs exist?
8729: Where can I get the latest version of this document (the FAQ list)? 103
88 104Common Things People Want To Do
89GNU Emacs and Various Computing Environments 105
90 10628: How do I set up a .emacs file properly?
9130: Where does the name "Emacs" come from? 10729: How do I debug a .emacs file?
9231: What is the latest version of GNU Emacs? 10830: How do I make Emacs display the current line (or column) number?
9332: When will GNU Emacs 19 be available? 10931: How do I turn on Abbrevs by default just in mode XXX?
9433: What will be different about GNU Emacs 19? 11032: How do I turn on Auto-Fill mode by default?
9534: Is there an Emacs that has better mouse and X window support? 11133: How do I make Emacs use a certain major mode for certain files?
9635: Where can I get the "unofficial HP GNU Emacs"? 11234: How do I search for, delete, or replace unprintable (8-bit or control)
9736: Where can I get Emacs for my PC? 113 characters?
9837: Where can I get Emacs for my Atari ST? 11435: How can I highlight a region of text in Emacs?
9938: Where can I get Emacs for my Amiga? 11536: How do I control Emacs's case-sensitivity when searching/replacing?
10039: Where can I get Emacs for my Apple computer? 11637: How do I make Emacs wrap words for me?
10140: Where can I get Emacs with NeWS support? 11738: Where can I get a better spelling checker for Emacs?
10241: How do I get Emacs running on VMS under DECwindows? 11839: How can I spell-check TeX or *roff documents?
10342: How do I use emacstool under SunView? 11940: How do I change load-path?
10443: How do I make Emacs display 8-bit characters? 12041: How do I use an already running Emacs from another window?
10544: How do I input 8-bit characters? 12142: How do I make Emacs recognize my compiler's funny error messages?
10645: How do I use an already running Emacs from another window? 12243: How do I indent switch statements like this?
10746: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle kanji characters? 12344: How can I make Emacs automatically scroll horizontally?
10847: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle Chinese? 12445: How do I make Emacs "typeover" or "overwrite" instead of inserting?
10948: Where is an Emacs that can handle Semitic (right-to-left) alphabets? 12546: How do I stop Emacs from beeping on a terminal?
110 12647: How do I turn down the bell volume in Emacs running under X Windows?
111Binding Keys to Commands 12748: How do I tell Emacs to automatically indent a new line to the
112 128 indentation of the previous line?
11349: Why does Emacs say "Key sequence XXX uses invalid prefix characters"? 12949: How do I show which parenthesis matches the one I'm looking at?
11450: Why doesn't this [terminal or window-system setup] code work in my 13050: In C mode, can I show just the lines that will be left after #ifdef
115 .emacs file, but it works just fine after Emacs starts up? 131 commands are handled by the compiler?
11651: Other than that, why does my key binding fail? 13251: Is there an equivalent to the `.' (dot) command of vi?
11752: How do I use function keys under X Windows? 13352: What are the valid X resource settings (ie., stuff in .Xdefaults)?
11853: How do I tell what characters my function or arrow keys emit? 13453: How do I execute a piece of Emacs Lisp code?
11954: Why does Emacs spontaneously start displaying "I-search:" and beeping? 13554: How do I change Emacs's idea of the tab character's length?
12055: How do I disable the use of C-s and C-q for flow control? 13655: How do I insert `>' at the beginning of every line?
12156: What do I do if my terminal is sending C-s and C-q for flow control and 13756: How do I insert `_^H' before each character in a paragraph to get an
122 I can't disable it? 138 underlined paragraph?
12357: How do I make Emacs honor C-s and C-q for flow control instead of for 13957: How do I repeat a command as many times as possible?
124 commands? 14058: How do I make Emacs behave like this: when I go up or down, the cursor
12558: Why does Emacs never see C-s and C-q through my network connection? 141 should stay in the same column even if the line is too short?
12659: How do I use commands bound to C-s and C-q (or any key) if these keys 14259: How do I tell Emacs to iconify itself?
127 are filtered out? 14360: How do I use regexps (regular expressions) in Emacs?
12860: How do I "swap" two keys? 14461: How do I perform a replace operation across more than one file?
12961: Why does the "BackSpace" key invoke help? 14562: Where is the documentation for `etags'?
13062: How do I type DEL on PC terminal emulators? 146
13163: Can I make my "Compose" key behave like a "Meta" key? 147Bugs/Problems
13264: Why don't the arrow keys work? 148
13365: How do I bind a combination of modifier key and function key? 14963: Does Emacs have problems with files larger than 8 megabytes?
13466: Why doesn't my Meta key work in an xterm window? 15064: Why can't Emacs find files in current directory on startup?
13567: Why doesn't my ExtendChar key work as a Meta key under HP-UX 8.0? 15165: How do I get rid of the ^M junk in my Shell buffer?
13668: Where can I get key bindings to make Emacs emulate WordStar? 15266: Why do I get `Process shell exited abnormally with code 1'?
137 15367: Why can't I cut from Emacs and paste in other X programs?
138Building/Installing/Porting Emacs and Machine/OS-Specific Bugs 15468: Where is the termcap/terminfo entry for terminal type `emacs'?
139 15569: Why does Emacs spontaneously start displaying `I-search:' and beeping?
14069: Why does Emacs crash with "Fatal error (6).Abort" under SunOS 4.1? 15670: Why can't Emacs talk to certain hosts (or certain hostnames)?
14170: Why do I get an "f68881_used undefined" error, when I build Emacs on my 15771: Why does Emacs say `Error in init file'?
142 Sun 3? 15872: Why does Emacs ignore my X resources (my .Xdefaults file)?
14371: Why does Emacs ignore my X resources (my .Xdefaults file)? 15973: Why does Emacs take 20 seconds to visit a file?
14472: How do I get Emacs to compile with all features under OpenWindows? 16074: How do I edit a file with a `$' in its name?
14573: How do I build Emacs under HP-UX 8.0? 16175: Why does Shell mode lose track of the shell's current directory?
14674: What should I do if I have trouble building Emacs? 16276: Why doesn't my change to load-path work?
147 16377: Why does the cursor always go to the wrong column when I move up or
148Weird/Confusing Problems
149
15075: Does Emacs have problems with files larger than 8 megabytes?
15176: Why does Emacs start up using the wrong directory?
15277: How do I edit a file with a "$" in its name?
15378: Why does Shell mode lose track of the shell's current directory?
15479: Why doesn't Emacs expand my aliases when sending mail?
15580: Why doesn't my change to load-path work?
15681: Why does the cursor always go to the wrong column when I move up or
157 down one line? 164 down one line?
15882: Why does Emacs hang with message "Unknown XMenu error" with X11R4? 16578: Why does Emacs hang with message `Unknown XMenu error' with X11R4?
15983: Why doesn't display-time show the load average in the mode line 16679: Why doesn't display-time show the load average in the mode line
160 anymore? 167 anymore?
16184: Why doesn't GNUS work anymore via NNTP? 16880: Why does ispell sometimes ignore the local dictionary?
16285: Why does ispell sometimes ignore the local dictionary? 16981: Why does Ispell treat each line as a single word?
16386: How do I get rid of the ^M junk in my Shell buffer? 17082: Are there any security risks in GNU Emacs?
16487: Are there any security risks in GNU Emacs? 171
16588: How do I recover my mail files after RMAIL munges their format? 172Difficulties Building/Installing/Porting Emacs
16689: Why do I get "Process shell exited abnormally with code 1"? 173
167 17483: What should I do if I have trouble building Emacs?
168Configuring Emacs for Yourself 17584: How do I stop Emacs from failing when the executable is stripped?
169 17685: Why does linking Emacs with -lX11 fail?
17090: How do I set up a .emacs file properly? 17786: Why does Emacs 18.55 say `Fatal error (6).Abort' under SunOS 4.1?
17191: How do you debug a .emacs file? 178
17292: How do I turn on abbrevs by default just in mode XXX? 179Finding/Getting Emacs and Related Packages
17393: How do I turn on Auto-Fill mode by default? 180
17494: How do I make Emacs use a certain major mode for certain files? 18187: Where can I get GNU Emacs on the net (or by snail mail)?
17595: What are the valid X resource settings (ie., stuff in .Xdefaults file)? 18288: How do I find a GNU Emacs Lisp package that does XXX?
17696: How do I stop Emacs from beeping on a terminal? 18389: Where can I get GNU Emacs Lisp packages that don't come with Emacs?
17797: How do I turn down the bell volume in Emacs running under X Windows? 18490: How do I submit code to the Emacs Lisp Archive?
17898: How do I change load-path? 18591: Where can I get other up-to-date GNU stuff?
17999: How do I change the included text prefix in mail/news followups? 18692: Where can I get an Emacs with better mouse and X window support?
180 18793: What is the difference between GNU Emacs and Epoch?
181Emacs Lisp Programming 18894: What is the difference between GNU Emacs and Lucid GNU Emacs?
182 18995: Where can I get the "unofficial HP GNU Emacs"?
183100: What dialect of Lisp is Emacs Lisp? 19096: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running MS-DOS?
184101: How close is Emacs Lisp to Common Lisp? 19197: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running Windows?
185102: How do I execute a piece of Emacs Lisp code? 19298: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running OS/2?
186103: How do I make a set of operations work only within a region? 19399: Where can I get Emacs for my Atari ST?
187104: How can I highlight text in Emacs? 194100: Where can I get Emacs for my Amiga?
188105: How do I change Emacs's idea of the tab character's length? 195101: Where can I get Emacs for my Apple computer?
189 196102: Where can I get Emacs with NeWS support?
190Carrying Out Common Tasks 197103: Where do I get Emacs that runs on VMS under DECwindows?
191 198104: Where can I get modes for Lex, Yacc/Bison, Bourne Shell, Csh, C++,
192106: How do I insert ">"'s in the beginning of every line in a buffer? 199 Objective C, Pascal, Awk?
193107: How do I insert "_^H" characters before each character in a paragraph 200105: What is the IP address of XXX.YYY.ZZZ?
194 to get an underlined paragraph? 201
195108: How do I repeat a command as many times as possible? 202Major Emacs Lisp Packages, Emacs Extensions, and Related Programs
196109: How do I search for or delete unprintable (8-bit or control) 203
204106: VM (View Mail) -- another mail reader within Emacs
205107: Supercite -- mail and news citation package within Emacs
206108: GNUS -- news reader within Emacs
207109: Calc -- poor man's Mathematica within Emacs
208110: Calendar/Diary -- calendar manager within Emacs
209111: Ange-FTP -- transparent FTP access for Emacs's file access routines
210112: VIP -- vi emulation for Emacs
211113: Dired -- better directory editor for Emacs
212114: AUC TeX -- enhanced LaTeX mode with debugging facilities
213115: Hyperbole -- extensible hypertext management system within Emacs
214116: Byte Compiler -- enhanced version of Emacs's byte compiler
215117: comint -- hugely enhanced shell mode and other derived modes
216118: BBDB -- personal info rolodex integrated with mail/news readers
217119: Ispell -- spell checker in C with interface for Emacs
218120: Epoch -- enhanced GNU Emacs with better X interface
219121: Lucid GNU Emacs -- alternative Emacs 19 with better X interface
220122: Demacs -- GNU Emacs altered to run on MS-DOS on 386/486 machines
221123: Freemacs -- a small Emacs for MS-DOS
222124: Patch -- program to apply "diffs" for updating files
223
224Changing Key Bindings and Handling Key Binding Problems
225
226125: How do I bind keys (including function keys) to commands?
227126: Why does Emacs say `Key sequence XXX uses invalid prefix characters'?
228127: Why doesn't this [terminal or window-system setup] code work in my
229 .emacs file, but it works just fine after Emacs starts up?
230128: How do I use function keys under X Windows?
231129: How do I tell what characters my function or arrow keys emit?
232130: How do I set the X key "translations" for Emacs?
233131: How do I handle C-s and C-q being used for flow control?
234132: How do I use commands bound to C-s and C-q (or any key) if these keys
235 are filtered out?
236133: Why does the `BackSpace' key invoke help?
237134: Why doesn't Emacs look at the stty settings for Backspace vs. Delete?
238135: Why don't the arrow keys work?
239136: How do I "swap" two keys?
240137: How do I produce C-XXX with my keyboard?
241138: What if I don't have a Meta key?
242139: What if I don't have an Escape key?
243140: How do I type DEL on PC terminal emulators?
244141: Can I make my `Compose Character' key behave like a Meta key?
245142: How do I bind a combination of modifier key and function key?
246143: Why doesn't my Meta key work in an xterm window?
247144: Why doesn't my ExtendChar key work as a Meta key under HP-UX 8.0?
248145: Where can I get key bindings to make Emacs emulate WordStar?
249146: Where can I get an XEDIT emulator for Emacs?
250
251Using Emacs with Alternate Character Sets
252
253147: How do I make Emacs display 8-bit characters?
254148: How do I input 8-bit characters?
255149: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle kanji characters?
256150: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle Chinese?
257151: Where is an Emacs that can handle Semitic (right-to-left) alphabets?
258
259Mail and News
260
261152: How do I change the included text prefix in mail/news followups?
262153: How do I save a copy of outgoing mail?
263154: Why doesn't Emacs expand my aliases when sending mail?
264155: Why does RMAIL think all my saved messages are one big message?
265156: How can I sort the messages in my RMAIL folder?
266157: Why does RMAIL need to write to /usr/spool/mail?
267158: How do I recover my mail files after RMAIL munges their format?
268159: How do I make Emacs automatically start my mail/news reader?
269160: How do I read news under Emacs?
270161: Why does `rnews' say "No News is good news" when there is news?
271162: Why doesn't GNUS work anymore via NNTP?
272163: How do I view text with embedded underlining (eg., ClariNews)?
273164: When I try to post a long article in GNUS (about 10K or longer), I get
274 the error, "Writing to process: no more processes, nntpd"
275165: How do I save all the items of a multi-part posting in GNUS?
276166: Why does GNUS put the subjects in replies beyond the 80th column?
277167: Why is GNUS so slow to start up?
278168: How do I catch up all newsgroups in GNUS?
279169: Why can't I kill in GNUS on the Newsgroups/Keywords/Control line?
280170: How do I get rid of flashing messages in GNUS for slow connections?
281171: Why is catch up slow in Gnews/GNUS?
282172: Why does GNUS hang for a long time when posting?
283173: Why don't my news postings in GNUS get past the local machine?
284174: Why is the GNUS-generated `Date:' header invalid?
285175: Why doesn't GNUS generate the `Lines:' header?
286176: Why do I get "Cannot open load file" "nntp" when compiling GNUS?
287177: How do I kill all articles in GNUS but those matching a pattern?
288
289
290----------------------------------------------------------------------
291Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells
292Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes
293
294This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers
295("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other
296formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS, etc.), and updated with new
297information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as
298apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice
299or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining
300the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and
301information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including
302FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these
303conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary
304work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution.
305
306 GNU Emacs FAQ: Introduction
307
308[To find what has changed, see the "Changes" posting.]
309
310[Joe Wells (me) has quit as FAQ coordinator. Steven Byrnes is taking over this
311 responsibility. Let's give him a big round of applause! More volunteers are
312 still needed to help by taking charge of a section of the FAQ list. Send
313 e-mail if you are interested. - jbw]
314
315[First, I'd like to thank Joe for all of the work he's done on the FAQ to
316 date. Second: due to a hectic schedule, getting up to speed with
317 maintaining the FAQ, and trying to fix up some loose ends, this release of
318 the FAQ is coming out a bit late. (Ok, a lot late. :) I hope to get
319 another release, fixing up some lose ends, by the end of the month.
320 - sbyrnes]
321
322This is the introduction to a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about
323GNU Emacs with answers. This article contains a listing of the questions;
324subsequent articles contain the questions and answers.
325
326The FAQ list is posted to reduce the noise level in the `gnu.emacs.help'
327newsgroup (which is also the `help-gnu-emacs' mailing list) which results from
328the repetition of frequently asked questions, wrong answers to these questions,
329corrections to the wrong answers, corrections to the corrections, debate, name
330calling, etc. Also, it serves as a repository of the canonical "best" answers
331to these questions. However, if you know a better answer or even a slight
332change that improves an answer, please tell us!
333
334If you know the answer of a question is in the FAQ list, please reply to the
335question by e-mail instead of posting. Help reduce noise!
336
337The FAQ list is crossposted to `comp.emacs' because some sites do not receive
338the `gnu.*' newsgroups. The FAQ list is also crossposted to `news.answers'.
339
340Please suggest new questions, answers, wording changes, deletions, etc. The
341most helpful form for suggestions is a context diff (ie., the output of `diff
342-c'). Include `FAQ' in the subject of messages sent to us about the FAQ list.
343
344Please do not send questions to us just because you do not want to disturb a
345lot of people and you think we would know the answer. We do not have time to
346answer questions individually. :-(
347
348Full instructions for getting the latest FAQ are in question 22. Also see the
349`Introduction to news.answers' posting in the `news.answers' newsgroup, or send
350e-mail to `mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with `help' on a body line, or use FTP,
351WAIS, or Prospero to rtfm.mit.edu.
352
353These ideas have already been suggested, but we have not had time to
354implement them:
355
356 * A Texinfo version.
357 * Marking questions in the table of contents that have been changed
358 recently.
359
360--
361Steven Byrnes <sbyrnes@rice.edu> (and Joe Wells <jbw@cs.bu.edu>)
362
363E-mail lpf@uunet.uu.net for details about the League for Programming Freedom.
364
365----------------------------------------------------------------------
366
367 GNU Emacs FAQ: Table of Contents
368
369Notation Used in FAQ
370
3711: What do these mean: C-h, M-C-a, RET, "ESC a", etc.?
3722: What does "M-x command" mean?
3733: How do I read topic XXX in the on-line manual?
3744: What do these mean: etc/SERVICE, src/config.h, lisp/default.el?
3755: What are FSF, LPF, OSF, GNU, RMS, FTP, and GPL?
376
377General Questions
378
3796: What is the LPF and why should I join it?
3807: What is the real legal meaning of the GNU copyleft?
3818: What are appropriate messages for gnu.emacs.help, gnu.emacs.bug,
382 comp.emacs, etc.?
3839: Where can I get old postings to gnu.emacs.help and other GNU groups?
38410: Where should I report bugs and other problems with GNU Emacs?
38511: How do I unsubscribe to this mailing list?
38612: What is the current address of the FSF?
387
388On-line Help, Printed Manuals, Other Sources of Help
389
39013: I'm just starting GNU Emacs; how do I do basic editing?
39114: How do I find out how to do something in GNU Emacs?
39215: How do I get a printed copy of the GNU Emacs manual?
39316: Where can I get documentation on GNU Emacs Lisp?
39417: How do I install a piece of Texinfo documentation?
39518: How do I print a Texinfo file?
39619: Can I view Info files without using GNU Emacs?
39720: What informational files are available for GNU Emacs?
39821: Where can I get help in installing GNU Emacs?
39922: Where can I get the latest version of this document (the FAQ list)?
400
401Status of Emacs
402
40323: Where does the name "Emacs" come from?
40424: What is the latest version of GNU Emacs?
40525: When will GNU Emacs 19 be available?
40626: What is different about GNU Emacs 19?
40727: What variants of GNU Emacs exist?
408
409Common Things People Want To Do
410
41128: How do I set up a .emacs file properly?
41229: How do I debug a .emacs file?
41330: How do I make Emacs display the current line (or column) number?
41431: How do I turn on Abbrevs by default just in mode XXX?
41532: How do I turn on Auto-Fill mode by default?
41633: How do I make Emacs use a certain major mode for certain files?
41734: How do I search for, delete, or replace unprintable (8-bit or control)
197 characters? 418 characters?
198110: How do I control Emacs's case-sensitivity when searching/replacing? 41935: How can I highlight a region of text in Emacs?
199111: How do I tell Emacs to automatically indent a new line to the 42036: How do I control Emacs's case-sensitivity when searching/replacing?
42137: How do I make Emacs wrap words for me?
42238: Where can I get a better spelling checker for Emacs?
42339: How can I spell-check TeX or *roff documents?
42440: How do I change load-path?
42541: How do I use an already running Emacs from another window?
42642: How do I make Emacs recognize my compiler's funny error messages?
42743: How do I indent switch statements like this?
42844: How can I make Emacs automatically scroll horizontally?
42945: How do I make Emacs "typeover" or "overwrite" instead of inserting?
43046: How do I stop Emacs from beeping on a terminal?
43147: How do I turn down the bell volume in Emacs running under X Windows?
43248: How do I tell Emacs to automatically indent a new line to the
200 indentation of the previous line? 433 indentation of the previous line?
201112: How do I make Emacs "typeover" or "overwrite" instead of inserting? 43449: How do I show which parenthesis matches the one I'm looking at?
202113: How do I show which parenthesis matches the one I'm looking at? 43550: In C mode, can I show just the lines that will be left after #ifdef
203114: How do I make Emacs behave like this: when I go up or down, the cursor
204 should stay in the same column even if the line is too short?
205115: How do I read news under Emacs?
206116: In C mode, can I show just the lines that will be left after #ifdef
207 commands are handled by the compiler? 436 commands are handled by the compiler?
208117: Is there an equivalent to the "." (dot) command of vi? 43751: Is there an equivalent to the `.' (dot) command of vi?
209118: How do I make Emacs display the current line (or column) number? 43852: What are the valid X resource settings (ie., stuff in .Xdefaults)?
210119: How do I tell Emacs to iconify itself? 43953: How do I execute a piece of Emacs Lisp code?
211120: How do I use regexps (regular expressions) in Emacs? 44054: How do I change Emacs's idea of the tab character's length?
212121: How do I perform a replace operation across more than one file? 44155: How do I insert `>' at the beginning of every line?
213122: How do I make Emacs wrap words for me? 44256: How do I insert `_^H' before each character in a paragraph to get an
214123: Where can I get a better spelling checker for Emacs? 443 underlined paragraph?
215124: How can I spell-check TeX or *roff documents? 44457: How do I repeat a command as many times as possible?
216125: How can I make Emacs automatically scroll horizontally? 44558: How do I make Emacs behave like this: when I go up or down, the cursor
217 446 should stay in the same column even if the line is too short?
218 44759: How do I tell Emacs to iconify itself?
219 44860: How do I use regexps (regular expressions) in Emacs?
220Notation Used in the Answers - 44961: How do I perform a replace operation across more than one file?
221 45062: Where is the documentation for `etags'?
222 You may skip this section if you are reasonably familiar with GNU Emacs. 451
223 Some of these are not actually frequently asked questions, but knowing 452Bugs/Problems
224 them is important for understanding the answers to the rest of the 453
225 questions. 45463: Does Emacs have problems with files larger than 8 megabytes?
226 45564: Why can't Emacs find files in current directory on startup?
2271: What do things like this mean: C-h, M-C-a, RET, etc.? 45665: How do I get rid of the ^M junk in my Shell buffer?
228 45766: Why do I get `Process shell exited abnormally with code 1'?
229 C-a means press the "a" key while holding down the "Control" key. The 45867: Why can't I cut from Emacs and paste in other X programs?
230 ASCII code this sends will generally be the value that would be sent by 45968: Where is the termcap/terminfo entry for terminal type `emacs'?
231 pressing just "a" minus 96 or 64. Either way it will be a number from 0 46069: Why does Emacs spontaneously start displaying `I-search:' and beeping?
232 to 31. 46170: Why can't Emacs talk to certain hosts (or certain hostnames)?
233 46271: Why does Emacs say `Error in init file'?
234 M-a means press the "a" key while holding down the "Meta" key. The 46372: Why does Emacs ignore my X resources (my .Xdefaults file)?
235 ASCII code this sends is the sum of the ASCII code that would be sent by 46473: Why does Emacs take 20 seconds to visit a file?
236 pressing just "a" and 128. 46574: How do I edit a file with a `$' in its name?
237 46675: Why does Shell mode lose track of the shell's current directory?
238 M-C-a means press the "a" key while holding down both the "Control" key 46776: Why doesn't my change to load-path work?
239 and the "Meta" key. C-M-a is a synonym for M-C-a. 46877: Why does the cursor always go to the wrong column when I move up or
240 469 down one line?
241 * RET means press the "Return" key. RET is the same as C-m. This sends 47078: Why does Emacs hang with message `Unknown XMenu error' with X11R4?
242 ASCII code 13. 47179: Why doesn't display-time show the load average in the mode line
243 * LFD means press the "Linefeed" key. LFD is also the same as C-j. This 472 anymore?
244 sends ASCII code 10. Under Unix, ASCII code 10 is more often called 47380: Why does ispell sometimes ignore the local dictionary?
245 "Newline". 47481: Why does Ispell treat each line as a single word?
246 * DEL means press the "Delete" key. DEL is the same as C-?. This sends 47582: Are there any security risks in GNU Emacs?
247 ASCII code 127. (WARNING: It is a misnomer to call C-? a "control" key, 476
248 since 127 has both bits 6 and 7 turned ON, and the rule for control keys 477Difficulties Building/Installing/Porting Emacs
249 is that they have 6 and 7 turned OFF. Also, on very few keyboards does 478
250 Control-? generate ASCII code 127. In fact, Control-? (which is 47983: What should I do if I have trouble building Emacs?
251 actually Control-Shift-/) is more likely to generate C-_, ASCII code 48084: How do I stop Emacs from failing when the executable is stripped?
252 31!) 48185: Why does linking Emacs with -lX11 fail?
253 * ESC means press the "Escape" key. ESC is the same as C-[. This sends 48286: Why does Emacs 18.55 say `Fatal error (6).Abort' under SunOS 4.1?
254 ASCII code 27. 483
255 * SPC means press the "Space" key. This send ASCII code 32. 484Finding/Getting Emacs and Related Packages
256 * TAB means press the "Tab" key. TAB is the same as C-i. This send ASCII 485
257 code 9. 48687: Where can I get GNU Emacs on the net (or by snail mail)?
258 48788: How do I find a GNU Emacs Lisp package that does XXX?
259 For C-@ and C-^, usually you don't have to hold down the shift key and you 48889: Where can I get GNU Emacs Lisp packages that don't come with Emacs?
260 can type Control-2 or Control-6 instead. For C-_, you may have to hold 48990: How do I submit code to the Emacs Lisp Archive?
261 down the shift key, typing Control-Shift-Hyphen. C-@ can often be 49091: Where can I get other up-to-date GNU stuff?
262 generated by typing Control-Space. C-@ is often called the NUL character, 49192: Where can I get an Emacs with better mouse and X window support?
263 and has ASCII value 0. C-_ can often be generated by typing Control-7 or 49293: What is the difference between GNU Emacs and Epoch?
264 Control-/. C-? (aka DEL) may be generated by typing Shift-BackSpace or + 49394: What is the difference between GNU Emacs and Lucid GNU Emacs?
265 Control-BackSpace. Try Control with all of the digits on your keyboard to + 49495: Where can I get the "unofficial HP GNU Emacs"?
266 see what gets generated. 49596: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running MS-DOS?
267 49697: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running Windows?
268 To read more about this online, type "C-h i m emacs RET m characters 49798: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running OS/2?
269 RET", and also "C-h i m emacs RET m keys RET". 49899: Where can I get Emacs for my Atari ST?
270 499100: Where can I get Emacs for my Amiga?
2712: What do you mean when you write things like this: type "ESC a"? 500101: Where can I get Emacs for my Apple computer?
272 501102: Where can I get Emacs with NeWS support?
273 I will enclose key sequences that are longer than one key inside double 502103: Where do I get Emacs that runs on VMS under DECwindows?
274 quotes. These notations refer to single key strokes (some with 503104: Where can I get modes for Lex, Yacc/Bison, Bourne Shell, Csh, C++,
275 modifiers): 504 Objective C, Pascal, Awk?
276 505105: What is the IP address of XXX.YYY.ZZZ?
277 C-x, M-x, M-C-x 506
278 RET, LFD, DEL, ESC, SPC, TAB 507Major Emacs Lisp Packages, Emacs Extensions, and Related Programs
279 508
280 I separate these from other keys within double quotes by spaces. Any 509106: VM (View Mail) -- another mail reader within Emacs
281 real spaces that I write inside double quotes can be ignored, only SPC 510107: Supercite -- mail and news citation package within Emacs
282 means press the space key. All other characters within double quotes 511108: GNUS -- news reader within Emacs
283 represent single keys (some shifted). 512109: Calc -- poor man's Mathematica within Emacs
284 513110: Calendar/Diary -- calendar manager within Emacs
2853: What if I don't have a Meta key? 514111: Ange-FTP -- transparent FTP access for Emacs's file access routines
515112: VIP -- vi emulation for Emacs
516113: Dired -- better directory editor for Emacs
517114: AUC TeX -- enhanced LaTeX mode with debugging facilities
518115: Hyperbole -- extensible hypertext management system within Emacs
519116: Byte Compiler -- enhanced version of Emacs's byte compiler
520117: comint -- hugely enhanced shell mode and other derived modes
521118: BBDB -- personal info rolodex integrated with mail/news readers
522119: Ispell -- spell checker in C with interface for Emacs
523120: Epoch -- enhanced GNU Emacs with better X interface
524121: Lucid GNU Emacs -- alternative Emacs 19 with better X interface
525122: Demacs -- GNU Emacs altered to run on MS-DOS on 386/486 machines
526123: Freemacs -- a small Emacs for MS-DOS
527124: Patch -- program to apply "diffs" for updating files
528
529Changing Key Bindings and Handling Key Binding Problems
530
531125: How do I bind keys (including function keys) to commands?
532126: Why does Emacs say `Key sequence XXX uses invalid prefix characters'?
533127: Why doesn't this [terminal or window-system setup] code work in my
534 .emacs file, but it works just fine after Emacs starts up?
535128: How do I use function keys under X Windows?
536129: How do I tell what characters my function or arrow keys emit?
537130: How do I set the X key "translations" for Emacs?
538131: How do I handle C-s and C-q being used for flow control?
539132: How do I use commands bound to C-s and C-q (or any key) if these keys
540 are filtered out?
541133: Why does the `BackSpace' key invoke help?
542134: Why doesn't Emacs look at the stty settings for Backspace vs. Delete?
543135: Why don't the arrow keys work?
544136: How do I "swap" two keys?
545137: How do I produce C-XXX with my keyboard?
546138: What if I don't have a Meta key?
547139: What if I don't have an Escape key?
548140: How do I type DEL on PC terminal emulators?
549141: Can I make my `Compose Character' key behave like a Meta key?
550142: How do I bind a combination of modifier key and function key?
551143: Why doesn't my Meta key work in an xterm window?
552144: Why doesn't my ExtendChar key work as a Meta key under HP-UX 8.0?
553145: Where can I get key bindings to make Emacs emulate WordStar?
554146: Where can I get an XEDIT emulator for Emacs?
555
556Using Emacs with Alternate Character Sets
557
558147: How do I make Emacs display 8-bit characters?
559148: How do I input 8-bit characters?
560149: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle kanji characters?
561150: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle Chinese?
562151: Where is an Emacs that can handle Semitic (right-to-left) alphabets?
563
564Mail and News
565
566152: How do I change the included text prefix in mail/news followups?
567153: How do I save a copy of outgoing mail?
568154: Why doesn't Emacs expand my aliases when sending mail?
569155: Why does RMAIL think all my saved messages are one big message?
570156: How can I sort the messages in my RMAIL folder?
571157: Why does RMAIL need to write to /usr/spool/mail?
572158: How do I recover my mail files after RMAIL munges their format?
573159: How do I make Emacs automatically start my mail/news reader?
574160: How do I read news under Emacs?
575161: Why does `rnews' say "No News is good news" when there is news?
576162: Why doesn't GNUS work anymore via NNTP?
577163: How do I view text with embedded underlining (eg., ClariNews)?
578164: When I try to post a long article in GNUS (about 10K or longer), I get
579 the error, "Writing to process: no more processes, nntpd"
580165: How do I save all the items of a multi-part posting in GNUS?
581166: Why does GNUS put the subjects in replies beyond the 80th column?
582167: Why is GNUS so slow to start up?
583168: How do I catch up all newsgroups in GNUS?
584169: Why can't I kill in GNUS on the Newsgroups/Keywords/Control line?
585170: How do I get rid of flashing messages in GNUS for slow connections?
586171: Why is catch up slow in Gnews/GNUS?
587172: Why does GNUS hang for a long time when posting?
588173: Why don't my news postings in GNUS get past the local machine?
589174: Why is the GNUS-generated `Date:' header invalid?
590175: Why doesn't GNUS generate the `Lines:' header?
591176: Why do I get "Cannot open load file" "nntp" when compiling GNUS?
592177: How do I kill all articles in GNUS but those matching a pattern?
593
594
595----------------------------------------------------------------------
596Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells
597Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes
598
599This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers
600("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other
601formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS, etc.), and updated with new
602information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as
603apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice
604or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining
605the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and
606information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including
607FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these
608conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary
609work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution.
610
611
612 GNU Emacs FAQ: Notation/General/Help/Status
613
614If you are viewing this text in a GNU Emacs Buffer, you can type "M-2 C-x $" to
615get an overview of just the questions. Then, when you want to look at the text
616of the answers, just type "C-x $".
617
618To search for a question numbered XXX, type "M-C-s ^XXX:", followed by a C-r if
619that doesn't work, then type ESC to end the search.
620
621A `+' in the 78th column means something was inserted on the line. A `-' means
622something was deleted and a `!' means some combination of insertions and
623deletions occurred.
624
625Full instructions for getting the latest FAQ are in question 22. Also see the
626`Introduction to news.answers' posting in the `news.answers' newsgroup, or send
627e-mail to `mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with `help' on a body line, or use FTP,
628WAIS, or Prospero to rtfm.mit.edu.
629
630
631
632Notation Used in FAQ
633
634 Skip this section and then come back if you don't understand some of the
635 later answers.
286 636
287 Instead of typing M-a, you can type "ESC a" instead. In fact, Emacs 6371: What do these mean: C-h, M-C-a, RET, "ESC a", etc.?
288 converts M-a internally into "ESC a" anyway (depending on the value of
289 meta-prefix-char).
290 638
2914: What if I don't have an Escape key? 639 C-x means press the `x' key while holding down the Control key. M-x means
640 press the `x' key while holding down the Meta key. M-C-x means press the
641 `x' key while holding down both the Control key and the Meta key. C-M-a
642 is a synonym for M-C-a. RET, LFD, DEL, ESC, and TAB respectively refer to
643 pressing the Return, Linefeed (aka Newline), Delete, Escape, and Tab keys
644 and are equivalent to C-m, C-j, C-?, C-[, and C-i. SPC means press the
645 Space bar.
292 646
293 Type C-[ instead. This should send ASCII code 27 just like an Escape 647 I put any key sequence that is longer than one key (and some single-key
294 key would. 648 sequences) inside double quotes or on a line by itself. Any real spaces
649 in such a key sequence should be ignored; only SPC really means press the
650 space key.
651
652 The ASCII code sent by C-x (except for C-?) is the value that would be
653 sent by pressing just `x' minus 96 (or 64 for uppercase `X') and will be
654 from 0 to 31. The ASCII code sent by M-x is the sum of 128 and the ASCII
655 code that would be sent by pressing just the `x' key. Essentially, the
656 Control key turns off bits 5 and 6 and the Meta key turns on bit 7.
295 657
2965: What does "M-x command" mean? 658 For further information, see `Characters' and `Keys' in the online manual.
659
660 NOTE: C-? (aka DEL) is ASCII code 127. It is a misnomer to call C-? a
661 "control" key, since 127 has both bits 5 and 6 turned ON. Also, on very
662 few keyboards does Control-? generate ASCII code 127.
663
6642: What does "M-x command" mean?
297 665
298 "M-x command" means type M-x, then type the name of the command, then 666 "M-x command" means type M-x, then type the name of the command, then
299 type RET. 667 type RET.
300 668
301 M-x is simply the default key sequence that invokes the command 669 M-x (by default) invokes the command `execute-extended-command'. This
302 "execute-extended-command". This command allows you to run any Emacs 670 command allows you to run any Emacs command if you can remember the
303 command if you can remember the command's name. If you can't remember 671 command's name. If you can't remember the command's name, you can type
304 the command's name, you can type TAB and SPC for completion, and ? for a 672 TAB and SPC for completion, and "?" for a list of possibilities. An Emacs
305 list of possibilities. An Emacs "command" is any "interactive" Emacs 673 "command" is any "interactive" Emacs function.
306 function.
307 674
308 NOTE: Your system administrator may have bound other key sequences to 675 NOTE: Your system administrator may have bound other key sequences to
309 invoke execute-extended-command. A function key labeled "Do" is a good 676 invoke execute-extended-command. A function key labeled `Do' is a good
310 candidate for this. 677 candidate for this.
311 678
312 To run non-interactive Emacs functions, use M-ESC instead and type a 679 To run non-interactive Emacs functions, see question 53.
313 Lisp form that invokes the function (see question 102). 680
6813: How do I read topic XXX in the on-line manual?
682
683 When I refer you to topic XXX in the on-line manual, you can read this
684 manual node inside Emacs (assuming nothing is broken) by typing this:
685
686 C-h i m emacs RET m XXX RET
687
688 This invokes the Info facility. If you don't already know how to use
689 Info, type "?" from within Info.
690
691 If I refer you to topic XXX:YYY, you need to type this:
314 692
3156: What do things like this mean: etc/SERVICE, src/config.h, 693 C-h i m emacs RET m XXX RET m YYY RET
316 lisp/default.el?
317 694
318 These are the names of files that are part of the GNU Emacs 695 WARNING: Your system administrator may not have installed the Info files,
319 distribution. The GNU Emacs distribution is divided into several 696 or may have installed them properly. In this case you should complain.
320 subdirectories; the important subdirectories are named "etc", "lisp", 697
321 and "src". 6984: What do these mean: etc/SERVICE, src/config.h, lisp/default.el?
699
700 These are files that come with GNU Emacs. The GNU Emacs distribution is
701 divided into subdirectories; the important ones are `etc', `lisp', and
702 `src'.
322 703
323 If you use GNU Emacs, but don't know where it is kept on your system, 704 If you use GNU Emacs, but don't know where it is kept on your system,
324 start Emacs, then type "C-h v exec-directory RET". The directory name 705 start Emacs, then type "C-h v exec-directory RET". The directory name
325 that is displayed by this will be the full pathname of the "etc" 706 displayed by this will be the full pathname of the installed `etc'
326 directory of your installed GNU Emacs distribution. 707 directory.
327 708
328 Some of these files are available individually via FTP or e-mail, see 709 Some of these files are available individually via FTP or e-mail, see
329 question 20. 710 question 20. All are available in the source distribution.
330 711
3317: What are FSF, LPF, OSF, GNU, RMS, FTP, and GPL? 7125: What are FSF, LPF, OSF, GNU, RMS, FTP, and GPL?
332 713
333 FSF == Free Software Foundation 714 FSF == Free Software Foundation
334 LPF == League for Programming Freedom 715 LPF == League for Programming Freedom
@@ -353,109 +734,251 @@ Notation Used in the Answers -
353 734
354 735
355 736
356Sources of Information and Help 737General Questions
738
7396: What is the LPF and why should I join it?
740
741 The LPF opposes the expanding danger of software patents and look-and-feel
742 copyrights. To get more information, feel free to contact the LPF via
743 e-mail or otherwise. {You may also contact me, jbw@cs.bu.edu; I will be
744 happy to talk with you about the LPF.} Here is the contact information:
745
746 E-mail address: league@prep.ai.mit.edu
747 Phone number: (617) 243-4091
748 Postal address:
749 League for Programming Freedom
750 1 Kendall Square, Number 143
751 Post Office Box 9171
752 Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
753
754 Papers describing the LPF's views are available on the internet and also
755 from the LPF:
756
757 Anonymous FTP:
758 /prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/lpf/
759 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/lpf/
760 Anonymous UUCP:
761 osu-cis!~/lpf/*
762
7637: What is the real legal meaning of the GNU copyleft?
764
765 The real legal meaning of the GNU General Public Licence (copyleft) is
766 however it is interpreted by a judge. There has never been a copyright
767 infringment case involving the GPL to set any precedents. Please take any
768 discussion regarding this issue to the newsgroup gnu.misc.discuss, which
769 was created to hold the extensive flame wars on the subject.
770
771 RMS writes:
772
773 The legal meaning of the GNU copyleft is less important than the spirit,
774 which is that Emacs is a free software project and that work pertaining
775 to Emacs should also be free software. "Free" means that all users have
776 the freedom to study, share, change and improve Emacs. To make sure
777 everyone has this freedom, pass along source code when you distribute
778 any version of Emacs or a related program, and give the recipients the
779 same freedom that you enjoyed.
780
7818: What are appropriate messages for gnu.emacs.help, gnu.emacs.bug,
782 comp.emacs, etc.?
783
784 The file etc/MAILINGLISTS discusses the purpose of each GNU mailing-list.
785 (See question 20 on how to get a copy.) For those which are gatewayed
786 with newsgroups, it lists both the newsgroup name and the mailing list
787 address.
788
789 comp.emacs is for discussion of Emacs programs in general. This
790 includes GNU Emacs along with various other implementations like JOVE,
791 MicroEmacs, Freemacs, MG, Unipress, CCA, Epsilon, etc.
792
793 Many people post GNU Emacs questions to comp.emacs because they don't
794 receive any of the gnu.* newsgroups. Arguments have been made both for
795 and against posting GNU-Emacs-specific material to comp.emacs. You have
796 to decide for yourself.
797
798 Messages advocating "non-free" software are considered unacceptable on any
799 of the gnu.* newsgroups except for gnu.misc.discuss, which was created to
800 hold the extensive flame-wars on the subject. "non-free" software
801 includes any software for which the end user can't freely modify the
802 source code and exchange enhancements. Be careful to remove the gnu.*
803 groups from the `Newsgroups:' line when posting a followup that recommends
804 such software.
805
806 gnu.emacs.bug is a place where bug reports appear, but avoid posting bug
807 reports to this newsgroup, instead see question 10.
808
8099: Where can I get old postings to gnu.emacs.help and other GNU groups?
810
811 The FSF has maintained archives of all of the GNU mailing lists for many
812 years, although there may be some unintentional gaps in coverage. The
813 archive is not particularly well organized or easy to retrieve individual
814 postings from, but pretty much everything is there.
815
816 Anonymous FTP:
817 /prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/MailingListArchives/ !
818 !
819 There is a WAIS database named `comp.emacs' on wais.oit.unc.edu that !
820 makes available the last few days of articles in comp.emacs. !
821
82210: Where should I report bugs and other problems with GNU Emacs?
823
824 The correct way to report GNU Emacs bugs is by e-mail to
825 bug-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu. Anything sent here also appears in the
826 newsgroup gnu.emacs.bug, but please use e-mail instead of news to submit
827 the bug report. This way a reliable return address is available so you
828 can be contacted for further details.
829
830 RMS explains:
831
832 Sending bug reports to help-gnu-emacs (which has the effect of posting
833 on gnu.emacs.help) is undesirable because it takes the time of an
834 unnecessarily large group of people, most of whom are just users and
835 have no idea how to fix these problem. bug-gnu-emacs reaches a much
836 smaller group of people who are more likely to know what to do and have
837 expressed a wish to receive more messages about Emacs than the others.
838
839 However, RMS says there are circumstances when it is okay to post to
840 gnu.emacs.help:
841
842 If you have reported a bug and you don't hear about a possible fix, then
843 after a suitable delay (such as a week) it is okay to post on
844 gnu.emacs.help asking if anyone can help you.
845
846 If you are unsure whether you have a bug, RMS describes how to tell:
847
848 ... if Emacs crashes, that is a bug. If Emacs gets compilation errors
849 while building, that is a bug. If Emacs crashes while building, that is
850 a bug. If Lisp code does not do what the documentation says it does,
851 that is a bug.
852
85311: How do I unsubscribe to this mailing list?
854
855 If you are receiving a GNU mailing list named `XXX', you might be able
856 to unsubscribe to it by sending a request to the address
857 `XXX-request@prep.ai.mit.edu'. However, this will not work if you are
858 not listed on the main mailing list, but instead recieve the mail from a
859 distribution point. In that case, you will have to track down at which
860 distribution point you are listed. Inspecting the `Received:' headers
861 on the mail messages may help, along with liberal use of the `EXPN' or
862 `VRFY' sendmail commands through `telnet <site-address> smtp'. Ask your
863 postmaster for help.
864
86512: What is the current address of the FSF?
866
867 E-mail address: gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu
868 Phone number: (617) 876-3296
869 Postal address:
870 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
871 675 Massachusetts Avenue
872 Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
873
874
875
876On-line Help, Printed Manuals, Other Sources of Help
357 877
3588: I'm just starting GNU Emacs; how do I do basic editing? 87813: I'm just starting GNU Emacs; how do I do basic editing?
359 879
360 Type "C-h t" to invoke the self-paced tutorial. Typing just C-h is 880 Type "C-h t" to invoke the self-paced tutorial. Typing just C-h is
361 how to enter the help system. 881 how to enter the help system.
362 882
363 WARNING: Your system administrator may have changed C-h to act like DEL. 883 WARNING: Your system administrator may have changed C-h to act like DEL to
364 You can use M-x help-for-help instead to invoke help. To discover what 884 deal local keyboards. You can use M-x help-for-help instead to invoke
365 key (if any) invokes help on your system, type "M-x where-is RET 885 help. To discover what key (if any) invokes help on your system, type
366 help-for-help RET". This will print a comma-separated list of key 886 "M-x where-is RET help-for-help RET". This will print a comma-separated
367 sequences in the echo area. Ignore the last character in each key 887 list of key sequences in the echo area. Ignore the last character in each
368 sequence listed. Each of the resulting key sequences invokes help. 888 key sequence listed. Each of the resulting key sequences invokes help.
369 889
370 NOTE: Emacs's help facility works best if help is invoked by a single 890 NOTE: Emacs's help facility works best if help is invoked by a single key
371 key. The variable help-char should hold the value of this character. 891 whose value should be stored in the variable help-char. Andrew
372 Andrew Arensburger <arensb@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov> wrote a patch that allows + 892 Arensburger <arensb@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov> wrote a patch that allows the help
373 the help facility to work properly when invoked by multiple character + 893 facility to work properly when invoked by multiple character sequences.
374 sequences. +
375 894
3769: How do I find out how to do something in GNU Emacs? 89514: How do I find out how to do something in GNU Emacs?
377 896
378 There are several methods for finding out how to do things in Emacs. 897 There are several methods for finding out how to do things in Emacs.
379 898
380 * You should become familiar with the online documentation for Emacs. The + 899 * The complete text of the Emacs manual is available online via the Info
381 complete text of the Emacs manual is available online in a hypertext 900 hypertext reader. Type "C-h i" to invoke Info.
382 format via the "Info" manual reader. Type "C-h i" to invoke Info.
383 901
384 * You can order a hardcopy of the manual from the FSF. See question 12. + 902 * You can order a hardcopy of the manual from the FSF. See question 15.
385 903
386 * You can get a printed reference card listing commands and keys to invoke + 904 * You can get a printed reference card listing commands and keys to invoke
387 them. You can order one from the FSF for $1 (or 10 for $5), or you can 905 them. You can order one from the FSF for $1 (or 10 for $5), or you can
388 print your own from the etc/refcard.tex file in the Emacs distribution. 906 print your own from the etc/refcard.tex file in the Emacs distribution.
907 {Are PostScript versions of this available for FTP?}
389 908
390 * You can list all of the commands whose names contain a certain word + 909 * You can list all of the commands whose names contain a certain word
391 (actually which match a regular expression) using the "command-apropos" 910 (actually which match a regular expression) using "C-h a"
392 command. Type "C-h a" to invoke this command. 911 (M-x command-apropos).
393 912
394 * You can list all of the functions and variables whose names contain a + 913 * You can list all of the functions and variables whose names contain a
395 certain word using the "apropos" command. M-x apropos invokes this 914 certain word using M-x apropos.
396 command.
397 915
398 * There are many other commands in Emacs for getting help and information. + 916 * There are many other commands in Emacs for getting help and information.
399 To get a list of these commands, type "C-h C-h C-h". 917 To get a list of these commands, type "C-h C-h C-h".
400 918
401 NOTE: You may find that command-apropos and apropos are extremely slow 919 NOTE: You may find that command-apropos and apropos are extremely slow
402 on your system. This will be fixed in Emacs 19. If you can't wait that 920 on your system. This will be fixed in Emacs 19. If you can't wait that
403 long, there is a "fast-apropos.el" file available in the Emacs Lisp 921 long, there is a fast-apropos.el file available in the Emacs Lisp
404 Archive (see question 18) that contains the fix. This file 922 Archive (see question 89) that contains the fix.
405 also contains a "super-apropos" command that will list all the functions
406 and variables whose documentation strings contain a certain word.
407 923
40810: Where can I get GNU Emacs on the net (or by snail mail)? 92415: How do I get a printed copy of the GNU Emacs manual?
409 925
410 Look in the files etc/DISTRIB and etc/FTP for information on nearby 926 You can order a printed copy of the GNU Emacs manual from the FSF for
411 archive sites. If you don't already have GNU Emacs, see question 20 ! 927 $20. For 6 or more manuals the price is $13 each. The price may be
412 for how to get these two files. 928 tax-deductible as a business expense.
413 929
414 The latest version is always available via anonymous FTP at MIT 930 The full TeX source for the manual also comes in the `man' directory of
415 (prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/emacs-18.58.tar.Z). ! 931 the Emacs distribution, if you're daring enough to try to print out this
932 300 page manual yourself (see question 18).
416 933
41711: Where can I get help in installing GNU Emacs? 934 If you absolutely have to print your own copy, and you don't have TeX, you
935 can get a PostScript version via anonymous FTP:
418 936
419 Look in the file etc/SERVICE for names of companies and individuals who 937 /cs.ubc.ca:src/gnu/manuals_ps/emacs-18.57.ps.Z
420 will sell you this type of service. An up-to-date version of the
421 SERVICE file is available on prep.ai.mit.edu. See question 20
422 for how to retrieve this file.
423 938
42412: How do I get a printed copy of the GNU Emacs manual? 939 which site requests that you please CONFINE ANY MAJOR FTPING TO LATE
940 EVENINGS OR EARLY MORNINGS OUR TIME (pacific time zone, GMT-8)). A DVI
941 version is also available via FTP:
425 942
426 You can order a printed copy of the GNU Emacs manual from the FSF for 943 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/emacs-manual-6.0.dvi.Z
427 $20. For 6 or more manuals the price is $13 each. {The price may be !
428 tax-deductible as a business expense. Can someone tell me for certain? I !
429 know that pure donations to the FSF are tax-deductible, but I don't know !
430 about payments for manuals or tapes.} !
431 944
432 The full TeX source for the manual also comes in the "man" directory of 945 If you don't have TeX you can convert the Texinfo sources into
433 the Emacs distribution, if you're daring enough to try to print out this 946 {t,n,ps}roff format with the `texi2roff' program, which is available via
434 300 page manual yourself (see question 14). 947 anonymous FTP:
435 948
436 If you absolutely have to print your own copy, and you don't have TeX, you 949 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/texi2roff/texi2roff.shar.Z
437 can get a PostScript version via anonymous FTP (cs.ubc.ca: -
438 src/gnu/manuals_ps/emacs-18.57.ps.Z, which site requests that you please
439 CONFINE ANY MAJOR FTPING TO LATE EVENINGS OR EARLY MORNINGS OUR TIME
440 (pacific time zone, GMT-8)).
441 950
442 If you don't have TeX you can convert the Texinfo sources into 951 See also question 14 for how to view the manual online.
443 {t,n,ps}roff format with the "texi2roff" program, which is available via 952
444 anonymous FTP (archive.cis.ohio-state.edu: 95316: Where can I get documentation on GNU Emacs Lisp?
445 /pub/gnu/texi2roff/texi2roff.shar.Z) 954
955 Within Emacs, you can type "C-h f" to get the documentation for a
956 function, "C-h v" for a variable.
957
958 For more information, obtain the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual for Emacs
959 18 under Unix. It is available from the FSF for $50 (or 5 for $200). The
960 latest revision available for FTP is edition 1.03 dated 28 January 1991.
961
962 For online use, a set of pregenerated Info files is available with the
963 Texinfo source for the Emacs Lisp manual via anonymous FTP:
964
965 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/
966 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/elisp-manual-1.03.tar.Z
967
968 (You can also create the Info files from the Texinfo source.) See
969 question 17 for details on how to install these files online.
446 970
447 Carl Witty <cwitty@cs.stanford.edu> writes: 971 If you are daring enough to try to print this 550 page manual out
972 yourself, for instructions see question 18.
973
974 Also, as a popular USENET saying goes, "Use the Force, Read the Source".
448 975
449 The Emacs manual is also available online in the Info system, which is 97617: How do I install a piece of Texinfo documentation?
450 available by typing "C-h i". In this form, it has hypertext links and
451 is very easy to browse or search; many people prefer it to the printed
452 manual.
453 977
45413: How do I install a piece of Texinfo documentation? 978 First create Info files from the Texinfo files with the `makeinfo'
979 program. makeinfo is available as part of the latest Texinfo package:
455 980
456 First create Info files from the Texinfo files with the "makeinfo" 981 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/texinfo-2.14.tar.Z
457 program. makeinfo is available as part of the latest Texinfo package
458 (prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/texinfo-2.12.tar.Z). -
459 982
460 For information about the Texinfo format, read the Texinfo manual which 983 For information about the Texinfo format, read the Texinfo manual which
461 comes with Emacs. This manual also comes installed in Info format, so you 984 comes with Emacs. This manual also comes installed in Info format, so you
@@ -464,8 +987,8 @@ Sources of Information and Help
464 Neither texinfo-format-buffer nor the makeinfo program install the 987 Neither texinfo-format-buffer nor the makeinfo program install the
465 resulting Info files in Emacs's Info tree. To install Info files: 988 resulting Info files in Emacs's Info tree. To install Info files:
466 989
467 1. Move the files to the "info" directory in the installed Emacs 990 1. Move the files to the `info' directory in the installed Emacs
468 distribution. See question 6 if you don't know where that 991 distribution. See question 4 if you don't know where that
469 is. 992 is.
470 993
471 2. Edit the file info/dir in the installed Emacs distribution, and add a 994 2. Edit the file info/dir in the installed Emacs distribution, and add a
@@ -476,43 +999,52 @@ Sources of Information and Help
476 * Topic: (relative-pathname). Short description of topic. 999 * Topic: (relative-pathname). Short description of topic.
477 1000
478 If you want to install Info files and you don't have the necessary 1001 If you want to install Info files and you don't have the necessary
479 privileges, you have several options: ! 1002 privileges, you have several options:
480 ! 1003
481 * Info files don't actually need to be installed before being used. You ! 1004 * Info files don't actually need to be installed before being used. You
482 can feed a file name to the Info-goto-node command (invoked by pressing 1005 can feed a file name to the Info-goto-node command (invoked by pressing
483 "g" in Info mode) by typing the name of the file in parentheses. This 1006 "g" in Info mode) by typing the name of the file in parentheses. This
484 goes to the node named "Top" in that file. For example, to view a Info 1007 goes to the node named `Top' in that file. For example, to view a Info
485 file named "XXX" in your home directory, you can type this: 1008 file named `XXX' in your home directory, you can type this:
486 1009
487 C-h i g (~/XXX) RET 1010 C-h i g (~/XXX) RET
488 1011
489 * You can create your own Info directory. You can tell Emacs where the ! 1012 * You can create your own Info directory. You can tell Emacs where the
490 Info directory is by setting the value of the variable Info-directory 1013 Info directory is by setting the value of the variable Info-directory
491 to its pathname. For example, to use a private Info directory which 1014 to its pathname. For example, to use a private Info directory which
492 is a subdirectory of your home directory named "Info", you could do 1015 is a subdirectory of your home directory named `Info', you could do
493 this: 1016 this:
494 1017
495 (setq Info-directory (expand-file-name "~/Info")) 1018 (setq Info-directory (expand-file-name "~/Info"))
496 1019
497 You will need a top-level Info file named "dir" in this directory. 1020 You will need a top-level Info file named `dir' in this directory.
498 You can include the system-wide Info directory in your private Info 1021 You can include the system-wide Info directory in your private Info
499 directory with symbolic links or by copying it. 1022 directory with symbolic links or by copying it.
500 1023
501 * You can use an enhanced version of lisp/info.el that handles multiple + 1024 * You can use an enhanced version of lisp/info.el that handles multiple
502 Info directories. Then you can more easily use a mix of private and + 1025 Info directories. Then you can more easily use a mix of private and
503 shared Info files. Dave Gillespie <daveg@csvax.cs.caltech.edu> has + 1026 shared Info files. Dave Gillespie <daveg@synaptics.com,
504 written one such enhancement and I am told there are others. + 1027 daveg@csvax.cs.caltech.edu> has written one such enhancement and I
1028 believe there are others. Dave's info.el also handles compressed Info
1029 files.
1030
1031 Anonymous FTP:
1032 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:modes/info.el.Z
1033 /cs.umn.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/info.el.Z
1034
1035 According to Jay Bourland <jayb@math.stanford.edu>, a version of Dave's
1036 info.el comes with `xinfo' (see question 19).
505 1037
50614: How do I print a Texinfo file? 103818: How do I print a Texinfo file?
507 1039
508 NOTE: You can't get nice printed output from Info files; you must still + 1040 NOTE: You can't get nice printed output from Info files; you must still
509 have the original Texinfo source file for the manual you want to print. + 1041 have the original Texinfo source file for the manual you want to print.
510 1042
511 1. Make sure the first line of the Texinfo file looks like this: 1043 1. Make sure the first line of the Texinfo file looks like this:
512 1044
513 \input texinfo 1045 \input texinfo
514 1046
515 You may need to alter "texinfo" to the full pathname of the 1047 You may need to alter `texinfo' to the full pathname of the
516 texinfo.tex file, which comes with Emacs as man/texinfo.tex (or copy 1048 texinfo.tex file, which comes with Emacs as man/texinfo.tex (or copy
517 or link it into the current directory). 1049 or link it into the current directory).
518 1050
@@ -520,7 +1052,7 @@ Sources of Information and Help
520 1052
521 3. texindex XXX.?? 1053 3. texindex XXX.??
522 1054
523 The "texindex" program comes with Emacs as man/texindex.c. 1055 The `texindex' program comes with Emacs as man/texindex.c.
524 1056
525 4. tex XXX.texinfo 1057 4. tex XXX.texinfo
526 1058
@@ -528,128 +1060,31 @@ Sources of Information and Help
528 at your site. 1060 at your site.
529 1061
530 To get more general instructions, retrieve the latest Texinfo package 1062 To get more general instructions, retrieve the latest Texinfo package
531 mentioned in question 13. 1063 mentioned in question 17.
532 1064
53315: Can I view Info files without using GNU Emacs? 106519: Can I view Info files without using GNU Emacs?
534 1066
535 Yes, the `info', `xinfo', and `ivinfo' programs do this. info uses 1067 Yes, the `info', `xinfo', and `ivinfo' programs do this. info uses
536 curses, xinfo uses standard X11R4 libraries, and ivinfo uses InterViews. 1068 curses, xinfo uses standard X11 libraries, and ivinfo uses InterViews.
537 You can get info as part of the latest Texinfo package (see question 13). 1069 You can get info as part of the latest Texinfo package (see question
538 xinfo is available separately (prep.ai.mit.edu: 1070 17). xinfo is available separately:
539 pub/gnu/xinfo-1.01.01.tar.Z). ivinfo is available in a comp.sources.misc
540 archive or from Tom Horsley <tom@ssd.csd.harris.com>. For ivinfo, you
541 need Stanford's InterViews C++ X library, available via anonymous FTP
542 (interviews.stanford.edu).
543
54416: Where can I get documentation on GNU Emacs Lisp?
545
546 Within Emacs, you can type "C-h f" to get the documentation for a
547 function, "C-h v" for a variable.
548
549 For more information, obtain the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual for Emacs
550 18 under Unix. It is available from the FSF for $50 (or 5 for $200). The
551 latest revision available for FTP is edition 1.03 dated 28 January 1991.
552
553 For online use, a set of pregenerated Info files is available with the
554 Texinfo source for the Emacs Lisp manual via anonymous FTP (Emacs Lisp
555 Archive, prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/elisp-manual-1.03.tar.Z). (You can also !
556 create the Info files from the Texinfo source.) See question 13 for
557 details on how to install these files online.
558
559 If you are daring enough to try to print this 550 page manual out
560 yourself, for instructions see question 14.
561
562 Also, as a popular USENET saying goes, "Use the Force, Read the Source".
563
56417: Has someone written an GNU Emacs Lisp package that does XXX?
565 1071
566 Probably. A listing of Emacs Lisp packages, called the Lisp Code 1072 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/xinfo-1.01.01.tar.Z
567 Directory, is being maintained by Dave Brennan <brennan@hal.com> and ! 1073 /export.lcs.mit.edu:
568 Dave Sill <de5@ornl.gov>. You can search through this list to find if
569 someone has written something that fits your needs.
570
571 This list is file "LCD-datafile.Z" in the Emacs Lisp Archive. (See
572 question 18 for methods for getting this file.) The files "lispdir.el.Z"
573 and "lispdir.doc.Z" in the archive contain information to help you use the
574 list. Once you have installed lispdir.el and LCD-datafile, then you can
575 use the "M-x lisp-dir-apropos" command to look things up in the database.
576 For example, the command "M-x lisp-dir-apropos RET ange-ftp RET" produces
577 this (outdated) output:
578
579 GNU Emacs Lisp Code Apropos -- "ange-ftp"
580 1074
581 ange-ftp (3.112) 91-08-12 1075 ivinfo is available in a comp.sources.misc archive or from Tom Horsley
582 Andy Norman, <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com> 1076 <tom@ssd.csd.harris.com>. For ivinfo, you need Stanford's InterViews C++
583 archive.cis.ohio-state.edu: 1077 X library, available via anonymous FTP (interviews.stanford.edu).
584 /pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/as-is/ange-ftp.el.Z
585 transparent FTP Support for GNU Emacs
586
58718: Where can I get GNU Emacs Lisp packages that don't come with Emacs?
588
589 First, check the Lisp Code Directory to find the name of the package you
590 are looking for. (See question 17). Then check local archives and
591 the Emacs Lisp Archive to find a copy of the relevant files. Then, if
592 you still haven't found it, you can send e-mail to the author asking for
593 a copy.
594
595 NOTE: The archive maintainers do not have time to answer individual
596 requests for packages or the list of packages in the archive. If you
597 cannot use FTP or UUCP to access the archive yourself, try to find a
598 friend who can, but please don't ask the maintainers.
599
600 You can access the Emacs Lisp Archive via anonymous FTP
601 (archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:/pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/). Fetch the
602 file "README" first.
603
604 NOTE: Any files with names ending in ".Z" are compressed, and you should
605 use "binary" mode in FTP to retrieve them. You should also use binary
606 mode whenever you retrieve any files with names ending in ".elc".
607
60819: How do I submit code to the Emacs Lisp Archive?
609
610 Submissions should be mailed to elisp-archive@cis.ohio-state.edu. Mail
611 messages (submissions) are automatically saved and periodically archived.
612 Urgent mail may be sent directly to Dave Sill <de5@ornl.gov> or Dave
613 Brennan <brennan@hal.com> or should contain the string "urgent" in the !
614 subject. The incomoing ftp directory is no longer available at the
615 request of Ohio State.
616
617 However, if someone has a submission with multiple files (which would be
618 archived as a tar file) or binary files, then FTP transfer is preferred
619 and can be arranged via an anonymous FTP site. This is faster than
620 uudecoding, unsharing, etc., and re-packaging files.
621
622 Before submitting anything, please read the file "guidelines.Z", which is
623 available in the archive. Whenever possible submissions should contain
624 a complete LCD entry since this helps reduce administrative overhead for
625 the maintainers. You can include an entry in this format:
626
627 ;; LCD Archive Entry:
628 ;; package name|author's name|email address
629 ;; |description
630 ;; |date|version|archive path
631
632 For example:
633 1078
634 ;; LCD Archive Entry: 107920: What informational files are available for GNU Emacs?
635 ;; tex-complete|Sebastian Kremer|sk@thp.Uni-Koeln.DE
636 ;; |Minibuffer name completion for editing [La]TeX.
637 ;; |91-03-26|$Revision: 1.12 $|~/packages/tex-complete.el.Z
638
639 Dave Brennan has software which automatically looks for data in this
640 format. The format is fairly flexible. The entry ends when a line is
641 reached with a different prefix or the seventh field terminator is
642 seen.
643
64420: What informational files are available for GNU Emacs?
645 1080
646 This isn't a frequently asked question, but it should be! A variety of 1081 This isn't a frequently asked question, but it should be! A variety of
647 informational files about GNU Emacs and relevant aspects of the GNU 1082 informational files about GNU Emacs and relevant aspects of the GNU
648 project are available for you to read. 1083 project are available for you to read.
649 1084
650 The following files are available in the "etc" directory of the GNU 1085 The following files are available in the `etc' directory of the GNU
651 Emacs distribution, and also the latest versions are available 1086 Emacs distribution, and also the latest versions are available
652 individually via anonymous FTP (prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/etc/): 1087 individually via anonymous FTP (prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/):
653 1088
654 APPLE -- Why the FSF doen't support GNU Emacs on Apple computers 1089 APPLE -- Why the FSF doen't support GNU Emacs on Apple computers
655 DISTRIB -- GNU Emacs Availability Information, 1090 DISTRIB -- GNU Emacs Availability Information,
@@ -662,9 +1097,9 @@ Sources of Information and Help
662 MACHINES -- Status of GNU Emacs on Various Machines and Systems 1097 MACHINES -- Status of GNU Emacs on Various Machines and Systems
663 MAILINGLISTS -- GNU Project Electronic Mailing Lists 1098 MAILINGLISTS -- GNU Project Electronic Mailing Lists
664 SERVICE -- GNU Service Directory 1099 SERVICE -- GNU Service Directory
665 SUN-SUPPORT -- including "Using Emacstool with GNU Emacs" ! 1100 SUN-SUPPORT -- including "Using Emacstool with GNU Emacs"
666 1101
667 These files are available in the "etc" directory of the GNU Emacs 1102 These files are available in the `etc' directory of the GNU Emacs
668 distribution: 1103 distribution:
669 1104
670 DIFF -- Differences between GNU Emacs and Twenex Emacs 1105 DIFF -- Differences between GNU Emacs and Twenex Emacs
@@ -720,672 +1155,1745 @@ Sources of Information and Help
720 * Legal issues about contributing code to GNU 1155 * Legal issues about contributing code to GNU
721 * GNU Project Status Report 1156 * GNU Project Status Report
722 1157
72321: Where can I get the latest VM, Supercite, GNUS, Calc, Calendar, 1158 A collection of past GNU's Bulletins is available via anonymous FTP:
724 Ange-FTP, VIP, Dired, Ispell, Epoch, Demacs, Freemacs, or Patch?
725 1159
726 {If you know of any other packages that are so substantial that they 1160 /ftp.funet.fi:pub/gnu/Bulletins/
727 deserve to be mentioned here, please tell me. Having its own mailing list
728 or newsgroup or more than half a megabyte of source code are good signs.}
729 1161
730 * VM (View Mail) -- another mail reader within Emacs 116221: Where can I get help in installing GNU Emacs?
731 1163
732 Author: Kyle Jones <kyle@uunet.uu.net> 1164 Look in etc/SERVICE for names of companies and individuals who will sell
733 Latest released version: 4.41 1165 you this type of service. An up-to-date version of the SERVICE file is
734 Beta test version: 5.31 1166 available on prep.ai.mit.edu (also see question 20).
735 Anonymous FTP:
736 Emacs Lisp Archive: packages/vm-4.41.tar.Z, as-is/timer.shar.Z -
737 ftp.uu.net:/pub/vm-{4.41,5.31beta}.tar.Z
738 Newsgroups and mailing lists:
739 Info-VM:
740 gnu.emacs.vm.info
741 info-vm-request@uunet.uu.net (for subscriptions)
742 info-vm@uunet.uu.net (for submissions) +
743 Bug-VM:
744 gnu.emacs.vm.bug
745 bug-vm-request@uunet.uu.net (for subscriptions)
746 bug-vm@uunet.uu.net (for submissions) +
747
748 * SuperCite -- mail and news citation package within Emacs
749
750 Author: Barry Warsaw <bwarsaw@cen.com>
751 Mailing list: supercite-request@anthem.nlm.nih.gov (for subscriptions)
752 supercite@anthem.nlm.nih.gov (for submissions) +
753 Latest version: 2.2
754 Anonymous FTP:
755 Emacs Lisp Archive: packages/sc-2.2.tar.Z
756 Via e-mail:
757 To: library@cme.nist.gov
758 Subject: help
759 1167
760 NOTE: Superyank is an old version of SuperCite. 116822: Where can I get the latest version of this document (the FAQ list)?
761 1169
762 * GNUS -- news reader within Emacs 1170 The GNU Emacs FAQ is available in several ways:
763 1171
764 Author: Masanobu Umeda <umerin@mse.kyutech.ac.jp> 1172 * Via USENET. If you can read news, the FAQ should be available in your
765 Latest official version: 3.13 1173 news spool, in both the gnu.emacs.help and comp.emacs newsgroups. Every
766 Unofficial test version: 3.14.1 1174 news reader of which I know will allow you to read any news article that
767 Anonymous FTP: 1175 is still in the news spool, even if you have read the article before.
768 cs.umn.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z. 1176 You may need to read the instructions for your news reader to discover
769 aun.uninett.no:pub/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z 1177 how to do this. In `rn', this command will do this for you at the
770 wnoc-fuk.wide.ad.jp:pub/GNU/etc/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z 1178 article selection level:
771 liasun3.epfl.ch:pub/gnu/emacs/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
772 aix370.rrz.uni-koeln.de:/pub/gnu/emacs/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
773 funet.fi:/networking/news/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
774 src.doc.ic.ac.uk:/gnu/EmacsBits/gnus/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
775 Emacs Lisp Archive: packages/gnus-3.13.tar.Z
776 Newsgroups and mailing lists:
777 English-only:
778 gnu.emacs.gnus
779 info-gnus-english-request@cis.ohio-state.edu (for subscriptions)
780 info-gnus-english@cis.ohio-state.edu (for submissions) +
781 Japanese (and some English):
782 info-gnus-request@flab.fujitsu.co.jp (for subscriptions)
783 info-gnus@flab.fujitsu.co.jp (for submissions) +
784
785 * Calc -- poor man's Mathematica within Emacs
786
787 Author: Dave Gillespie <daveg@csvax.cs.caltech.edu>
788 Latest released version: 2.02 !
789 Anonymous FTP:
790 csvax.cs.caltech.edu:pub/calc-2.02.tar.Z !
791 prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/calc-2.02.tar.Z !
792 NOTE: Unlike Wolfram Research, Dave has never threatened to sue anyone
793 for having a program with a similar command language to Calc. :-)
794 1179
795 * Calendar/Diary -- calendar manager within Emacs 1180 ?GNU Emacs FAQ?rc:m
796 1181
797 Author: Ed Reingold <reingold@cs.uiuc.edu> 1182 In GNUS, you should type "C-u G" from the *Subject* buffer or "C-u SPC"
798 Latest version: 4.01 1183 from the *Newsgroup* buffer to view all articles in a newsgroup.
799 Anonymous FTP:
800 emr.cs.uiuc.edu:/pub/emacs/calendar
801 Via e-mail:
802 To: reingold@cs.uiuc.edu
803 Subject: send-emacs-cal
804 Put your best internet e-mail address in the body.
805 1184
806 * Ange-FTP -- adds transparent FTP access to Emacs's file access routines 1185 The FAQ articles' message IDs are:
807 1186
808 Author: Andy Norman <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com> 1187 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-0.1993.01.05.171933@rice.edu> !
809 Latest version: 3.143 1188 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-1.1993.01.05.171933@rice.edu> !
810 Anonymous FTP: 1189 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-2.1993.01.05.171933@rice.edu> !
811 ftp.gnu.ai.mit.edu:ange-ftp/ange-ftp.el.Z 1190 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-3.1993.01.05.171933@rice.edu> !
812 Emacs Lisp Archive: 1191 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-4.1993.01.05.171933@rice.edu> !
813 as-is/ange-ftp.el.Z (current version) 1192 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-5.1993.01.05.171933@rice.edu> !
814 packages/ange-ftp.el.Z (old version)
815 Mailing list: ange-ftp-lovers-request@anorman.hpl.hp.com (subscriptions) !
816 ange-ftp-lovers@anorman.hpl.hp.com (for submissions) +
817 NOTE: now with support for accessing VMS systems
818
819 * VIP -- vi emulation for Emacs -
820
821 Author: Aamod Sane <sane@cs.uiuc.edu>
822 Latest released version: 4.3 +
823 Anonymous FTP:
824 cs.uiuc.edu:pub/vip4.3.tar.Z
825 Emacs Lisp Archive: modes/vip-mode.tar.Z
826 NOTE: This version much more closely emulates vi than the one
827 distributed with Emacs.
828 1193
829 Version distributed with Emacs: 3.5 1194 If you are viewing this in the GNUS *Article* buffer, you can move point
830 Author: Masahiko Sato <ms@sail.stanford.edu, 1195 within one of the above message IDs and type "r" to fetch the referenced
831 masahiko@sato.riec.tohoku.junet> 1196 article. Type "o" in the *Article* buffer to restore the previous
1197 contents. If this text is not in the GNUS *Article* buffer, use M-r
1198 from the *Subject* buffer instead.
832 1199
833 * Dired -- directory editor for Emacs 1200 If the FAQ articles have expired and been deleted from your news spool,
1201 it might (or might not) do some good to complain to your news
1202 administrator, because the most recent FAQ should not expire before
1203 March 6, 1993. !
834 1204
835 Author: Sebastian Kremer <sk@thp.uni-koeln.de> 1205 * Via anonymous FTP. You can fetch the FAQ articles via anonymous FTP
836 Latest released version: 5.239 +
837 Anonymous FTP: ftp.cs.buffalo.edu:pub/Emacs/diredall.tar.Z -
838 ftp.uni-koeln.de:pub/gnu/emacs/diredall.tar.Z -
839 NOTE: This is a huge improvement over the Dired distributed with Emacs.
840 This version will be in Emacs 19.
841 1206
842 * AUC TeX -- enhanced LaTeX mode + 1207 /rtfm.mit.edu:pub/usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/ part*
843 +
844 Author: Kresten Krab Thorup <krab@iesd.auc.dk> +
845 Latest released version: 5.4 +
846 Anonymous FTP: iesd.auc.dk:pub/emacs-lisp/auc-tex-5.4.tar.Z +
847 Mailing list: +
848 auc-tex-request@iesd.auc.dk (for subscriptions) +
849 auc-tex@iesd.auc.dk (for submissions) +
850 auc-tex_mgr@iesd.auc.dk (auc-tex development team) +
851 +
852 * Hyperbole -- extensible hypertext management system within Emacs +
853 +
854 Author: Bob Weiner <rsw@cs.brown.edu> +
855 Anonymous FTP: +
856 wilma.cs.brown.edu:pub/hyperbole/h*.tar.Z +
857 Mailing lists: +
858 hyperbole-announce -- Hyperbole release announcements only. +
859 Subscriptions: +
860 To: hyperbole-request@cs.brown.edu +
861 Subject: Add <mailbox@domain.name> to hyperbole-announce. +
862 hyperbole -- Hyperbole discussion. +
863 Subscriptions: +
864 To: hyperbole-request@cs.brown.edu +
865 Subject: Add <mailbox@domain.name> to hyperbole. +
866 Submissions: +
867 hyperbole@cs.brown.edu +
868 NOTE: Any member of the hyperbole mailing list is automatically a +
869 member of the hyperbole-announce mailing list. +
870 NOTE: No .UUCP or ! addresses are allowed on these mailing lists. +
871 +
872 * Ispell -- spell checker in C with interface for Emacs +
873 1208
874 Author: Geoff Kuenning <geoff@itcorp.com> (latest of many) 1209 * Via e-mail. You can send the following magical incantation in the body
875 Latest released version: 2.0.02 1210 of a message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu:
876 Beta test version: 3.0 (9 patches)
877 Anonymous FTP:
878 archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:/pub/gnu/ispell/* (version 2.0.02)
879 ftp.cs.ucla.edu:/pub/ispell/* (version 3.0, patches, dictionaries)
880 NOTE: Do not send mail to Geoff asking him to send you the latest
881 version of Ispell. He does not have free e-mail.
882 1211
883 * Epoch -- enhanced GNU Emacs with better X interface 1212 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part0
1213 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part1
1214 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part2
1215 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part3
1216 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part4
1217 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part5
884 1218
885 Latest released version: 3.2 1219 * Via WAIS. The GNU Emacs FAQ is available via WAIS indexed on a
886 Beta test version: 4.0 beta patchlevel 0 ! 1220 per-question basis from the `faq' database on bigbird.bu.edu on the
887 Anonymous FTP: 1221 non-standard IP port number of 2210. This is probably the best way to
888 cs.uiuc.edu:pub/epoch-files/epoch/epoch-4.0b0.tar.Z ! 1222 find out if there is something in the FAQ related to your question. I
889 cs.uiuc.edu:pub/epoch-files/epoch/epoch-3.2{.tar.Z,-patch-{1,2.tar.Z}} 1223 use this myself to answer questions I see posted on gnu.emacs.help.
890 Newsgroup and mailing lists: !
891 Epoch: !
892 gnu.emacs.epoch
893 epoch-request@cs.uiuc.edu (for subscriptions)
894 epoch@cs.uiuc.edu (for submissions) +
895 Epoch-Design: +
896 epoch-design-request@cs.uiuc.edu (for subscriptions) +
897 epoch-design@cs.uiuc.edu (for submissions) +
898
899 * Demacs -- GNU Emacs altered to work under MS-DOS on 386 and 486 machines
900
901 Authors: Manabu Higashida <manabu@sigmath.osaka-u.ac.jp>
902 HIRANO Satoshi <hirano@tkl.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp>
903 Latest released version: 1.2.0
904 Anonymous FTP:
905 utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp:GNU/demacs/* (nearest to U.S.A.)
906 ftp.sigmath.osaka-u.ac.jp:pub/Msdos/Demacs/*
907 wnoc-fuk.wide.ad.jp:pub/msdos/Demacs/*
908 ftp.3com.com:pub/gnu/msdos/demacs/* +
909 mindseye.berkeley.edu:pub/kanji/demacs/* +
910 ftp.hawaii.edu:pub/editors/demacs.tar.Z +
911 ftp.math.ksu.edu:pub/pc/demacs/* +
912 wsmr-simtel20.army.mil:pd1:<msdos.demacs>* +
913 ftp.uni-koeln.de: (PLEASE USE ONLY OUTSIDE WORKING HOURS!) +
914 msdos/gnuprogs/dem120e.zip (executables, lisp-code, doc)
915 msdos/gnuprogs/dem120s.zip (sources, diffs)
916 ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/msdos/gnu/emacs/?????????????
917 mizar.docs.uu.se:pub/gnu/demacs/* +
918 iamsun.unibe.ch:PC/demacs/* +
919 flop.informatik.tu-muenchen.de:outgoing/demacs.tar +
920 ftp.funet.fi:pub/gnu/emacs/demacs/* +
921 garbo.uwasa.fi:pc/editor/dem120{e,s}.zip +
922 ftp.win.tue.nl:pub/gnu/demacs/* +
923 ugle.unit.no:pub/gnu/Demacs/* +
924 {Does anyone know which sites have the Kanji version?} +
925 Via e-mail: +
926 From garbo.uwasa.fi: +
927 To: mailserv@garbo.uwasa.fi +
928 Subject: garbo-request +
929 Body: send pc/editor/dem120e.zip +
930 send pc/editor/dem120s.zip +
931 quit +
932 Downloading:
933 EXEC-PC (Milwaukee, WI) 414-789-4210 (2400 bps)
934 in the Mahoney MS-DOS file area in its Editors/wordprocessors
935 library (F), named GNUEMACS.ZIP
936 Channel 1 (Cambridge, MA) 617-345-8873 (9600 bps)
937 in the New Uploads file area, named GNUEMACS.ZIP
938 NOTE: Use the -d option of [pk]unzip for all .zip archives. Some sites
939 have Demacs lharc'ed. {Can anyone tell me FTP sites for programs to
940 extract lharc and zip format files? Or even better, give me a pointer
941 to another FAQ that answers these questions.}
942 Mailing list: +
943 NOTE: There is no mailing list for Demacs. However, there is a list +
944 for DJGPP, which is the environment that Demacs runs in. Many +
945 Demacs problems are actually issues with DJGPP. +
946 DJGPP: +
947 Subscriptions: +
948 To: listserv@sun.soe.clarkson.edu +
949 body: add <your-address> djgpp +
950 or put "help" in the body. +
951 If this fails, mail to djgpp-request@sun.soe.clarkson.edu. +
952 Submissions: +
953 djgpp@sun.soe.clarkson.edu +
954
955 * Freemacs -- a small Emacs for MS-DOS
956
957 Author: Russ Nelson <nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu> +
958 Latest released version: 1.6a
959 Anonymous FTP:
960 simtel20.army.mil:PD:<MSDOS.FREEMACS>*
961 grape.ecs.clarkson.edu:pub/msdos/freemacs/*
962 Via e-mail:
963 To: archive-server@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
964 body: help
965 Via snail mail:
966 address: Russell Nelson, 11 Grant St., Potsdam, NY 13676
967 Send $15 copying fee, and specify preferred floppy disk format:
968 5.25", 360K, or 3.50", 720K
969 Mailing lists:
970 Subscriptions:
971 To: listserv@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
972 body: add <your-address> <name-of-list>
973 or put "help" in the body.
974 List distribution addresses:
975 freemacs-announce@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
976 freemacs-help@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
977 freemacs-workers@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (send bug reports here)
978
979 * Patch -- program to apply "diffs" for updating files
980
981 Author: Larry Wall <lwall@netlabs.com>
982 Latest version: 2.0 patchlevel 12u5
983 (This is the version that supports the new "unified" diff format.)
984 Anonymous FTP:
985 prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/patch-2.0.12u4.tar.Z
986 1224
98722: What is the real legal meaning of the GNU copyleft? 1225 The articles of the GNU Emacs FAQ are also available from the `usenet'
1226 database on rtfm.mit.edu (on the standard IP port: 210), along with a
1227 lot of other FAQ articles. However, these are all indexed at the whole
1228 article level instead of at the question level. This is a better place
1229 to look if you want to fetch the entire FAQ.
988 1230
989 RMS writes: 1231 * In the GNU Emacs distribution. Since GNU Emacs 18.56, the latest
1232 available version of the FAQ at the time of release has been part of the
1233 GNU Emacs distribution as file etc/FAQ. 18.59 is the latest version, !
1234 and it was released in October 1992. !
990 1235
991 The legal meaning of the GNU copyleft is less important than the spirit, 1236 * There is an old version of the FAQ list available for FTP in the GNU
992 which is that Emacs is a free software project and that work pertaining 1237 archives at MIT:
993 to Emacs should also be free software. "Free" means that all users have
994 the freedom to study, share, change and improve Emacs. To make sure
995 everyone has this freedom, pass along source code when you distribute
996 any version of Emacs or a related program, and give the recipients the
997 same freedom that you enjoyed.
998 1238
999 If you still want to find out about the legal meaning of the copyleft, 1239 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/GNUinfo/FAQ.emacs
1000 please ask yourself if this means you are not paying attention to the
1001 spirit.
1002 1240
100323: What are appropriate messages for gnu.emacs.help, gnu.emacs.bug, 1241 * As the very last resort, you can e-mail a request to
1004 comp.emacs, etc.? 1242 gnu-emacs-faq-maintainers@bigbird.bu.edu. Don't do this unless you have
1243 made a serious effort to obtain the FAQ list via one of the methods
1244 listed above.
1005 1245
1006 The file etc/MAILINGLISTS discusses the purpose of each GNU 1246
1007 mailing-list. (See question 20 on how to get a copy.) For 1247
1008 those which are gatewayed with newsgroups, it lists both the newsgroup 1248Status of Emacs
1009 name and the mailing list address. 1249
125023: Where does the name "Emacs" come from?
1010 1251
1011 comp.emacs is for discussion of Emacs programs in general. This 1252 Emacs originally was an acronym for Editor MACroS. RMS says he "picked
1012 includes GNU Emacs along with various other implementations like JOVE, 1253 the name `Emacs' because `E' was not in use as an abbreviation on ITS at
1013 MicroEmacs, Freemacs, MG, Unipress, CCA, Epsilon, etc. 1254 the time.". The first Emacs was a set of macros written in 1976 at MIT by
1255 RMS for the editor TECO (Text Editor and COrrector (originally Tape Editor
1256 and COrrector)) under ITS on a PDP-10. RMS had already extended TECO with
1257 a "real-time" full screen mode with active keys. Emacs was started by Guy
1258 Steele <gls@think.com> as a project to unify the many divergent TECO
1259 command sets and keybindings at MIT.
1014 1260
1015 Many people post GNU Emacs questions to comp.emacs because they don't 1261 Many people have told me that TECO code looks a lot like line noise. See
1016 receive any of the gnu.* newsgroups. Arguments have been made both for 1262 alt.lang.teco if you are interested. I think someone has written a TECO
1017 and against posting GNU-Emacs-specific material to comp.emacs. You have 1263 implementation in Emacs Lisp. It would be an interesting project to run
1018 to decide for yourself. 1264 the original TECO Emacs inside of GNU Emacs.
1019 1265
1020 Messages advocating "non-free" software are considered unacceptable on any 126624: What is the latest version of GNU Emacs?
1021 of the gnu.* newsgroups except for gnu.misc.discuss, which was created to
1022 hold the extensive flame-wars on the subject. "non-free" software
1023 includes any software for which the end user can't get source code. Be
1024 careful to remove the gnu.* groups from the "Newsgroups:" line when
1025 posting a followup that recommends such software.
1026 1267
1027 The correct place to report GNU Emacs bugs is by e-mail to 1268 GNU Emacs 18.59 is the current version. Fixes from 18.57 include better !
1028 bug-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu. Anything sent here also appears in the 1269 mail address parsing, an X visual bell speedup, a call-process
1029 newsgroup gnu.emacs.bug, but please use e-mail instead of news to submit 1270 enhancement, a regexp matching change, the ability to apply a numeric
1030 the bug report. This way a reliable return address is available so you 1271 argument to a self-inserting digit, getting X resource values from the
1031 can be contacted for further details. 1272 RESOURCE_MANAGER property, more reliable shell mode job control, and a
1273 change to copy-keymap. Also, support has been added for many new system
1274 types. Fixes from 18.55 include the removal of arbitrary limits on the
1275 undo facility.
1032 1276
1033 RMS explains: ! 1277 According to the January 1992 GNU's Bulletin, "Emacs 18 maintenance
1278 continues for simple bug fixes.".
1034 1279
1035 Sending bug reports to help-gnu-emacs (which has the effect of posting 1280 To visit a file with information about what has changed in recent
1036 on gnu.emacs.help) is undesirable because it takes the time of an 1281 versions, type "C-h n".
1037 unnecessarily large group of people, most of whom are just users and 1282
1038 have no idea how to fix these problem. bug-gnu-emacs reaches a much 128325: When will GNU Emacs 19 be available?
1039 smaller group of people who are more likely to know what to do and have 1284
1040 expressed a wish to receive more messages about Emacs than the others. 1285 There are strong indications that Emacs 19 will be available in 1992. The
1286 FSF has recently gone through a spate of copyright disclaimer checking,
1287 which is a good sign.
1288
1289 Lucid has released Lucid GNU Emacs 19.3, which is based on an early !
1290 unreleased version of GNU Emacs 19. This will be similar to Emacs 19 when
1291 it finally arrives, but they are not the same. See question 121.
1292
1293 Work has begun on features for Emacs 20.
1294
129526: What is different about GNU Emacs 19?
1296
1297 From the January 1992 GNU's Bulletin:
1298
1299 Version 19 will enter beta test late this year. Among its new features
1300 are: before and after change hooks, source-level debugging of Emacs Lisp
1301 programs, X selection processing (including clipboard selections),
1302 scrollbars, support for European character sets, floating point numbers,
1303 per-buffer mouse commands, X resource manager interfacing,
1304 mouse-tracking, Lisp-level binding of function keys, multiple X windows
1305 (`screens' to Emacs), a new input system, and buffer allocation, which
1306 uses a new mechanism capable of returning storage to the system when a
1307 buffer is killed.
1308
1309 The input stream is now a sequence of Lisp objects, instead of a
1310 sequence of characters. This allows a reasonable representation for
1311 mouse clicks, function keys, menu selections, etc.
1312
1313 Thanks go to Alan Carroll and the people who worked on Epoch for
1314 generating initial feedback to a multi-windowed Emacs, and to Eric
1315 Raymond for help in polishing the Emacs 19 Lisp libraries.
1316
1317 The June 1991 GNU's bulletin had this to say about future plans for Emacs:
1318
1319 Features being considered for later releases of Emacs include:
1320 associating property lists with regions of text in a buffer; multiple
1321 fonts, color, and pixmaps defined by those properties; different
1322 visibility conditions for the regions, and for various windows showing
1323 one buffer; hooks to be run if point or mouse moves outside a certain
1324 range; incrementally saving undo history in a file; static menu bars;
1325 and better pop-up menus.
1326
1327 Mention of this feature disappeared in the January 1992 GNU's bulletin:
1328
1329 Emacs 19 supports two styles of multiple windows, one with a separate
1330 screen for the minibuffer, and another with a minibuffer attached to
1331 each screen.
1332
1333 Mention of these two proposed features disappeared in the January 1991
1334 GNU's bulletin:
1335
1336 * Incremental syntax analysis for various programming languages (Leif).
1337 * A more sophisticated emacsclient/server model, which would provide
1338 network transparent Emacs widget functionality.
1339
134027: What variants of GNU Emacs exist?
1341
1342 * Nemacs (Nihongo Emacs), which can handle Japanese text, is derived from
1343 GNU Emacs 18.55. See question 149.
1344
1345 * Demacs, which can run under MS-DOS on 386 machines, is derived from
1346 Nemacs. See question 122.
1347
1348 * Epoch, which has better X support, is derived from GNU Emacs 18.58.
1349 See question 120 and 92.
1350
1351 * Nepoch (Nihongo Epoch), which can handle Japanese text, is derived from
1352 Epoch.
1353
1354 * Mule (the MULtilingual Enhancement of GNU Emacs) can handle many
1355 character sets simultaneously. It is derived from Emacs 18.58. It is
1356 available for FTP:
1357
1358 /sh.wide.ad.jp:/JAPAN/mule/
1359 /etlport.etl.go.jp:/pub/mule/
1041 1360
1042 However, RMS says there are circumstances when it is okay to post to + 1361 * Lucid GNU Emacs is derived from an early unreleased version of GNU Emacs
1043 gnu.emacs.help: + 1362 19. See question 121 and 92.
1363
1364
1365
1366---------------------------------------------------------------------- +
1367Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells +
1368Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes +
1044 + 1369 +
1045 If you have reported a bug and you don't hear about a possible fix, then + 1370This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers +
1046 after a suitable delay (such as a week) it is okay to post on + 1371("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other +
1047 gnu.emacs.help asking if anyone can help you. + 1372formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS, etc.), and updated with new +
1373information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as +
1374apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice +
1375or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining +
1376the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and +
1377information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including +
1378FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these +
1379conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary +
1380work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution. +
1381
1382
1383 GNU Emacs FAQ: Common Requests/Problems
1384
1385If you are viewing this text in a GNU Emacs Buffer, you can type "M-2 C-x $" to
1386get an overview of just the questions. Then, when you want to look at the text
1387of the answers, just type "C-x $".
1388
1389To search for a question numbered XXX, type "M-C-s ^XXX:", followed by a C-r if
1390that doesn't work, then type ESC to end the search.
1391
1392A `+' in the 78th column means something was inserted on the line. A `-' means
1393something was deleted and a `!' means some combination of insertions and
1394deletions occurred.
1395
1396Full instructions for getting the latest FAQ are in question 22. Also see the
1397`Introduction to news.answers' posting in the `news.answers' newsgroup, or send
1398e-mail to `mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with `help' on a body line, or use FTP,
1399WAIS, or Prospero to rtfm.mit.edu.
1400
1401
1402
1403Common Things People Want To Do
1404
140528: How do I set up a .emacs file properly?
1048 1406
1049 If you are unsure whether you have a bug, RMS describes how to tell: ! 1407 See `Init File' in the on-line manual.
1050 1408
1051 ... if Emacs crashes, that is a bug. If Emacs gets compilation errors 1409 WARNING: In general, new Emacs users should not have .emacs files, because
1052 while building, that is a bug. If Emacs crashes while building, that is 1410 it causes confusing non-standard behavior. Then they send questions to
1053 a bug. If Lisp code does not do what the documentation says it does, 1411 help-gnu-emacs asking why Emacs isn't behaving as documented. :-)
1054 that is a bug.
1055 1412
105624: How do I unsubscribe to this mailing list? 141329: How do I debug a .emacs file?
1057 1414
1058 If you are receiving a GNU mailing list named "XXX", you might be able 1415 First start Emacs with the `-q' command line option. Then, in the
1059 to unsubscribe to it by sending a request to the address 1416 *scratch* buffer, type the following:
1060 "XXX-request@prep.ai.mit.edu". However, this will not work if you are
1061 not listed on the main mailing list, but instead recieve the mail from a
1062 distribution point. In that case, you will have to track down at which
1063 distribution point you are listed. Inspecting the "Received:" headers
1064 on the mail messages may help, along with liberal use of the "EXPN" or
1065 "VRFY" sendmail commands through "telnet <site-address> smtp". Ask your
1066 postmaster for help.
1067 1417
106825: What is the LPF and why should I join it? 1418 (setq debug-on-error t) LFD
1419 (load-file "~/.emacs") LFD
1069 1420
1070 The LPF opposes the expanding danger of software patents and 1421 (Type LFD by pressing C-j.)
1071 look-and-feel copyrights. Write to league@prep.ai.mit.edu for more
1072 information. You can get papers describing the LPF's views via
1073 anonymous FTP (prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/lpf/*) or via anonymous UUCP
1074 (osu-cis!~/lpf/*).
1075 1422
107626: What is the current address of the FSF? 1423 If you have an error in your .emacs file, this will invoke the debugger
1424 when the error occurs. If you don't know how to use the debugger do
1425 (setq stack-trace-on-error t) instead.
1077 1426
1078 Snail mail address: 1427 WARNING: this will not discover errors caused by trying to do something
1079 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 1428 that requires the terminal/window-system initialization code to have
1080 675 Massachusetts Avenue 1429 been loaded. See question 127.
1081 Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
1082 1430
1083 Phone number: 143130: How do I make Emacs display the current line (or column) number?
1084 (617) 876-3296
1085 1432
1086 E-mail addresses: 1433 To find out what line of the buffer you are on right now, do "M-x
1087 gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu 1434 what-line". Use "M-x goto-line" to go to a specific line. To find the
1435 current column number, type "M-ESC (current-column)".
1088 1436
108927: What is the current address of the LPF? 1437 Typing "C-x l" will also tell you what line you are on, provided the
1438 buffer isn't separated into "pages" with C-l characters. In that case, it
1439 will only tell you what line of the current "page" you are on. WARNING:
1440 "C-x l" gives the wrong value when point is at the beginning of a line.
1090 1441
1091 Snail mail address: 1442 There is no "correct" way to constantly display the current (or total)
1092 League for Programming Freedom 1443 line (or column) number on the mode line in Emacs 18, or to display the
1093 1 Kendall Square, Number 143 1444 line numbers next to the lines like vi can. Emacs is not a line-oriented
1094 Post Office Box 9171 1445 editor, and really has no idea what "lines" of the buffer are displayed in
1095 Cambridge, MA 02139, USA 1446 the window. It would require a lot of work at the C code level to make
1447 Emacs keep track of this. It would not be that hard to get the column
1448 number, but it would still require changes at the C code level.
1096 1449
1097 Phone number: 1450 None of the vi emulation modes provide the `set number' capability of vi
1098 (617) 243-4061 { or 243-4091, I'm not sure ... } 1451 (as far as I know).
1099 {Will someone please tell me which of the above numbers is correct?}
1100 1452
1101 E-mail address: 1453 Emacs 19 will probably be able to show the line number on the mode-line,
1102 league@prep.ai.mit.edu 1454 but probably very inefficiently.
1103 1455
110428: Where can I get other up-to-date GNU stuff? 1456 People have written various kludges to display line numbers. One is
1457 `display-line-numbers' by Wayne Mesard <wmesard@tofu.oracle.com,
1458 Mesard@bbn.com>. Look in the Lisp Code Directory. (See question
1459 88.)
1105 1460
1106 The most up-to-date official GNU stuff is normally kept on 146131: How do I turn on Abbrevs by default just in mode XXX?
1107 prep.ai.mit.edu and is available for anonymous FTP. See the files
1108 etc/DISTRIB and etc/FTP for more information. (To get copies of these
1109 files, see question 20.)
1110 1462
1111 For Europeans, the site nic.funet.fi duplicates the directory /pub/gnu 1463 Put this in your .emacs file:
1112 from prep.ai.mit.edu. 1464
1465 (condition-case ()
1466 (read-abbrev-file nil t)
1467 (file-error nil))
1113 1468
111429: Where can I get the latest version of this document (the FAQ list)? 1469 (setq XXX-mode-hook
1470 (function
1471 (lambda ()
1472 (setq abbrev-mode t))))
1115 1473
1116 The GNU Emacs FAQ is available in several ways: 147432: How do I turn on Auto-Fill mode by default?
1117 1475
1118 1. Via USENET. If you can read news, the FAQ should be available in your + 1476 To turn on Auto-Fill mode just once for one buffer, use "M-x
1119 news spool, in both the "gnu.emacs.help" and "comp.emacs" newsgroups. 1477 auto-fill-mode". To turn it on for every buffer in, for example, Text
1120 Every news reader of which I know will allow you to read any news 1478 mode, do this:
1121 article that is still in the news spool, even if you have read the
1122 article before. You may need to read the instructions for your news
1123 reader to discover how to do this. In "rn", this command will do this
1124 for you at the "article selection level":
1125 1479
1126 ?GNU Emacs FAQ?rc:m 1480 (setq text-mode-hook 'turn-on-auto-fill)
1127 1481
1128 In GNUS, you should type "C-u G" from the *Subject* buffer or "C-u SPC" 1482 If you want Auto-Fill mode on in all major modes, do this:
1129 from the *Newsgroup* buffer to view all articles in a newsgroup.
1130 1483
1131 The FAQ articles' message IDs are: 1484 (setq-default auto-fill-hook 'do-auto-fill)
1132 1485
1133 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-0.92Feb23210646@bigbird.bu.edu> ! 148633: How do I make Emacs use a certain major mode for certain files?
1134 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-1.92Feb23210646@bigbird.bu.edu> !
1135 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-2.92Feb23210646@bigbird.bu.edu> !
1136 <GNU-Emacs-FAQ-3.92Feb23210646@bigbird.bu.edu> +
1137 1487
1138 If you are viewing this in the GNUS `*Article*' buffer, you can move 1488 If you want to use XXX mode for all files which end with the extension
1139 point within one of the above message IDs and type "r" to fetch the 1489 `.YYY', this will do it for you:
1140 referenced article into the `*Article*' buffer. Type "o" in the
1141 `*Article*' buffer to restore the previous contents of the `*Article*'
1142 buffer. If you are not viewing this in the GNUS `*Article*' buffer,
1143 use M-x gnus-Article-refer-article instead of "r". GNUS must be
1144 running and you must display the `*Article*' buffer to see the results.
1145 1490
1146 If the FAQ articles have expired and been deleted from your news spool, 1491 (setq auto-mode-alist (cons '("\\.YYY\\'" . XXX-mode) auto-mode-alist))
1147 it might (or might not) do some good to complain to your news 1492
1148 administrator, because the most recent FAQ should not expire before 1493 Otherwise put this somewhere in the first line of any file you want to
1149 April 15, 1992. ! 1494 edit in XXX mode:
1495
1496 -*-XXX-*-
1497
149834: How do I search for, delete, or replace unprintable (8-bit or control)
1499 characters?
1500
1501 To search for a single character that appears in the buffer as, for
1502 example, `\237', you can type "C-s C-q 2 3 7". (This assumes the value of
1503 search-quote-char is 17 (ie., C-q).) Searching for ALL unprintable
1504 characters is best done with a "regexp" search. The easiest regexp to use
1505 for the unprintable chars is the complement of the regexp for the
1506 printable chars.
1507
1508 Regexp for the printable chars: [\t\n\r\f -~]
1509
1510 Regexp for the unprintable chars: [^\t\n\r\f -~]
1511
1512 To type some of these special characters in an interactive argument to
1513 isearch-forward-regexp or re-search-forward, you need to use C-q. (`\t',
1514 `\n', `\r', and `\f' stand respectively for TAB, LFD, RET, and C-l.) So,
1515 to search for unprintable characters using re-search-forward:
1516
1517 M-x re-search-forward RET [^ TAB C-q LFD C-q RET C-q C-l SPC -~] RET
1518
1519 Using isearch-forward-regexp:
1520
1521 M-C-s [^ TAB RET C-q RET C-q C-l SPC -~]
1522
1523 To delete all unprintable characters, simply use a replace-regexp:
1524
1525 M-x replace-regexp RET [^ TAB C-q LFD C-q RET C-q C-l SPC -~] RET RET
1526
1527 Replacing is similar to the above. {I need to write the text for this
1528 part of the answer!}
1529
1530 Notes:
1531
1532 * With isearch, you can type RET to get a quoted LFD (not a quoted RET).
1533
1534 * You don't need to quote TAB with either isearch or typing something in
1535 the minibuffer.
1536
1537 Here are the Emacs Lisp forms of the above regexps:
1538
1539 ;; regexp matching all printable characters:
1540 "[\t\n\r\f -~]"
1541
1542 ;; regexp matching all unprintable characters:
1543 "[^\t\n\r\f -~]"
1544
154535: How can I highlight a region of text in Emacs?
1546
1547 There are ways to get highlighting (reverse video, inverse video) in GNU
1548 Emacs 18.59, but either they require patching the C code of Emacs and !
1549 rebuilding, or they are slow and the highlighting disappears if you scroll
1550 or redraw the screen and it can not follow the point. Howard Gayle's
1551 patches for 8-bit output appear to allow highlighting (see question
1552 ^8-bit-output). Another patch for highlighting is by Kenichi Handa
1553 <handa@etl.go.jp>. There is a patch for use with X by Andy Norman
1554 <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com> (and modified for 18.57 by Matthieu Herrb
1555 <matthieu@laas.fr>), which is available for FTP:
1556
1557 /laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-X11-18.55 !
1558 /laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-X11-18.57 !
1559
1560 You can highlight regions in a variety of ways in Epoch and Lucid Emacs.
1561 GNU Emacs 19 may not be able to just temporarily highlight a region.
1562
1563 Similar comments apply to displaying text in different fonts, except that
1564 it is even harder.
1565
156636: How do I control Emacs's case-sensitivity when searching/replacing?
1567
1568 For searching, the value of the variable case-fold-search determines
1569 whether they are case sensitive:
1570
1571 (setq case-fold-search nil) ; make searches case sensitive
1572 (setq case-fold-search t) ; make searches case insensitive
1573
1574 Similarly, for replacing the variable case-replace determines whether
1575 replacements preserve case.
1576
1577 To change the case sensitivity just for one major mode, use the major
1578 mode's hook. For example:
1579
1580 (setq XXX-mode-hook
1581 (function
1582 (lambda ()
1583 (setq case-fold-search nil))))
1584
158537: How do I make Emacs wrap words for me?
1586
1587 M-x auto-fill-mode. The default maximum line width is 74, determined by
1588 the variable fill-column. To find how to turn this on automatically see
1589 question 32.
1590
159138: Where can I get a better spelling checker for Emacs?
1592
1593 Use Ispell. See question 119.
1594
159539: How can I spell-check TeX or *roff documents?
1596
1597 If you want to spell-check TeX or *roff documents with Ispell, you need to
1598 arrange for a filter program that understands how to strip TeX or *roff
1599 formatting commands to be run. In the TeX distribution, there are several
1600 different programs named `detex', all with incompatible options, and a
1601 very old pair of programs named `detex' and `delatex', which should
1602 probably be avoided. The most useful one for Ispell is `detex' by Daniel
1603 Trinkle. A more recent version is available via FTP:
1604
1605 /arthur.cs.purdue.edu:pub/trinkle/detex-2.4.tar !
1606
1607 Raphael Cerf <cerf@clipper.ens.fr> recently released a program for this
1608 named `xetal':
1609
1610 /spi.ens.fr:pub/unix/tex/
1611
1612 There is a program that comes with Unix named `deroff' for stripping
1613 formatting commands from *roff files.
1614
1615 Here is an example of code you can put in a .emacs file to use these
1616 programs:
1617
1618 ;; Based on suggestions by David G. Grubbs <dgg@ksr.com> and Paul Palmer
1619 ;; <palmerp@math.orst.edu>.
1620
1621 ;; Assuming the use of detex 2.3 by Daniel Trinkle:
1622 ;; -w means one word per line.
1623 ;; -n means don't expand \input or \include commands.
1624 ;; -l means force LaTeX mode.
1625
1626 (require 'ispell) ; for the make-variable-buffer-local statements
1627 (setq plain-TeX-mode-hook
1628 (function
1629 (lambda ()
1630 (setq ispell-filter-hook "detex")
1631 (setq ispell-filter-hook-args '("-nw")))))
1632 (setq LaTeX-mode-hook
1633 (function
1634 (lambda ()
1635 (setq ispell-filter-hook "detex")
1636 (setq ispell-filter-hook-args '("-lnw")))))
1637 (setq nroff-mode-hook
1638 (function
1639 (lambda ()
1640 (setq ispell-filter-hook "deroff")
1641 (setq ispell-filter-hook-args '("-w")))))
1642
1643 You will have to adjust the arguments for programs other than Trinkle's
1644 detex or for other versions of deroff. Experiment running the command
1645 from the shell to find the correct options. If you don't have a filter
1646 that knows how to output one word per line, you must pipe its output
1647 through another filter to break up the output.
1648
164940: How do I change load-path?
1650
1651 In general, you should only *add* to the load-path. You can add
1652 directory /XXX/YYY to the load path like this:
1653
1654 (setq load-path (append load-path '("/XXX/YYY/")))
1655
1656 To do this relative to your home directory:
1657
1658 (setq load-path (append load-path (list (expand-file-name "~/YYY/"))))
1659
166041: How do I use an already running Emacs from another window?
1661
1662 The `emacsclient' program is for editing a file using an already running
1663 Emacs rather than starting up a new Emacs. It does this by sending a
1664 request to the already running Emacs, which must be expecting the request.
1665
1666 * Setup
1667
1668 Emacs must have executed the `server-start' function for emacsclient to
1669 work. This can be done either by a command line option:
1670
1671 emacs -f server-start
1672
1673 or by invoking server-start from the .emacs file:
1674
1675 (if (some conditions are met) (server-start))
1676
1677 When this is done, Emacs starts a subprocess running a program called
1678 `server'. `server' creates a Unix domain socket in the user's home
1679 directory named `.emacs_server'.
1680
1681 To get your news reader, mail reader, etc., to invoke emacsclient, try
1682 setting the environment variable EDITOR (or sometimes VISUAL) to the
1683 value `emacsclient'. You may have to specify the full pathname of the
1684 emacsclient program instead. Examples:
1685
1686 # csh commands:
1687 setenv EDITOR emacsclient
1688 setenv EDITOR /usr/local/emacs/etc/emacsclient # using full pathname
1689
1690 # sh command:
1691 EDITOR=emacsclient export EDITOR
1692
1693 * Normal use
1694
1695 When emacsclient is run, it connects to the `.emacs_server' socket and
1696 passes its command line options to `server'. When `server' receives
1697 these requests, it sends this information on the the Emacs process,
1698 which at the next opportunity will visit the files specified. (Line
1699 numbers can be specified just like with Emacs.) The user will have to
1700 switch to the Emacs window by hand. When the user is done editing a
1701 file, the user can type "C-x #" to indicate this. This will switch to
1702 another buffer created at the request of emacsclient if there are any.
1703 When "C-x #" has been invoked on all of the files that the emacsclient
1704 requested to be edited, Emacs will send notification of this to `server'
1705 which will pass this on to the emacsclient, which will then exit.
1706
1707 NOTE: `emacsclient' and `server' must be running on machines which share
1708 the same filesystem for this to work. The pathnames that emacsclient
1709 specifies should be correct for the filesystem that the Emacs process
1710 sees. The Emacs process should not be suspended at the time emacsclient
1711 is invoked. emacsclient should either be invoked from another X window or
1712 from a shell window inside Emacs itself.
1713
1714 There is an enhanced version of emacsclient/server called `gnuserv' by
1715 Andy Norman <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com> which is available in the Emacs Lisp
1716 Archive. gnuserv uses Internet domain sockets, so it can work across most
1717 network connections. It also supports the execution of arbitrary Emacs
1718 Lisp forms and also does not require the client program to wait for
1719 completion. It is available via anonymous FTP (Emacs Lisp Archive:
1720 packages/gnuserv.shar).
1721
172242: How do I make Emacs recognize my compiler's funny error messages?
1723
1724 Write a program which runs the compiler as a child and filters its output,
1725 rearranging as necessary. Install with same name as compiler somewhere in
1726 path.
1727
1728 Keith Moore <moore@cs.utk.edu> wrote one such for a C compiler under AIX.
1729 Available via FTP:
1730
1731 /cs.utk.edu:readonly/aixcc.lex
1732
1733 Jim Frost <jimf@saber.com> wrote another for the IBM xlc compiler on the
1734 RS/6000. (I don't know if these are both for the same compiler.)
1735 Johnathan Vail <vail@tegra.COM> wrote something for a High C compiler
1736 (`hc', which is one of the compilers on the RS/6000, although I think
1737 Johnathan wrote his program for hc on a different computer).
1738
173943: How do I indent switch statements like this?
1740
1741 Many people want to indent their switch statements like this:
1742
1743 f()
1744 {
1745 switch(x) {
1746 case A:
1747 x1;
1748 break;
1749 case B:
1750 x2;
1751 break;
1752 default:
1753 x3;
1754 }
1755 }
1756
1757 I don't believe there is any way to do this exactly without modifying the
1758 Lisp code in c-mode.el. You can set c-indent-level to 4 and
1759 c-label-offset to -2, but this has bad effects elsewhere. {Anyone have a
1760 solution?}
1761
176244: How can I make Emacs automatically scroll horizontally?
1763
1764 There is no completely correct way of doing this that does not involve
1765 rewriting all commands or writing your own top-level command loop (not a
1766 completely bad idea). Wayne Mesard <wmesard@pescadero.stanford.edu> has
1767 written a particularly advanced kludge called `hscroll.el' that checks
1768 once a second to make sure point is visible.
1769
177045: How do I make Emacs "typeover" or "overwrite" instead of inserting?
1771
1772 M-x overwrite-mode (a minor mode).
1773
177446: How do I stop Emacs from beeping on a terminal?
1775
1776 Martin R. Frank <martin@cc.gatech.edu> writes:
1777
1778 Tell Emacs to use the 'visible bell' instead of the audible bell, and
1779 set the visible bell to nothing.
1780
1781 Put this in your TERMCAP environment variable:
1782
1783 ... :vb=: ...
1784
1785 And evaluate this:
1786
1787 (setq visible-bell t)
1788
178947: How do I turn down the bell volume in Emacs running under X Windows?
1790
1791 Under versions of Emacs before 18.58, the bell volume was annoying loud
1792 and difficult to turn off. So upgrading to 18.58 or higher will reduce +
1793 the volume. If you want to turn it off completely, use `xset'. There is
1794 no way to turn the bell off just for Emacs without affecting all other
1795 programs.
1796
1797 Under Epoch you can do:
1798
1799 (setq epoch::bell-volume 20)
1800
1801 Stu Grossman <grossman@sunburn.stanford.edu> wrote a patch that allows the
1802 bell volume to be adjusted from inside Emacs just for Emacs.
1803
180448: How do I tell Emacs to automatically indent a new line to the
1805 indentation of the previous line?
1806
1807 One solution is Indented Text Mode (M-x indented-text-mode).
1808
1809 If you have Auto-Fill mode on (a minor mode, see question 32), you can
1810 tell Emacs to prefix every line with a certain character sequence, the
1811 "fill prefix". Type the prefix at the beginning of a line, position point
1812 after it, and then type "C-x ." (set-fill-prefix) to set the fill prefix.
1813 Thereafter, auto-filling will automatically put the fill prefix at the
1814 beginning of new lines, and M-q (fill-paragraph) will maintain any fill
1815 prefix when refilling the paragraph.
1816
1817 NOTE: If you have paragraphs with different levels of indentation, you
1818 will have to set the fill prefix to the correct value each time you move
1819 to a new paragraph. To avoid this hassle, try one of the many packages
1820 available from the Emacs Lisp Archive. Look up `fill' and `indent' in the
1821 Lisp Code Directory for guidance.
1822
182349: How do I show which parenthesis matches the one I'm looking at?
1824
1825 If you're looking at a right parenthesis (or brace or bracket) you can
1826 delete it and reinsert it. Emacs will blink the cursor on the matching
1827 parenthesis.
1828
1829 M-C-f (forward-sexp) and M-C-b (backward-sexp) will skip over balanced
1830 parentheses, so you can see which parentheses match. (You can train it to
1831 skip over balanced brackets and braces at the same time by modifying the
1832 syntax table.)
1833
1834 Here is some Emacs Lisp that will make the % key show the matching
1835 parenthesis, like in vi. In addition, if the cursor isn't over a
1836 parenthesis, it simply inserts a % like normal.
1837
1838 ;; By an unknown contributor
1839
1840 (global-set-key "%" 'match-paren)
1841
1842 (defun match-paren (arg)
1843 "Go to the matching parenthesis if on parenthesis otherwise insert %."
1844 (interactive "p")
1845 (cond ((looking-at "\\s\(") (forward-list 1) (backward-char 1))
1846 ((looking-at "\\s\)") (forward-char 1) (backward-list 1))
1847 (t (self-insert-command (or arg 1)))))
1848
184950: In C mode, can I show just the lines that will be left after #ifdef
1850 commands are handled by the compiler?
1851
1852 M-x hide-ifdef-mode. (This is a minor mode.)
1853
1854 You may have to (load "hideif") first. If you want to do this regularly,
1855 put this in your .emacs file:
1856
1857 (autoload 'hide-ifdef-mode "hideif" nil t)
1858
1859 {Yes, I know, this should be in lisp/loaddefs.el already.}
1860
186151: Is there an equivalent to the `.' (dot) command of vi?
1862
1863 (`.' is the redo command in vi. It redoes the last insertion/deletion.)
1864
1865 No, not really.
1866
1867 You can type "C-x ESC" (repeat-complex-command) to reinvoke commands that
1868 used the minibuffer to get arguments. In repeat-complex-command you can
1869 type M-p and M-n to scan through all the different complex commands you've
1870 typed.
1871
1872 To repeat something on each line I recommend using keyboard macros.
1873
187452: What are the valid X resource settings (ie., stuff in .Xdefaults)?
1875
1876 See the Emacs man page, or the etc/OPTIONS file. Ignore the information
1877 in etc/XDOC which is way out of date.
1878
187953: How do I execute a piece of Emacs Lisp code?
1880
1881 There are a number of ways to execute (called "evaluate") an Emacs Lisp
1882 "form":
1883
1884 * If you want it evaluated every time you run Emacs, put it in a file
1885 named `.emacs' in your home directory.
1886
1887 * You can type the form in the *scratch* buffer, and then type LFD (or
1888 C-j) after it. The result of evaluating the form will be inserted in
1889 the buffer.
1890
1891 * In Emacs-Lisp mode, typing M-C-x evaluates a top-level form before or
1892 around point.
1893
1894 * Typing "C-x C-e" in any buffer evaluates the Lisp form immediately
1895 before point and prints its value in the echo area.
1896
1897 * Typing M-ESC or M-x eval-expression allows you to type a Lisp form in
1898 the minibuffer which will be evaluated.
1899
1900 * You can use M-x load-file to have Emacs evaluate all the Lisp forms in
1901 a file. (To do this from Lisp use the function `load' instead.)
1902
1903 These functions are also used for evaluating Lisp forms:
1904
1905 load-library, eval-region, eval-current-buffer, require, autoload
1906
190754: How do I change Emacs's idea of the tab character's length?
1908
1909 Example: (setq default-tab-width 10).
1910
191155: How do I insert `>' at the beginning of every line?
1912
1913 Type "M-x replace-regexp RET ^ RET > RET".
1914
1915 To do this only in the region, type "C-x n M-x replace-regexp RET ^ RET
1916 > RET C-x w".
1917
1918 WARNING: The command narrow-to-region (C-x n) is disabled by default
1919 because it can be very confusing (ie., "Oh no! Where did my file go?").
1920
192156: How do I insert `_^H' before each character in a paragraph to get an
1922 underlined paragraph?
1923
1924 M-x underline-region.
1925
192657: How do I repeat a command as many times as possible?
1927
1928 Use "C-x (" and "C-x )" to make a keyboard macro that invokes the command
1929 and then type "M-0 C-x e".
1930
1931 WARNING: any messages your command prints in the echo area will be
1932 suppressed.
1933
193458: How do I make Emacs behave like this: when I go up or down, the cursor
1935 should stay in the same column even if the line is too short?
1936
1937 M-x picture-mode. (This is a minor mode, in theory anyway ...)
1938
193959: How do I tell Emacs to iconify itself?
1940
1941 You need to modify C source and recompile. Either that or get Epoch or
1942 Lucid Emacs instead. Patches have been written by Robert Forsman
1943 <thoth@reef.cis.ufl.edu> and Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> to allow Emacs to
1944 iconify itself and by Matt Wette <mwette@mr-ed.jpl.nasa.gov> and
1945 Manavendra K. Thakur <thakur@zerkalo.harvard.edu> (for 18.57, plus icon
1946 geometry) to allow Emacs to start up iconified. I don't know which of
1947 these patches work together.
1948
1949 Anonymous FTP:
1950 /csi.jpl.nasa.gov:pub/emax.patch1 (Matt Wette) !
1951 /ftp.eu.net:gnu/emacs/FP-Xfun.Z (Johan Vromans)
1952 /ftp.urc.tue.nl:/pub/tex/emacs/FP-Xfun (Johan Vromans) +
1953
195460: How do I use regexps (regular expressions) in Emacs?
1955
1956 See `Regexps' in the online manual.
1957
1958 WARNING: The "or" operator is `\|', not `|', and the grouping operators
1959 are `\(' and `\)'. Also, the string syntax for a backslash is "\\".
1960 Thus, the string syntax for a regular expression like xxx\(foo\|bar\) is
1961 "xxx\\(foo\\|bar\\)". Notice the duplicated backslashes!
1962
1963 WARNING: Unlike in Unix grep, sed, etc., a complement character set
1964 ([^...]) can match a newline character (LFD aka C-j aka \n), unless
1965 newline is mentioned as one of the characters not to match.
1966
1967 WARNING: The character syntax regexps (eg. `\sw') are not meaningful
1968 inside character set regexps (eg. `[aeiou]'). (This is actually typical
1969 for regexp syntax.)
1970
197161: How do I perform a replace operation across more than one file?
1972
1973 The "tags" feature of Emacs includes the command tags-query-replace which
1974 performs a query-replace across all the files mentioned in the TAGS file.
1975 See `Tags:Tags Search' in the online manual.
1976
1977 In addition, Martin Boyer has written a package named global-replace which
1978 will perform a query-replace across all the files mentioned in the
1979 *compilation* buffer (usually done after a `grep'), which is available via
1980 anonymous FTP:
1981
1982 /ireq-robot.hydro.qc.ca:pub/emacs/lisp/compile.el.Z
1983 /ireq-robot.hydro.qc.ca:pub/emacs/lisp/global-replace.el.Z
1984 /ireq-robot.hydro.qc.ca:pub/emacs/lisp/query.el.Z
1985
198662: Where is the documentation for `etags'?
1987
1988 `etags' takes options just like a prior version of ctags, so your ctags
1989 manual (if any) may be useful. {Can someone send me the details on this?}
1990
1991
1992
1993Bugs/Problems
1994
199563: Does Emacs have problems with files larger than 8 megabytes?
1996
1997 Most installed versions of GNU Emacs will use 24-bit signed integers (and
1998 24-bit pointers) internally. This limits the file size that Emacs can
1999 handle to 8,388,607 bytes (2^23 - 1).
2000
2001 Leonard N. Zubkoff <lnz@lucid.com> suggests putting the following two
2002 lines in src/config.h before compiling Emacs to allow for 26-bit integers
2003 and pointers (and thus filesizes of up to 33,554,431 bytes):
2004
2005 #define VALBITS 26
2006 #define GCTYPEBITS 5
2007
2008 WARNING: This method may result in `ILLEGAL DATATYPE' and other random
2009 errors on some machines.
2010
2011 David Gillespie <daveg@csvax.cs.caltech.edu> gives an explanation of why
2012 Emacs uses 24 bit integers and pointers:
2013
2014 Emacs is largely written in a dialect of Lisp; Lisp is a freely-typed
2015 language in the sense that you can put any value of any type into any
2016 variable, or return it from a function, and so on. So each value must
2017 carry a "tag" along with it identifying what kind of thing it is, eg.,
2018 integer, pointer to a list, pointer to an editing buffer, and so on.
2019 Emacs uses standard 32-bit integers for data objects, taking the top 8
2020 bits for the tag and the bottom 24 bits for the value. So integers (and
2021 pointers) are somewhat restricted compared to true C integers and
2022 pointers.
2023
2024 Emacs uses 8-bit tags because that's a little faster on byte-oriented
2025 machines, but there are only really enough tags to require 6 bits.
2026
202764: Why can't Emacs find files in current directory on startup?
2028
2029 The PWD bug has been fixed as of GNU Emacs 18.59. Read on if you are +
2030 running an older version of Emacs. +
2031
2032 Most likely, you have an environment variable named PWD that is set to a
2033 value other than the name of your current directory. This is most
2034 likely caused by using two different shell programs. `ksh' and (some
2035 versions of) `csh' set and maintain the value of the PWD environment
2036 variable, but `sh' doesn't. If you start sh from ksh, change your
2037 current directory inside sh, and then start Emacs from inside sh, PWD
2038 will have the wrong value but Emacs will use this value. An invalid +
2039 setting for PWD can also be a problem if you use X Windows and csh on an +
2040 RS/6000. See the etc/OPTIONS file for more details. +
2041
2042 Perhaps an easier solution is not to use two shells. The `chsh' program
2043 can often be used to change one's default login shell.
2044
2045 You may have PWD set for other reasons. Another possibility is that you
2046 are setting default-directory from your .emacs file.
2047
2048 Here is a fix by Jim Blandy <jimb@occs.cs.oberlin.edu>:
2049
2050 >--- emacs/jjj/emacs-18.58/lisp/startup.el Tue Jan 15 23:19:04 1991
2051 >+++ startup.el Mon Apr 20 00:21:01 1992
2052 >@@ -81,5 +81,7 @@
2053 > ;; In presence of symlinks, switch to cleaner form of default directory.
2054 > (if (and (not (eq system-type 'vax-vms))
2055 >- (getenv "PWD"))
2056 >+ (getenv "PWD")
2057 >+ (equal (nthcdr 10 (file-attributes default-directory))
2058 >+ (nthcdr 10 (file-attributes (getenv "PWD")))))
2059 > (setq default-directory (file-name-as-directory (getenv "PWD"))))
2060 > (unwind-protect
2061
206265: How do I get rid of the ^M junk in my Shell buffer?
2063
2064 For tcsh, put this in your `.cshrc' (or `.tcshrc') file:
2065
2066 if ($?EMACS) then
2067 if ("$EMACS" == t) then
2068 if ($?tcsh) unset edit
2069 stty nl
2070 endif
2071 endif
2072
2073 Or put this in your .emacs_tcsh file:
2074
2075 unset edit
2076 stty nl
2077
2078 Alternatively, use csh in your Shell buffers instead of tcsh. One way
2079 is:
2080
2081 (setq explicit-shell-file-name "/bin/csh")
2082
2083 and another is to do this in your .cshrc (or .tcshrc) file:
2084
2085 setenv ESHELL /bin/csh
2086
2087 (You must start Emacs over again with the environment variable properly
2088 set for this to take effect.)
2089
209066: Why do I get `Process shell exited abnormally with code 1'?
2091
2092 The most likely reason for this message is that the `env' program is not
2093 properly installed. This program should be compiled (for the correct
2094 architecture!) and installed with execute permission for everyone in
2095 Emacs's program directory, which is normally /usr/local/emacs/etc. You
2096 can find what this directory is at your site by inspecting the value of
2097 the variable exec-directory by typing "C-h v exec-directory RET". `env'
2098 should also be for the correct architecture (check using `file' command).
2099
2100 You should also check for other programs named `env' in your path (eg.,
2101 SunOS has a program named /usr/bin/env). I don't understand why this can
2102 cause a failure and I don't know a general solution for working around the
2103 problem in this case.
2104
2105 The `make clean' command will remove `env' and other vital programs, so be
2106 careful when using it.
2107
2108 It has been reported that this sometimes happened when Emacs was started
2109 as an X client from an xterm window (ie. had a controlling tty) but the
2110 xterm was later terminated.
2111
2112 See also etc/PROBLEMS for other possible causes of this message.
2113
211467: Why can't I cut from Emacs and paste in other X programs?
2115
2116 Emacs stores things you "cut" in the X "cut buffers". It also pastes from
2117 the cut buffer `CUT_BUFFER0'. This is obsolete. Most modern X programs
2118 now expect to work with "selections" instead of cut buffers, although some
2119 like `xterm' will try to use the cut buffers if the selection is null.
2120
2121 Emacs 18.58 contains a "fix" that makes xterm work by default. This
2122 "fix" is that Emacs clears the `PRIMARY' selection when it stores
2123 something in the cut buffer. By making the selection null, xterm will
2124 then fetch from the cut buffer when you try to paste.
2125
2126 For versions of Emacs prior to 18.58, you can make pasting from Emacs into
2127 xterm work with the following X resources:
2128
2129 ! Solution by Thomas Narten, should work under X11R3 and later GNU
2130 ! Emacs only copies to CUT_BUFFER0. xterm by default wants to paste
2131 ! from the PRIMARY selection.
2132 XTerm*VT100.Translations: #override \
2133 ~Meta <Btn2Up>: insert-selection(CUT_BUFFER0,PRIMARY)
2134
2135 You may have problems copying between Emacs and programs other than xterm
2136 that won't store cut text in the cut buffers or look in the cut buffers
2137 for text to paste (for backwards compatibility with obsolete applications
2138 like Emacs :-). The best workaround is to use the `xcutsel' program as an
2139 intermediary.
2140
2141 This problem does not exist for Epoch or Lucid Emacs.
2142
214368: Where is the termcap/terminfo entry for terminal type `emacs'?
2144
2145 The termcap entry for terminal type `emacs' is ordinarily put in the
2146 TERMCAP environment variable of subshells. It may help in certain
2147 situations (eg., using rlogin from shell buffer) to add an entry for
2148 `emacs' to the system-wide termcap file. Here is a correct termcap entry
2149 for `emacs':
2150
2151 emacs:tc=unknown:
2152
2153 To make a terminfo entry for `emacs', use `tic' or `captoinfo'. You need
2154 to generate /usr/lib/terminfo/e/emacs. It may work to simply copy
2155 /usr/lib/terminfo/d/dumb to /usr/lib/terminfo/e/emacs.
2156
2157 Having a termcap/terminfo entry will not enable the use of full screen
2158 programs in shell buffers. Use M-x terminal-emulator for that instead.
2159
2160 A workaround to the problem of missing termcap/terminfo entries is to
2161 change terminal type `emacs' to type `dumb' or `unknown' in your shell
2162 start up file. `csh' users could put this in their .cshrc files:
2163
2164 if ("$term" == emacs) set term=dumb
2165
216669: Why does Emacs spontaneously start displaying `I-search:' and beeping?
2167
2168 Your terminal (or something between your terminal and the computer) is
2169 sending C-s and C-q for flow control, and Emacs is receiving these
2170 characters and interpreting them as commands. (The C-s character normally
2171 invokes the isearch-forward command.) For possible solutions, see
2172 question 131.
2173
217470: Why can't Emacs talk to certain hosts (or certain hostnames)?
2175
2176 The problem may be that Emacs is linked with a wimpier version of
2177 gethostbyname than the rest of the programs on the machine. This is often
2178 manifested as a message on startup of `X server not responding. Check
2179 your DISPLAY environment variable.' or a message of `Unknown host' from
2180 open-network-stream.
2181
2182 On a Sun, this may be because Emacs had to be linked with the static C
2183 library. The version of gethostbyname in the static C library may only
2184 look in /etc/hosts and the NIS (YP) maps, while the version in the dynamic
2185 C library may be smart enough to check DNS in addition to or instead of
2186 NIS. On a Motorola Delta running System V R3.6, the version of
2187 gethosbyname in the standard library works, but the one that works with
2188 NIS doesn't (the one you get with -linet). Other operating systems have
2189 similar problems.
2190
2191 Try these options:
2192
2193 * Explicitly add the host you want to communicate with to /etc/hosts.
2194
2195 * Relink Emacs with this line in src/config.h:
2196
2197 #define LIBS_SYSTEM -lresolv
2198
2199 * Replace gethostbyname and friends in libc.a with more useful versions
2200 such as the ones in libresolv.a. Then relink Emacs.
2201
2202 * If you are actually running NIS, make sure that `ypbind' is properly
2203 told to do DNS lookups with the correct command line switch.
2204
2205 * Use tcp.el and tcp.c from GNUS. This has the additional advantage that
2206 you can use numeric IP addresses instead of names. open-network-stream
2207 currently can't handle numeric addresses. Brian Thomson
2208 <thomson@hub.toronto.edu> has a enhancement to open-network-stream to
2209 allow it to handle numeric addresses.
2210
221171: Why does Emacs say `Error in init file'?
2212
2213 An error occurred while loading either your .emacs file or the system-wide
2214 lisp/default.el file. For information on how to debug your .emacs file,
2215 see question 29.
2216
2217 It may be the case that you may need to load some package first, or use a
2218 hook that will be evaluated after the package is loaded. A common case of
2219 this is explained in question 127.
2220
222172: Why does Emacs ignore my X resources (my .Xdefaults file)?
2222
2223 * Try compiling Emacs with the XBACKWARDS macro defined. There is a bug
2224 in some implementations of XGetDefault, which do not correspond to the
2225 documentation or the header files.
2226
2227 * Make sure you are either using the class name of `Emacs' (oops,
2228 apparently this is buggy in Emacs 18.58!) or the correct instance name.
2229 The instance name is normally the same as the name of the file Emacs is
2230 in (ie., the last part of argv[0]), but this can be overridden by -rn
2231 command line option or the WM_RES_NAME environment variable.
2232
2233 WARNING: Reports say using the class name fails in Emacs 18.58.
2234
2235 WARNING: The advice the man page gives to use `emacs' is often wrong.
2236
2237 WARNING: Older versions of Emacs got the class name wrong.
2238
2239 * Emacs currently ignores the -xrm command line argument.
2240
2241 * Emacs does not yet handle X11R5 screen-specific resources.
2242
2243 * Emacs has a bug where it ignores color specifications if running on a
2244 1-bit display (ie. a non-color display).
2245
2246 * I don't think Emacs will use either of the application-specific resource
2247 files. Thus these environment variables don't affect it: XAPPLRESDIR,
2248 XUSERFILESEARCHPATH, XFILESEARCHPATH. {Correct?}
2249
225073: Why does Emacs take 20 seconds to visit a file?
2251
2252 The usual cause is that the master lock file, `!!!SuperLock!!!' has been
2253 left in the lock directory somehow. Delete it.
2254
2255 Mark Meuer <meuer@geom.umn.edu> says that NeXT NFS has a bug where an
2256 exclusive create succeeds but returns an error status. This can cause the
2257 same problem. Since Emacs's file locking doesn't work over NFS anyway,
2258 the best solution is to recompile Emacs with CLASH_DETECTION undefined.
2259
226074: How do I edit a file with a `$' in its name?
2261
2262 When entering a filename in the minibuffer, Emacs will attempt to expand
2263 a `$' followed by a word as an environment variable. To suppress this
2264 behavior, type "$$" instead.
2265
226675: Why does Shell mode lose track of the shell's current directory?
2267
2268 Emacs has no way of knowing when the shell actually changes its directory.
2269 This is an intrinsic limitation of Unix. So it tries to guess by
2270 recognizing `cd' commands. If you type `cd' followed by a directory name
2271 with a variable reference (`cd $HOME/bin') or with a shell metacharacter
2272 (`cd ../lib*'), Emacs will fail to correctly guess the shell's new current
2273 directory. A huge variety of fixes and enhancements to Shell mode for
2274 this problem have been written to handle this problem. Check the Lisp
2275 Code Directory (see question 88).
2276
227776: Why doesn't my change to load-path work?
2278
2279 If you added a directory name containing a tilde (~) to your load-path,
2280 expecting the tilde to be interpreted as your home directory, then you
2281 need to do something like this:
2282
2283 (setq load-path (mapcar 'expand-file-name load-path))
2284
228577: Why does the cursor always go to the wrong column when I move up or
2286 down one line?
2287
2288 You have inadvertently typed "C-x C-n" (set-goal-column) which sets the
2289 "goal column" to the column where the cursor was. To undo this type
2290 "C-u C-x C-n".
2291
2292 If you make this mistake frequently, you might want to unbind or disable
2293 this command by doing one of these two:
2294
2295 (define-key ctl-x-map "\C-n" nil)
2296 (put 'set-goal-column 'disabled t)
2297
229878: Why does Emacs hang with message `Unknown XMenu error' with X11R4?
2299
2300 Many different X errors can produce this message. Here is the solution
2301 to one problem:
2302
2303 X11 Release 4 (and later, including OpenWindows) enforces some conditions
2304 in the X protocol that were previously allowed to pass unnoticed. You
2305 need to put the X11R4 server into X11R3 bug compatibility mode for Emacs's
2306 Xmenu code to work. You can do this with the command `xset bc'.
2307
230879: Why doesn't display-time show the load average in the mode line
2309 anymore?
2310
2311 In GNU Emacs 18.56, a change was made in the display-time code.
2312 Formerly, in version 18.55, Emacs used a program named `loadst' to
2313 notify Emacs of the change in time every minute. loadst also sent Emacs
2314 the system load average if it was installed with sufficient privilege to
2315 get that information (or was on a system where no such privilege was
2316 needed). Emacs then displayed this information in the mode line.
2317
2318 In version 18.56, this code was changed to use a program named `wakeup'.
2319 wakeup doesn't send Emacs any information, it's only purpose is to send
2320 Emacs *something* every minute, thus invoking the filter function in
2321 Emacs once a minute. The filter function in Emacs does all the work of
2322 finding the time, date, and load average. However, getting the load
2323 average requires the privilege to read kernel memory on most systems.
2324 Since giving Emacs this privilege would destroy any security a system
2325 might have, for almost everyone this is not an option. In addition,
2326 Emacs does not have the code built into it to get this information on
2327 the systems which have special system calls for this purpose, even
2328 though loadst had code for this.
2329
2330 The solution I use is to get the files lisp/display-time.el and
2331 etc/loadst.c from version 18.55 and use those with 18.58. (I have heard
2332 a rumor that loadst disappeared because of the legal action Unipress
2333 threatened against IBM.)
2334
2335 WARNING: Do not install Emacs setgid kmem unless you wish to destroy
2336 any security your system might have!!!!!!!!!!
2337
2338 If you are using Emacs 18.55 or earlier, or already using the solution I
2339 describe above, read further:
2340
2341 The most likely cause of the problem is that `loadst' can't read the
2342 special file /dev/kmem. To properly install loadst, it should be either
2343 setuid to the owner of /dev/kmem, or is should be setgid to the group to
2344 which /dev/kmem belongs. In either case, /dev/kmem should be readable by
2345 its owner or its group, respectively. Assuming the existence of a group
2346 named `kmem', here is an example of how to do this:
2347
2348 chgrp kmem /dev/kmem
2349 chmod g+r /dev/kmem
2350 chgrp kmem /usr/local/emacs/etc/loadst
2351 chmod g+s /usr/local/emacs/etc/loadst
2352
2353 Another possibility is that your version of Unix doesn't have the load
2354 average data available in /dev/kmem. Your version of Unix might have a
2355 special system call to retrieve this information (eg., inq_stats under
2356 UMAX), and loadst might not have been enhanced to cope with this.
2357
235880: Why does ispell sometimes ignore the local dictionary?
2359
2360 You need to update the version of Ispell to 2.0.02. (Or you can switch to
2361 version 3.0 which is still in beta-testing.) A patch is available via
2362 anonymous FTP:
2363
2364 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/ispell/patch2.Z
2365
2366 You also need to change a line in ispell.el from:
2367
2368 (defconst ispell-version "2.0.01") ; Check against output of "ispell -v".
2369
2370 to:
2371
2372 (defconst ispell-version "2.0.02") ; Check against output of "ispell -v".
2373
237481: Why does Ispell treat each line as a single word?
2375
2376 Ispell expects to get its input one word per line. The ispell filter,
2377 which is specified by the variables ispell-filter-hook and
2378 ispell-filter-hook-args, should output at most one word per line.
2379
238082: Are there any security risks in GNU Emacs?
2381
2382 * the `movemail' incident (No, this is not a risk.)
2383
2384 Cliff Stoll in his book `The Cuckoo's Egg' describes this in chapter 4.
2385 The site at LBL had installed the `etc/movemail' program setuid root.
2386 Since `movemail' had not been designed for this situation, a security
2387 hole was created and users could get root priveleges.
2388
2389 `movemail' has since been changed so that even if it is installed setuid
2390 root this security hole will not be a result.
2391
2392 I have heard unverified reports that the Internet worm took advantage of
2393 this configuration problem.
2394
2395 * the file-local-variable feature (Yes, a risk, but easy to change.)
2396
2397 There is an Emacs feature that allows the setting of local values for
2398 variables when editing a file by including specially formatted text near
2399 the end of the file. This feature also includes the ability to have
2400 arbitrary Emacs Lisp code evaluated when the file is visited.
2401 Obviously, there is a potential for Trojan horses to exploit this
2402 feature.
2403
2404 If you set the variable inhibit-local-variables to a non-nil value,
2405 Emacs will display the special local variable settings of a file that
2406 you visit and ask you if you really want them. This variable is not
2407 mentioned in the manual.
1150 2408
1151 2. Via anonymous FTP. You can fetch the FAQ articles via anonymous FTP + 2409 It is wise to do this in lisp/site-init.el before building Emacs:
1152 (pit-manager.mit.edu:pub/usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part?). !
1153 2410
1154 3. Via e-mail. You can send the following magical incantation in the body + 2411 (setq inhibit-local-variables t)
1155 of a message to mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu:
1156 2412
1157 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part0 ! 2413 If Emacs has already been built, the expression can be put in
1158 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part1 ! 2414 lisp/default.el instead, or an individual can put it in their own .emacs
1159 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part2 + 2415 file.
1160 send usenet/news.answers/GNU-Emacs-FAQ/part3 + 2416
2417 The ability to exploit this feature by sending e-mail to an RMAIL user
2418 was fixed sometime after Emacs 18.52. However, any new package that
2419 uses find-file or find-file-noselect has to be careful about this.
2420
2421 For more information, see `File Variables' in the online manual (which,
2422 incidentally, does not describe how to disable the feature).
2423
2424 There is a new variable in Emacs 18.58 named ignore-local-eval which
2425 turns out to be useless as currently implemented. Ignore it.
2426
2427 * synthetic X events (Yes, a risk, use MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 or better.)
2428
2429 Emacs accepts synthetic X events generated by the SendEvent request as
2430 though they were regular events. As a result, if you are using the
2431 trivial host-based authentication, other users who can open X
2432 connections to your X workstatation can make your Emacs process do
2433 anything, including run other processes with your priveleges.
2434
2435 The only fix for this is to prevent other users from being able to open
2436 X connections. The standard way to prevent this is to use a real
2437 authentication mechanism, such as MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1. If using the
2438 `xauth' program has any effect, then you are probably using
2439 MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1. Your site may be using a superior authentication
2440 method; ask your system administrator.
2441
2442 If real authentication is not a possibility, you may be satisfied by
2443 just allowing hosts access for brief intervals while you start your X
2444 programs, then removing the access. This reduces the risk somewhat by
2445 narrowing the time window when hostile users would have access, but DOES
2446 NOT ELIMINATE THE RISK.
2447
2448 Lucid GNU Emacs does not accept synthetic X events unless you set a
2449 variable.
2450
2451 * autosave file permissions (Yes, a risk, hard to work around.)
2452
2453 The file permissions for autosave files are determined solely by the
2454 Emacs process's `umask' value. The permissions of the file being
2455 autosaved are not used. The easiest workaround is to keep sensitive
2456 files in protected directories. Sebastian Kremer has written an
2457 enhanced version of the autosave file name picking code that can avoid
2458 this problem by keeping autosave files in a protected directory. {FTP
2459 information please?} This problem will be fixed in Emacs 19.
2460
2461
2462
2463Difficulties Building/Installing/Porting Emacs
2464
246583: What should I do if I have trouble building Emacs?
2466
2467 First look in the file etc/PROBLEMS to see if there is already a solution
2468 for your problem. Next check the FAQ (you're reading it). If you don't
2469 find a solution, then report your problem via e-mail to
2470 bug-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu. Please do not post it to gnu.emacs.help or
2471 e-mail it to help-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu. For further guidelines, see
2472 question 8.
2473
247484: How do I stop Emacs from failing when the executable is stripped?
2475
2476 Don't do that.
2477
2478 This problem has been reported on SGI Indigo machines running Irix 4.0.*
2479 and RS/6000 machines. Scott Henry <scotth@hoshi.corp.SGi.COM> posted a
2480 patch that fixes the problem for Irix.
2481
248285: Why does linking Emacs with -lX11 fail?
2483
2484 Emacs needs to be linked with the static version of the X11 library,
2485 libX11.a. This may be missing.
2486
2487 Under OpenWindows, you may need to use `add_services' to add the
2488 `OpenWindows Programmers' optional software category from the CD-ROM.
2489
2490 Under HP-UX 8.0, you may need to run `update' again to load the
2491 X11-PRG `fileset'. This may be missing even if you specified `all
2492 filesets' the first time. If libcurses.a is missing, you may need to load
2493 the `Berkeley Development Option' {???}.
2494
2495 If you are building the MIT X11 sources, you may need to modify your
2496 `site.cf' file to get static versions of the libraries. (Info from David
2497 Zuhn <zoo@cygnus.com>.)
2498
2499 Other systems may have similar problems. You can always define
2500 CANNOT_DUMP and link with the shared libraries instead.
2501
2502 To get the Xmenu stuff to work, you need to find a copy of MIT's
2503 liboldX.a.
2504
250586: Why does Emacs 18.55 say `Fatal error (6).Abort' under SunOS 4.1?
2506
2507 I had hoped this question would go away after Emacs 18.57 was released,
2508 but people continue to compile 18.55. Easiest solution: upgrade.
2509
2510 This is a result of the SunOS localtime/tzsetwall malloc bug, which was
2511 (finally!) fixed in SunOS 4.1.2. If you actually need the full
2512 explanation, send me e-mail. If you absolutely must compile Emacs 18.55
2513 (eg., you are compiling Nemacs), the easiest workaround was to put
2514 `#define SYSTEM_MALLOC' in src/config.h.
2515
2516
2517
2518---------------------------------------------------------------------- +
2519Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells +
2520Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes +
1161 + 2521 +
1162 4. Via WAIS. The GNU Emacs FAQ is available via WAIS indexed on a + 2522This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers +
1163 per-question basis from the "faq" database on bigbird.bu.edu on the + 2523("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other +
1164 non-standard IP port number of 2210. This is probably the best way to + 2524formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS, etc.), and updated with new +
1165 find out if there is something in the FAQ related to your question. I + 2525information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as +
1166 use this myself to answer questions I see posted on gnu.emacs.help. ! 2526apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice +
1167 ! 2527or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining +
1168 The articles of the GNU Emacs FAQ are also available from the "usenet" ! 2528the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and +
1169 database on pit-manager.mit.edu (on the standard IP port: 210), along ! 2529information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including +
1170 with a lot of other FAQ articles. However, these are all indexed at ! 2530FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these +
1171 the whole article level instead of at the question level. This is a ! 2531conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary +
1172 better place to look if you want to fetch the entire FAQ. ! 2532work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution. +
1173 ! 2533
1174 5. In the GNU Emacs distribution. Since GNU Emacs 18.56, the latest ! 2534
1175 available version of the FAQ at the time of release has been part of 2535 GNU Emacs FAQ: Getting Emacs/Packages
1176 the GNU Emacs distribution as file etc/FAQ. 18.58 is the latest ! 2536
1177 version, and it was released in February 1992. ! 2537If you are viewing this text in a GNU Emacs Buffer, you can type "M-2 C-x $" to
2538get an overview of just the questions. Then, when you want to look at the text
2539of the answers, just type "C-x $".
1178 2540
2541To search for a question numbered XXX, type "M-C-s ^XXX:", followed by a C-r if
2542that doesn't work, then type ESC to end the search.
2543
2544A `+' in the 78th column means something was inserted on the line. A `-' means
2545something was deleted and a `!' means some combination of insertions and
2546deletions occurred.
2547
2548Full instructions for getting the latest FAQ are in question 22. Also see the
2549`Introduction to news.answers' posting in the `news.answers' newsgroup, or send
2550e-mail to `mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with `help' on a body line, or use FTP,
2551WAIS, or Prospero to rtfm.mit.edu.
1179 2552
1180 2553
1181GNU Emacs and Various Computing Environments
1182 2554
118330: Where does the name "Emacs" come from? 2555Finding/Getting Emacs and Related Packages
2556
255787: Where can I get GNU Emacs on the net (or by snail mail)?
1184 2558
1185 EMACS originally was an acronym for Editor MACroS. The first Emacs was 2559 Look in the files etc/DISTRIB and etc/FTP for information on nearby
1186 a set of macros written by Richard Stallman and Guy Steele for the 2560 archive sites. If you don't already have GNU Emacs, see question 20
1187 editor TECO (Text Editor and COrrector (originally Tape Editor and 2561 for how to get these two files.
1188 COrrector)) on a PDP-10. (Amusing fact: many people have told me that
1189 TECO code looks a lot like line noise. See alt.lang.teco if you are
1190 interested.)
1191 2562
119231: What is the latest version of GNU Emacs? 2563 The latest version is always available via anonymous FTP at MIT:
1193 2564
1194 GNU Emacs 18.58 is the current version. Fixes from 18.57 include better ! 2565 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/emacs-18.59.tar.Z !
1195 mail address parsing, an X visual bell speedup, a call-process !
1196 enhancement, a regexp matching change, the ability to apply a numeric !
1197 argument to a self-inserting digit, getting X resource values from the !
1198 RESOURCE_MANAGER property, more reliable shell mode job control, and a !
1199 change to copy-keymap. Also, support has been added for many new system !
1200 types. !
1201 2566
1202 The June 1991 GNU's Bulletin says this about the status of Emacs: + 2567 See question 91.
1203 2568
1204 GNU Emacs 18.57 is the current version. The undo facility has been 256988: How do I find a GNU Emacs Lisp package that does XXX?
1205 completely rewritten and now holds unlimited data temporarily, and a
1206 user-specified amount for the long term.
1207 2570
1208 Berkeley is distributing GNU Emacs with the 4.3 BSD distribution, and 2571 A listing of Emacs Lisp packages, called the Lisp Code Directory, is being
1209 numerous companies distribute it also. 2572 maintained by Dave Brennan <brennan@hal.com> and Dave Sill <de5@ornl.gov>.
2573 You can search through this list to find if someone has written something
2574 that fits your needs.
1210 2575
1211 Emacs 18 maintenance continues for simple bug fixes. 2576 This list is file LCD-datafile.Z in the Emacs Lisp Archive. (See
2577 question 89 for methods for getting this file.) The files lispdir.el.Z
2578 and lispdir.doc.Z in the archive contain information to help you use the
2579 list. Once you have installed lispdir.el and LCD-datafile, then you can
2580 use the "M-x lisp-dir-apropos" command to look things up in the database.
2581 For example, the command "M-x lisp-dir-apropos RET ange-ftp RET" produces
2582 this (outdated) output:
1212 2583
1213 To visit a file with information about what has changed in recent ! 2584 GNU Emacs Lisp Code Apropos -- "ange-ftp"
1214 versions, type "C-h n". !
1215 2585
121632: When will GNU Emacs 19 be available? 2586 ange-ftp (3.112) 91-08-12
2587 Andy Norman, <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com>
2588 archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:
2589 /pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/as-is/ange-ftp.el.Z
2590 transparent FTP Support for GNU Emacs
1217 2591
1218 Good question, I don't know. For that matter, neither do the developers. 259289: Where can I get GNU Emacs Lisp packages that don't come with Emacs?
1219 It will undoubtedly be available sometime in the 1990s. :-) People are
1220 actually using alpha-test version of Emacs 19, which is a good sign. Work
1221 has begun on features for Emacs 20.
1222 2593
1223 RMS writes: 2594 First, check the Lisp Code Directory to find the name of the package you
2595 are looking for. (See question 88). Then check local archives and
2596 the Emacs Lisp Archive to find a copy of the relevant files. Then, if
2597 you still haven't found it, you can send e-mail to the author asking for
2598 a copy.
1224 2599
1225 Work is progressing steadily on 19 and it the to-do list is getting 2600 You can access the Emacs Lisp Archive via anonymous FTP:
1226 smaller. But I don't want to make the mistake of predicting when it
1227 will be ready.
1228 2601
122933: What will be different about GNU Emacs 19? 2602 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:/pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/
1230 2603
1231 From the June 1991 GNU's Bulletin: 2604 Fetch the file README first.
1232 2605
1233 Version 19 approaches release, counting among its new features: before 2606 NOTE: The archive maintainers do not have time to answer individual
1234 and after change hooks, source-level debugging of Emacs Lisp programs, X 2607 requests for packages or the list of packages in the archive. If you
1235 selection processing (including clipboard selections), scrollbars, 2608 cannot use FTP or UUCP to access the archive yourself, try to find a
1236 support for European character sets, floating point numbers, per-buffer 2609 friend who can, but please don't ask the maintainers.
1237 mouse commands, X resource manager interfacing, mouse-tracking,
1238 Lisp-level binding of function keys, multiple X windows (`screens' to
1239 Emacs), a new input system---all input now arrives in the form of Lisp
1240 objects---and buffer allocation, which uses a new mechanism capable of
1241 returning storage to the system when a buffer is killed.
1242 2610
1243 Thanks go to Alan Carroll and the people who worked on Epoch for 2611 NOTE: Any files with names ending in `.Z' are compressed, and you should
1244 generating initial feedback to a multi-windowed Emacs. Emacs 19 2612 use `binary' mode in FTP to retrieve them. You should also use binary
1245 supports two styles of multiple windows, one with a separate screen for 2613 mode whenever you retrieve any files with names ending in `.elc'.
1246 the minibuffer, and another with a minibuffer attached to each screen.
1247 2614
1248 Features being considered for later releases of Emacs include: 261590: How do I submit code to the Emacs Lisp Archive?
1249 associating property lists with regions of text in a buffer; multiple
1250 fonts, color, and pixmaps defined by those properties; different
1251 visibility conditions for the regions, and for various windows showing
1252 one buffer; hooks to be run if point or mouse moves outside a certain
1253 range; incrementally saving undo history in a file; static menu bars;
1254 and better pop-up menus.
1255 2616
1256 Mention of these two items disappeared in the January 1991 GNU's bulletin: 2617 Submissions should be mailed to elisp-archive@cis.ohio-state.edu. The
2618 lispdir.el package has a function named submit-lcd-entry which will help
2619 you with this. Mail messages (submissions) are automatically saved and
2620 periodically archived. Urgent mail may be sent directly to Dave Sill
2621 <de5@ornl.gov> or Dave Brennan <brennan@hal.com> or should contain the
2622 string `urgent' in the subject. The incoming ftp directory is no longer
2623 available at the request of Ohio State. {Is this still true?}
1257 2624
1258 * Incremental syntax analysis for various programming languages (Leif). 2625 However, if someone has a submission with multiple files (which would be
1259 * A more sophisticated emacsclient/server model, which would provide 2626 archived as a tar file) or binary files, then FTP transfer is preferred
1260 network transparent Emacs widget functionality. 2627 and can be arranged via an anonymous FTP site. This is faster than
2628 uudecoding, unsharing, etc., and re-packaging files.
2629
2630 Before submitting anything, please read the file guidelines.Z, which is
2631 available in the archive. Whenever possible, submissions should contain a
2632 complete LCD entry since this helps reduce administrative overhead for the
2633 maintainers. You can include an entry in this format:
2634
2635 ;; LCD Archive Entry:
2636 ;; package name|author's name|email address
2637 ;; |description
2638 ;; |date|version|archive path
2639
2640 For example:
2641
2642 ;; LCD Archive Entry:
2643 ;; tex-complete|Sebastian Kremer|sk@thp.Uni-Koeln.DE
2644 ;; |Minibuffer name completion for editing [La]TeX.
2645 ;; |91-03-26|$Revision: 19.4 $|~/packages/tex-complete.el.Z !
2646
2647 Dave Brennan has software which automatically looks for data in this
2648 format. The format is fairly flexible. The entry ends when a line is
2649 reached with a different prefix or the seventh field terminator is
2650 seen.
2651
2652 If you are submitting a multi-file submission you should include a file
2653 named "LCD-entry" which contains the archive entry, instead of placing
2654 it in one or more of the individual files.
1261 2655
126234: Is there an Emacs that has better mouse and X window support? 265691: Where can I get other up-to-date GNU stuff?
2657
2658 The most up-to-date official GNU stuff is normally kept on prep.ai.mit.edu
2659 and is available for anonymous FTP in the pub/gnu directory. See the
2660 files etc/DISTRIB and etc/FTP for more information. (To get copies of
2661 these files, see question 20.)
2662
2663 The following sites are all mirror images of the GNU distribution area:
2664
2665 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/
2666 /ftp.uu.net:packages/gnu/
2667 /src.doc.ic.ac.uk:gnu/ (available via FTP, NIFTP, FTAM)
2668 /ftp.win.tue.nl:pub/gnu/
2669 /utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp:ftpsync/prep/
2670 /nic.funet.fi:pub/gnu/
2671
2672 The directory at ftp.uu.net is a mirror of prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu,
2673 except that files larger than 1 megabyte {right?} are automatically
2674 split into multiple parts. If you have trouble transferring large
2675 files, you should try here. A file normally named `XXX' is split into
2676 files XXX-split/part[0-9][0-9], and there will be a file named
2677 XXX-split/README which contains the list of parts (especially helpful
2678 when FTP-ing by e-mail), their checksums, and reassembly instructions.
2679 Some of the other mirror sites may have the same property. {Can someone
2680 check this out? Thanks!}
2681
2682 Information was provided by Lee McLoughlin <lmjm@doc.ic.ac.uk>, Jonathan
2683 R. Ferro <jf41+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU>, Arjan de Vet <devet@win.tue.nl>, and
2684 Simon Marshall <S.Marshall@sequent.cc.hull.ac.uk>.
2685
268692: Where can I get an Emacs with better mouse and X window support?
1263 2687
1264 Emacs 18 has some limited X Window System support, but there are 2688 Emacs 18 has some limited X Window System support, but there are
1265 problems. Emacs 19 will have amazing mouse and window support. Right 2689 problems. Emacs 19 will have amazing mouse and window support. Right
1266 now, there is a modified version of Emacs 18.55 called "Epoch" which has 2690 now, there are Epoch which is derived from GNU Emacs 18.58 and Lucid GNU
1267 greatly improved mouse and window support. To obtain Epoch, see 2691 Emacs which is derived from an early unreleased version of GNU Emacs 19,
1268 question 21. 2692 both of which have greatly improved mouse and window support. See
2693 questions 120 and 121.
2694
2695 The HP unofficial GNU Emacs also has nice mouse support. See question
2696 95.
1269 2697
1270 There are numerous Emacs Lisp packages that have been written to extend 2698 There are numerous Emacs Lisp packages that have been written to extend
1271 Emacs 18's mouse handling capabilities. Some of these packages also have 2699 Emacs 18's mouse handling capabilities. Some of these packages also have
1272 patches to the C code to provide enhanced capabilities. Look up "mouse" 2700 patches to the C code to provide enhanced capabilities. Look up `mouse'
1273 in the Lisp Code Directory (see question 17). 2701 in the Lisp Code Directory (see question 88).
1274 2702
1275 NOTE: Epoch only works with the X Window System; it does not work on 2703 There is a package called BAM (Born Again Menus) which provides menus for
1276 ordinary terminals. 2704 GNU Emacs via an external C program. It does not provide mouse support in
2705 the Emacs window such as scrollbars, cut-and-paste, etc.
1277 2706
127835: Where can I get the "unofficial HP GNU Emacs"? 2707 NOTE: Epoch only works with the X Window System; it works on ordinary
2708 terminals by invoking regular GNU Emacs. Lucid Emacs does not currently
2709 work on ordinary terminals, although there are plans to fix this.
1279 2710
1280 The unofficial HP GNU Emacs is available via anonymous FTP 271193: What is the difference between GNU Emacs and Epoch?
1281 (me10.lbl.gov:pub/interex/HUGE/HUGE.{README.HP,tar.Z.??}, 2712
1282 ee.utah.edu:HUGE/*, PLEASE FTP DURING NON-WORK HOURS!!!) and takes about 2713 Marc Andreessen <marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu> writes:
1283 35 megabytes of disk space to build. It is useful for non-HP machines, 2714
1284 but some of the added features will only work under HP-UX. 2715 Epoch is GNU Emacs on steroids: an adaptation of GNU Emacs with lots of
2716 additional support for features made possible by the X11 windowing
2717 system. These features include multiple editing windows, arbitrary
2718 colors and fonts (fixed-width and proportional), selectable zones per
2719 buffer with arbitrary display styles (font, color, underline, stipple,
2720 pixmap), an optional separate minibuffer window, improved keyboard and
2721 mouse handling, full 8-bit character set support, and more.
2722
272394: What is the difference between GNU Emacs and Lucid GNU Emacs?
2724
2725 This information is condensed from the release notice:
2726
2727 Lucid GNU Emacs is based on an early version of GNU Emacs version 19
2728 with many enhancements. It currently requires X Windows to run. For
2729 information on where to get Lucid GNU Emacs see 121. X Windows support
2730 is greatly enhanced over GNU Emacs version 18, including support for
2731 multiple X Windows (a.k.a. screens in Emacs), Zmacs/Lispm style region
2732 highlighting, a customizable, Motif-like menubar, more powerful keymap
2733 support (allowing different actions to be associated with Backspace,
2734 Control-h, etc.), flexible text attribute (e.g. font, color) support on
2735 regional and screen-local basis through X resources and/or lisp, and
2736 support for the X11 selection mechanism. Some other features include
2737 run-time computation of the load-path, support for floating point
2738 numbers, native timer support, and sound file support on Sun
2739 SPARCstations. To build Lucid GNU Emacs, an ANSI C compiler (e.g. gcc)
2740 is required.
2741
274295: Where can I get the "unofficial HP GNU Emacs"?
2743
2744 The unofficial HP GNU Emacs is available via anonymous FTP:
2745
2746 /ee.utah.edu:HUGE/ (PLEASE FTP DURING NON-WORK HOURS!!!) -
2747
2748 and takes about 35 megabytes of disk space to build. It is useful for
2749 non-HP machines, but some of the added features will only work under
2750 HP-UX.
1285 2751
1286 You will need to get patches to work with HP-UX 8.0 or on 700 series 2752 You will need to get patches to work with HP-UX 8.0 or on 700 series
1287 machines via e-mail from Darryl Okahata <darrylo@sr.hp.com>. 2753 machines via e-mail from Darryl Okahata <darrylo@sr.hp.com>.
1288 2754
128936: Where can I get Emacs for my PC? 275596: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running MS-DOS?
1290 2756
1291 ** Demacs 2757 * Demacs
1292 2758
1293 For 386 or 486 PCs, there is a version of GNU Emacs called Demacs. To get 2759 For 386 or 486 PCs running MS-DOS, there is a version of GNU Emacs
1294 Demacs see question 21. 2760 called Demacs. To get Demacs see question 122.
1295 2761
1296 From the announcement message: 2762 From the announcement message:
1297 2763
1298 Demacs is almost a full set of GNU Emacs but does not support some 2764 Demacs is almost a full set of GNU Emacs but does not support some
1299 features: asynchronous process, locking a file, etc. 2765 features: asynchronous process, locking a file, etc.
1300 2766
1301 Demacs provides following DOS specific features: 2767 Demacs provides following DOS specific features:
1302 2768
1303 * File type: text or binary file translation. 2769 * File type: text or binary file translation.
1304 * "8bit clean" display mode. 2770 * "8-bit clean" display mode.
1305 * 8086 software interrupt call by int86 lisp function. 2771 * 8086 software interrupt call by int86 lisp function.
1306 * Machine specific features such as function key support. 2772 * Machine specific features such as function key support.
1307 * File name completion with drive name. 2773 * File name completion with drive name.
1308 * Child process (suspend-emacs, call-process). 2774 * Child process (suspend-emacs, call-process).
1309 * Enhanced dired mode which can work without 'ls.exe'. 2775 * Enhanced dired mode which can work without 'ls.exe'.
1310 2776
1311 To our regret `shell-mode' does not work, but `compile' command works 2777 To our regret `shell-mode' does not work, but `compile' command works
1312 properly. 2778 properly.
1313 2779
1314 Demacs was developed using an MS-DOS version of gcc called djgpp by D. J. 2780 Demacs was developed using an MS-DOS version of gcc called djgpp by
1315 Delorie <dj@ctron.com> which can compile and run large programs under 2781 D. J. Delorie <dj@ctron.com> which can compile and run large programs
1316 MS-DOS, but not under MS Windows. Demacs was derived from Nemacs rather 2782 under MS-DOS, but not under MS Windows. Demacs was derived from Nemacs
1317 than straight from GNU Emacs. 2783 rather than straight from GNU Emacs.
1318 2784
1319 There are a variety of other Emacses for MS-DOS including among them the 2785 There are a variety of other Emacses for MS-DOS including among them the
1320 following. 2786 following.
1321 2787
1322 ** Freemacs 2788 * Freemacs
1323 2789
1324 Russ Nelson <nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>, the author, describes 2790 Russ Nelson <nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>, the author, describes
1325 Freemacs: 2791 Freemacs:
1326 2792
1327 * Freemacs is free, and it was designed from the start to be 2793 * Freemacs is free, and it was designed from the start to be
1328 programmable. 2794 programmable.
1329 * Freemacs is the only IBM-PC editor that tries to be like GNU Emacs. 2795 * Freemacs is the only IBM-PC editor that tries to be like GNU Emacs.
1330 * Freemacs can only edit files less than 64K in length. 2796 * Freemacs can only edit files less than 64K in length.
1331 * Freemacs doesn't have undo. 2797 * Freemacs doesn't have undo.
1332 2798
1333 Carl Witty <cwitty@cs.stanford.edu> describes Freemacs: 2799 Carl Witty <cwitty@cs.stanford.edu> reviews Freemacs:
1334 2800
1335 Better is Freemacs, which follows the tradition of ITS and GNU Emacs by 2801 Better is Freemacs, which follows the tradition of ITS and GNU Emacs
1336 having an full, turing-complete extension language which is incompatible 2802 by having an full, turing-complete extension language which is
1337 with everything else. In fact, it's even closer to ITS Emacs than GNU 2803 incompatible with everything else. In fact, it's even closer to ITS
1338 Emacs is, because Mint (Freemacs' extension language) is absolutely 2804 Emacs than GNU Emacs is, because Mint (Freemacs' extension language)
1339 illegible without weeks of study, much like TECO. 2805 is absolutely illegible without weeks of study, much like TECO.
1340 2806
1341 To get Freemacs see question 21. 2807 To get Freemacs see question 123.
1342 2808
1343 ** MicroEmacs 2809 * MicroEmacs
1344 2810
1345 MicroEmacs is a descendant of Microemacs {originally by Dave Conroy?}. It + 2811 MicroEmacs is a descendant of Microemacs {originally by Dave Conroy?}.
1346 is programmable in a BASIC-like language. Many of the keybindings are + 2812 It is programmable in a BASIC-like language. Many of the keybindings
1347 different from GNU Emacs. It is rumored that MicroEmacs can not correctly + 2813 are different from GNU Emacs. It is rumored that MicroEmacs can not
1348 edit files larger than memory. The author is Daniel Lawrence + 2814 correctly edit files larger than memory. The author is Daniel Lawrence
1349 <dan@mdbs.uucp, dan@midas.mgmt.purdue.edu, nwd@j.cc.purdue.edu>. The - 2815 <dan@mdbs.uucp, mdbs!dan@ee.ecn.purdue.edu>. The latest version is 3.11 !
1350 latest version is 3.10 and it is available via anonymous FTP 2816 and it is available via anonymous FTP:
1351 (midas.mgmt.purdue.edu (non-working hours only), durer.cme.nist.gov, 2817
1352 wuarchive.wustl.edu:/mirrors/msdos/memacs/*). Version 3.11 is in beta 2818 /wuarchive.wustl.edu:/mirrors/msdos/uemacs/ !
1353 test. 2819
2820 * JOVE
1354 2821
1355 ** JOVE 2822 Another Emacs for small machines is JOVE (Jonathan's Own Version of
2823 Emacs). The latest official version is 4.14. There appears to be a
2824 newer version. People rumored to be working on JOVE include Mark Moraes
2825 <moraes@cs.toronto.edu> and Bill Marsh <bmarsh@cod.nosc.mil>. It is
2826 available via anonymous FTP:
1356 2827
1357 Another Emacs for small machines is JOVE (Jonathan's Own Version of 2828 /cs.toronto.edu:/pub/moraes/jove4.14.7.tar.Z !
1358 Emacs). The latest official version is 4.14. There appears to be a newer
1359 version. People rumored to be working on JOVE include Mark Moraes
1360 <moraes@cs.toronto.edu> and Bill Marsh <bmarsh@cod.nosc.mil>. It is
1361 available via anonymous FTP (cs.rochester.edu:/pub/jove.tar.4.14.Z,
1362 cs.toronto.edu:/pub/moraes/jove4.14.3.tar.Z, ftp.uu.net:????). +
1363 2829
1364 ** MG 2830 * MG
1365 2831
1366 MG is another descendant of Microemacs. MG used to stand for 2832 MG is another descendant of Microemacs. MG used to stand for
1367 MicroGNUEmacs, but now just stands for MG. The look-and-feel of MG is + 2833 MicroGNUEmacs, but now just stands for MG. The look-and-feel of MG is
1368 intended to be close to that of GNU Emacs. It is rumored that MG can not + 2834 intended to be close to that of GNU Emacs. It is rumored that MG can
1369 correctly edit files larger than memory. The current version is rumored + 2835 not correctly edit files larger than memory. The current version is
1370 to be 2. There is a version 3 in beta which works on the Amiga. It is 2836 rumored to be 2. There is a version 3 in beta which works on the Amiga.
1371 also available via anonymous FTP (ftp.white.toronto.edu:pub/mg/*, 2837 It is also available via anonymous FTP:
1372 wuarchive.wustl.edu: /mirrors/unix-c/editors/mg*, procyon.cis.ksu.edu
1373 (source and executable)).
1374 2838
137537: Where can I get Emacs for my Atari ST? 2839 /ftp.white.toronto.edu:pub/mg/
2840 /wuarchive.wustl.edu:/mirrors/unix-c/editors/
2841 /procyon.cis.ksu.edu: (source and executable)
2842
284397: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running Windows?
2844
2845 I believe that no version of GNU Emacs runs under Windows. Pierre Perret
2846 <pap@myths.az05.bull.com> has ported MicroEMACS 3.11c to Windows.
1376 2847
1377 Anonymous FTP: 2848 Anonymous FTP:
1378 cs.uni-sb.de:/pub/atari/emacs/???????? 2849 /ftp.cica.indiana.edu:pub/pc/win3/util/mewin10.zip
2850 /ftp.cica.indiana.edu:pub/pc/win3/util/mewin10s.zip
2851 /ftp.cica.indiana.edu:pub/pc/win3/util/mewri.zip
2852
285398: Where can I get Emacs for my PC running OS/2?
1379 2854
138038: Where can I get Emacs for my Amiga? 2855 From the OS/2 Programmer's FAQ:
2856
2857 GNU Emacs 18.58 is available. It requires you to have EMX installed
2858 on your machine, but it comes with all the EMX files you will need.
2859 Emacs is available on ftp-os2 in /pub/os2/2.0/gnu/emacs. (If you want
2860 to recompile emacs, you will need the full EMX distribution see
2861 question 1.2.)
2862
2863 The above quote may be out of date. See the latest OS/2 Programmer's FAQ
2864 {perhaps in comp.os.os2.misc?} for the latest news. Anonymous FTP info:
2865
2866 /ftp-os2.nmsu.edu:pub/os2/2.0/gnu/emacs/
2867 ("ftp-os2" was formerly named "hobbes")
2868
2869 Thanks go to Stephen Simpson <simpson@symcom.math.uiuc.edu>, Jonathan
2870 Miller <jem+@andrew.cmu.edu>, Terry Kane <terryk@cc.gatech.edu>, J. D.
2871 Baldwin <baldwin@csservera.usna.navy.mil>, and Ken Bass
2872 <kbass@gmuvax2.gmu.edu>.
2873
287499: Where can I get Emacs for my Atari ST?
2875
2876 Emacs 18.57 is the latest version for TOS. Stefan Mueller-Pfeiffer
2877 <iff327@zam001.zam.kfa-juelich.de> says:
2878
2879 There is also a version for MiNT, the multitasking enhancement for
2880 ATARI's TOS, which behaves almost like EMACS on a "real computer". This
2881 port was done by Erling Henanger <erlingh@idt.unit.no>.
2882
2883 Anonymous FTP:
2884 /atari.archive.umich.edu:atari/gnustuff/tos/ (TOS Emacs 18.57)
2885 /atari.archive.umich.edu:atari/new/mntemacs.zoo (MiNT Emacs)
2886 /cs.uni-sb.de:/pub/atari/emacs/
2887
2888100: Where can I get Emacs for my Amiga?
1381 2889
1382 All of the files are lharc-ed. 2890 All of the files are lharc-ed.
1383 2891
1384 Anonymous FTP: 2892 Anonymous FTP:
1385 oes.orst.edu:/pub/almanac/comp/amiga/software/gnuemacs-1.10/* 2893 /oes.orst.edu:/pub/almanac/comp/amiga/software/gnuemacs-1.10/
1386 2894
1387 Via e-mail: 2895 Via e-mail:
1388 To: almanac@oes.orst.edu: 2896 To: almanac@oes.orst.edu
1389 body: 2897 body:
1390 mode uuencode 2898 mode uuencode
1391 send computer amiga software gnuemacs <file> 2899 send computer amiga software gnuemacs <file>
@@ -1393,13 +2901,13 @@ GNU Emacs and Various Computing Environments
1393 Required: d1.lzh d2.lzh 2901 Required: d1.lzh d2.lzh
1394 Recommended: d3_info.lzh d3_infolisp.lzh 2902 Recommended: d3_info.lzh d3_infolisp.lzh
1395 Optional: d3_autoloaded.lzh d3_entertainmentetc.lzh 2903 Optional: d3_autoloaded.lzh d3_entertainmentetc.lzh
1396 d3_entertainmentlisp.lzh d4_src.lzh d5_languagelisp.lzh 2904 d3_entertainmentlisp.lzh d4_src.lzh d5_languagelisp.lzh
1397 d5_viclone.lzh d6_gnulibsrc.lzh d6_mailpackage.lzh 2905 d5_viclone.lzh d6_gnulibsrc.lzh d6_mailpackage.lzh
1398 d6_mathpackage.lzh d6_misc.lzh d6_textformat.lzh 2906 d6_mathpackage.lzh d6_misc.lzh d6_textformat.lzh
1399 The `d#' at the beginning of each file is its disk number, which is 2907 The `d#' at the beginning of each file is its disk number, which is
1400 referred to by the documentation. 2908 referred to by the documentation.
1401 2909
140239: Where can I get Emacs for my Apple computer? 2910101: Where can I get Emacs for my Apple computer?
1403 2911
1404 The FSF is a participant in a boycott of Apple because of Apple's "look 2912 The FSF is a participant in a boycott of Apple because of Apple's "look
1405 and feel" copyright suits. See the file etc/APPLE for more details. 2913 and feel" copyright suits. See the file etc/APPLE for more details.
@@ -1408,20 +2916,26 @@ GNU Emacs and Various Computing Environments
1408 2916
1409 Please don't help people port or develop software for Apple computers. 2917 Please don't help people port or develop software for Apple computers.
1410 2918
141140: Where can I get Emacs with NeWS support? 2919102: Where can I get Emacs with NeWS support?
2920
2921 Chris Maio's NeWS support package for GNU Emacs is available via anonymous
2922 FTP:
2923
2924 /columbia.edu:pub/ps-emacs.tar.Z
2925 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/ps-emacs.tar.Z
1412 2926
1413 Chris Maio's NeWS support package for GNU Emacs is available via 2927 and via e-mail:
1414 anonymous FTP (columbia.edu:pub/ps-emacs.tar.Z, -
1415 archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/ps-emacs.tar.Z) and via e-mail !
1416 (body: send NeWS emacs-support, To: archive-server@columbia.edu). +
1417 2928
141841: How do I get Emacs running on VMS under DECwindows? 2929 To: archive-server@columbia.edu
2930 body: send NeWS emacs-support
2931
2932103: Where do I get Emacs that runs on VMS under DECwindows?
1419 2933
1420 Hal R. Brand <BRAND@addvax.llnl.gov> is said to have a VMS save set with a 2934 Hal R. Brand <BRAND@addvax.llnl.gov> is said to have a VMS save set with a
1421 ready-to-run VMS version of Emacs 18.55 for X Windows. It is available 2935 ready-to-run VMS version of Emacs 18.55 for X Windows. It is available
1422 via anonymous FTP (addvax.llnl.gov). It is possible that the VMS versions + 2936 via anonymous FTP (addvax.llnl.gov). It is possible that the VMS versions
1423 of Emacs at other sites have X support compiled in. See etc/FTP for + 2937 of Emacs at other sites have X support compiled in. See etc/FTP for
1424 locations. + 2938 locations.
1425 2939
1426 Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> writes: 2940 Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> writes:
1427 2941
@@ -1436,204 +2950,494 @@ GNU Emacs and Various Computing Environments
1436 The set of changes have been posted a number of times three times the 2950 The set of changes have been posted a number of times three times the
1437 last 12 months, so they should be widely available. 2951 last 12 months, so they should be widely available.
1438 2952
143942: How do I use emacstool under SunView? 2953 Richard Levitte <levitte@e.kth.se> tells us that there are patches for
2954 Emacs 18.57 and 18.58 available via e-mail:
1440 2955
1441 First read the man page for emacstool (etc/emacstool.1). The file ! 2956 To: fileserv@ttt.kth.se
1442 etc/SUN-SUPPORT includes further information. + 2957 body: SEND EMACS-1857-PATCHES
2958 or: SEND EMACS-1858-PATCHES
1443 2959
144443: How do I make Emacs display 8-bit characters? 2960104: Where can I get modes for Lex, Yacc/Bison, Bourne Shell, Csh, C++,
2961 Objective C, Pascal, Awk?
1445 2962
1446 There is a patch called the `8-bit ctl-arrow patch' that allows Emacs to 2963 As usual, look in the Lisp Code Directory (see question 88). For C++,
1447 display characters with codes from 128 to 255. {It appears to be by 2964 if you use lisp-dir-apropos, you must specify the pattern like this:
1448 Kenneth Cline <cline@proof.ergo.cs.cmu.edu>.}
1449 2965
1450 Anonymous FTP: 2966 M-x lisp-dir-apropos RET c\+\+ RET
1451 cs.purdue.edu:pub/ygz/cemacs.tar.Z:cemacs/8bit-patch-18.57
1452 sics.se:archive/emacs-18.55-8bit-diff (new version not available)
1453 laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-8bit-18.5{5,7}
1454 2967
1455 Via e-mail: + 2968105: What is the IP address of XXX.YYY.ZZZ?
1456 To: mail-server@sics.se
1457 body: send emacs-18.55-8bit-diff
1458 2969
1459 Anders Edenbrandt <anderse@dna.lth.se> has produced a more comprehensive 2970 If you are at a site with a deficient nameserver, you may need to know
1460 patch that allows for 8-bit input and output. 2971 the IP address of a host to FTP files from it. You can get this
2972 information in two ways:
1461 2973
1462 Anonymous FTP: 2974 * By telnet:
1463 sics.se:archive/emacs-8bit-diff-lth
1464 gatekeeper.dec.com:pub/GNU/DS-emacs-18.57-8bit-diff-lth
1465 2975
1466 The most comprehensive patches for 8-bit output are by Howard Gayle for - 2976 telnet nic.ddn.mil hostnames (or `telnet 192.112.36.5 101')
1467 Emacs 18.55. These patches allow displaying any arbitrary string for a 2977 hname XXX.YYY.ZZZ
1468 given 8-bit character (except TAB and C-j). Also supported is defining +
1469 the sorting order and the uppercase and lowercase translations. It is +
1470 reported that the 8-bit character support in Emacs 19 is largely based on +
1471 these patches. Thomas Bellman <Bellman@lysator.liu.se> has updated these !
1472 patches for Emacs 18.57. !
1473 2978
1474 Anonymous FTP: 2979 * By e-mail:
1475 sics.se:archive/emacs-gayle.tar.Z (patches for 18.55) +
1476 ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/emacs/gayle-18.57.diff.tar.Z (patches for 18.57) +
1477 ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/emacs/emacs-18.57-gayle.tar.Z (patched 18.57) +
1478 +
1479 Nemacs displays 8-bit characters, and it may be useful for displaying the +
1480 8-bit ISO-8859 alphabet, but I don't know for sure. See question 46. +
1481 2980
148244: How do I input 8-bit characters? 2981 To: service@nic.ddn.mil
2982 Subject: host XXX.YYY.ZZZ
2983 or: whois XXX.YYY.ZZZ
2984 or: help
1483 2985
1484 Minor modes for ISO Latin-1 that allow one to easily input this character 2986 or:
1485 set have been written by several people. Such modes have been written by !
1486 Matthieu Herrb <matthieu@laas.fr> (laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/iso-latin-1.el), !
1487 Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> {FTP site??}, and Marc Shapiro +
1488 <shapiro@sor.inria.fr> {FTP site??}. +
1489 2987
1490 These approaches differ from the one taken by Anders Edenbrandt in that 2988 To: resolve@cs.widener.edu
1491 his method uses direct 8-bit input, while these methods use a compose 2989 body: site XXX.YYY.ZZZ
1492 sequence for 8-bit characters. {I have heard conflicting reports on
1493 whether this results in losing the Meta key. Perhaps this depends on
1494 whether Emacs is running under X. Can someone resolve this?}
1495 2990
1496 Karl Heuer <karl@haddock.ima.isc.com> is said to have a patch to allow ! 2991 Information from Brendan Kehoe <brendan@cs.widener.edu>.
1497 8-bit input.
1498 2992
149945: How do I use an already running Emacs from another window? 2993
2994
2995
2996Major Emacs Lisp Packages, Emacs Extensions, and Related Programs
2997
2998 This section lists version numbers, FTP sites, mailing lists, newsgroups,
2999 and other information for many important packages, extensions, and related
3000 programs. There is some overlap with the Lisp Code Directory, but these
3001 entries give more detailed information.
1500 3002
1501 The `emacsclient' program is for editing a file using an already running 3003 If you know of any other packages that are so substantial that they
1502 Emacs rather than starting up a new Emacs. It does this by sending a 3004 deserve to be mentioned here, please tell me. Having its own mailing list
1503 request to the already running Emacs, which must be expecting the request. + 3005 or newsgroup or more than half a megabyte of source code are good signs.
1504 +
1505 * Setup +
1506 +
1507 Emacs must have executed the `server-start' function for emacsclient to !
1508 work. This can be done either by a command line option:
1509 3006
1510 emacs -f server-start 3007106: VM (View Mail) -- another mail reader within Emacs
1511 3008
1512 or by invoking server-start from the .emacs file: 3009 Author: Kyle Jones <kyle@uunet.uu.net>
3010 Latest released version: 4.41
3011 Beta test version: 5.32
3012 Anonymous FTP:
3013 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/packages/vm-4.41.tar.Z
3014 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/as-is/timer.shar.Z
3015 /ftp.uu.net:mail/vm-4.41.tar.Z
3016 /ftp.uu.net:mail/vm-5.32beta.tar.Z
3017 Newsgroups and mailing lists:
3018 Info-VM:
3019 gnu.emacs.vm.info
3020 info-vm-request@uunet.uu.net (for subscriptions)
3021 info-vm@uunet.uu.net (for submissions)
3022 Bug-VM:
3023 gnu.emacs.vm.bug
3024 bug-vm-request@uunet.uu.net (for subscriptions)
3025 bug-vm@uunet.uu.net (for submissions)
3026
3027107: Supercite -- mail and news citation package within Emacs
3028
3029 Author: Barry Warsaw <bwarsaw@cen.com>
3030 Mailing list: supercite-request@anthem.nlm.nih.gov (for subscriptions)
3031 supercite@anthem.nlm.nih.gov (for submissions)
3032 Latest version: 2.2
3033 Anonymous FTP:
3034 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/packages/sc-2.2.tar.Z
3035 /ftp.cme.nist.gov:pub/gnu/sc2.2.tar.Z
3036 Via e-mail:
3037 To: library@cme.nist.gov
3038 Subject: help
3039 NOTE: Superyank is an old version of Supercite.
1513 3040
1514 (if (some conditions are met) (server-start)) 3041108: GNUS -- news reader within Emacs
1515 3042
1516 When this is done, Emacs starts a subprocess running a program called 3043 Author: Masanobu Umeda <umerin@mse.kyutech.ac.jp>
1517 `server'. `server' creates a Unix domain socket in the user's home 3044 Latest official version: 3.13
1518 directory named `.emacs_server'. 3045 Unofficial test version: 3.14.1
3046 Anonymous FTP:
3047 /cs.umn.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z.
3048 /aun.uninett.no:pub/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
3049 /wnoc-fuk.wide.ad.jp:pub/GNU/etc/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
3050 /liasun3.epfl.ch:pub/gnu/emacs/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
3051 /aix370.rrz.uni-koeln.de:/pub/gnu/emacs/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
3052 /funet.fi:/networking/news/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
3053 /src.doc.ic.ac.uk:/gnu/EmacsBits/gnus/gnus-3.14.1.tar.Z
3054 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/packages/gnus-3.13.tar.Z
3055 Newsgroups and mailing lists:
3056 English-only:
3057 gnu.emacs.gnus
3058 info-gnus-english-request@cis.ohio-state.edu (for subscriptions)
3059 info-gnus-english@cis.ohio-state.edu (for submissions)
3060 Japanese (and some English):
3061 info-gnus-request@flab.fujitsu.co.jp (for subscriptions)
3062 info-gnus@flab.fujitsu.co.jp (for submissions)
3063
3064109: Calc -- poor man's Mathematica within Emacs
3065
3066 Author: Dave Gillespie <daveg@csvax.cs.caltech.edu>
3067 Latest released version: 2.02
3068 Anonymous FTP:
3069 /csvax.cs.caltech.edu:pub/calc-2.02.tar.Z
3070 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/calc-2.02.tar.Z
3071 NOTE: Unlike Wolfram Research, Dave has never threatened to sue anyone
3072 for having a program with a similar command language to Calc. :-)
1519 3073
1520 To get your news reader, mail reader, etc., to invoke emacsclient, try + 3074110: Calendar/Diary -- calendar manager within Emacs
1521 setting the environment variable EDITOR (or sometimes VISUAL) to the +
1522 value `emacsclient'. You may have to specify the full pathname of the +
1523 emacsclient program instead. Examples: +
1524 +
1525 # csh commands: +
1526 setenv EDITOR emacsclient +
1527 setenv EDITOR /usr/local/emacs/etc/emacsclient # using full pathname +
1528 +
1529 # sh command: +
1530 EDITOR=emacsclient export EDITOR +
1531 +
1532 * Normal use +
1533 3075
1534 When emacsclient is run, it connects to the `.emacs_server' socket and ! 3076 Author: Edward M. Reingold <reingold@cs.uiuc.edu>
1535 passes its command line options to `server'. When `server' receives - 3077 Latest version: 4.02
1536 these requests, it sends this information on the the Emacs process, 3078 Anonymous FTP:
1537 which at the next opportunity will visit the files specified. (Line 3079 /emr.cs.uiuc.edu:pub/emacs/calendar {???}
1538 numbers can be specified just like with Emacs.) When the user is done 3080 Via e-mail:
1539 editing a file, the user can type "C-x #" to indicate this. This will 3081 To: reingold@cs.uiuc.edu
1540 switch to another buffer created at the request of emacsclient if there 3082 Subject: send-emacs-cal
1541 are any. When "C-x #" has been invoked on all of the files that the 3083 Put your best internet e-mail address in the body.
1542 emacsclient requested to be edited, Emacs will send notification of this
1543 to `server' which will pass this on to the emacsclient, which will then
1544 exit.
1545
1546 NOTE: `emacsclient' and `server' must be running on machines which share +
1547 the same filesystem for this to work. The pathnames that emacsclient +
1548 specifies should be correct for the filesystem that the Emacs process +
1549 sees, which is not necessarily the same as the one the emacsclient sees. +
1550 The Emacs process should not be suspended at the time emacsclient is +
1551 invoked. Thus, emacsclient should either be invoked from another X window +
1552 or from a shell window inside Emacs itself. +
1553
1554 There is an enhanced version of emacsclient/server called `gnuserv' by !
1555 Andy Norman <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com> which is available in the Emacs Lisp
1556 Archive. gnuserv uses Internet domain sockets, so it can work across most
1557 network connections. It also supports the execution of arbitrary Emacs
1558 Lisp forms, not just the ability to visit files, and also does not require +
1559 the client program to wait for completion. It is available via anonymous +
1560 FTP (Emacs Lisp Archive: packages/gnuserv.shar).
1561 3084
156246: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle kanji characters? - 3085111: Ange-FTP -- transparent FTP access for Emacs's file access routines
1563 3086
1564 Nemacs 3.3.2 (Nihongo GNU Emacs) is a modified version of GNU Emacs 18.55 3087 Author: Andy Norman <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com>
1565 that handles kanji characters. It is available via anonymous FTP 3088 Latest official version: 4.20
1566 (crl.nmsu.edu:pub/misc/nemacs-3.3.2.tar.Z, uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu: 3089 Anonymous FTP:
1567 editors/Nemacs-3.3.2/*, miki.cs.titech.ac.jp: 3090 /alpha.gnu.ai.mit.edu:ange-ftp/ange-ftp.tar.Z
1568 JAPAN/nemacs/nemacs-3.3.2.tar.Z). You might also need files for "wnn", a 3091 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/packages/ange-ftp.tar.Z
1569 kanji input method (wnn-4.0.3{-README,.tar.Z} {on which machine?}). You + 3092 /ugle.unit.no:pub/gnu/emacs-lisp/ange-ftp.tar.Z +
1570 need a terminal (or terminal emulator) that can display text encoded in + 3093 Mailing lists:
1571 JIS, Shift-JIS, or EUC (Extended Unix Code), or the ability to run Nemacs + 3094 ange-ftp-lovers-request@anorman.hpl.hp.com (for subscriptions)
1572 as a direct X Window client. + 3095 Ange-FTP Lovers:
3096 ange-ftp-lovers@anorman.hpl.hp.com (for submissions)
3097 /ftp.reed.edu:pub/mailing-lists/ange-ftp/ (archives)
3098 Ange-FTP Announcements:
3099 ange-ftp-lovers-announce@anorman.hpl.hp.com
3100 NOTE: now with support for accessing VMS, CMS, and MTS systems
3101
3102112: VIP -- vi emulation for Emacs
3103
3104 Author: Aamod Sane <sane@cs.uiuc.edu>
3105 Latest released version: 4.3
3106 Anonymous FTP:
3107 /cs.uiuc.edu:pub/vip4.3.tar.Z
3108 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/modes/vip-mode.tar.Z
3109 NOTE: This version much more closely emulates vi than the one
3110 distributed with Emacs.
1573 3111
157447: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle Chinese? 3112113: Dired -- better directory editor for Emacs
1575 3113
1576 `cemacs' by Stephen G. Simpson <simpson@math.psu.edu> is a patch to Emacs 3114 Author: Sebastian Kremer <sk@thp.uni-koeln.de>
1577 18.57 (the ctl-arrow patch) and some Emacs Lisp code that combined with 3115 Latest released version: 5.239
1578 Cxterm allows using Chinese characters. It is available via anonymous FTP 3116 Anonymous FTP: /ftp.cs.buffalo.edu:pub/Emacs/diredall.tar.Z
1579 (crl.nmsu.edu:pub/chinese/cemacs.tar.Z, cs.purdue.edu: 3117 /ftp.uni-koeln.de:pub/gnu/emacs/diredall.tar.Z
1580 pub/ygz/cemacs.tar.Z). Cxterm is available from the same place 3118 NOTE: This is a huge improvement over the Dired distributed with Emacs.
1581 (cs.purdue.edu: pub/ygz/cxterm-11.5.1.tar.Z). 3119 This version will be in Emacs 19.
1582 3120
158348: Where is an Emacs that can handle Semitic (right-to-left) alphabets? 3121114: AUC TeX -- enhanced LaTeX mode with debugging facilities
1584 3122
1585 Joel M. Hoffman <joel@wam.umd.edu> writes: 3123 Author: Kresten Krab Thorup <krab@iesd.auc.dk>
3124 Latest released version: 6.1 {???}
3125 Anonymous FTP:
3126 /iesd.auc.dk:pub/emacs-lisp/auctex_6_1d.tar.Z !
3127 /iesd.auc.dk:pub/emacs-lisp/auctex.tar.Z !
3128 Mailing list:
3129 auc-tex-request@iesd.auc.dk (for subscriptions)
3130 auc-tex@iesd.auc.dk (for submissions)
3131 auc-tex_mgr@iesd.auc.dk (auc-tex development team)
1586 3132
1587 A couple of years ago a wrote a hebrew.el file that allows right-to-left 3133115: Hyperbole -- extensible hypertext management system within Emacs
1588 editing of Hebrew. I relied on the hardware to display the Hebrew
1589 letters, given the right codes, but not for any right-to-left support;
1590 the hardware also doesn't have to send any specific char. codes. Emacs
1591 keeps track of when the user is typing Hebrew vs. English. (The VT-*
1592 terminals in Israel contain built-in support for Hebrew.)
1593 3134
1594 To get it to work I had to modify only a few lines of GNU Emacs's source 3135 Author: Bob Weiner <rsw@cs.brown.edu>
1595 code --- just enough to make it 8-bit clean. 3136 Anonymous FTP:
3137 /wilma.cs.brown.edu:pub/hyperbole/ h*.tar.Z
3138 Mailing lists:
3139 hyperbole-announce -- Hyperbole release announcements only.
3140 Subscriptions:
3141 To: hyperbole-request@cs.brown.edu
3142 Subject: Add <mailbox@domain.name> to hyperbole-announce
3143 hyperbole -- Hyperbole discussion.
3144 Subscriptions:
3145 To: hyperbole-request@cs.brown.edu
3146 Subject: Add <mailbox@domain.name> to hyperbole
3147 Submissions:
3148 hyperbole@cs.brown.edu
3149 NOTE: Any member of the hyperbole mailing list is automatically a
3150 member of the hyperbole-announce mailing list.
3151 NOTE: No .UUCP or ! addresses are allowed on these mailing lists.
3152
3153116: Byte Compiler -- enhanced version of Emacs's byte compiler
3154
3155 Author: Jamie Zawinski <jwz@lucid.com>,
3156 Hallvard B. Furuseth <hallvard@ifi.uio.no>
3157 Anonymous FTP:
3158 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/packages/bytecomp.tar.Z
3159 /ftp.uu.net:languages/elisp/packages/bytecomp.tar.Z
3160 /src.doc.ic.ac.uk:gnu/EmacsBits/elisp-archive/packages/bytecomp.tar.Z
1596 3161
1597 [and in a separate message:] 3162117: comint -- hugely enhanced shell mode and other derived modes
1598 3163
1599 It doesn't produce time-order ["sefer" format] (I wouldn't recommend 3164 Author: Olin Shivers <Olin.Shivers@cs.cmu.edu>
1600 trying that with emacs, because converting time-order to screen-order 3165 Anonymous FTP:
1601 with arbitrarily long lines is a bit tricky), but I also concocted a 3166 /cs.cmu.edu:/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/shivers/lib/emacs/
1602 quick filter to convert screen-order into time-order. I'll be happy to 3167 {comint,cmu{tex,shell,scheme,lisp},ml}.el
1603 send you the requisite files if you want them. If you're using it for 3168 (anonymous password must contain `@',
1604 anything large, however, you'll want something that works better. 3169 cannot cd to intermediate directories)
1605 3170
1606 Joseph Friedman <yossi@Neon.Stanford.EDU> wrote something for Emacs that 3171118: BBDB -- personal info rolodex integrated with mail/news readers
1607 provides Hebrew support under X Windows.
1608 3172
1609 Warren Burstein <warren@itex.jct.ac.il> says he has mapped 7-bit keys by 3173 Author: Jamie Zawinski <jwz@lucid.com>
1610 modifying self-insert-command "for Hebrew input on 7-bit keyboards". 3174 Latest released version: 1.47
3175 Anonymous FTP:
3176 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/packages/bbdb.tar.Z
3177 Mailing list:
3178 info-bbdb-request@lucid.com (for subscriptions)
3179 info-bbdb@lucid.com
3180 bbdb-announce-request@lucid.com (to be informed of new releases)
3181 Note: BBDB does not work with VM 4. It does work with VM 5, RMAIL, GNUS,
3182 and MH-E.
3183
3184119: Ispell -- spell checker in C with interface for Emacs
3185
3186 Author: Geoff Kuenning <geoff@itcorp.com>
3187 Latest released version: 2.0.02
3188 Beta test version: 3.0 (9 patches)
3189 Anonymous FTP:
3190 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:/pub/gnu/ispell/ (version 2.0.02)
3191 /ftp.cs.ucla.edu:/pub/ispell/ (version 3.0, patches, dictionaries)
3192 /argus.math.orst.edu:pub/ispell/ (version 3.0, patches, dictionaries)
3193 /ftp.th-darmstadt.de:pub/dicts/ispell/ (mirror of argus)
3194 NOTE: Do not send mail to Geoff asking him to send you the latest
3195 version of Ispell. He does not have free e-mail.
3196
3197120: Epoch -- enhanced GNU Emacs with better X interface
3198
3199 Latest released version: 4.2
3200 Anonymous FTP:
3201 /cs.uiuc.edu:pub/epoch-files/epoch/epoch-4.2.tar.Z
3202 /cs.uiuc.edu:pub/epoch-files/epoch/epoch-diff-4.1-4.2.tar.Z
3203 /src.doc.ic.ac.uk:gnu/epoch/
3204 /aix370.rrz.uni-koeln.de:gnu/emacs/epoch/
3205 Newsgroup and mailing lists:
3206 Epoch:
3207 gnu.emacs.epoch
3208 epoch-request@cs.uiuc.edu (for subscriptions)
3209 epoch@cs.uiuc.edu (for submissions)
3210 Epoch-Design:
3211 epoch-design-request@cs.uiuc.edu (for subscriptions)
3212 epoch-design@cs.uiuc.edu (for submissions)
3213 FAQ list:
3214 Maintainer: Marc Andreessen <marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu>
3215 Anonymous FTP:
3216 /rtfm.mit.edu:pub/usenet/news.answers/epoch-faq
3217 /ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu:outgoing/marca/epoch/Epoch.FAQ
1611 3218
1612 A good suggestion is to query archie for files named with "hebrew". 3219121: Lucid GNU Emacs -- alternative Emacs 19 with better X interface
3220
3221 Primary Maintainer: Jamie Zawinski <jwz@lucid.com>
3222 Other Developers: Eric Benson <eb@lucid.com>
3223 Matthieu Devin <devin@lucid.com>
3224 Harlan Sexton <hbs@lucid.com>
3225 Latest released version: 19.3
3226 Anonymous FTP:
3227 /labrea.stanford.edu:pub/gnu/lucid/lemacs-19.3.tar.Z (source)
3228 /labrea.stanford.edu:pub/gnu/lucid/lemacs-19.3-sun4.tar.Z (Sun4binaries)
3229 Newsgroup and mailing lists:
3230 Bugs:
3231 bug-lucid-emacs-request@lucid.com (for subscriptions)
3232 bug-lucid-emacs@lucid.com (for submissions)
3233 Help:
3234 help-lucid-emacs-request@lucid.com (for subscriptions)
3235 help-lucid-emacs@lucid.com (for submissions)
3236
3237122: Demacs -- GNU Emacs altered to run on MS-DOS on 386/486 machines
3238
3239 Authors: Manabu Higashida <manabu@sigmath.osaka-u.ac.jp>
3240 HIRANO Satoshi <hirano@tkl.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp>
3241 Latest released version: 1.2.0
3242 Anonymous FTP:
3243 /utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp:GNU/demacs/ (nearest to U.S.A.)
3244 /ftp.sigmath.osaka-u.ac.jp:pub/Msdos/Demacs/
3245 /wnoc-fuk.wide.ad.jp:pub/msdos/Demacs/
3246 /ftp.3com.com:pub/gnu/msdos/demacs/
3247 /mindseye.berkeley.edu:pub/kanji/demacs/
3248 /ftp.hawaii.edu:pub/editors/demacs.tar.Z
3249 /ftp.math.ksu.edu:pub/pc/demacs/
3250 /wsmr-simtel20.army.mil:pd1:<msdos.demacs> {ange-ftp syntax?}
3251 /ftp.uni-koeln.de:msdos/gnuprogs/dem120e.zip (executables, lisp-code, doc)
3252 (PLEASE USE ONLY OUTSIDE WORKING HOURS!)
3253 /ftp.uni-koeln.de:msdos/gnuprogs/dem120s.zip (sources, diffs)
3254 (PLEASE USE ONLY OUTSIDE WORKING HOURS!)
3255 /ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/msdos/gnu/emacs/
3256 /mizar.docs.uu.se:pub/gnu/demacs/
3257 /iamsun.unibe.ch:PC/demacs/
3258 /flop.informatik.tu-muenchen.de:outgoing/demacs.tar
3259 /ftp.funet.fi:pub/gnu/emacs/demacs/
3260 /garbo.uwasa.fi:pc/editor/dem120e.zip
3261 /garbo.uwasa.fi:pc/editor/dem120s.zip
3262 /ftp.win.tue.nl:pub/gnu/demacs/
3263 /ugle.unit.no:pub/gnu/Demacs/
3264 {Does anyone know which sites have the Kanji version?}
3265 Via e-mail:
3266 From garbo.uwasa.fi:
3267 To: mailserv@garbo.uwasa.fi
3268 Subject: garbo-request
3269 Body: send pc/editor/dem120e.zip
3270 send pc/editor/dem120s.zip
3271 quit
3272 Downloading:
3273 EXEC-PC (Milwaukee, WI) 414-789-4210 (2400 bps)
3274 in the Mahoney MS-DOS file area in its Editors/wordprocessors
3275 library (F), named GNUEMACS.ZIP
3276 Channel 1 (Cambridge, MA) 617-345-8873 (9600 bps)
3277 in the New Uploads file area, named GNUEMACS.ZIP
3278 NOTE: Use the -d option of [pk]unzip for all .zip archives. Some sites
3279 have Demacs lharc'ed. If you need to find programs to unpack lharc and
3280 zip format archives, Chris Dean <ctdean@talaris.com> points out that you
3281 should see the comp.compression FAQ, available for FTP:
3282 /rtfm.mit.edu:pub/usenet/comp.compression/
3283 Mailing list:
3284 NOTE: There is no mailing list for Demacs. However, there is a list
3285 for DJGPP, which is the environment that Demacs runs in. Many
3286 Demacs problems are actually issues with DJGPP.
3287 DJGPP:
3288 Subscriptions:
3289 To: listserv@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
3290 body: add <your-address> djgpp
3291 or put `help' in the body.
3292 If this fails, mail to djgpp-request@sun.soe.clarkson.edu.
3293 Submissions:
3294 djgpp@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
3295 FAQ list:
3296 Maintainer: Dave Steibel <steibel@cs.umbc.edu>
3297 Anonymous FTP: algol.cs.umbc.edu:pub/demacs/demacs.faq
3298
3299123: Freemacs -- a small Emacs for MS-DOS
3300
3301 Author: Russ Nelson <nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>
3302 Latest released version: 1.6a
3303 Anonymous FTP:
3304 /simtel20.army.mil:PD:<MSDOS.FREEMACS> {ange-ftp syntax?}
3305 /grape.ecs.clarkson.edu:pub/msdos/freemacs/
3306 Via e-mail:
3307 To: archive-server@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
3308 body: help
3309 Via snail mail:
3310 address: Russell Nelson, 11 Grant St., Potsdam, NY 13676
3311 Send $15 copying fee, and specify preferred floppy disk format:
3312 5.25", 360K, or 3.50", 720K
3313 Mailing lists:
3314 Subscriptions:
3315 To: listserv@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
3316 body: add <your-address> <name-of-list>
3317 or put `help' in the body.
3318 List distribution addresses:
3319 freemacs-announce@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
3320 freemacs-help@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
3321 freemacs-workers@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (send bug reports here)
3322
3323124: Patch -- program to apply "diffs" for updating files
3324
3325 Author: Larry Wall <lwall@netlabs.com>
3326 Latest version: 2.0 patchlevel 12u8
3327 (This is the version that supports the new unified diff format.)
3328 Anonymous FTP:
3329 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/patch-2.0.12u8.tar.Z
3330 /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/patch-2.0.12g8.tar.Z (GNU version)
1613 3331
1614 3332
1615 3333
1616Binding Keys to Commands 3334---------------------------------------------------------------------- +
3335Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells +
3336Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes +
3337 +
3338This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers +
3339("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other +
3340formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS, etc.), and updated with new +
3341information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as +
3342apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice +
3343or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining +
3344the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and +
3345information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including +
3346FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these +
3347conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary +
3348work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution. +
3349
3350
3351 GNU Emacs FAQ: Keybindings/Output
3352
3353If you are viewing this text in a GNU Emacs Buffer, you can type "M-2 C-x $" to
3354get an overview of just the questions. Then, when you want to look at the text
3355of the answers, just type "C-x $".
3356
3357To search for a question numbered XXX, type "M-C-s ^XXX:", followed by a C-r if
3358that doesn't work, then type ESC to end the search.
3359
3360A `+' in the 78th column means something was inserted on the line. A `-' means
3361something was deleted and a `!' means some combination of insertions and
3362deletions occurred.
3363
3364Full instructions for getting the latest FAQ are in question 22. Also see the
3365`Introduction to news.answers' posting in the `news.answers' newsgroup, or send
3366e-mail to `mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with `help' on a body line, or use FTP,
3367WAIS, or Prospero to rtfm.mit.edu.
3368
3369
3370
3371Changing Key Bindings and Handling Key Binding Problems
1617 3372
161849: Why does Emacs say "Key sequence XXX uses invalid prefix characters"? 3373125: How do I bind keys (including function keys) to commands?
3374
3375 1. Find out what character sequence is generated by the keystroke sequence
3376 you wish to bind to a command. See question 129 for how to do this.
3377 Keep in mind that the character sequences generated by a keystroke
3378 sequence varies from one terminal to another. You may also get
3379 different results depending on what type of machine you are running on
3380 (see question 128). For example, these keystrokes may generate these
3381 character sequences:
3382
3383 F1 ---> ESC [ 2 2 4 z
3384 Shift-R10 ---> ESC O t
3385 L7 ---> ESC [ 3 1 ~
3386 Remove ---> C-@
3387
3388 2. Figure out what the Emacs Lisp syntax is for this character sequence.
3389 Inside an Emacs Lisp string, RET, LFD, DEL, ESC, SPC, and TAB are
3390 specified with `\r', `\n', `\C-?', `\e', ` ', and `\t'. C-x is
3391 specified by `\C-x'. M-x is specified the same was as "ESC x".
3392 (Control characters may also be specified as themselves, but I don't
3393 recommend it.) An Emacs Lisp string begins and ends with the double
3394 quote character, `"'. Here are some examples:
1619 3395
1620 Most likely, it failed because the key sequence you were binding started 3396 ESC [ D ---> "\e[D"
1621 with "ESC [" and this sequence was already bound to a command. Evaluate 3397 ESC [ 2 2 7 z ---> "\e[227z"
1622 this form first: 3398 ESC [ 1 8 ~ ---> "\e[18~"
3399 C-M-r ---> "\e\C-r"
3400
3401 3. If some prefix of the character sequence is already bound, you must
3402 unbind it by binding it to `nil'. For example:
3403
3404 (global-set-key "\e[" nil)
3405
3406 4. Pick a command to bind your key sequence to. A command can be a
3407 "symbol" with a function definition, or a "lambda list", or a string
3408 (which is treated as a macro). For example:
3409
3410 (global-set-key "\e[D" 'backward-char)
3411 (global-set-key "\e[227~" "\exgoto-line\r") ; macro
3412
3413 See `Key Bindings' and `Rebinding' in the online manual.
3414
3415 In Emacs 19 (including Lucid Emacs), you can bind function key F24 like
3416 this:
3417
3418 (global-set-key 'f24 'some-command)
3419
3420126: Why does Emacs say `Key sequence XXX uses invalid prefix characters'?
3421
3422 A prefix of the character sequence you were trying to bind was already
3423 bound. Usually, the sequence is "ESC [", in which case you should
3424 evaluate this form first:
1623 3425
1624 (define-key esc-map "[" nil) 3426 (define-key esc-map "[" nil)
1625 3427
1626 NOTE: By default, "ESC [" is bound to backward-paragraph, and if you do ! 3428 NOTE: By default, "ESC [" is bound to backward-paragraph, and if you do
1627 this you will lose this key binding. For most people, this is not a 3429 this you will lose this key binding. For most people, this is not a
1628 problem. 3430 problem.
1629 3431
163050: Why doesn't this [terminal or window-system setup] code work in my 3432 See question 125.
3433
3434127: Why doesn't this [terminal or window-system setup] code work in my
1631 .emacs file, but it works just fine after Emacs starts up? 3435 .emacs file, but it works just fine after Emacs starts up?
1632 3436
1633 This is because you're trying to do something in your .emacs file that 3437 This is because you're trying to do something in your .emacs file that
1634 needs to be postponed until after the terminal/window-system setup code 3438 needs to be postponed until after the terminal/window-system setup code
1635 is loaded. This is a result of the order in which things are done 3439 is loaded. This is a result of the order in which things are done
1636 during the startup of Emacs. For more details see question 64. 3440 during the startup of Emacs. For more details see question 135.
1637 3441
1638 In order to postpone the execution of Emacs Lisp code until after the 3442 In order to postpone the execution of Emacs Lisp code until after the
1639 terminal/window-system setup, set the value of the variable 3443 terminal/window-system setup, set the value of the variable
@@ -1653,28 +3457,7 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1653 (define-key CSI-map "29~" 'execute-extended-command)) 3457 (define-key CSI-map "29~" 'execute-extended-command))
1654 )))) 3458 ))))
1655 3459
165651: Other than that, why does my key binding fail? 3460128: How do I use function keys under X Windows?
1657
1658 One possible reason that I've seen many times is improperly specifying
1659 the character ESC in the key binding string. In an Emacs Lisp string,
1660 ESC is specified as "\e". (ESC can also be specified as itself, the
1661 ASCII character with value 27, but this can cause serious problems when
1662 you try to print/view/mail the file.) Thus, for example, to bind the
1663 key sequence "ESC O D" to the command 'my-backward-char, the simplest
1664 incantation is this:
1665
1666 (global-set-key "\eOD" 'my-backward-char)
1667
1668 These are also correct (and represent what the above command actually
1669 does):
1670
1671 (define-key global-map "\eOD" 'my-backward-char)
1672 (define-key esc-map "OD" 'my-backward-char)
1673
1674 The string forms for the keys RET, LFD, DEL, ESC, SPC, and TAB are
1675 respectively "\r", "\n", "\C-?", "\e", " ", and "\t".
1676
167752: How do I use function keys under X Windows?
1678 3461
1679 This depends on whether you are running Emacs inside a terminal emulator 3462 This depends on whether you are running Emacs inside a terminal emulator
1680 window, or whether you are allowing Emacs to create its own X window. 3463 window, or whether you are allowing Emacs to create its own X window.
@@ -1684,13 +3467,13 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1684 If you are running Emacs inside a terminal emulator window, then it 3467 If you are running Emacs inside a terminal emulator window, then it
1685 behaves exactly as it does on any other tty. In this case, for function 3468 behaves exactly as it does on any other tty. In this case, for function
1686 keys to be useful, they must generate character sequences that are sent 3469 keys to be useful, they must generate character sequences that are sent
1687 to the programs running inside the window as input. The "xterm" program 3470 to the programs running inside the window as input. The `xterm' program
1688 has two different sets of character sequences that it generates when 3471 has two different sets of character sequences that it generates when
1689 function keys are pressed, depending on the sunFunctionKeys X resource 3472 function keys are pressed, depending on the sunFunctionKeys X resource
1690 and the -sf and +sf command line options. (To find out what these key 3473 and the -sf and +sf command line options. (To find out what these key
1691 sequences are, see question 53.) In addition, with xterm, 3474 sequences are, see question 129.) In addition, with xterm,
1692 you can override what key sequence a specific function key (or any other 3475 you can override what key sequence a specific function key (or any other
1693 key) will generate with the "translations" resource. This, for example: 3476 key) will generate with the `translations' resource. This, for example:
1694 3477
1695 XTerm.VT100.Translations: #override \ 3478 XTerm.VT100.Translations: #override \
1696 <KeyPress>F1: string(0x1b) string("[xyzzy") 3479 <KeyPress>F1: string(0x1b) string("[xyzzy")
@@ -1700,7 +3483,7 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1700 On the other hand, if Emacs is managing its own X window, the following 3483 On the other hand, if Emacs is managing its own X window, the following
1701 description applies. Emacs receives `KeyPress' events from the X server 3484 description applies. Emacs receives `KeyPress' events from the X server
1702 when a key is pressed while the keyboard focus is in its window. The 3485 when a key is pressed while the keyboard focus is in its window. The
1703 KeyPress event contains an X `keysym' code, which is simply an arbitrary 3486 KeyPress event contains an X "keysym" code, which is simply an arbitrary
1704 number corresponding to the name of the keysym, and information on which 3487 number corresponding to the name of the keysym, and information on which
1705 "modifiers" such as `control' and `shift' are active. For example, the 3488 "modifiers" such as `control' and `shift' are active. For example, the
1706 `Tab' keysym is 0xff09. (Generally, a key on the keyboard will generate a 3489 `Tab' keysym is 0xff09. (Generally, a key on the keyboard will generate a
@@ -1722,7 +3505,7 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1722 Left becomes C-b 3505 Left becomes C-b
1723 3506
1724 The way Emacs treats other keysyms depends on what kind of machine it was 3507 The way Emacs treats other keysyms depends on what kind of machine it was
1725 compiled on. The type of the display machine is irrelevant! Function + 3508 compiled on. The type of the display machine is irrelevant! Function
1726 keys are mapped internally to escape sequences, while other keys are 3509 keys are mapped internally to escape sequences, while other keys are
1727 completely ignored. 3510 completely ignored.
1728 3511
@@ -1732,9 +3515,9 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1732 F1 through F9 3515 F1 through F9
1733 L1 through L10 (same as F11 through F20) 3516 L1 through L10 (same as F11 through F20)
1734 R1 through R15 (same as F21 through F35) 3517 R1 through R15 (same as F21 through F35)
1735 (The keys labelled R8, R10, R12, and R14 usually are mapped to the ! 3518 (The keys labelled R8, R10, R12, and R14 usually are mapped to the
1736 X keysyms Up, Left, Right, and Down.) 3519 X keysyms Up, Left, Right, and Down.)
1737 Break (the "Alternate" key is given this keysym) 3520 Break (the `Alternate' key is given this keysym)
1738 3521
1739 These keys work like Sun function keys. When Emacs recieves the 3522 These keys work like Sun function keys. When Emacs recieves the
1740 keysym, it will internally use character sequences that look like "ESC 3523 keysym, it will internally use character sequences that look like "ESC
@@ -1755,22 +3538,18 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1755 3538
1756 F1 through F20 3539 F1 through F20
1757 Help (treated same as F15) 3540 Help (treated same as F15)
1758 Menu (treated same as F16, is the LK201 "Do" key) 3541 Menu (treated same as F16, is the LK201 `Do' key)
1759 Find 3542 Find
1760 Insert (LK201 "Insert Here" key) 3543 Insert (LK201 `Insert Here' key)
1761 Select 3544 Select
3545 Prior (LK201 `Prev Screen' key *** ONLY IN 18.58 AND LATER ***)
3546 Next (LK201 `Next Screen' key *** ONLY IN 18.58 AND LATER ***)
1762 3547
1763 These keysyms are supposed to be recognized, but they are not due to a 3548 And finally, the LK201 key labelled `Remove' (or `Delete') is often
1764 bug (which is fixed in Emacs 18.58): + 3549 mapped to the Delete keysym which generates the DEL character (C-?)
1765 3550 instead of the key sequence given by the LK201 `Remove' key. It may
1766 Prior (LK201 "Prev Screen" key) 3551 also be mapped to some other keysym, such as `_Remove', in which case
1767 Next (LK201 "Next Screen" key) 3552 you can't use it from within Emacs at all.
1768
1769 And finally, the LK201 key labelled `Remove' (or `Delete') is often !
1770 mapped to the Delete keysym which generates the DEL character (C-?) !
1771 instead of the key sequence given by the LK201 `Remove' key. It may +
1772 also be mapped to some other keysym, such as `_Remove', in which case +
1773 you can't use it from within Emacs at all. +
1774 3553
1775 Each function key will be internally converted to a character sequence 3554 Each function key will be internally converted to a character sequence
1776 that looks like "ESC [ ## ~", where ## is replaced by a number. The 3555 that looks like "ESC [ ## ~", where ## is replaced by a number. The
@@ -1779,7 +3558,7 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1779 3558
1780 For the complete list of the numbers which are generated by the function 3559 For the complete list of the numbers which are generated by the function
1781 keys, look in the file src/x11term.c at the definitions of the function 3560 keys, look in the file src/x11term.c at the definitions of the function
1782 "stringFuncVal". 3561 stringFuncVal.
1783 3562
1784 If you are running Emacs on a Sun machine, even if your X display is 3563 If you are running Emacs on a Sun machine, even if your X display is
1785 running on a non-Sun machine (eg., an X terminal), you get the setup 3564 running on a non-Sun machine (eg., an X terminal), you get the setup
@@ -1787,37 +3566,36 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1787 machine Emacs is running (was compiled) on, not what type of machine 3566 machine Emacs is running (was compiled) on, not what type of machine
1788 your X display is on. 3567 your X display is on.
1789 3568
1790 If you have function keys not listed above on your keyboard, you can use + 3569 If you have function keys not listed above on your keyboard, you can use
1791 `xmodmap' to change their keysym assignments to get keys that Emacs will ! 3570 `xmodmap' to change their keysym assignments to get keys that Emacs will
1792 recognize, but that may screw up other programs. ! 3571 recognize, but that may screw up other programs.
1793 3572
1794 X resources are not used by Emacs to affect the key sequences generated. 3573 X resources are not used by Emacs to affect the key sequences generated.
1795 In particular, there are no X key "translations" for Emacs. + 3574 In particular, there are no X key "translations" for Emacs.
1796 3575
1797 If you have function keys not listed above and you don't want to use 3576 If you have function keys not listed above and you don't want to use
1798 xmodmap to change their names, you might want to make a modification to 3577 xmodmap to change their names, you might want to make a modification to
1799 your Emacs. Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> explains: 3578 your Emacs. Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> has made available a patch for Emacs
3579 that adds the x-rebind-key function of Epoch to Emacs 18.58. This allows
3580 another layer of key rebinding before Emacs even sees the keys, and in
3581 this layer you can rebind all of the keys and modifier combinations as
3582 well.
1800 3583
1801 There are a number of tricks that can be helpful. The most elegant 3584 Anonymous FTP:
1802 solution, however, is to use the function "x-rebind-key". This function 3585 /ftp.eu.net:gnu/emacs/FP-Xfun.Z
1803 is commented out in the source for good reasons --- it's buggy. 3586 /ftp.urc.tue.nl:pub/tex/emacs/FP-Xfun
1804 3587
1805 It is rather easy to replace this function with the function 3588 Johan Vromans explains what this buys for you:
1806 epoch:rebind-key from the Epoch distribution.
1807 3589
1808 After implementing this, all keyboard keys can be configured to send 3590 After implementing this, all keyboard keys can be configured to send
1809 user definable sequences, e.g. 3591 user definable sequences, eg.,
1810 3592
1811 (x-rebind-key "KP_F1" 0 "\033OP") 3593 (x-rebind-key "KP_F1" 0 "\033OP")
1812 3594
1813 This will have the keypad key PF1 send the sequence "ESC O P", just like 3595 This will have the keypad key PF1 send the sequence "ESC O P", just like
1814 an ordinary VT series terminal. 3596 an ordinary VT series terminal.
1815 3597
1816 This is what I do in my Emacs. Note that you need to add an entry to 3598129: How do I tell what characters my function or arrow keys emit?
1817 syms_of_xfns at the bottom of src/x11fns.c. I can send a patch that has +
1818 the necessary changes, so you don't have to get the Epoch sources. +
1819
182053: How do I tell what characters my function or arrow keys emit? +
1821 3599
1822 Use this function by Randal L. Schwartz <merlyn@iwarp.intel.com>: 3600 Use this function by Randal L. Schwartz <merlyn@iwarp.intel.com>:
1823 3601
@@ -1833,271 +3611,209 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
1833 (message "Characters entered: %s" (key-description chars)))) 3611 (message "Characters entered: %s" (key-description chars))))
1834 3612
1835 Alternatively, use the "C-h l" view-lossage command, which will display 3613 Alternatively, use the "C-h l" view-lossage command, which will display
1836 the last 100 characters Emacs has seen in its input stream. Kevin + 3614 the last 100 characters Emacs has seen in its input stream. Kevin
1837 Gallagher <kgallagh@digi.lonestar.org> suggests typing some unique string + 3615 Gallagher <kgallagh@digi.lonestar.org> suggests typing some unique string
1838 like "wxyz", typing the key in question, then typing "C-h l". The + 3616 like "wxyz", typing the key in question, then typing "C-h l". The
1839 characters that appear between "wxyz" and "C-h l" were generated by the + 3617 characters that appear between "wxyz" and "C-h l" were generated by the
1840 key. + 3618 key.
1841 3619
184254: Why does Emacs spontaneously start displaying "I-search:" and beeping? 3620130: How do I set the X key "translations" for Emacs?
1843 3621
1844 Your terminal (or something between your terminal and the computer) is 3622 Sorry, you can't; there are no "translations" to be set. Emacs is not
1845 sending C-s and C-q for flow control, and Emacs is receiving these 3623 written using the Xt library. The only way to affect the behavior of keys
1846 characters and interpreting them as commands. (The C-s character normally 3624 within Emacs is through `xmodmap' (outside Emacs) or `define-key' (inside
1847 invokes the isearch-forward command.) The best solution is to disable the 3625 Emacs).
1848 use of C-s and C-q for flow control. If you can't do that, you can make
1849 Emacs treat C-s and C-q as flow control characters by evaluating this
1850 form:
1851
1852 (set-input-mode nil t)
1853
1854 If you are fixing this for yourself, simply put the form in your .emacs
1855 file. If you are fixing this for your entire site, the best place to put
1856 it is unclear. I don't know if this has any effect when used in
1857 lisp/site-init.el when building Emacs; I've never tried that. {Can
1858 someone tell me whether it works?} Putting things in users' .emacs files
1859 has a number of problems. Putting this form in lisp/default.el has the
1860 problem that if the user's .emacs file has an error, this will prevent
1861 lisp/default.el from being loaded and Emacs may be unusable for the user,
1862 even for correcting their .emacs file (unless they're smart enough to move
1863 it to another name).
1864
1865 If some of your users are connecting through XON/XOFF flow-controlled
1866 connections, but some are not, then here is a possible solution. Disable
1867 C-s and C-q by setting keyboard-translate-table in lisp/site-init.el,
1868 either with swap-keys (see question 60) or with the following form:
1869
1870 ;; by Roger Crew <crew@cs.stanford.edu>:
1871 (setq keyboard-translate-table
1872 "\C-@\C-a\C-b\C-c\C-d\C-e\C-f\C-g\C-h\C-i\C-j\C-k\C-l\C-m\C-n\C-o\C-p\C-^\C-r\C-\\\C-t\C-u\C-v\C-w\C-x\C-y\C-z\C-[\C-s\C-]\C-q\C-_")
1873
1874 Then in lisp/default.el, if it is determined to be safe, they can be
1875 reenabled (being careful not to screw up any other key mappings users
1876 might have established using keyboard-translate-table, use swap-keys for
1877 this), or else set-input-mode can be called to further disable C-s and
1878 C-q.
1879
1880 For further discussion of this issue, read the file etc/PROBLEMS in the +
1881 Emacs distribution.
1882 3626
188355: How do I disable the use of C-s and C-q for flow control? 3627131: How do I handle C-s and C-q being used for flow control?
1884 3628
1885 Your terminal may be using C-s and C-q for XON/XOFF flow control. For + 3629 C-s and C-q are used in the XON/XOFF flow control protocol. This screws
1886 example, VT series terminals do this. On some terminals, it may be + 3630 up Emacs because it binds these characters to commands. Also, by default
1887 possible to turn this off from a setup menu. This is also true for some + 3631 Emacs will not honor them as flow control characters and may overwhelm
1888 terminal emulation programs on PCs. + 3632 output buffers. Sometimes, intermediate software using XON/XOFF flow
1889 + 3633 control will prevent Emacs from ever seeing C-s and C-q.
1890 If you are using a dialup connection, the modems may be using XON/XOFF +
1891 flow control. I don't know how to get around this. Also, some network +
1892 box between the terminal and your computer may be using XON/XOFF flow !
1893 control. You will probably have to ask your local network experts for
1894 help with this.
1895 3634
189656: What do I do if my terminal is sending C-s and C-q for flow control and 3635 Possible solutions:
1897 I can't disable it?
1898 3636
1899 See question 54. 3637 * Disable the use of C-s and C-q for flow control.
1900 3638
190157: How do I make Emacs honor C-s and C-q for flow control instead of for 3639 You need to determine what is the cause of the flow control.
1902 commands?
1903 3640
1904 See question 54. 3641 * your terminal
1905 3642
190658: Why does Emacs never see C-s and C-q through my network connection? 3643 Your terminal may use XON/XOFF flow control to have time to display
3644 all the characters it receives. For example, VT series terminals do
3645 this. It may be possible to turn this off from a setup menu. For
3646 example, on a VT220 you may select `No XOFF' in the setup menu. This
3647 is also true for some terminal emulation programs on PCs.
1907 3648
1908 Eirik Fuller <eirik@theory.tn.cornell.edu> writes: 3649 When you turn off flow control at the terminal, you will also need to
3650 turn it off at the other end, which might be at the computer you are
3651 logged in to or at some terminal server in between.
1909 3652
1910 Some versions of rlogin (and possibly telnet) do not pass flow control 3653 If you turn off flow control, characters may be lost; using a printer
1911 characters to the remote system to which they connect. On such systems, 3654 connected to the terminal may fail. You may be able to get around
1912 Emacs on the remote system cannot disable flow control on the local 3655 this problem by modifying the `termcap' entry for your terminal to
1913 system. Sometimes "rlogin -8" will avoid this problem. 3656 include extra NUL padding characters.
1914 3657
1915 One way to cure this is to disable flow control on the local host (the 3658 * a modem
1916 one running rlogin, not the one running rlogind) using the stty command,
1917 before starting the rlogin process. On many systems, "stty start u stop
1918 u" will do this.
1919 3659
1920 Some versions of tcsh will prevent even this from working. One way 3660 If you are using a dialup connection, the modems may be using XON/XOFF
1921 around this is to start another shell before starting rlogin, and issue 3661 flow control. I don't know how to get around this.
1922 the stty command to disable flow control from that shell.
1923 3662
192459: How do I use commands bound to C-s and C-q (or any key) if these keys 3663 * a router or terminal server
1925 are filtered out?
1926 3664
1927 I suggest swapping C-s with C-\ and C-q with C-^: 3665 Some network box between the terminal and your computer may be using
3666 XON/XOFF flow control. It may be possible to make it use some other
3667 kind of flow control. You will probably have to ask your local
3668 network experts for help with this.
1928 3669
1929 (swap-keys ?\C-s ?\C-\\) 3670 * tty and/or pty devices
1930 (swap-keys ?\C-q ?\C-^)
1931 3671
1932 See question 60 for the implementation of swap-keys. This method + 3672 If your connection to Emacs goes through multiple tty and/or pty
1933 has the advantage that it simultaneously swaps the characters everywhere + 3673 devices, they may be using XON/XOFF flow control even when it is not
1934 throughout Emacs, while just switching the keybindings will miss important + 3674 necessary.
1935 places where the character codes are stored (eg., the search-repeat-char +
1936 variable, major mode keymaps, etc.). +
1937 +
1938 WARNING: If you do this for an entire site, the users will be confused by +
1939 the disparity between what the documentation says and how Emacs actually +
1940 behaves. +
1941 3675
194260: How do I "swap" two keys? 3676 Eirik Fuller <eirik@theory.tn.cornell.edu> writes:
1943 3677
1944 When Emacs receives a character, you can make Emacs behave as though it 3678 Some versions of `rlogin' (and possibly telnet) do not pass flow
1945 received another character by setting the value of 3679 control characters to the remote system to which they connect. On
1946 keyboard-translate-table. The following Emacs Lisp will do this for you, 3680 such systems, Emacs on the remote system cannot disable flow control
1947 allowing you to "swap" keys. After arranging for this Lisp to be 3681 on the local system. Sometimes `rlogin -8' will avoid this problem.
1948 evaluated by Emacs, you can evaluate `(swap-keys ?A ?B)' to swap A and B.
1949 The function `show-mapped-keys' will allow you to see what low-level key +
1950 mappings are in effect. +
1951 3682
1952 WARNING: the value of C-g (7) is still hard coded in one place in the 3683 One way to cure this is to disable flow control on the local host
1953 minibuffer code. Thus, swapping C-g with another key may cause a minor 3684 (the one running rlogin, not the one running rlogind) using the stty
1954 problem. (Fixed in Emacs 18.58.) 3685 command, before starting the rlogin process. On many systems, `stty
3686 start u stop u' will do this.
1955 3687
1956 (defun swap-keys (key1 key2) 3688 Some versions of `tcsh' will prevent even this from working. One
1957 "Swap keys KEY1 and KEY2 using map-key." 3689 way around this is to start another shell before starting rlogin,
1958 (map-key key1 key2) 3690 and issue the stty command to disable flow control from that shell.
1959 (map-key key2 key1))
1960 3691
1961 (defun map-key (from to) 3692 Use `stty -ixon' instead of `stty start u stop u' on some systems.
1962 "Make key FROM behave as though key TO was typed instead." 3693
3694 * Make Emacs speak the XON/XOFF flow control protocol.
3695
3696 You can make Emacs treat C-s and C-q as flow control characters by
3697 evaluating this form:
3698
3699 (set-input-mode nil t)
3700
3701 If you are fixing this for yourself, simply put the form in your .emacs
3702 file. If you are fixing this for your entire site, the best place to
3703 put it is unclear. I don't know if this has any effect when used in
3704 lisp/site-init.el when building Emacs; I've never tried that. {Can
3705 someone tell me whether it works?} Putting things in users' .emacs files
3706 has a number of problems.
3707
3708 Putting this form in lisp/default.el has the problem that if the user's
3709 .emacs file has an error, this will prevent lisp/default.el from being
3710 loaded and Emacs may be unusable for the user, even for correcting their
3711 .emacs file (unless they're smart enough to move it to another name). A
3712 possible solution is to initially disable C-s and C-q by setting
3713 keyboard-translate-table in lisp/site-init.el, either with swap-keys
3714 (see question 136) or with the following form:
3715
3716 ;; by Roger Crew <crew@cs.stanford.edu>:
1963 (setq keyboard-translate-table 3717 (setq keyboard-translate-table
1964 (concat keyboard-translate-table 3718 "\C-@\C-a\C-b\C-c\C-d\C-e\C-f\C-g\C-h\C-i\C-j\C-k\C-l\C-m\C-n\C-o\C-p\C-^\C-r\C-\\\C-t\C-u\C-v\C-w\C-x\C-y\C-z\C-[\C-s\C-]\C-q\C-_")
1965 (let* ((i (length keyboard-translate-table))
1966 (j from)
1967 (k i)
1968 (str (make-string (max 0 (- j (1- i))) ?X)))
1969 (while (<= k j)
1970 (aset str (- k i) k)
1971 (setq k (1+ k)))
1972 str)))
1973 (aset keyboard-translate-table from to)
1974 (let ((i (1- (length keyboard-translate-table))))
1975 (while (and (>= i 0) (eq (aref keyboard-translate-table i) i))
1976 (setq i (1- i)))
1977 (setq keyboard-translate-table
1978 (if (eq i -1)
1979 nil
1980 (substring keyboard-translate-table 0 (1+ i))))))
1981 3719
1982 (defun show-mapped-keys () + 3720 This will at least prevent Emacs from being confused by the flow control
1983 "Analyze keyboard-translate-table and display mapped keys." + 3721 characters, even if lisp/default.el cannot be loaded. Then, in
1984 (interactive) + 3722 lisp/default.el, enable XON/XOFF flow control with set-input-mode.
1985 (let (mapping-alist + 3723
1986 (l (length keyboard-translate-table)) + 3724 For further discussion of this issue, read the file PROBLEMS in the
1987 (i 0) + 3725 Emacs distribution.
1988 e pair) + 3726
1989 (while (< i l) + 3727132: How do I use commands bound to C-s and C-q (or any key) if these keys
1990 (setq e (aref keyboard-translate-table i)) + 3728 are filtered out?
1991 (or (eq i e) + 3729
1992 (setq mapping-alist (cons (cons i e) mapping-alist))) + 3730 I suggest swapping C-s with C-\ and C-q with C-^:
1993 (setq i (1+ i))) + 3731
1994 (cond (mapping-alist + 3732 (swap-keys ?\C-s ?\C-\\)
1995 (princ "Mapped Keys: ") + 3733 (swap-keys ?\C-q ?\C-^)
1996 (setq mapping-alist (nreverse mapping-alist))) + 3734
1997 (t + 3735 See question 136 for the implementation of swap-keys. This method
1998 (princ "No keys mapped"))) + 3736 has the advantage that it simultaneously swaps the characters everywhere
1999 (while mapping-alist + 3737 throughout Emacs, while just switching the keybindings will miss important
2000 (setq pair (car mapping-alist) + 3738 places where the character codes are stored (eg., the search-repeat-char
2001 i (car pair) + 3739 variable, major mode keymaps, etc.).
2002 e (cdr pair)) + 3740
2003 (princ (single-key-description i)) + 3741 To do this for an entire site, you may want to swap the keys in
2004 (cond ((eq i (cdr (setq pair (assq e mapping-alist)))) + 3742 lisp/default.el. If only some of your users are connecting through
2005 (setq mapping-alist (delq pair mapping-alist)) + 3743 XON/XOFF flow-controlled connections, you will want to do this
2006 (princ " <=> ")) + 3744 conditionally. I suggest pre-swapping them in lisp/site-init.el when
2007 (t + 3745 Emacs is built, and then in lisp/default.el, if it is determined to be
2008 (princ " => "))) + 3746 safe, they can be reenabled (being careful not to screw up any other key
2009 (princ (single-key-description e)) + 3747 mappings users might have established using keyboard-translate-table).
2010 (setq mapping-alist (cdr mapping-alist)) + 3748 See question 131 for an easy way to pre-swap these keys.
2011 (if mapping-alist (princ ", "))))) + 3749
2012 3750 WARNING: If you do this for an entire site, the users will be confused by
2013 NOTE: You must evaluate the definition of swap-keys before calling it! 3751 the disparity between what the documentation says and how Emacs actually
2014 The easiest way is to list it first in the file (eg., your .emacs file). 3752 behaves.
2015 3753
201661: Why does the "BackSpace" key invoke help? 3754133: Why does the `BackSpace' key invoke help?
2017 3755
2018 The BackSpace key (on every keyboard I've used) generates ASCII code 8. ! 3756 The BackSpace key (on every keyboard I've used) generates ASCII code 8.
2019 C-h sends the same code. In Emacs by default C-h invokes `help-command'. 3757 C-h sends the same code. In Emacs by default C-h invokes help-command.
2020 This is intended to be easy to remember since the first letter of `help' 3758 This is intended to be easy to remember since the first letter of "help"
2021 is `h'. The easiest solution to this problem is to use C-h (and 3759 is "h". The easiest solution to this problem is to use C-h (and
2022 BackSpace) for help and DEL (the Delete key) for deleting the previous 3760 BackSpace) for help and DEL (the Delete key) for deleting the previous
2023 character. 3761 character.
2024 3762
2025 For many people this solution may be problematic: 3763 For many people this solution may be problematic:
2026 3764
2027 * They normally use BackSpace outside of Emacs for deleting the previous ! 3765 * They normally use BackSpace outside of Emacs for deleting the previous
2028 character typed. This can be solved by making DEL be the command for 3766 character typed. This can be solved by making DEL be the command for
2029 deleting the previous character outside of Emacs. This command will do 3767 deleting the previous character outside of Emacs. This command will do
2030 this on many Unix systems: 3768 this on many Unix systems:
2031 3769
2032 stty erase '^?' 3770 stty erase '^?'
2033 3771
2034 * The person may prefer using the BackSpace key for deleting the previous ! 3772 * The person may prefer using the BackSpace key for deleting the previous
2035 character because it is more conveniently located on their keyboard or 3773 character because it is more conveniently located on their keyboard or
2036 because they don't even have a separate Delete key. In this case, the 3774 because they don't even have a separate Delete key. In this case, the
2037 BackSpace key should be made to behave like Delete. There are several ! 3775 BackSpace key should be made to behave like Delete. There are several
2038 methods. ! 3776 methods.
2039 !
2040 * Under X Windows, the easiest solution is to change the BackSpace key !
2041 into a Delete key like this: !
2042 !
2043 xmodmap -e "keysym BackSpace = Delete" !
2044 !
2045 * Some terminals (eg., VT3## terminals) allow the character generated by !
2046 the BackSpace key to be changed from a setup menu. !
2047 !
2048 * You may be able to get a keyboard that is completely programmable. !
2049 !
2050 * Under X or on a dumb terminal, it is possible to swap the BackSpace and !
2051 Delete keys inside Emacs: +
2052 3777
2053 (swap-keys ?\C-h ?\C-?) 3778 * Under X Windows, the easiest solution is to change the BackSpace key
3779 into a Delete key like this:
2054 3780
2055 See question 60 for the implementation of swap-keys. 3781 xmodmap -e "keysym BackSpace = Delete"
2056 3782
2057 * Another approach is to switch keybindings and put help on "C-x h" ! 3783 * Some terminals (eg., VT3## terminals) allow the character generated by
2058 instead: 3784 the BackSpace key to be changed from a setup menu.
2059 3785
2060 (global-set-key "\C-h" 'delete-backward-char) 3786 * You may be able to get a keyboard that is completely programmable.
2061 (global-set-key "\C-xh" 'help-command) ; override mark-whole-buffer
2062 3787
2063 Other popular key bindings for help are M-? and "C-x ?". + 3788 * Under X or on a dumb terminal, it is possible to swap the BackSpace
3789 and Delete keys inside Emacs:
2064 3790
2065 WARNING: This method fails to correctly bind BackSpace in the various ! 3791 (swap-keys ?\C-h ?\C-?)
2066 major and minor modes that define their own backward character !
2067 deletion or help commands, such as C mode and Lisp mode. To actually
2068 do that for every mode is a lot of work. There are probably other +
2069 places where the correspondence between help and C-h is hardcoded. +
2070 3792
207162: How do I type DEL on PC terminal emulators? 3793 See question 136 for the implementation of swap-keys.
2072 3794
2073 Someone whose name I forgot wrote: 3795 * Another approach is to switch keybindings and put help on "C-x h"
3796 instead:
3797
3798 (global-set-key "\C-h" 'delete-backward-char)
3799 (global-set-key "\C-xh" 'help-command) ; override mark-whole-buffer
2074 3800
2075 Most PCs have deficient keyboards that don't have both BackSpace and 3801 Other popular key bindings for help are M-? and "C-x ?".
2076 Delete keys. Whether C-h (BackSpace) or DEL is generated by the
2077 BackSpace key varies from one terminal emulator to another. If you're !
2078 lucky, you can reconfigure the keyboard so that it generates DEL. If
2079 not, you will have to hunt to figure out what keystroke will do it ---
2080 possibilities include various shifted and controlled versions of
2081 BackSpace, the `Del' key on the numeric keypad (which might depend on !
2082 Shift or NumLock), or perhaps C-? (Control-?). !
2083 3802
2084 If this is too hard, you may want to swap the Delete key with some other 3803 WARNING: Don't try to bind DEL to help-command, because there are many
2085 key. See question 61. 3804 modes that have local bindings of DEL that will interfere.
2086 3805
208763: Can I make my "Compose" key behave like a "Meta" key? 3806134: Why doesn't Emacs look at the stty settings for Backspace vs. Delete?
2088 3807
2089 On a dumb terminal such as a VT220, no. It is rumored that certain VT220 3808 Good question!
2090 clones could have their Compose key configured this way. If you're on an
2091 X workstation, you might have luck using the "xmodmap" program.
2092 3809
209364: Why don't the arrow keys work? 3810135: Why don't the arrow keys work?
2094 3811
2095 When Emacs starts up, it doesn't know anything about arrow keys at all 3812 When Emacs starts up, it doesn't know anything about arrow keys at all
2096 (except when running under X, see question 52). During the 3813 (except when running under X, see question 128). During the process of
2097 process of starting up, Emacs will load a terminal-specific initialization 3814 starting up, Emacs will load a terminal-specific initialization file for
2098 file for your terminal type (as determined by the environment variable 3815 your terminal type (as determined by the environment variable TERM), if
2099 TERM), if one exists. This file has the responsibility for enabling the 3816 one exists. This file has the responsibility for enabling the arrow keys.
2100 arrow keys.
2101 3817
2102 There are several things that can go wrong: 3818 There are several things that can go wrong:
2103 3819
@@ -2109,68 +3825,112 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
2109 be loaded as the terminal-specific initialization file: xxx-yy-z.el, 3825 be loaded as the terminal-specific initialization file: xxx-yy-z.el,
2110 xxx-yy.el, or xxx.el. 3826 xxx-yy.el, or xxx.el.
2111 3827
2112 If there is none there, one can be made for your terminal, or you can 3828 There are two major cases of this problem:
2113 just add code to your own .emacs to handle this problem for yourself.
2114 For example, if your terminal's arrow keys send these character
2115 sequences:
2116 3829
2117 Up: ESC [ A 3830 * Your terminal type is very similar to one that has an init file.
2118 Down: ESC [ B
2119 Right: ESC [ C
2120 Left: ESC [ D
2121 3831
2122 then you can bind these keys to the appropriate commands with code in 3832 In this case, there are several techniques suggested by Colin Jensen
2123 your .emacs like this: 3833 <cjensen@ampex.com>, Ben Liblit <Liblit@cs.psu.edu>, and Marc
3834 Auslander <marc@watson.ibm.com>:
2124 3835
2125 (setq term-setup-hook 3836 A. Add a symbolic link in lisp/term for your terminal type that
2126 (function 3837 points to the similar type. For example, you could make VT102
2127 (lambda () 3838 terminals work with this command:
2128 (cond ((string-match "\\`xyzzy" (or (getenv "TERM") "")) 3839
2129 ;; First, must unmap the binding for M-[ 3840 ln -s vt100.el vt102.el
2130 (or (keymapp (lookup-key global-map "\e[")) 3841
2131 (define-key global-map "\e[" nil)) 3842 This fixes things for everyone on the system who uses the terminal
2132 ;; Enable terminal type xyzzy's arrow keys: 3843 type.
2133 (define-key global-map "\e[A" 'previous-line) 3844
2134 (define-key global-map "\e[B" 'next-line) 3845 B. If you can't do the solution in part A, you can add code to your
2135 (define-key global-map "\e[C" 'forward-char) 3846 term-setup-hook that loads the correct file like this:
2136 (define-key global-map "\e[D" 'backward-char)) 3847
2137 ((string-match "\\`abcde" (or (getenv "TERM") "")) 3848 (setq term-setup-hook
2138 ;; Do something different for terminal type abcde 3849 (function
2139 ;; ..... 3850 (lambda ()
2140 )))))) 3851 (cond ((equal "vt102" (or (getenv "TERM") ""))
2141 3852 (load (concat term-file-prefix "vt100")))
2142 This technique allows you to easily add more `cond' cases for different 3853 (;; Code for other terminal types goes here ...
2143 terminal types. 3854 )))))
2144 3855
2145 NOTE: You will have to restart Emacs to get this change to take effect 3856 C. If you use `tset' to set your TERM environment variable when you
2146 when using this technique. 3857 login, you can use the `-m' switch to tell tset to use a terminal
2147 3858 type known by Emacs instead of another similar one. For example,
2148 NOTE: Your arrow keys may send sequences beginning with "ESC O" when + 3859 specifying this:
2149 Emacs is running, even if they send sequences beginning with "ESC [" at + 3860
2150 all other times. This is because Emacs uses any command there may be + 3861 tset ... -m 'dec-vt220:vt220' ...
2151 in your terminal's termcap entry for putting the terminal into + 3862
2152 `Application Keypad Mode'. Just map these sequences the same way as + 3863 will make tset say you are on a `vt220' instead of a `dec-vt220'.
2153 above. + 3864
3865 D. Interactively, you can type "M-x load-library RET term/vt100" to
3866 load the terminal-specific initialization files for VT100
3867 terminals.
3868
3869 * Your terminal type is not similar to one that has an init file.
3870
3871 One can be made for your terminal, or you can just add code to your
3872 own .emacs to handle this problem for yourself. For example, if your
3873 terminal's arrow keys send these character sequences:
3874
3875 Up: ESC [ A
3876 Down: ESC [ B
3877 Right: ESC [ C
3878 Left: ESC [ D
3879
3880 then you can bind these keys to the appropriate commands with code in
3881 your .emacs like this:
3882
3883 (setq term-setup-hook
3884 (function
3885 (lambda ()
3886 (cond ((string-match "\\`xyzzy" (or (getenv "TERM") ""))
3887 ;; First, must unmap the binding for left bracket
3888 (or (keymapp (lookup-key global-map "\e\["))
3889 (define-key global-map "\e\[" nil))
3890 ;; Enable terminal type xyzzy's arrow keys:
3891 (define-key global-map "\e\[A" 'previous-line)
3892 (define-key global-map "\e\[B" 'next-line)
3893 (define-key global-map "\e\[C" 'forward-char)
3894 (define-key global-map "\e\[D" 'backward-char))
3895 ((string-match "\\`abcde" (or (getenv "TERM") ""))
3896 ;; Do something different for terminal type abcde
3897 ;; .....
3898 )))))
3899
3900 NOTE: You may have to restart Emacs to get changes to take effect.
3901
3902 NOTE: Your arrow keys may send sequences beginning with "ESC O" when
3903 Emacs is running, even if they send sequences beginning with "ESC [" at
3904 all other times. This is because Emacs uses any command there may be
3905 in your terminal's termcap entry for putting the terminal into
3906 "Application Keypad Mode". Just map these sequences the same way as
3907 above.
2154 3908
2155 The next two cases are problems even if there is a initialization file for 3909 The next two cases are problems even if there is a initialization file for
2156 your terminal type. 3910 your terminal type.
2157 3911
2158 2. Your terminal's arrow keys send individual control characters. 3912 2. The initialization file for your terminal doesn't bind arrow keys.
3913
3914 If your terminal type is `xterm', you will have to bind the arrow keys
3915 as in part 1 above, since the xterm.el file doesn't do anything useful.
3916 There may be other terminal types with the same problem.
3917
3918 3. Your terminal's arrow keys send individual control characters.
2159 3919
2160 For example, the arrow keys on an ADM-3 send C-h, C-j, C-k, and C-l. + 3920 For example, the arrow keys on an ADM-3 send C-h, C-j, C-k, and C-l.
2161 3921
2162 There is not much Emacs can do in this situation, since all the control 3922 There is not much Emacs can do in this situation, since all the control
2163 characters except for C-^ and C-\ are already used as Emacs commands. 3923 characters except for C-^ and C-\ are already used as Emacs commands.
2164 It may be possible to convince the terminal to send something else when + 3924 It may be possible to convince the terminal to send something else when
2165 you press the arrow keys; it is worth investigating. + 3925 you press the arrow keys; it is worth investigating.
2166 3926
2167 You have to make the hard choices of how to rebind keys to commands to 3927 You have to make the hard choices of how to rebind keys to commands to
2168 make things work the way you want. Another alternative is to start + 3928 make things work the way you want. Another alternative is to start
2169 learning the standard Emacs keybindings for moving point around: C-b, + 3929 learning the standard Emacs keybindings for moving point around: C-b,
2170 C-f, C-p, and C-n. Personally, I no longer use the arrow keys when + 3930 C-f, C-p, and C-n. Personally, I no longer use the arrow keys when
2171 editing. + 3931 editing because I have switched keyboards so many times.
2172 3932
2173 3. Your terminal's arrow keys send sequences beginning with "ESC [". 3933 4. Your terminal's arrow keys send sequences beginning with "ESC [".
2174 3934
2175 Due to an extremely poor design decision (ie., these sequences are ANSI 3935 Due to an extremely poor design decision (ie., these sequences are ANSI
2176 standard), none of the the terminal-specific initialization files that 3936 standard), none of the the terminal-specific initialization files that
@@ -2182,8 +3942,8 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
2182 will change in Emacs 19. 3942 will change in Emacs 19.
2183 3943
2184 Some of the terminal-specific initialization files that come with Emacs 3944 Some of the terminal-specific initialization files that come with Emacs
2185 provide a command `enable-arrow-keys' that will fix this problem. To 3945 provide a command enable-arrow-keys that will fix this problem. To get
2186 get this automatically invoked, put this in your .emacs: 3946 this automatically invoked, put this in your .emacs:
2187 3947
2188 (setq term-setup-hook 3948 (setq term-setup-hook
2189 (function 3949 (function
@@ -2208,24 +3968,112 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
2208 3968
2209 (setq sun-esc-bracket t) 3969 (setq sun-esc-bracket t)
2210 3970
2211 If your terminal type is `xterm', you will have to bind the arrow keys
2212 as in part 1 above, since the xterm.el file doesn't do anything useful.
2213
2214 It is possible that the terminal-specific initialization file for your 3971 It is possible that the terminal-specific initialization file for your
2215 terminal type was written locally and does not follow the rule 3972 terminal type was written locally and does not follow the rule
2216 mentioned above. In this case you may need to inspect it to find out 3973 mentioned above. In this case you may need to inspect it to find out
2217 how to enable the arrow keys. (Actually, if it was written locally, it 3974 how to enable the arrow keys. (Actually, if it was written locally, it
2218 probably enables the arrow keys by default.) 3975 probably enables the arrow keys by default.)
2219 3976
222065: How do I bind a combination of modifier key and function key? 3977136: How do I "swap" two keys?
2221 3978
2222 Unless you're using Emacs under emacstool (or xvetool?) or you have a 3979 When Emacs receives a character, you can make Emacs behave as though it
2223 working version of x-rebind-key (see question 52), you can't do this 3980 received another character by setting the value of
2224 with Emacs alone. When using emacstool, Emacs sees different character 3981 keyboard-translate-table. The following Emacs Lisp will do this for you,
2225 sequences for the combination of a modifier and a function key from what 3982 allowing you to "swap" keys. After arranging for this Lisp to be
2226 it sees for the function key alone. See etc/emacstool.1 for more 3983 evaluated by Emacs, you can evaluate `(swap-keys ?A ?B)' to swap A and B.
2227 information. Since Emacs sees different character sequences, you can bind 3984
2228 these different sequences to different commands. 3985 (defun swap-keys (key1 key2)
3986 "Swap keys KEY1 and KEY2 using map-key."
3987 (map-key key1 key2)
3988 (map-key key2 key1))
3989
3990 (defun map-key (from to)
3991 "Make key FROM behave as though key TO was typed instead."
3992 (setq keyboard-translate-table
3993 (concat keyboard-translate-table
3994 (let* ((i (length keyboard-translate-table))
3995 (j from)
3996 (k i)
3997 (str (make-string (max 0 (- j (1- i))) ?X)))
3998 (while (<= k j)
3999 (aset str (- k i) k)
4000 (setq k (1+ k)))
4001 str)))
4002 (aset keyboard-translate-table from to)
4003 (let ((i (1- (length keyboard-translate-table))))
4004 (while (and (>= i 0) (eq (aref keyboard-translate-table i) i))
4005 (setq i (1- i)))
4006 (setq keyboard-translate-table
4007 (if (eq i -1)
4008 nil
4009 (substring keyboard-translate-table 0 (1+ i))))))
4010
4011 NOTE: You must evaluate the definition of these functions before calling
4012 them! For example, list the function definitions before their use in your
4013 .emacs file.
4014
4015 NOTE: These functions take two numbers as arguments. The example above,
4016 `(swap-keys ?A ?B)' is actually `(swap-keys 65 66)', because `?A' is
4017 merely notation for 65, the ASCII value of `A'.
4018
4019 NOTE: These functions only work for single characters. You cannot swap
4020 two multi-character sequences.
4021
4022137: How do I produce C-XXX with my keyboard?
4023
4024 For C-@ and C-^, often you can just type Control-2 and Control-6. For
4025 C-_, you may have to hold down the shift key, typing Control-Shift-Hyphen.
4026 C-@ can often be generated by typing Control-Space. C-@ is often called
4027 the NUL character, and has ASCII value 0. C-_ can often be generated by
4028 typing Control-7 or Control-/. C-? (aka DEL) may be generated by typing
4029 Shift-BackSpace or Control-BackSpace or a key labelled Delete or Del.
4030
4031 Try Control with all of the digits on your keyboard to see what gets
4032 generated.
4033
4034138: What if I don't have a Meta key?
4035
4036 Instead of typing M-a, you can type "ESC a" instead. In fact, Emacs
4037 converts M-a internally into "ESC a" anyway (depending on the value of
4038 meta-prefix-char).
4039
4040139: What if I don't have an Escape key?
4041
4042 Type C-[ instead. This should send ASCII code 27 just like an Escape
4043 key would. Try also C-;.
4044
4045140: How do I type DEL on PC terminal emulators?
4046
4047 Some IBM PC compatibles do not have a key labeled `Del' or `Delete' {is
4048 this true?}. Those that do generally have it in an inconvenient location.
4049 (Also, in some terminal emulators, the `Del' key does not transmit DEL.)
4050 The result is the standard "BackSpace invoking help" problem (see question
4051 133).
4052
4053 The usual solution, suggested by Michael Covington
4054 <mcovingt@aisun1.ai.uga.edu>, is to somehow tell the terminal emulator
4055 program that BackSpace should transmit DEL. Read the program's manual.
4056 Shift-BackSpace or Control-BackSpace may send DEL. The `Del' key may only
4057 send DEL if the NumLock key hasn't been pressed.
4058
4059141: Can I make my `Compose Character' key behave like a Meta key?
4060
4061 On a dumb terminal such as a VT220, no. It is rumored that certain VT220
4062 clones could have their Compose key configured this way. If you're using
4063 X, you might be able to do this with the `xmodmap' program (this is
4064 what I do).
4065
4066142: How do I bind a combination of modifier key and function key?
4067
4068 Unless you're using Emacs under emacstool (or xvetool?), have a working
4069 version of x-rebind-key (see question 128), or are using Emacs 19 (Lucid
4070 Emacs), you can't do this with Emacs alone.
4071
4072 If you are using emacstool, Emacs sees different character sequences for
4073 the combination of a modifier and a function key from what it sees for the
4074 function key alone. See etc/emacstool.1 for more information. Since
4075 Emacs sees different character sequences, you can bind these different
4076 sequences to different commands.
2229 4077
2230 If you are running Emacs inside a terminal emulator window like xterm, you 4078 If you are running Emacs inside a terminal emulator window like xterm, you
2231 can modify its translation tables to make it generate different character 4079 can modify its translation tables to make it generate different character
@@ -2236,31 +4084,49 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
2236 Shift<KeyPress>F1: string(0x1b) string("[xyzzy") 4084 Shift<KeyPress>F1: string(0x1b) string("[xyzzy")
2237 4085
2238 makes Shift-F1 generate the character sequence "ESC [ xyzzy". You can 4086 makes Shift-F1 generate the character sequence "ESC [ xyzzy". You can
2239 bind these character sequences in Emacs as normal. 4087 bind these character sequences in Emacs as normal. Nick Ruprecht
4088 <ruprecht@informatik.uni-freiburg.de> has written an extensive X
4089 translation mapping for xterm that does this. {Does this have an FTP
4090 site?}
4091
4092 If you have x-rebind-key, you can have any arbitrary combination of
4093 modifiers with a key replaced by any sequence of "normal" characters. For
4094 example, this makes Shift-Return behave as though you had typed "C-x C-e"
4095 (example from Jerry Graves):
4096
4097 (x-rebind-key "Return" 'shift "\C-x\C-e")
4098
4099 In Emacs 19 (Lucid Emacs), you can bind Meta-Left-Arrow like this (example
4100 from Jamie Zawinski):
2240 4101
224166: Why doesn't my Meta key work in an xterm window? 4102 (global-set-key '(meta left) 'backward-word)
4103
4104 With the last two methods, use `xmodmap' and `xev' to discover the keysym
4105 and modifier names.
4106
4107143: Why doesn't my Meta key work in an xterm window?
2242 4108
2243 Try all of these methods before asking for further help: 4109 Try all of these methods before asking for further help:
2244 4110
2245 * If you are using `olwm' as your window manager, switch to another window + 4111 * You may have big problems using `mwm' as your window manager. {Does
2246 manager. :-) {Seriously though, does anyone know a good generic + 4112 anyone know a good generic solution to allow the use of the Meta key in
2247 solution to allow the use of the Meta key with Emacs under olwm?} + 4113 Emacs with mwm?}
2248 + 4114
2249 * For X11R4: Make sure it really is a Meta key. Use "xev" to find out + 4115 * For X11R4: Make sure it really is a Meta key. Use `xev' to find out
2250 what keysym your Meta key generates. It should be either Meta_L or 4116 what keysym your Meta key generates. It should be either Meta_L or
2251 Meta_R. If it isn't, use xmodmap to fix the situation. 4117 Meta_R. If it isn't, use xmodmap to fix the situation.
2252 4118
2253 * Make sure the pty the xterm is using is passing 8 bit characters. 4119 * Make sure the pty the xterm is using is passing 8 bit characters.
2254 "stty -a" (or "stty everything") should show "cs8" somewhere. If it 4120 `stty -a' (or `stty everything') should show `cs8' somewhere. If it
2255 shows "cs7" instead, use "stty cs8 -istrip" (or "stty pass8") to fix 4121 shows `cs7' instead, use `stty cs8 -istrip' (or `stty pass8') to fix
2256 it. 4122 it.
2257 4123
2258 * If there is an rlogin connection between the xterm and the Emacs, the 4124 * If there is an rlogin connection between the xterm and the Emacs, the
2259 "-8" argument may need to be given to rlogin to make it pass all 8 4125 `-8' argument may need to be given to rlogin to make it pass all 8
2260 bits of every character. 4126 bits of every character.
2261 4127
2262 * If the Emacs is running under Ultrix, it is reported that evaluating ! 4128 * If the Emacs is running under Ultrix, it is reported that evaluating
2263 (set-input-mode t nil) helps. + 4129 (set-input-mode t nil) helps.
2264 4130
2265 * If all else fails, you can make xterm generate "ESC W" when you type 4131 * If all else fails, you can make xterm generate "ESC W" when you type
2266 M-W, which is the same conversion Emacs would make if it got the M-W 4132 M-W, which is the same conversion Emacs would make if it got the M-W
@@ -2275,9 +4141,9 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
2275 XTerm.VT100.Translations: #override \ 4141 XTerm.VT100.Translations: #override \
2276 Meta<KeyPress>: string(0x1b) insert() 4142 Meta<KeyPress>: string(0x1b) insert()
2277 4143
2278 You might have to replace "Meta" with "Alt". 4144 You might have to replace `Meta' with `Alt'.
2279 4145
228067: Why doesn't my ExtendChar key work as a Meta key under HP-UX 8.0? 4146144: Why doesn't my ExtendChar key work as a Meta key under HP-UX 8.0?
2281 4147
2282 This is a result of an internationalization extension in X11R4 and the 4148 This is a result of an internationalization extension in X11R4 and the
2283 fact that HP is now using this extension. Emacs assumes that 4149 fact that HP is now using this extension. Emacs assumes that
@@ -2291,402 +4157,338 @@ Binding Keys to Commands
2291 NOTE: This will disable the use of the extra keysyms systemwide, which 4157 NOTE: This will disable the use of the extra keysyms systemwide, which
2292 may be undesirable if you actually intend to use them. 4158 may be undesirable if you actually intend to use them.
2293 4159
229468: Where can I get key bindings to make Emacs emulate WordStar? 4160145: Where can I get key bindings to make Emacs emulate WordStar?
2295
2296 Look for the package `wordstar' in the Emacs Lisp Archive (see question
2297 18).
2298
2299
2300
2301Building/Installing/Porting Emacs and Machine/OS-Specific Bugs -
2302
230369: Why does Emacs crash with "Fatal error (6).Abort" under SunOS 4.1?
2304
2305 I had hoped this question would go away after Emacs 18.57 was released,
2306 but people continue to compile 18.55.
2307
2308 There is a bug in the "localtime" routine supplied with SunOS 4.1. A
2309 private function called by tzsetwall zeroes the byte just past an eight
2310 byte region it mallocs. This corrupts GNU malloc's memory pool. When GNU
2311 malloc detects this it aborts.
2312
2313 In the 18.57 release "#define SYSTEM_MALLOC" was added to the !
2314 configuration file for SunOS 4.1, which allowed Emacs to work. However, !
2315 Sun's realloc behaves horribly when alternated with malloc, so your +
2316 process size can balloon rapidly in certain situations quickly using up +
2317 all available memory. Thus, you may prefer the approach taken by Emacs +
2318 18.58, which has a different fix that makes GNU's malloc always allocate +
2319 at least 16 bytes. +
2320 +
2321 Eirik Fuller <eirik@theory.tn.cornell.edu> supplies most of the following +
2322 information: +
2323
2324 In SunOS 4.1.1, it appears that Sun has still not fixed their bug, since
2325 the localtime.o file did not change. They must be aware of it since they
2326 suggest using "#define SYSTEM_MALLOC" to compile Emacs in their
2327 documentation. It is reported that this same bug causes mysterious
2328 behavior in Sun's /usr/etc/rpc.mountd.
2329
2330 For people who want to fix this problem for real, there is a fixed version
2331 of the localtime.o file available via anonymous FTP (titan.rice.edu:
2332 incoming/localtime.tar.Z). {Someone has reported that this file is now
2333 missing.} The new localtime.o file should be installed in the
2334 /usr/lib/libc{.a,.so.*} files. Read the `ar' man page and the README file
2335 in /usr/lib/shlib.etc for instructions. -
2336
2337 Now stop asking this question! :-) :-)
2338
233970: Why do I get an "f68881_used undefined" error, when I build Emacs on my
2340 Sun 3?
2341
2342 Barry A. Warsaw <warsaw@cme.nist.gov> writes:
2343
2344 Some of the code that is being linked on the "ld" line of emacs' build
2345 command has been compiled with the -f68881 option. Most common reason
2346 is that you're linking with X libraries which were built with -f68881
2347 option set. You need to either remove all dependencies to the 68881
2348 (may mean a recompile of the X libraries with -fswitch or -fsoft
2349 option), or you need to link emacs with the 68881 startup file
2350 /usr/lib/Mcrt1.o. Make this change to src/ymakefile:
2351
2352 change: #define START_FILES crt0.o
2353 to: #define START_FILES crt0.o /usr/lib/Mcrt1.o
2354
2355 The order of these start files is critical.
2356
235771: Why does Emacs ignore my X resources (my .Xdefaults file)?
2358
2359 * Try compiling Emacs with the XBACKWARDS macro defined. There is a bug
2360 in some implementations of XGetDefault, which do not correspond to the
2361 documentation or the header files.
2362
2363 * Make sure you are either using the class name of `Emacs' or the correct
2364 instance name. The instance name is normally the same as the name of
2365 the file Emacs is in (ie., the last part of argv[0]), but this can be
2366 overridden by -rn command line option or the WM_RES_NAME environment
2367 variable.
2368
2369 WARNING: The advice the man page gives to use `emacs' is often wrong.
2370
2371 WARNING: Older versions of Emacs got the class name wrong.
2372
2373 * Emacs currently ignores the -xrm command line argument. !
2374
2375 * Emacs does not yet handle X11R5 screen-specific resources.
2376
2377 * Emacs has a bug where it ignores color specifications if running on a
2378 1-bit display (ie. a non-color display).
2379
238072: How do I get Emacs to compile with all features under OpenWindows?
2381 4161
2382 Problems fixed in 18.58: the reference to include file <X11/X10.h>, ! 4162 There is a package `wordstar' by Jim Frost <jimf@saber.com> and
2383 linking with the OpenWindows libX11.a. ! 4163 `ws-mode.el' by Juergen Nickelsen <nickel@cs.tu-berlin.de>. Check in the
4164 Emacs Lisp Archive (see question 89).
2384 4165
2385 If libX11.a is missing, you may need to use `add_services' to add the + 4166146: Where can I get an XEDIT emulator for Emacs?
2386 `OpenWindows Programmers' optional software category from the CD-ROM. To +
2387 get the Xmenu stuff to work, you need to find a copy of MIT's liboldX.a.
2388 4167
2389 Questions for the net {please send me answers!}: 4168 This question comes up once every couple of months. I have never seen a
2390 4169 positive reply, so I presume no one has ever written one.
2391 * Are compiled versions of liboldX.A for Sun 4s running SunOS 4.*
2392 available for FTP anywhere?
2393 * What is the solution to the "not a sun window" problem with xvetool? -
2394
239573: How do I build Emacs under HP-UX 8.0?
2396
2397 Problems fixed in 18.58: missing errnet.h, "Cannot do arithmetic with !
2398 pointers to objects of unknown size" (void *), not finding -lX11, unexec !
2399 making a bad dumped emacs due to shared libraries ("Fatal Error(11)- !
2400 Segmentation Fault", I think). !
2401 !
2402 If libX11.a is missing, you may need to run `update' again to load the !
2403 X11-PRG "fileset". This may be missing even if you specified "all !
2404 filesets" the first time. !
2405
240674: What should I do if I have trouble building Emacs?
2407
2408 First look in the file etc/PROBLEMS to see if there is already a solution
2409 for your problem. Next check the FAQ (you're reading it). If you don't
2410 find a solution, then report your problem via e-mail to
2411 bug-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu. Please do not post it to gnu.emacs.help or
2412 e-mail it to help-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu. For further guidelines, see +
2413 question 23. +
2414 4170
2415 4171
2416 4172
2417Weird/Confusing Problems - 4173Using Emacs with Alternate Character Sets
2418 4174
241975: Does Emacs have problems with files larger than 8 megabytes? 4175147: How do I make Emacs display 8-bit characters?
2420
2421 Most installed versions of GNU Emacs will use 24-bit signed integers (and +
2422 24-bit pointers) internally. This limits the file size that Emacs can !
2423 handle to 8,388,607 bytes (2^23 - 1). !
2424 4176
2425 Leonard N. Zubkoff <lnz@lucid.com> suggests putting the following two ! 4177 There is a patch called the `8-bit ctl-arrow patch' that allows Emacs to
2426 lines in src/config.h before compiling Emacs to allow for 26-bit integers ! 4178 display characters with codes from 128 to 255. {The original appears to
2427 and pointers (and thus filesizes of up to 33,554,431 bytes): + 4179 have been by Kenneth Cline <cline@proof.ergo.cs.cmu.edu>.} Partially based
2428 4180 on Johan Widen's earlier work, Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> has updated this
2429 #define VALBITS 26 4181 patch for Emacs 18.58 along with some other 8-bit improvements.
2430 #define GCTYPEBITS 5
2431
2432 WARNING: This method may result in `ILLEGAL DATATYPE' errors on some +
2433 machines. +
2434
2435 David Gillespie <daveg@csvax.cs.caltech.edu> gives an explanation of why
2436 Emacs uses 24 bit integers and pointers:
2437
2438 Emacs is largely written in a dialect of Lisp; Lisp is a freely-typed
2439 language in the sense that you can put any value of any type into any
2440 variable, or return it from a function, and so on. So each value must
2441 carry a "tag" along with it identifying what kind of thing it is, e.g.,
2442 integer, pointer to a list, pointer to an editing buffer, and so on.
2443 Emacs uses standard 32-bit integers for data objects, taking the top 8
2444 bits for the tag and the bottom 24 bits for the value. So integers (and
2445 pointers) are somewhat restricted compared to true C integers and
2446 pointers.
2447
2448 Emacs uses 8-bit tags because that's a little faster on byte-oriented
2449 machines, but there are only really enough tags to require 6 bits. -
2450
245176: Why does Emacs start up using the wrong directory?
2452
2453 Most likely, you have an environment variable named PWD that is set to a
2454 value other than the name of your current directory. This is most
2455 likely caused by using two different shell programs. "ksh" and (some
2456 versions of) "csh" set and maintain the value of the PWD environment
2457 variable, but "sh" doesn't. If you start sh from ksh, change your
2458 current directory inside sh, and then start Emacs from inside sh, PWD
2459 will have the wrong value but Emacs will use this value. See the
2460 etc/OPTIONS file for more details.
2461
2462 Perhaps an easier solution is not to use two shells. The "chsh" program
2463 can often be used to change one's default login shell.
2464
246577: How do I edit a file with a "$" in its name?
2466
2467 When entering a filename in the minibuffer, Emacs will attempt to expand
2468 a "$" followed by a word as an environment variable. To suppress this
2469 behavior, type "$$" instead.
2470
247178: Why does Shell mode lose track of the shell's current directory?
2472
2473 Emacs has no way of knowing when the shell actually changes its directory.
2474 This is an intrinsic limitation of Unix. So it tries to guess by
2475 recognizing "cd" commands. If you type "cd" followed by a directory name
2476 with a variable reference ("cd $HOME/bin") or with a shell metacharacter
2477 ("cd ../lib*"), Emacs will fail to correctly guess the shell's new current
2478 directory. A huge variety of fixes and enhancements to Shell mode for !
2479 this problem have been written to handle this problem. Check the Lisp
2480 Code Directory (see question 17).
2481
248279: Why doesn't Emacs expand my aliases when sending mail?
2483 4182
2484 * You must separate multiple addresses in the headers of the mail buffer + 4183 Anonymous FTP:
2485 with commas. This is because Emacs supports RFC822 standard addresses 4184 /ftp.eu.net:gnu/emacs/FP-EightBit.Z
2486 like this one: 4185 /ftp.urc.tue.nl:/pub/tex/emacs/FP-EightBit +
4186 /cs.purdue.edu:pub/ygz/cemacs.tar.Z:cemacs/8bit-patch-18.57
4187 /sics.se:archive/emacs-18.55-8bit-diff
4188 /laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-8bit-18.55
4189 /laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-8bit-18.57
2487 4190
2488 To: Willy Smith <wks@xpnsv.lwyrs.com> + 4191 Via e-mail:
4192 To: mail-server@sics.se
4193 body: send emacs-18.55-8bit-diff
2489 4194
2490 However, you do not need to separate addresses with commas in your + 4195 Anders Edenbrandt <anderse@dna.lth.se> has produced a more comprehensive
2491 .mailrc file. + 4196 patch for Emacs 18.59 that allows for 8-bit input and output. !
2492 +
2493 WARNING: Emacs breaks up aliases in the .mailrc file into multiple +
2494 addresses both on commas and on whitespace, regardless of any use of +
2495 quotes. This is probably a bug. You can get around this by directly +
2496 setting the value of mail-aliases. +
2497 4197
2498 * Emacs normally only reads the ".mailrc" file once per session, when you 4198 Anonymous FTP:
2499 start to compose your first mail message. If you edit .mailrc, you can 4199 /ftp.efd.lth.se:pub/gnu/emacs_8-bit.patch !
2500 type "M-ESC (build-mail-aliases) RET" to make Emacs reread .mailrc. 4200 !
2501 (You have to include the parentheses where they are shown!) 4201 In the words of the author: !
4202 !
4203 With these patches, Emacs becomes fully 8-bit operational. There is !
4204 support for displaying 8-bit characters, as well as for entering such !
4205 characters from the keyboard. In addition, upcase/lowcase tranlatsion !
4206 is supported, accented characters are recognized as "letters" (important !
4207 when doing 'forward-word', for example), and text with 8-bit characters !
4208 can be sorted correctly. !
4209 !
4210 A Meta-shift key can still be used, provided that you run in an !
4211 environment where it is possible to distinguish between a character !
4212 entered using the Meta-shift key and one entered directly. The diffs !
4213 include patches to make this work under SunView (with emacstool) as !
4214 well as under X. If you can't use a Meta-shift key, you have to enter !
4215 Meta-commands with the ESC-prefix. !
4216
4217 The most comprehensive patches for 8-bit output are by Howard Gayle
4218 (originally for Emacs 18.55. These patches allow displaying any arbitrary
4219 string for a given 8-bit character (except TAB and C-j). Also supported
4220 is defining the sorting order and the uppercase and lowercase
4221 translations. It is reported that the 8-bit character support in Emacs 19
4222 is largely based on these patches. Thomas Bellman
4223 <Bellman@lysator.liu.se> has updated these patches for Emacs 18.59. !
2502 4224
2503 * Emacs does not interpret vendor-specific additions to the format of the 4225 Anonymous FTP:
2504 .mailrc file such as the `source' command. It also ignores any `set' + 4226 /sics.se:archive/emacs-gayle.tar.Z (patches for 18.55)
2505 commands. The only commands it looks at are `alias' and `group' + 4227 /ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/emacs/gayle-18.58.diff.tar.Z (patches) !
2506 commands. + 4228 /ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/emacs/emacs-18.59-gayle.tar.Z (patched Emacs) !
2507 4229
250880: Why doesn't my change to load-path work? 4230 Epoch's 8-bit character support is based on Anders Edenbrandt's patches. !
4231 Lucid Emacs has the ctl-arrow patch installed. Nemacs displays 8-bit
4232 characters, and it may be useful for displaying the 8-bit ISO-8859
4233 alphabet, but I don't know for sure (see question 149).
2509 4234
2510 If you added a directory name containing a tilde (~) to your load-path, 4235148: How do I input 8-bit characters?
2511 expecting the tilde to be interpreted as your home directory, then you
2512 need to do something like this:
2513 4236
2514 (setq load-path (mapcar 'expand-file-name load-path)) 4237 Minor modes for ISO Latin-1 that allow one to easily input this character
4238 set have been written by several people. Such modes have been written by
4239 Matthieu Herrb <matthieu@laas.fr> (laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/iso-latin-1.el),
4240 Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> {FTP site??}, and Marc Shapiro
4241 <shapiro@sor.inria.fr> {FTP site??}.
2515 4242
251681: Why does the cursor always go to the wrong column when I move up or 4243 These approaches differ from the one taken by Anders Edenbrandt in that
2517 down one line? 4244 his method uses direct 8-bit input, while these methods use a compose
4245 sequence for 8-bit characters. {I have heard conflicting reports on
4246 whether this results in losing the Meta key. Perhaps this depends on
4247 whether Emacs is running under X. Can someone resolve this?}
2518 4248
2519 You have inadvertently typed "C-x C-n" (set-goal-column) which sets the 4249 Karl Heuer <karl@haddock.ima.isc.com> is said to have a patch to allow
2520 "goal-column" to the column where the cursor was. To undo this type 4250 8-bit input. Georg-Wilhelm Koltermann <gwk@crmunich0.cray.com> also has a
2521 "C-u C-x C-n". 4251 patch for either 18.57 or 18.58 that allows 8-bit input.
2522 4252
2523 If you make this mistake frequently, you might want to unbind or disable 4253 Epoch comes with a patch that allows it to input 8-bit characters, but it
2524 this command by doing one of these two: 4254 is not enabled by default. {Is this right?}
2525 4255
2526 (define-key ctl-x-map "\C-n" nil) 4256 Jamie Zawinski says:
2527 (put 'set-goal-column 'disabled t)
2528 4257
252982: Why does Emacs hang with message "Unknown XMenu error" with X11R4? + 4258 Lucid GNU Emacs allows the input of any ISO-8859/1 keysyms that your
4259 keyboard generates (see xmodmap), and contains a package that implements
4260 a DEC/OpenWindows-like "Compose" key for systems which don't have one.
2530 4261
2531 Many different X errors can produce this message. Here is the solution 4262149: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle kanji characters?
2532 to one problem:
2533 4263
2534 X11 Release 4 (and later, including OpenWindows) enforces some conditions ! 4264 Nemacs 3.3.2 (Nihongo GNU Emacs) is a modified version of GNU Emacs 18.55
2535 in the X protocol that were previously allowed to pass unnoticed. You 4265 that handles kanji characters. It is available via anonymous FTP:
2536 need to put the X11R4 server into X11R3 bug compatibility mode for Emacs's
2537 Xmenu code to work. You can do this with the command "xset bc".
2538 4266
253983: Why doesn't display-time show the load average in the mode line 4267 /crl.nmsu.edu:pub/misc/nemacs-3.3.2.tar.Z
2540 anymore? 4268 /miki.cs.titech.ac.jp:JAPAN/nemacs/nemacs-3.3.2.tar.Z -
2541 4269
2542 In GNU Emacs 18.56, a change was made in the display-time code. 4270 You might also need files for "wnn", a kanji input method
2543 Formerly, in version 18.55, Emacs used a program named "loadst" to 4271 (wnn-4.0.3{-README,.tar.Z} {on which machine?}). You need a terminal (or
2544 notify Emacs of the change in time every minute. loadst also sent Emacs 4272 terminal emulator) that can display text encoded in JIS, Shift-JIS, or EUC
2545 the system load average if it was installed with sufficient privilege to 4273 (Extended Unix Code), or the ability to run Nemacs as a direct X Window
2546 get that information (or was on a system where no such privilege was 4274 client.
2547 needed). Emacs then displayed this information in the mode line.
2548 4275
2549 In version 18.56, this code was changed to use a program named "wakeup". 4276150: Where can I get an Emacs that can handle Chinese?
2550 wakeup doesn't send Emacs any information, it's only purpose is to send
2551 Emacs *something* every minute, thus invoking the filter function in
2552 Emacs once a minute. The filter function in Emacs does all the work of
2553 finding the time, date, and load average. However, getting the load
2554 average requires the privilege to read kernel memory on most systems.
2555 Since giving Emacs this privilege would destroy any security a system
2556 might have, for almost everyone this is not an option. In addition,
2557 Emacs does not have the code built into it to get this information on
2558 the systems which have special system calls for this purpose, even
2559 though loadst had code for this.
2560
2561 The solution I use is to get the files lisp/display-time.el and
2562 etc/loadst.c from version 18.55 and use those with 18.58. (I have heard !
2563 a rumor that loadst disappeared because of the legal action Unipress
2564 threatened against IBM.)
2565
2566 WARNING: Do not install Emacs setgid kmem unless you wish to destroy
2567 any security your system might have!!!!!!!!!!
2568 4277
2569 If you are using Emacs 18.55 or earlier, or already using the solution I 4278 `cemacs' by Stephen G. Simpson <simpson@math.psu.edu> is a patch to Emacs
2570 describe above, read further: 4279 18.57 (the ctl-arrow patch) and some Emacs Lisp code that combined with
4280 Cxterm allows using Chinese characters. It is available via anonymous
4281 FTP:
2571 4282
2572 The most likely cause of the problem is that "loadst" can't read the 4283 /crl.nmsu.edu:pub/chinese/cemacs.tar.Z
2573 special file /dev/kmem. To properly install loadst, it should be either 4284 /cs.purdue.edu:pub/ygz/cemacs.tar.Z
2574 setuid to the owner of /dev/kmem, or is should be setgid to the group to
2575 which /dev/kmem belongs. In either case, /dev/kmem should be readable by
2576 its owner or its group, respectively.
2577 4285
2578 Another possibility is that your version of Unix doesn't have the load 4286 Cxterm is available from the same place:
2579 average data available in /dev/kmem. Your version of Unix might have a
2580 special system call to retrieve this information (eg., inq_stats under
2581 UMAX), and loadst might not have been enhanced to cope with this.
2582 4287
258384: Why doesn't GNUS work anymore via NNTP? 4288 /cs.purdue.edu:pub/ygz/cxterm-11.5.1.tar.Z
2584 4289
2585 There is a bug in NNTP version 1.5.10, such that when multiple requests 4290151: Where is an Emacs that can handle Semitic (right-to-left) alphabets?
2586 are sent to the NNTP server, the server only handles the first one before
2587 blocking waiting for more input which never comes. NNTP version 1.5.11
2588 claims to fix this.
2589 4291
2590 You can work around the bug inside Emacs like this: 4292 Joel M. Hoffman <joel@wam.umd.edu> writes:
2591 4293
2592 (setq nntp-maximum-request 1) 4294 A couple of years ago a wrote a hebrew.el file that allows right-to-left
4295 editing of Hebrew. I relied on the hardware to display the Hebrew
4296 letters, given the right codes, but not for any right-to-left support;
4297 the hardware also doesn't have to send any specific char. codes. Emacs
4298 keeps track of when the user is typing Hebrew vs. English. (The VT-*
4299 terminals in Israel contain built-in support for Hebrew.)
2593 4300
2594 I also have a patch for NNTP 1.5.10 by Mike Pelletier 4301 To get it to work I had to modify only a few lines of GNU Emacs's source
2595 <stealth@engin.umich.edu> that is based on the timeout code that was in 4302 code --- just enough to make it 8-bit clean.
2596 1.5.9. However, please try to upgrade to 1.5.11 first.
2597 4303
2598 You can find out what version of NNTP your news server is running by 4304 [and in a separate message:]
2599 telnetting to the NNTP port (usually 119) on the news server machine (ie.,
2600 `telnet server-machine 119'). The server should give its version number
2601 in the welcome message. Type `quit' to get out.
2602 4305
260385: Why does ispell sometimes ignore the local dictionary? 4306 It doesn't produce time-order ["sefer" format] (I wouldn't recommend
4307 trying that with emacs, because converting time-order to screen-order
4308 with arbitrarily long lines is a bit tricky), but I also concocted a
4309 quick filter to convert screen-order into time-order. I'll be happy to
4310 send you the requisite files if you want them. If you're using it for
4311 anything large, however, you'll want something that works better.
2604 4312
2605 You need to update the version of ispell to 2.0.02. (Or you can switch to 4313 Joel Hoffman has also written a "bi-directional bi-lingual Emacs-like"
2606 version 3.0 which is still in beta-testing.) A patch is available via 4314 editor for MS-DOS named Ibelbe (Itty Bitty Emacs-Like Bidirectional
2607 anonymous FTP (archive.cis.ohio-state.edu: /pub/gnu/ispell/patch2.Z). 4315 Editor). Ibelbe is written in Turbo Pascal and comes with source code.
4316 Here is the description:
2608 4317
2609 You also need to change a line in ispell.el from: 4318 Ibelbe looks like emacs (it even has a minibuffer and filename
4319 completion), and fully supports both right-to-left and left-to-right
4320 editing. Other than an EGA monitor or better, no special hardware is
4321 required. You will need an EGA Hebrew font to use Ibelbe with Hebrew.
2610 4322
2611 (defconst ispell-version "2.0.01") ; Check against output of "ispell -v". 4323 Anonymous FTP:
4324 /israel.nysernet.org:israel/msdos/ibelbe.zip
4325 /israel.nysernet.org:israel/msdos/hebfont.zip
2612 4326
2613 to: 4327 Joseph Friedman <yossi@deshaw.com, yossi@Neon.Stanford.EDU> has written
4328 patches for Emacs 18.55 and 18.58 that provide Semitic language support
4329 under X Windows.
2614 4330
2615 (defconst ispell-version "2.0.02") ; Check against output of "ispell -v". 4331 Warren Burstein <warren@itex.jct.ac.il> says he has mapped 7-bit keys by
4332 modifying self-insert-command "for Hebrew input on 7-bit keyboards".
2616 4333
261786: How do I get rid of the ^M junk in my Shell buffer? 4334 A good suggestion is to query archie for files named with `hebrew'.
2618 4335
2619 For tcsh, put this in your ".cshrc" (or ".tcshrc") file: 4336
4337
4338---------------------------------------------------------------------- +
4339Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells +
4340Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes +
4341 +
4342This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers +
4343("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other +
4344formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS, etc.), and updated with new +
4345information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as +
4346apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice +
4347or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining +
4348the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and +
4349information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including +
4350FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these +
4351conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary +
4352work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution. +
4353
4354
4355 GNU Emacs FAQ: Mail and News
4356
4357This portion of the GNU Emacs FAQ list is cross-posted to `gnu.emacs.gnus'
4358because many of the questions herein deal with GNUS. See `gnu.emacs.help' for
4359the rest of the FAQ list.
4360
4361If you are viewing this text in a GNU Emacs Buffer, you can type "M-2 C-x $" to
4362get an overview of just the questions. Then, when you want to look at the text
4363of the answers, just type "C-x $".
4364
4365To search for a question numbered XXX, type "M-C-s ^XXX:", followed by a C-r if
4366that doesn't work, then type ESC to end the search.
4367
4368A `+' in the 78th column means something was inserted on the line. A `-' means
4369something was deleted and a `!' means some combination of insertions and
4370deletions occurred.
4371
4372Full instructions for getting the latest FAQ are in question 22. Also see the
4373`Introduction to news.answers' posting in the `news.answers' newsgroup, or send
4374e-mail to `mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with `help' on a body line, or use FTP,
4375WAIS, or Prospero to rtfm.mit.edu.
4376
4377
4378
4379Mail and News
4380
4381152: How do I change the included text prefix in mail/news followups?
2620 4382
2621 if ($?EMACS) then 4383 Many people want Emacs to prefix included text with something like ` > '
2622 if ("$EMACS" == t) then 4384 instead of with three spaces. One way is to change the code of the
2623 if ($?tcsh) unset edit 4385 function `mail-yank-original' in lisp/sendmail.el that prefixes with
2624 stty nl 4386 spaces. A more flexible solution is to use Supercite, which provides wide
2625 endif 4387 configurability in how you format included text in replies. See question
2626 endif 4388 107. Both of these solutions work for RMAIL and GNUS.
2627 4389
2628 Or put this in your .emacs_tcsh file: 4390 A related problem is how to prevent Emacs from including various headers
4391 of the replied-to message. For this, you should set the value of
4392 mail-yank-ignored-headers, which takes a regexp value.
2629 4393
2630 unset edit 4394153: How do I save a copy of outgoing mail?
2631 stty nl
2632 4395
2633 Alternatively, use csh in your Shell buffers instead of tcsh. One way 4396 Two methods:
2634 is:
2635 4397
2636 (setq explicit-shell-file-name "/bin/csh") 4398 1. (setq mail-self-blind t) will result in a `BCC:' header line with your
4399 address being added to mail composition buffers. This will cause the
4400 mail system to send a copy of the mail back to you.
2637 4401
2638 and another is to do this in your .cshrc (or .tcshrc) file: 4402 2. (setq mail-archive-file-name (expand-file-name "~/outgoing")) will
4403 result in an `FCC:' header line with the pathname of ~/outgoing being
4404 added to mail composition buffers. When you send the mail, Emacs will
4405 save a copy of the mail in the file ~/outgoing and then strip off the
4406 `FCC:' line before actually sending.
2639 4407
2640 setenv ESHELL /bin/csh 4408 WARNING: There is a bug in Emacs 18.58 that prevents mail readers such
4409 as RMAIL from reading the saved mail messages individually. See
4410 question 155.
2641 4411
2642 (You must start Emacs over again with the environment variable properly 4412 WARNING: If you are visiting the file ~/outgoing at the time you send
2643 set for this to take effect.) 4413 the mail, this can cause a variety of horrible problems. Jamie
4414 Zawinski has written a solution for this.
2644 4415
264587: Are there any security risks in GNU Emacs? 4416 It does not work to put `set record filename' in the .mailrc file.
2646 4417
2647 1. the `movemail' incident (No, this is not a risk.) 4418154: Why doesn't Emacs expand my aliases when sending mail?
2648 4419
2649 Cliff Stoll in his book "The Cuckoo's Egg" describes this in chapter 4. 4420 * You must separate multiple addresses in the headers of the mail buffer
2650 The site at LBL had installed the `etc/movemail' program setuid root. 4421 with commas. This is because Emacs supports RFC822 standard addresses
2651 Since `movemail' had not been designed for this situation, a security 4422 like this one:
2652 hole was created and users could get root priveleges.
2653 4423
2654 `movemail' has since been changed so that even if it is installed 4424 To: Willy Smith <wks@xpnsv.lwyrs.com>
2655 setuid root this security hole will not be a result.
2656 4425
2657 I have heard reports that the Internet worm took advantage of this 4426 However, you do not need to separate addresses with commas in your
2658 configuration problem. 4427 .mailrc file.
2659 4428
2660 2. the file-local-variable feature (Yes, a risk, but easy to change.) 4429 WARNING: Emacs breaks up aliases in the .mailrc file into multiple
4430 addresses both on commas and on whitespace, regardless of any use of
4431 quotes. This is probably a bug. You can get around this by directly
4432 setting the value of mail-aliases.
2661 4433
2662 There is an Emacs feature that allows the setting of local values for 4434 * Emacs normally only reads the `.mailrc' file once per session, when you
2663 variables when editing a file by including specially formatted text 4435 start to compose your first mail message. If you edit .mailrc, you can
2664 near the end of the file. This feature also includes the ability to 4436 type "M-ESC (build-mail-aliases) RET" to make Emacs reread .mailrc.
2665 have arbitrary Emacs Lisp code evaluated when the file is visited. 4437 (You have to include the parentheses where they are shown!)
2666 Obviously, there is a potential for Trojan horses to exploit this
2667 feature.
2668 4438
2669 However, if you set the variable inhibit-local-variables to a non-nil 4439 * Emacs does not interpret vendor-specific additions to the format of the
2670 value, Emacs will display the special local variable settings of a file 4440 .mailrc file such as the `source' command. It also ignores any `set'
2671 that you visit and ask you if you really want them. It is reasonable 4441 commands. The only commands it looks at are `alias' and `group'
2672 to do this in lisp/site-init.el before building Emacs: 4442 commands.
4443
4444155: Why does RMAIL think all my saved messages are one big message?
4445
4446 There is a bug for FCC-ed messages in Emacs 18.58 where it adds a timezone
4447 on the "From " line after the year instead of before the year. (Before it
4448 didn't add the timezone at all.) This is incompatible with the standard
4449 format for the "From " line, and RMAIL in particular can no longer
4450 distinguish between the messages. Karl Berry <karl@cs.umb.edu>, Felix Lee
4451 <flee@cs.psu.edu>, Nick Gianniotis <nico@japan.sbi.com> and many
4452 others have all posted patches for this. Karl's is the simplest and just
4453 stops Emacs from adding the timezone:
4454
4455 >*** ./ORIG/sendmail.el Tue Jan 28 16:22:56 1992
4456 >--- ./sendmail.el Thu May 14 18:23:48 1992
4457 >***************
4458 >*** 285,287 ****
4459 > (insert "\nFrom " (user-login-name) " "
4460 >! (current-time-string) " " timezone "\n")
4461 > (insert-buffer-substring rmailbuf)
4462 >--- 285,287 ----
4463 > (insert "\nFrom " (user-login-name) " "
4464 >! (current-time-string) "\n")
4465 > (insert-buffer-substring rmailbuf)
4466
4467156: How can I sort the messages in my RMAIL folder?
4468
4469 Use rmailsort.el by Masanobu Umeda.
4470
4471157: Why does RMAIL need to write to /usr/spool/mail?
4472
4473 This is the behavior of the `movemail' program which RMAIL uses. This
4474 indicates that movemail is configured to use lock files.
2673 4475
2674 (setq inhibit-local-variables t) 4476 RMS writes:
2675 4477
2676 If Emacs has already been built, the expression can be put in 4478 Certain systems require lock files to interlock access to mail files.
2677 lisp/default.el instead, or an individual can put it in their own 4479 On these systems, movemail must write lock files, or you risk losing
2678 .emacs file. 4480 mail. You simply must arrange to let movemail write them.
2679 4481
2680 The ability to exploit this feature by sending e-mail to an RMAIL user 4482 Other systems use the flock system call to interlock access. On these
2681 was fixed sometime after Emacs 18.52. However, any new package that 4483 systems, you should configure movemail to use flock.
2682 uses find-file or find-file-noselect has to be careful about this.
2683 4484
268488: How do I recover my mail files after RMAIL munges their format? 4485158: How do I recover my mail files after RMAIL munges their format?
2685 4486
2686 Users who just want to try RMAIL out to see how it works end up trapped 4487 Users who just want to try RMAIL out to see how it works end up trapped
2687 using it because saved mail in their `mbox' file has been converted into ! 4488 using it because saved mail in their `mbox' file has been converted into
2688 an incompatible format (BABYL) that only RMAIL understands. RMAIL 4489 an incompatible format (BABYL) that only RMAIL understands. RMAIL
2689 provides no obvious way to reverse this transformation. To convert a mail 4490 provides no obvious way to reverse this transformation. Kyle Jones has
4491 aptly named this "the great Emacs Mail Eating Monster". To convert a mail
2690 file back to standard Unix format, there are several methods: 4492 file back to standard Unix format, there are several methods:
2691 4493
2692 * Use the rmail-output ("C-o") command within RMAIL on each message in the 4494 * Use the rmail-output ("C-o") command within RMAIL on each message in the
@@ -2716,569 +4518,578 @@ Weird/Confusing Problems -
2716 helpful in this situation, but are intended mainly for people who have 4518 helpful in this situation, but are intended mainly for people who have
2717 used RMAIL for a long time and are converting to some other mail reader. 4519 used RMAIL for a long time and are converting to some other mail reader.
2718 Lookup `rmail', `vm', and `babyl' in the Emacs Lisp Archive (see 4520 Lookup `rmail', `vm', and `babyl' in the Emacs Lisp Archive (see
2719 question 18). 4521 question 89).
2720 4522
2721 You may wish to disable RMAIL to avoid accidentally destroying your mbox 4523 You may wish to disable RMAIL to avoid accidentally destroying your mbox
2722 file (I have this in my .emacs): 4524 file (I have this in my .emacs):
2723 4525
2724 (put 'rmail 'disabled t) ; avoid mbox destruction 4526 (put 'rmail 'disabled t) ; avoid mbox destruction
2725 4527
272689: Why do I get "Process shell exited abnormally with code 1"? 4528159: How do I make Emacs automatically start my mail/news reader?
2727
2728 The most likely reason for this message is that the "env" program is not
2729 properly installed. This program should be compiled and installed with
2730 execute permission for everyone in Emacs's program directory, which is
2731 normally /usr/local/emacs/etc. You can find what this directory is at
2732 your site by inspecting the value of the variable exec-directory by typing
2733 "C-h v exec-directory RET".
2734
2735 See also etc/PROBLEMS for other possible causes of this message. +
2736
2737
2738
2739Configuring Emacs for Yourself -
2740
274190: How do I set up a .emacs file properly?
2742
2743 See the section of the manual on the .emacs file, inside the section on
2744 customization. To reach this section of the online Info manual, type
2745 this:
2746
2747 C-h i m emacs RET g init SPC file RET
2748
2749 WARNING: In general, new Emacs users should not have .emacs files,
2750 because it causes confusing non-standard behavior. Then they send
2751 questions to help-gnu-emacs asking why Emacs isn't behaving as
2752 documented. :-)
2753
275491: How do you debug a .emacs file?
2755
2756 First start Emacs with the "-q" command line option. Then, in the
2757 *scratch* buffer, type the following:
2758
2759 (setq debug-on-error t) LFD
2760 (load-file "~/.emacs") LFD
2761
2762 (Type LFD by pressing C-j.)
2763
2764 If you have an error in your .emacs file, this will invoke the debugger
2765 when the error occurs. If you don't know how to use the debugger do
2766 (setq stack-trace-on-error t) instead.
2767
2768 WARNING: this will not discover errors caused by trying to do something
2769 that requires the terminal/window-system initialization code to have
2770 been loaded. See question 50.
2771
277292: How do I turn on abbrevs by default just in mode XXX?
2773
2774 Put this in your .emacs file:
2775
2776 (condition-case ()
2777 (read-abbrev-file nil t)
2778 (file-error nil))
2779 4529
2780 (setq XXX-mode-hook 4530 Example:
2781 (function
2782 (lambda ()
2783 (setq abbrev-mode t))))
2784 4531
278593: How do I turn on Auto-Fill mode by default? 4532 emacs -f gnus
2786 4533
2787 To turn on Auto-Fill mode just once for one buffer, you type "M-x 4534 Also:
2788 auto-fill-mode". To turn it on for every buffer in, for example, Text
2789 mode, do this:
2790 4535
2791 (setq text-mode-hook 'turn-on-auto-fill) 4536 alias gnus 'emacs -f gnus'
2792 4537
2793 If you want Auto-Fill mode on in all major modes, do this: 4538 It is probably unwise to automatically start your mail or news reader from
2794 4539 your .emacs file. This would cause problems if you needed to run two
2795 (setq-default auto-fill-hook 'do-auto-fill) 4540 copies of Emacs at one time. Also, this would make it difficult for you
2796 4541 to start Emacs quickly when you needed to.
279794: How do I make Emacs use a certain major mode for certain files?
2798
2799 If you want to use XXX mode for all files which end with the extension
2800 ".YYY", this will do it for you:
2801
2802 (setq auto-mode-alist (cons '("\\.YYY\\'" . XXX-mode) auto-mode-alist))
2803 4542
2804 Otherwise put this somewhere in the first line of any file you want to 4543160: How do I read news under Emacs?
2805 edit in XXX mode:
2806
2807 -*-XXX-*-
2808
280995: What are the valid X resource settings (ie., stuff in .Xdefaults file)?
2810
2811 See the Emacs man page, or the etc/OPTIONS file. Ignore the information
2812 in etc/XDOC which is way out of date.
2813
281496: How do I stop Emacs from beeping on a terminal?
2815
2816 Martin R. Frank <martin@cc.gatech.edu> writes:
2817
2818 Tell Emacs to use the 'visible bell' instead of the audible bell, and
2819 set the visible bell to nothing.
2820 4544
2821 Put this in your TERMCAP environment variable: 4545 There are at least three news reading packages that operate inside Emacs.
2822 4546 `rnews' comes with Emacs. GNUS and Gnews come separately. rnews will
2823 ... :vb=: ... 4547 be replaced by GNUS in Emacs 19.
2824
2825 And evaluate this:
2826
2827 (setq visible-bell t)
2828
282997: How do I turn down the bell volume in Emacs running under X Windows?
2830
2831 Under Epoch you can do:
2832
2833 (setq epoch::bell-volume 20)
2834
2835 Under normal GNU Emacs you must modify the XTfeep function in
2836 src/x11term.c. This simplest fix is to change the number 50 to -50 in the !
2837 call the XBell. Then "xset b 0" will turn off Emacs's beeping. !
2838
2839 Explanation: After "xset b BASE": +
2840
2841 XBell (disp, VAL) beeps with volume BASE - (BASE*VAL)/100 + VAL,
2842 XBell (disp, -VAL) beeps with volume BASE - (BASE*VAL)/100.
2843
2844 Stu Grossman <grossman@sunburn.stanford.edu> wrote a patch that allows the +
2845 bell volume to be adjusted from inside Emacs. +
2846
284798: How do I change load-path?
2848
2849 In general, you should only *add* to the load-path. You can add
2850 directory /XXX/YYY to the load path like this:
2851
2852 (setq load-path (append load-path '("/XXX/YYY/")))
2853
2854 To do this relative to your home directory:
2855
2856 (setq load-path (append load-path (list (expand-file-name "~/YYY/"))))
2857
285899: How do I change the included text prefix in mail/news followups?
2859
2860 Many people want Emacs to prefix included text with something like " > " !
2861 instead of with three spaces. One way is to change the code of the !
2862 function `mail-yank-original' in lisp/sendmail.el that prefixes with !
2863 spaces. A more flexible solution is to use SuperCite, which provides wide !
2864 configurability in how you format included text in replies. See question
2865 21. Both of these solutions work for Rmail and GNUS. !
2866 !
2867 A related problem is how to prevent Emacs from including various headers !
2868 of the replied-to message. For this, you should set the value of !
2869 mail-yank-ignored-headers, which takes a regexp value. !
2870
2871
2872
2873Emacs Lisp Programming -
2874
2875100: What dialect of Lisp is Emacs Lisp?
2876
2877 Quite simply, it is the dialect of Lisp called GNU Emacs Lisp. People !
2878 also call it elisp or e-lisp. (NOTE: The term "Elisp" is trademarked by
2879 someone else. {I believe it is by Uniworks Inc., the sellers of CCA !
2880 Emacs.}) !
2881
2882101: How close is Emacs Lisp to Common Lisp?
2883
2884 They are not close. GNU Emacs Lisp is case-sensitive, uses dynamic
2885 scoping, doesn't have packages, doesn't have multiple return values,
2886 doesn't have reader macros, doesn't have rational, floating point, or
2887 arbitrary size numbers, etc. For people used to Common Lisp, some of the
2888 functions in Common Lisp that are not in Emacs Lisp by default are
2889 provided in the file lisp/cl.el. There is a Texinfo manual describing
2890 these functions in man/cl.texinfo.
2891
2892102: How do I execute a piece of Emacs Lisp code?
2893
2894 There are a number of ways to execute (called "evaluate") an Emacs Lisp
2895 "form":
2896
2897 * If you want it evaluated every time you run Emacs, put it in a file
2898 named ".emacs" in your home directory.
2899
2900 * You can type the form in the "*scratch*" buffer, and then type LFD (or
2901 C-j) after it. The result of evaluating the form will be inserted in
2902 the buffer.
2903
2904 * In in Emacs-Lisp mode, typing M-C-x evaluates a top-level form before
2905 or around point.
2906
2907 * Typing "C-x C-e" in any buffer evaluates the Lisp form immediately
2908 before point and prints its value in the echo area.
2909
2910 * Typing M-ESC or M-x eval-expression allows you to type a Lisp form in
2911 the minibuffer which will be evaluated.
2912
2913 * You can use M-x load-file to have Emacs evaluate all the Lisp forms in
2914 a file. (To do this from Lisp use the function "load" instead.)
2915
2916 These functions are also used for evaluating Lisp forms:
2917
2918 load-library, eval-region, eval-current-buffer, require, autoload
2919
2920103: How do I make a set of operations work only within a region? !
2921
2922 Use narrow-to-region inside of save-restriction.
2923
2924104: How can I highlight text in Emacs?
2925
2926 There are ways to get highlighting (reverse video) in GNU Emacs 18.58, but !
2927 either they require patching the C code of Emacs and rebuilding, or they
2928 are slow and the highlighting disappears if you scroll or redraw the
2929 screen and it can not follow the point. Howard Gayle's patches for 8-bit !
2930 output appear to allow highlighting (see question 43). Another !
2931 patch for highlighting is by Kenichi Handa <handa@etl.go.jp>. There is a !
2932 patch for use with X by Andy Norman <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com> (and modified +
2933 for 18.57 by Matthieu Herrb <matthieu@laas.fr>), which is available for +
2934 FTP (laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-X11-18.5{5,7}). +
2935
2936 You can highlight regions in a variety of ways in Epoch. GNU Emacs 19
2937 will have everything you need, but won't be out soon.
2938
2939 Similar comments apply to displaying text in different fonts, except that +
2940 it is even harder. +
2941
2942105: How do I change Emacs's idea of the tab character's length?
2943
2944 Example: (setq default-tab-width 10).
2945
2946
2947
2948Carrying Out Common Tasks -
2949
2950106: How do I insert ">"'s in the beginning of every line in a buffer?
2951
2952 Type "M-x replace-regexp RET ^ RET > RET". ("replace-regexp" can be
2953 shortened to "repl TAB r".)
2954
2955 To do this only in the region, type "C-x n M-x replace-regexp RET ^ RET
2956 > RET C-x w". -
2957
2958 WARNING: The command narrow-to-region (C-x n) is disabled by default
2959 because it can be very confusing (ie., "Oh no! Where did my file go?").
2960
2961107: How do I insert "_^H" characters before each character in a paragraph
2962 to get an underlined paragraph?
2963
2964 M-x underline-region.
2965
2966108: How do I repeat a command as many times as possible?
2967
2968 Use "C-x (" and "C-x )" to make a keyboard macro that invokes the command
2969 and then type "M-0 C-x e".
2970
2971 WARNING: any messages your command prints in the echo area will be
2972 suppressed.
2973
2974109: How do I search for or delete unprintable (8-bit or control)
2975 characters?
2976
2977 To search for a single character that appears in the buffer as, for
2978 example, \237, you can type "C-s C-q 2 3 7". (This assumes the value of
2979 search-quote-char is 17 (C-q).)
2980 4548
2981 Searching for ALL unprintable characters is best done with a "regexp" 4549 rnews works only with a local news spool directory. Both GNUS and Gnews
2982 search. The easiest regexp to use for the unprintable chars is the 4550 handle reading news remotely via NNTP in addition to reading from a local
2983 complement of the regexp for the printable chars. 4551 news spool. GNUS supports reading mail stored in MH folders or articles
4552 saved by GNUS.
2984 4553
2985 Regexp for the printable chars: [\t\n\r\f -~] 4554 Gnews is styled after `rn' and seems to work like RMAIL. GNUS feels more
4555 like VM. People have complained that GNUS uses a lot of CPU time (it
4556 does). Some people have complained that Gnews is slower than GNUS.
2986 4557
2987 Regexp for the unprintable chars: [^\t\n\r\f -~] 4558 For more information about GNUS, see question 108.
2988 4559
2989 To type some of these special characters (\t, \n, \r, \f) as an 4560 Gnews was written by Matthew P. Wiener <weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu>.
2990 interactive argument to isearch-forward-regexp or re-search-forward, you 4561 The latest version seems to be 2.0, posted October 3, 1988. Matthew
2991 need to use C-q. 4562 posted some fixes on October 26, 1988. Gnews does not appear to have been
4563 supported after this date. In particular, it has been reported that Gnews
4564 does not work with Emacs 18.57. There is a newsgroup for Gnews called
4565 gnu.emacs.gnews.
2992 4566
2993 So, to search for unprintable characters using re-search-forward: 4567161: Why does `rnews' say "No News is good news" when there is news?
2994 4568
2995 M-x re-search-forward RET [^ TAB C-q LFD C-q RET C-q C-l SPC -~] RET 4569 rnews doesn't speak NNTP. You may need to use GNUS or Gnews.
2996 4570
2997 Using isearch-forward-regexp: 4571162: Why doesn't GNUS work anymore via NNTP?
2998 4572
2999 M-C-s [^ TAB RET C-q RET C-q C-l SPC -~] 4573 There is a bug in NNTP version 1.5.10, such that when multiple requests
4574 are sent to the NNTP server, the server only handles the first one before
4575 blocking waiting for more input which never comes. NNTP version 1.5.11
4576 claims to fix this.
3000 4577
3001 To delete all unprintable characters, simply use a replace-regexp: 4578 You can work around the bug inside Emacs like this:
3002 4579
3003 M-x replace-regexp RET [^ TAB C-q LFD C-q RET C-q C-l SPC -~] RET RET 4580 (setq nntp-maximum-request 1)
3004 4581
3005 Notes: 4582 I also have a patch for NNTP 1.5.10 by Mike Pelletier
4583 <stealth@engin.umich.edu> that is based on the timeout code that was in
4584 1.5.9. However, please try to upgrade to 1.5.11 first.
3006 4585
3007 * With isearch, you can type RET to get a quoted LFD (not a quoted RET). 4586 You can find out what version of NNTP your news server is running by
4587 telnetting to the NNTP port (usually 119) on the news server machine (ie.,
4588 `telnet server-machine 119'). The server should give its version number
4589 in the welcome message. Type `quit' to get out.
3008 4590
3009 * You don't need to quote TAB with either isearch or typing something in 4591163: How do I view text with embedded underlining (eg., ClariNews)?
3010 the minibuffer.
3011 4592
3012 Here are the Emacs Lisp forms of the above regexps: 4593 Underlining appears like this:
3013 4594
3014 ;; regexp matching all printable characters: 4595 _^Hu_^Hn_^Hd_^He_^Hr_^Hl_^Hi_^Hn_^Hi_^Hn_^Hg
3015 "[\t\n\r\f -~]"
3016 4596
3017 ;; regexp matching all unprintable characters: 4597 You can destructively remove underlining with M-x ununderline-region.
3018 "[^\t\n\r\f -~]"
3019 4598
3020 ;; alternative regexps for all unprintable characters: 4599 For ClariNews articles, clari-clean.el by David N. Blank-Edelman
3021 "[\C-@-\C-h\C-k\C-n-\C-_\C-?-\377]" 4600 <dnb@meshugge.media.mit.edu> will remove both underlining and overstriking
3022 "[\000-\010\013\016-\037\177-\377]" 4601 automatically.
3023 4602
3024 (To use "[\000-\010\013\016-\037\177-\377]" interactively, type: 4603164: When I try to post a long article in GNUS (about 10K or longer), I get
4604 the error, "Writing to process: no more processes, nntpd"
3025 4605
3026 [ C-q 000 - C-q 010 C-q 013 C-q 016 - C-q 037 C-q 177 - C-q 377 ] 4606 Upgrade to Emacs 18.58 or higher. +
3027 4607
3028 ) 4608165: How do I save all the items of a multi-part posting in GNUS?
3029 4609
3030110: How do I control Emacs's case-sensitivity when searching/replacing? + 4610 Use gnus-mark.el by Jamie Zawinski <jwz@lucid.com>.
3031
3032 For searching, the value of the variable case-fold-search determines
3033 whether they are case sensitive:
3034 4611
3035 (setq case-fold-search nil) ; make searches case sensitive 4612166: Why does GNUS put the subjects in replies beyond the 80th column?
3036 (setq case-fold-search t) ; make searches case insensitive
3037 4613
3038 Similarly, for replacing the variable case-replace determines whether 4614 This is a feature. If you set gnus-thread-hide-subject to non-nil, GNUS
3039 replacements preserve case. 4615 will only display the subject of the first posting in a thread, even if
4616 some of the replies use different subjects. It hides the subjects by
4617 putting them past the edge of the window and setting truncate lines to t.
3040 4618
3041 To change the case sensitivity just for one major mode, use the major + 4619 If your screen looks messed up, then for some reason truncate-lines in
3042 mode's hook. For example: + 4620 your `*Subject*' buffer has been set to nil. It should be set to t.
3043 +
3044 (setq XXX-mode-hook +
3045 (function +
3046 (lambda () +
3047 (setq case-fold-search nil)))) +
3048 4621
3049111: How do I tell Emacs to automatically indent a new line to the 4622 (I have an enhancement to GNUS 3.13 that will make it only hide the subject
3050 indentation of the previous line? 4623 of a posting when it is unchanged from the followed-up-to posting. Thus,
4624 you can use the subject hiding feature and still know when someone changes
4625 the subject. (I have forgotten who originally gave me the idea for this.))
3051 4626
3052 One solution is the major mode Indented Text Mode (M-x indented-tex-mode). 4627167: Why is GNUS so slow to start up?
3053 4628
3054 If you have Auto-Fill mode on (a minor mode, see question 93), 4629 GNUS does several things that take quadratic time of the number of
3055 you can tell Emacs to prefix every line with a certain character 4630 newsgroups that are listed in .newsrc. The quick fix for this is to
3056 sequence, the "fill prefix". Type the prefix at the beginning of a 4631 remove all the newsgroups in which you have no interest from your .newrc
3057 line, position point after it, and then type "C-x ." (set-fill-prefix) 4632 file by using GNUS's C-k command in the `*Newsgroup*' buffer after
3058 to set the fill prefix. Thereafter, auto-filling will automatically put 4633 displaying all newsgroups with the L command. If you were to directly
3059 the fill prefix at the beginning of new lines, and M-q (fill-paragraph) 4634 edit your .newsrc to remove the newsgroups, GNUS would add them back.
3060 will maintain any fill prefix when refilling the paragraph.
3061 4635
3062 NOTE: If you have paragraphs with different levels of indentation, you 4636 GNUS uses a quadratic algorithm to check for duplicates when the .newsrc
3063 will have to set the fill prefix to the correct value each time you move 4637 file is newer than the .newsrc.el file (ie., you edited your .newsrc).
3064 to a new paragraph. To avoid this hassle, try one of the many packages 4638 GNUS uses a quadratic algorithm to check for new newsgroups every time it
3065 available from the Emacs Lisp Archive. Look up "fill" and "indent" in the 4639 connects to the news server. {There may be other quadratic algorithms
3066 Lisp Code Directory for guidance. 4640 that I am not aware of.}
3067 4641
3068112: How do I make Emacs "typeover" or "overwrite" instead of inserting? - 4642 You can speed up GNUS by using the C-k command in the *Newsgroup* buffer
4643 to remove newsgroups from your .newsrc file.
3069 4644
3070 M-x overwrite-mode (a minor mode). 4645 Of course, GNUS will run faster if you make sure it is byte-compiled.
3071 4646
3072113: How do I show which parenthesis matches the one I'm looking at? 4647 Felix Lee wrote some enhancements called `gnus-speedups.el' that fix some
4648 of the problems. See the Emacs Lisp Archive.
3073 4649
3074 If you're looking at a right parenthesis (or brace or bracket) you can 4650168: How do I catch up all newsgroups in GNUS?
3075 delete it and reinsert it. Emacs will blink the cursor on the matching
3076 parenthesis.
3077 4651
3078 M-C-f (forward-sexp) and M-C-b (backward-sexp) will skip over balanced 4652 In the `*Newsgroup*' buffer, type the following magical incantation:
3079 parentheses, so you can see which parentheses match. (You can train it
3080 to skip over balanced brackets and braces at the same time by modifying
3081 the syntax table.)
3082 4653
3083 Here is some Emacs Lisp that will make the % key show the matching 4654 M-< C-x ( C-@ c y C-u C-@ C-e C-f C-f M-0 C-x )
3084 parenthese, like in vi. In addition, if the cursor isn't over a
3085 parenthese, it simply inserts a % like normal.
3086 4655
3087 ;; By an unknown contributor ! 4656 Leave off the "M-<" if you only want to catch up from point to the end of
4657 the `*Newsgroup' buffer.
3088 4658
3089 (global-set-key "%" 'match-paren) 4659169: Why can't I kill in GNUS on the Newsgroups/Keywords/Control line?
3090 4660
3091 (defun match-paren (arg) 4661 GNUS 3.14.1 will complain that the `Newsgroups:', `Keywords:', and
3092 "Go to the matching parenthesis if on parenthesis otherwise insert %." 4662 `Control:' headers are `Unknown header field's.
3093 (interactive "p")
3094 (cond ((looking-at "\\s\(") (forward-list 1) (backward-char 1))
3095 ((looking-at "\\s\)") (forward-char 1) (backward-list 1))
3096 (t (self-insert-command (or arg 1)))))
3097 4663
3098114: How do I make Emacs behave like this: when I go up or down, the cursor 4664 For the `Newsgroups:' header, there is an easy workaround: kill on the
3099 should stay in the same column even if the line is too short? 4665 `Xref' header instead, which will be present on any cross-posted article.
3100 4666
3101 M-x picture-mode. (This is a minor mode, in theory anyway ...) 4667 If you really want to kill on one of these headers, you can do it like
4668 this:
3102 4669
3103115: How do I read news under Emacs? 4670 (gnus-kill nil "^Newsgroups: .*\\(bad\\.group\\|worse\\.group\\)")
3104 4671
3105 There are at least three news reading packages that operate inside Emacs. 4672 Various people (eg., Greg Holley <holley@acuson.com>) have posted
3106 "rnews" comes with Emacs. "GNUS" and "Gnews" come separately. rnews will 4673 solutions to allow more efficient killing on these headers than the
3107 be replaced by GNUS in Emacs 19. 4674 preceding solution. Masanobu Umeda plans to fix this problem.
3108 4675
3109 rnews works only with a local news spool directory. Both GNUS and Gnews 4676170: How do I get rid of flashing messages in GNUS for slow connections?
3110 handle reading news remotely via NNTP in addition to reading from a local
3111 news spool. GNUS supports reading mail stored in MH folders or articles
3112 saved by GNUS.
3113 4677
3114 Gnews is styled after `rn' and seems to work like Rmail. GNUS feels more 4678 GNUS outputs "NNTP: Reading..." message and then clears them, over and
3115 like VM. People have complained that GNUS uses a lot of CPU time (it 4679 over. In version 3.14.1 there is a variable named nntp-debug-read that
3116 does). Some people have complained that Gnews is slower than GNUS. 4680 can help. Johan Vromans <jv@mh.nl> wrote a fix. Others have also written
4681 fixes.
3117 4682
3118 For more information about GNUS, see question 21. 4683171: Why is catch up slow in Gnews/GNUS?
3119 4684
3120 Gnews was written by Matthew P. Wiener <weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu>. 4685 Because GNUS is marking crosspostings read. {I think it should do this at
3121 The latest version seems to be 2.0, posted October 3, 1988. Matthew 4686 the time the article is read to spread out the load. Maybe someone will
3122 posted some fixes on October 26, 1988. Gnews does not appear to have been 4687 write the code to do this.}
3123 supported after this date. In particular, it has been reported that Gnews
3124 does not work with Emacs 18.57. There is a newsgroup for Gnews called
3125 gnu.emacs.gnews.
3126 4688
3127116: In C mode, can I show just the lines that will be left after #ifdef 4689172: Why does GNUS hang for a long time when posting?
3128 commands are handled by the compiler?
3129 4690
3130 M-x hide-ifdef-mode. (This is a minor mode.) 4691 David Lawrence <tale@uunet.uu.net> explains:
3131 4692
3132 You may have to (load "hideif") first. If you want to do this 4693 The problem is almost always interaction between NNTP and C News. NNTP
3133 regularly, put this in your .emacs file: 4694 POST asks C News's inews to not background itself but rather hang around
4695 and give its exit status so it knows whether the post was successful.
4696 (That wait will on some systems not return the exit status of the
4697 waited for job is a different sort of problem.) It ends up taking a
4698 long time because inews is calling relaynews, which often waits for
4699 another relaynews to free the lock on the news system so it can file the
4700 article.
3134 4701
3135 (autoload 'hide-ifdef-mode "hideif" nil t) 4702 My preferred solution is to change inews to not call relaynews, but
4703 rather use newsspool. This loses some error-catching functionality, but
4704 is for the most part safe as inews will detect a lot of the errors on
4705 its own. The C News folks have sped up inews, too, so speed should look
4706 better to most folks as that update propagates around.
3136 4707
3137 {Yes, I know, this should be in lisp/loaddefs.el already.} 4708173: Why don't my news postings in GNUS get past the local machine?
3138 4709
3139117: Is there an equivalent to the "." (dot) command of vi? 4710 Three possible reasons: local distribution, C News date problem (see
4711 question 174, and the path problem. This piece of code may fix the path
4712 problem for you:
3140 4713
3141 ("." is the redo command in vi. It redoes the last insertion/deletion.) 4714 (setq gnus-use-generic-path t)
3142 4715
3143 No, not really. 4716174: Why is the GNUS-generated `Date:' header invalid?
3144 4717
3145 You can type "C-x ESC" (repeat-complex-command) to reinvoke commands 4718 GNUS generates `Date:' headers without time zones. C-News's `inews'
3146 that used the minibuffer to get arguments. In repeat-complex-command 4719 doesn't replace it with a valid header, but will generate it if not
3147 you can type M-p and M-n to scan through all the different complex 4720 already there. If it is invalid, the article will not be forwarded
3148 commands you've typed. 4721 properly. Quick fix:
3149 4722
3150 To repeat something on each line I recommend using keyboard macros. 4723 (defun gnus-inews-date () nil)
3151 4724
3152118: How do I make Emacs display the current line (or column) number? ! 4725 This is not fixed as of GNUS 3.14.1. !
3153 4726
3154 To find out what line of the buffer you are on right now, do "M-x 4727175: Why doesn't GNUS generate the `Lines:' header?
3155 what-line". Use "M-x goto-line" to go to a specific line. To find the +
3156 current column number, type "M-ESC (current-column)". +
3157 4728
3158 Typing "C-x l" will also tell you what line you are on, provided the 4729 GNUS was written for B news, which would generate the `Lines:' header. C
3159 buffer isn't separated into "pages" with C-l characters. In that case, it 4730 news doesn't. There is a comment in C news's `inews' that you can
3160 will only tell you what line of the current "page" you are on. WARNING: 4731 uncomment to enable this functionality. Or you can have GNUS generate the
3161 "C-x l" gives the wrong value when point is at the beginning of a line. 4732 header, for example:
3162 4733
3163 There is no "correct" way to constantly display the current line (or ! 4734 ;; idea by jbryans@beach.csulb.edu (Jack Bryans)
3164 column) number on the mode line in Emacs 18, or to display the line + 4735 (defun add-lines-header ()
3165 numbers next to the lines. Emacs is not a line-oriented editor, and + 4736 ;; Count the number of lines in the current posting and insert the
3166 really has no idea what "lines" of the buffer are displayed in the window. + 4737 ;; header line Lines into the message.
3167 It would require a lot of work at the C code level to make Emacs keep + 4738 (save-excursion
3168 track of this. It would not be that hard to get the column number, but it + 4739 (goto-char (point-min))
3169 would still require changes at the C code level. + 4740 (if (search-forward "\n\n") ;; ***** I suspect this is wrong *****
3170 + 4741 (let ((lines (count-lines (point) (point-max))))
3171 vi emulation mode does not emulate this capability of vi (as far as I + 4742 (forward-line -1)
3172 know). + 4743 (insert-string "Lines: " lines "\n")))))
3173 +
3174 Emacs 19 will probably be able to show the line number on the mode-line, +
3175 but probably very inefficiently. +
3176 +
3177 People have written various kludges to display line numbers. Look in the +
3178 Lisp Code Directory. (See question 17.)
3179 4744
3180119: How do I tell Emacs to iconify itself? 4745 Mike Williams <mike-w@cs.aukuni.ac.nz> has written something similar.
3181 4746
3182 You need to modify C source and recompile. Either that or get Epoch 4747 Ronald Florence <ron@mlfarm.com> has a patch for GNUS that makes it
3183 instead. For the interested I have a patch by Robert Forsman 4748 calculate the `Lines:' header for incoming articles when necessary that
3184 <thoth@reef.cis.ufl.edu> to allow Emacs to iconify itself and a patch by 4749 works for sites with local news spools.
3185 Matt Wette <mwette@mr-ed.jpl.nasa.gov> to allow Emacs to start up
3186 iconified. I don't know whether these two patches work together.
3187 4750
3188 {Are either of these two patches available via anonymous FTP anywhere?} 4751 David Lawrence <tale@uunet.uu.net> says that GNUS 3.14.1 generates Lines
4752 if gnus-news-system is Cnews.
3189 4753
3190120: How do I use regexps (regular expressions) in Emacs? 4754176: Why do I get "Cannot open load file" "nntp" when compiling GNUS?
3191 4755
3192 This is documented in the Emacs manual. To read the manual section 4756 Specifically, the error message is this:
3193 online, type "C-h i m emacs RET m regexps RET".
3194 4757
3195 WARNING: The `or' operator is `\|', not `|', and the grouping operators 4758 Error occurred processing gnus.el: File error (("Cannot open load file" "nntp"))
3196 are `\(' and `\)'. Also, the string syntax for a backslash is "\\".
3197 Thus, the string syntax for a regular expression like xxx\(foo\|bar\) is
3198 "xxx\\(foo\\|bar\\)". Notice the duplicated backslashes!
3199 4759
3200 WARNING: Unlike in Unix grep, sed, etc., a complement character set 4760 This means that nntp.el is not in Emacs's load-path, which is easy to
3201 ([^...]) can match a newline character (LFD aka C-j aka \n), unless 4761 happen when compiling using the Makefile.
3202 newline is mentioned as one of the characters not to match.
3203 4762
3204 WARNING: The character syntax regexps (eg. `\sw') are not meaningful + 4763 Easiest solution: set EMACSLOADPATH in Makefile (idea from Glenn Gribble
3205 inside character set regexps (eg. `[aeiou]'). (This is typical for regexp + 4764 <glenn@netcom.com>):
3206 syntax.) +
3207 4765
3208121: How do I perform a replace operation across more than one file? 4766 EMACSLOADPATH=/usr/local/emacs/lisp:.
4767 ELC= env EMACSLOADPATH=$(EMACSLOADPATH) emacs -batch -f batch-byte-compile
3209 4768
3210 The "tags" feature of Emacs includes the command tags-query-replace 4769 Another solution, in hack.el put this:
3211 which performs a query-replace across all the files mentioned in the
3212 TAGS file. To read the relevant online manual section, type "C-h i m
3213 emacs RET m tags RET m tags search RET".
3214 4770
3215 In addition, Martin Boyer has written a package named global-replace 4771 (defun gross-hack () (setq load-path (cons "/directory" load-path)))
3216 which will perform a query-replace across all the files mentioned in the
3217 *compilation* buffer (usually done after a "grep"), which is available
3218 via anonymous FTP (ireq-robot.hydro.qc.ca:
3219 /pub/emacs/lisp/{compile,global-replace,query}.el.Z).
3220 4772
3221122: How do I make Emacs wrap words for me? 4773 Then in Makefile:
3222 4774
3223 M-x auto-fill-mode. The default maximum line width is 74, determined by 4775 ELC= emacs -batch -l hack.el -f gross-hack -f batch-byte-compile
3224 the variable fill-column. To find how to turn this on automatically see
3225 question 93.
3226 4776
3227123: Where can I get a better spelling checker for Emacs? 4777177: How do I kill all articles in GNUS but those matching a pattern?
3228 4778
3229 Use Ispell. See question 21. 4779 Example:
3230 4780
3231124: How can I spell-check TeX or *roff documents? 4781 ;; kill everything
4782 (gnus-kill "subject" "" nil nil)
4783 ;; then restore stuff by our favorite poster
4784 (gnus-kill "from" "good-guy"
4785 (function
4786 (lambda ()
4787 (if (eq ?X (char-after (save-excursion
4788 (beginning-of-line 1)
4789 (point))))
4790 (gnus-Subject-clear-mark-forward 1))))
4791 t)
3232 4792
3233 If you want to spell-check TeX or *roff documents with Ispell, you need to ! 4793
3234 arrange for a filter program that understands how to strip TeX or *roff ! 4794
3235 formatting commands to be run. In the TeX distribution, there are several ! 4795---------------------------------------------------------------------- +
3236 different programs named `detex', all with incompatible options, and a ! 4796Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells +
3237 very old pair of programs named `detex' and `delatex', which should ! 4797Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes +
3238 probably be avoided. The most useful one for Ispell is `detex' by Daniel !
3239 Trinkle. A more recent version is available via FTP +
3240 (arthur.cs.purdue.edu: pub/trinkle/detex-2.3.tar.Z). Raphael Cerf !
3241 <cerf@clipper.ens.fr> recently released a program named `xetal' !
3242 (spi.ens.fr:pub/unix/tex/???). There is a program that comes with Unix !
3243 named `deroff' for stripping formatting commands from *roff files. !
3244 !
3245 Here is an example of code you can put in a .emacs file to use these !
3246 programs: !
3247 !
3248 ;; Based on suggestions by David G. Grubbs <dgg@ksr.com> and Paul Palmer !
3249 ;; <palmerp@math.orst.edu>. !
3250 !
3251 ;; Assuming the use of detex 2.3 by Daniel Trinkle: !
3252 ;; -w means one word per line. !
3253 ;; -n means don't expand \input or \include commands. !
3254 ;; -l means force LaTeX mode. !
3255 !
3256 (require 'ispell) ; for the make-variable-buffer-local statements !
3257 (setq plain-TeX-mode-hook !
3258 (function !
3259 (lambda () !
3260 (setq ispell-filter-hook "detex") +
3261 (setq ispell-filter-hook-args '("-nw"))))) !
3262 (setq LaTeX-mode-hook !
3263 (function
3264 (lambda ()
3265 (setq ispell-filter-hook "detex") !
3266 (setq ispell-filter-hook-args '("-lnw"))))) !
3267 (setq nroff-mode-hook
3268 (function
3269 (lambda ()
3270 (setq ispell-filter-hook "deroff")
3271 (setq ispell-filter-hook-args '("-w"))))) +
3272 + 4798 +
3273 You will have to adjust the arguments for programs other than Trinkle's + 4799This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers +
3274 detex or for other versions of deroff. Experiment running the command + 4800("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other +
3275 from the shell to find the correct options. If you don't have a filter + 4801formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS, etc.), and updated with new +
3276 that knows how to output one word per line, you must pipe its output + 4802information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as +
3277 through another filter to break up the output. + 4803apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice +
3278 4804or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining +
3279125: How can I make Emacs automatically scroll horizontally? 4805the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and +
3280 4806information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including +
3281 Sorry, you can't. The best you can do is rewrite a large number of 4807FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these +
3282 commands and make them check if the point is still on the screen after 4808conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary +
3283 they are done. {Has someone done this already?} 4809work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution. +
4810
4811
4812 GNU Emacs FAQ: Changes
4813
4814The latest version of the GNU Emacs FAQ has changed from the previous version.
4815This article shows the changed text. The contents of this article are from the
4816output of `diff -wu2'. Since the question numbers are generated automatically
4817and can change, these are stripped from both versions before comparing them.
4818After generating the differences for each part, they were concatenated and then
4819edited to remove as much noise as possible. You can't use this as a patch.
4820
4821--
4822Steven Byrnes <sbyrnes@rice.edu> (and Joe Wells <jbw@cs.bu.edu>)
4823
4824E-mail lpf@uunet.uu.net for details about the League for Programming Freedom.
4825
4826----------------------------------------------------------------------
4827
4828
4829@@ -225,9 +225,8 @@
4830
4831 Anonymous FTP:
4832- /prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/emacs/MailingListArchives/
4833+ /prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/MailingListArchives/
4834
4835- {There was a WAIS database named `comp-emacs' on lambada.oit.unc.edu that
4836- makes available the last 10 days of articles in comp.emacs. It appears to
4837- have died. Anyone know if it moved?}
4838+ There is a WAIS database named `comp.emacs' on wais.oit.unc.edu that
4839+ makes available the last few days of articles in comp.emacs.
4840
4841 QQQ: Where should I report bugs and other problems with GNU Emacs?
4842
4843@@ -612,5 +611,5 @@
4844 it might (or might not) do some good to complain to your news
4845 administrator, because the most recent FAQ should not expire before
4846- November 21, 1992.
4847+ March 6, 1993.
4848
4849 * Via anonymous FTP. You can fetch the FAQ articles via anonymous FTP
4850@@ -642,6 +641,6 @@
4851 * In the GNU Emacs distribution. Since GNU Emacs 18.56, the latest
4852 available version of the FAQ at the time of release has been part of the
4853- GNU Emacs distribution as file etc/FAQ. 18.58 is the latest version,
4854- and it was released in February 1992.
4855+ GNU Emacs distribution as file etc/FAQ. 18.59 is the latest version,
4856+ and it was released in October 1992.
4857
4858 * There is an old version of the FAQ list available for FTP in the GNU
4859@@ -677,5 +676,5 @@
4860 QQQ: What is the latest version of GNU Emacs?
4861
4862- GNU Emacs 18.58 is the current version. Fixes from 18.57 include better
4863+ GNU Emacs 18.59 is the current version. Fixes from 18.57 include better
4864 mail address parsing, an X visual bell speedup, a call-process
4865 enhancement, a regexp matching change, the ability to apply a numeric
4866@@ -698,5 +697,5 @@
4867 which is a good sign.
4868
4869- Lucid has released Lucid GNU Emacs 19.2, which is based on an early
4870+ Lucid has released Lucid GNU Emacs 19.3, which is based on an early
4871 unreleased version of GNU Emacs 19. This will be similar to Emacs 19 when
4872 it finally arrives, but they are not the same. See question QQQ.
4873
4874@@ -185,5 +185,5 @@
4875
4876 There are ways to get highlighting (reverse video, inverse video) in GNU
4877- Emacs 18.58, but either they require patching the C code of Emacs and
4878+ Emacs 18.59, but either they require patching the C code of Emacs and
4879 rebuilding, or they are slow and the highlighting disappears if you scroll
4880 or redraw the screen and it can not follow the point. Howard Gayle's
4881@@ -194,5 +194,6 @@
4882 <matthieu@laas.fr>), which is available for FTP:
4883
4884- /laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-X11-18.5{5,7}
4885+ /laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-X11-18.55
4886+ /laas.laas.fr:pub/emacs/patch-X11-18.57
4887
4888 You can highlight regions in a variety of ways in Epoch and Lucid Emacs.
4889@@ -241,5 +242,5 @@
4890 Trinkle. A more recent version is available via FTP:
4891
4892- /arthur.cs.purdue.edu:pub/trinkle/detex-2.3.tar.Z
4893+ /arthur.cs.purdue.edu:pub/trinkle/detex-2.4.tar
4894
4895 Raphael Cerf <cerf@clipper.ens.fr> recently released a program for this
4896@@ -428,7 +429,8 @@
4897
4898 Under versions of Emacs before 18.58, the bell volume was annoying loud
4899- and difficult to turn off. So upgrading to 18.58 will reduce the volume.
4900- If you want to turn it off completely, use `xset'. There is no way to
4901- turn the bell off just for Emacs without affecting all other programs.
4902+ and difficult to turn off. So upgrading to 18.58 or higher will reduce
4903+ the volume. If you want to turn it off completely, use `xset'. There is
4904+ no way to turn the bell off just for Emacs without affecting all other
4905+ programs.
4906
4907 Under Epoch you can do:
4908@@ -585,7 +587,7 @@
4909
4910 Anonymous FTP:
4911- /csi.jpl.nasa.gov:pub/emacs.patch1 (Matt Wette)
4912+ /csi.jpl.nasa.gov:pub/emax.patch1 (Matt Wette)
4913 /ftp.eu.net:gnu/emacs/FP-Xfun.Z (Johan Vromans)
4914- /ftp.urc.tue.nl:pub/tex/emacs/FP-Xfun (Johan Vromans)
4915+ /ftp.urc.tue.nl:/pub/tex/emacs/FP-Xfun (Johan Vromans)
4916
4917 QQQ: How do I use regexps (regular expressions) in Emacs?
4918@@ -664,4 +666,7 @@
4919 QQQ: Why can't Emacs find files in current directory on startup?
4920
4921+ The PWD bug has been fixed as of GNU Emacs 18.59. Read on if you are
4922+ running an older version of Emacs.
4923+
4924 Most likely, you have an environment variable named PWD that is set to a
4925 value other than the name of your current directory. This is most
4926@@ -670,6 +675,7 @@
4927 variable, but `sh' doesn't. If you start sh from ksh, change your
4928 current directory inside sh, and then start Emacs from inside sh, PWD
4929- will have the wrong value but Emacs will use this value. See the
4930- etc/OPTIONS file for more details.
4931+ will have the wrong value but Emacs will use this value. An invalid
4932+ setting for PWD can also be a problem if you use X Windows and csh on an
4933+ RS/6000. See the etc/OPTIONS file for more details.
4934
4935 Perhaps an easier solution is not to use two shells. The `chsh' program
4936
4937@@ -50,5 +50,5 @@
4938 The latest version is always available via anonymous FTP at MIT:
4939
4940- /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/emacs-18.58.tar.Z
4941+ /prep.ai.mit.edu:pub/gnu/emacs-18.59.tar.Z
4942
4943 See question QQQ.
4944@@ -130,5 +130,5 @@
4945 ;; tex-complete|Sebastian Kremer|sk@thp.Uni-Koeln.DE
4946 ;; |Minibuffer name completion for editing [La]TeX.
4947- ;; |91-03-26|$Revision: 1.12 $|~/packages/tex-complete.el.Z
4948+ ;; |91-03-26|$Revision: 19.4 $|~/packages/tex-complete.el.Z
4949
4950 Dave Brennan has software which automatically looks for data in this
4951@@ -231,5 +231,4 @@
4952 The unofficial HP GNU Emacs is available via anonymous FTP:
4953
4954- /me10.lbl.gov:pub/interex/HUGE/
4955 /ee.utah.edu:HUGE/ (PLEASE FTP DURING NON-WORK HOURS!!!)
4956
4957@@ -301,13 +300,9 @@
4958 are different from GNU Emacs. It is rumored that MicroEmacs can not
4959 correctly edit files larger than memory. The author is Daniel Lawrence
4960- <dan@mdbs.uucp, dan@midas.mgmt.purdue.edu, nwd@j.cc.purdue.edu>. The
4961- latest version is 3.10 and it is available via anonymous FTP:
4962+ <dan@mdbs.uucp, mdbs!dan@ee.ecn.purdue.edu>. The latest version is 3.11
4963+ and it is available via anonymous FTP:
4964
4965- /midas.mgmt.purdue.edu: (non-working hours only)
4966- /durer.cme.nist.gov:
4967- /wuarchive.wustl.edu:/mirrors/msdos/memacs/
4968+ /wuarchive.wustl.edu:/mirrors/msdos/uemacs/
4969
4970- Version 3.11 is in beta test.
4971-
4972 * JOVE
4973
4974@@ -318,7 +313,5 @@
4975 available via anonymous FTP:
4976
4977- /cs.rochester.edu:/pub/jove.tar.4.14.Z
4978- /cs.toronto.edu:/pub/moraes/jove4.14.3.tar.Z
4979- /ftp.uu.net:
4980+ /cs.toronto.edu:/pub/moraes/jove4.14.7.tar.Z
4981
4982 * MG
4983@@ -584,5 +577,5 @@
4984 /alpha.gnu.ai.mit.edu:ange-ftp/ange-ftp.tar.Z
4985 /archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/packages/ange-ftp.tar.Z
4986- ugle.unit.no:pub/gnu/emacs-lisp/ange-ftp.tar.Z
4987+ /ugle.unit.no:pub/gnu/emacs-lisp/ange-ftp.tar.Z
4988 Mailing lists:
4989 ange-ftp-lovers-request@anorman.hpl.hp.com (for subscriptions)
4990@@ -618,6 +611,6 @@
4991 Latest released version: 6.1 {???}
4992 Anonymous FTP:
4993- /iesd.auc.dk:pub/emacs-lisp/auctex_5_6e.tar.Z {wrong}
4994- /iesd.auc.dk:pub/emacs-lisp/auc-tex.tar.Z
4995+ /iesd.auc.dk:pub/emacs-lisp/auctex_6_1d.tar.Z
4996+ /iesd.auc.dk:pub/emacs-lisp/auctex.tar.Z
4997 Mailing list:
4998 auc-tex-request@iesd.auc.dk (for subscriptions)
4999
5000@@ -854,5 +854,5 @@
5001 Anonymous FTP:
5002 /ftp.eu.net:gnu/emacs/FP-EightBit.Z
5003- /ftp.urc.tue.nl:pub/tex/emacs/FP-EightBit
5004+ /ftp.urc.tue.nl:/pub/tex/emacs/FP-EightBit
5005 /cs.purdue.edu:pub/ygz/cemacs.tar.Z:cemacs/8bit-patch-18.57
5006 /sics.se:archive/emacs-18.55-8bit-diff
5007@@ -865,10 +865,25 @@
5008
5009 Anders Edenbrandt <anderse@dna.lth.se> has produced a more comprehensive
5010- patch for Emacs 18.57 that allows for 8-bit input and output.
5011+ patch for Emacs 18.59 that allows for 8-bit input and output.
5012
5013 Anonymous FTP:
5014- /sics.se:archive/emacs-8bit-diff-lth
5015- /gatekeeper.dec.com:pub/GNU/DS-emacs-18.57-8bit-diff-lth
5016+ /ftp.efd.lth.se:pub/gnu/emacs_8-bit.patch
5017
5018+ In the words of the author:
5019+
5020+ With these patches, Emacs becomes fully 8-bit operational. There is
5021+ support for displaying 8-bit characters, as well as for entering such
5022+ characters from the keyboard. In addition, upcase/lowcase tranlatsion
5023+ is supported, accented characters are recognized as "letters" (important
5024+ when doing 'forward-word', for example), and text with 8-bit characters
5025+ can be sorted correctly.
5026+
5027+ A Meta-shift key can still be used, provided that you run in an
5028+ environment where it is possible to distinguish between a character
5029+ entered using the Meta-shift key and one entered directly. The diffs
5030+ include patches to make this work under SunView (with emacstool) as
5031+ well as under X. If you can't use a Meta-shift key, you have to enter
5032+ Meta-commands with the ESC-prefix.
5033+
5034 The most comprehensive patches for 8-bit output are by Howard Gayle
5035 (originally for Emacs 18.55. These patches allow displaying any arbitrary
5036@@ -877,15 +892,15 @@
5037 translations. It is reported that the 8-bit character support in Emacs 19
5038 is largely based on these patches. Thomas Bellman
5039- <Bellman@lysator.liu.se> has updated these patches for Emacs 18.57.
5040+ <Bellman@lysator.liu.se> has updated these patches for Emacs 18.59.
5041
5042 Anonymous FTP:
5043 /sics.se:archive/emacs-gayle.tar.Z (patches for 18.55)
5044- /ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/emacs/gayle-18.57.diff.tar.Z (patches)
5045- /ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/emacs/emacs-18.57-gayle.tar.Z (patched Emacs)
5046+ /ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/emacs/gayle-18.58.diff.tar.Z (patches)
5047+ /ftp.lysator.liu.se:pub/emacs/emacs-18.59-gayle.tar.Z (patched Emacs)
5048
5049- I am not sure if Epoch can display 8-bit characters as is. Lucid Emacs
5050- has the ctl-arrow patch installed. Nemacs displays 8-bit characters, and
5051- it may be useful for displaying the 8-bit ISO-8859 alphabet, but I don't
5052- know for sure (see question QQQ).
5053+ Epoch's 8-bit character support is based on Anders Edenbrandt's patches.
5054+ Lucid Emacs has the ctl-arrow patch installed. Nemacs displays 8-bit
5055+ characters, and it may be useful for displaying the 8-bit ISO-8859
5056+ alphabet, but I don't know for sure (see question QQQ).
5057
5058 QQQ: How do I input 8-bit characters?
5059@@ -922,5 +937,4 @@
5060
5061 /crl.nmsu.edu:pub/misc/nemacs-3.3.2.tar.Z
5062- /uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu:editors/Nemacs-3.3.2/
5063 /miki.cs.titech.ac.jp:JAPAN/nemacs/nemacs-3.3.2.tar.Z
5064
5065@@ -271,5 +271,5 @@
5066 the error, "Writing to process: no more processes, nntpd"
5067
5068- Upgrade to Emacs 18.58.
5069+ Upgrade to Emacs 18.58 or higher.
5070
5071 QQQ: How do I save all the items of a multi-part posting in GNUS?
5072@@ -390,6 +390,5 @@
5073 (defun gnus-inews-date () nil)
5074
5075- I think this is fixed in GNUS 3.14.1 if you set gnus-news-system {?} to
5076- Cnews.
5077+ This is not fixed as of GNUS 3.14.1.
5078
5079 QQQ: Why doesn't GNUS generate the `Lines:' header?
5080----------------------------------------------------------------------
5081Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells
5082Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes
5083
5084This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers
5085("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other
5086formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS, etc.), and updated with new
5087information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as
5088apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice
5089or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining
5090the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and
5091information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including
5092FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these
5093conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary
5094work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution.
3284 5095