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1 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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2 @node Modes, Files, Help, Top
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3 @chapter Major and Minor Modes
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4 @cindex modes
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5
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6 XEmacs is @dfn{language sensitive}. It has several @dfn{major} and
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7 @dfn{minor} modes. The major modes customize Emacs to edit text of a
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8 particular sort. There are major modes for C, Lisp, Emacs Lisp, LaTeX,
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9 English etc. Within each major mode, certain functions and keys are
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10 redefined to "suit" that particular sort of text. The minor modes
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11 provide certain features which can be turned off or on at any
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12 time. Emacs can only be in one major mode at any time, but it can turn
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13 on several minor modes at the same time. After you have selected any
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14 major or minor mode, you can select @b{Describe Mode} from the @b{Help}
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15 menu and you will get documentation about those modes.
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16
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17 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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18 @menu
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19 * Major Modes:: Choosing Major Modes
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20 * Minor Modes:: Auto-Fill, Abbrev and other minor modes
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21 @end menu
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22
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23 @node Major Modes, Minor Modes, Modes, Modes
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24 @section Major Modes
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25 @cindex major modes
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26
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27 Emacs has several major modes which customize Emacs to edit text of
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28 various sorts. You can have only one major mode at any time. Within each
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29 major mode, Emacs redefines certain functions (like cursor movement,
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30 indentation and text killing) to suit the needs of the text being
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31 edited. When you are editing a specific type of text you should switch
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32 to the appropriate mode. If you are working with C code, you should
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33 switch to C mode; if you are working with Lisp code, then switch to lisp
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34 mode and if you are working with English text switch to Text mode.
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35
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36 When you open a file to work on, Emacs usually selects the
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37 appropriate mode. For example, if you open a file called @file{guide.c}
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38 then Emacs will select the C mode because of the ".c" extension of the
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39 file. To explicitly select a mode type the following command:
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40
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41 @example
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42 ;;; selects lisp mode
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43 M-x lisp-mode
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44
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45 ;;; selects C mode
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46 M-x c-mode
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47 @end example
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48
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49 @noindent
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50 To select any other mode, just add the major mode name before the
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51 '-mode'. The current mode in which you are in will be displayed in
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52 parenthesis in the mode-line at the bottom of the frame. All major
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53 modes have some special keybindings and you can get a listing of those
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54 keybindings by selecting @b{List Keybindings} from the @b{Help} menu on
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55 the menu bar.
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56
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57 Some of the available modes in XEmacs are :
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58
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59 @table @b
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60 @item fundamental-mode
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61 @cindex fundamental-mode
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62 When you start XEmacs, usually you start with the default "Fundamental"
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63 mode. This mode has no special definitions or settings.
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64
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65 @item nroff-mode
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66 @cindex nroff-mode
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67 Use this mode when you have to format a text with nroff before it can be
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68 available in readable form. It redefines some indentation
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69 commands. @xref{Nroff Mode,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}, for information
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70 on this mode.
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71
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72 @item tex-mode
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73 @cindex tex-mode
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74 Use this mode if you are using the LaTeX text-formatter. It provides
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75 commands for insertion of quotes, braces and other characters. It also
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76 allows you to format the buffer for printing. @xref{TeX
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77 Mode,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}, for information on this mode.
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78
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79 @item texinfo-mode
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80 @cindex texinfo-mode
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81 Texinfo is a documentation system that uses a single source file to
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82 produce both printed output and on-line documentation. When you use this
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83 mode, there will be some special keybindings for inserting some
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84 characters and executing some commands.
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85
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86 @ifinfo
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87 This info file which you are reading right now is produced by 'Texinfo'
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88 @end ifinfo
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89 @iftex
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90 This manual itself is produced by 'Texinfo'
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91 @end iftex
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92
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93 @item outline-mode
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94 @cindex outline-mode
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95 Use this mode for editing outlines. When you enable this mode, you can
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96 make part of the text temporarily invisible so that you can see the
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97 overall structure of the outline. @xref{Outline Mode,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's
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98 Manual}, for information on this mode.
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99
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100 @item c-mode
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101 @cindex c-mode
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102 Use this mode for C programs. It will redefine some indentation
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103 commands. @xref{C Indent,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}.
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104
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105 @item lisp-mode
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106 @cindex lisp-mode
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107 Use this mode for Lisp programs. Look at the XEmacs User's Manual for
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108 more information.
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109
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110 @item fortran-mode
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111 @cindex fortran-mode
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112 Use this mode for Fortran programs. This mode provides special commands
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113 to move around and some other indentation commands. For more
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114 information on this mode, @xref{Fortran,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}.
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115
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116 @item edit-picture
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117 @cindex edit-picture
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118 This is the picture mode which you can use to create a picture out of
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119 text characters. @xref{Picture,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}, for more
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120 information.
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121
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122 @item asm-mode
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123 @cindex asm-mode
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124 Use asm-mode for editing files of assembler code. Look at the file
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125 @file{ /usr/local/lib/xemacs-VERSION/lisp/modes/asm.el} for more
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126 information.
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127
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128 @end table
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129
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130 There are some other modes and commands for working with other kinds of
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131 text or programs. Emacs also provides commands for reading and sending
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132 Mail. For more information on these features look at the XEmacs
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133 Manual. Emacs also provides the functions of a desk calendar, with a
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134 diary of past or planned events. For more information on the calendar
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135 mode look at the manual for Calendar Mode and Diary.
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136
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137 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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138 @node Minor Modes, , Major Modes, Modes
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139 @section Minor Modes
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140 @cindex minor modes
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141
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142 The minor modes in Emacs provide some optional features which you can
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143 turn on or off. Any number of minor modes can be active at the same time
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144 with any major mode. You can enable a minor mode in one buffer and
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145 disable it in other mode. To enable a minor mode, for example the
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146 font-lock mode type the following command:
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147
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148 @example
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149 M-x font-lock-mode
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150 @end example
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151 @noindent
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152 To enable the other minor modes, replace the "font-lock" with the
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153 name of the minor mode. To disable the mode type the command again. A
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154 positive argument will always turn the mode on. Whenever you type this
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155 command, it will turn the mode on if it was off, OR it will turn it off
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156 if it was on i.e. it toggles. Look at the mode-line at the bottom of the
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157 frame. If it says FLock in parentheses, then it means that this
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158 mode is on, otherwise it is off.
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159
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160 The following are some of the minor modes available in XEmacs. To enable
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161 any one of them type "M-x" in front of them.
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162
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163 @table @b
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164 @item font-lock-mode
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165 @cindex font-lock-mode
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166
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167 You can also choose this mode by selecting the @b{Syntax Highlighting}
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168 menu item from the @b{Options} menu on the menu-bar at the
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169 top. If you wish to have this mode enabled permanently, choose
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170 @b{Save Options} from the @b{Options} menu. @xref{Options Menu}, for
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171 more information on the Options menu. You can also add statements in
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172 your @file{init.el} file. For each major mode in which you wish to
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173 enable this minor mode, you need a statement in your @file{init.el}
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174 file. The following example shows how to enable the font-lock mode when
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175 the major mode is c-mode.
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176
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177 @example
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178 (add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
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179 @end example
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180
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181 @noindent
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182 @xref{Other Customizations}.
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183
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184 When you enable this mode, the text will be displayed in
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185 different colors and fonts depending on the type of the text. This makes
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186 the text very easy to read and understand. For example, comments might
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187 be displayed in red, variables in black, functions in blue and other
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188 keywords in different colors and fonts. When you select @b{More} from
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189 the @b{Syntax Highlighting} option, you get very detailed display of
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190 colors and fonts; function names within comments themselves might appear
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191 in a different font and color.
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192
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193 @item auto-fill-mode
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194 @findex auto-fill-mode
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195 Enabling this mode will provide automatic word-wrapping. The @key{SPC}
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196 key will break lines i.e. insert newlines as you type to prevent lines
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197 from becoming too long.
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198
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199 @item overwrite-mode
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200 @cindex overwrite-mode
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201 When you enable this mode, the text that you type will replace the
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202 existing text rather than moving it to the right (the default case). You
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203 can enable this mode by selecting @b{Overstrike} menu-item from the
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204 @b{Options} menu from the menu-bar.
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205
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206 @item abbrev-mode
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207 @cindex abbrev-mode
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208 After you enable this mode, you can define words which will expand into
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209 some different text i.e. you can define abbreviations. For example, you
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210 might define "expand" to "expand will eventually expand to this
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211 text". After this definition you will be able to get "expand will
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212 eventually expand to this text" simply by typing
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213
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214 @example
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215 expand @key{SPC}
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216 @end example
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217
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218 @noindent
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219 @xref{Abbrevs,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}, for more information on this
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220 mode and on defining abbreviations.
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221
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222 @item auto-save-mode
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223 @cindex auto-save-mode
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224 After you enable this mode in a buffer, the contents of that buffer will
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225 be saved periodically. This will reduce the amount you might lose in
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226 case of a system crash.
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227
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228 @item line-number-mode
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229 @cindex line-number-mode
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230 After you enable this mode, the line number at which your cursor is
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231 present will be displayed continuously in the mode line.
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232
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233 @item blink-paren
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234 @cindex blink-paren
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235 To enable this command, just type
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236 @example
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237 M-x blink-paren
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238 @end example
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239
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240 @noindent
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241 Do not add the "-mode" to it. You can also select the @b{Paren
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242 Highlighting} option from the @b{Options} menu. After you enable this
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243 command, put your cursor on one of the left parenthesis. The other
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244 matching parenthesis will start blinking. @xref{Options Menu}, for more
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245 information on the @b{Paren Highlighting} option.
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246 @end table
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247
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248 For information on some other modes, look at the XEmacs User's Manual
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249 and the associated files.
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250
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