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428
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1 @node Frame, Keystrokes, Concept Index, Top
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2 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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3 @chapter The XEmacs Frame
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4 @cindex frame
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5 @cindex window
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6 @cindex buffer
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7
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8 @table @asis
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9 @item Frame
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10 In many environments, such as a tty terminal, an XEmacs frame
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11 literally takes up the whole screen. If you are
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12 running XEmacs in a multi-window system like the X Window System, the
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13 XEmacs frame takes up one X window. @xref{XEmacs under X}, for more
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14 information.@refill
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15
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16 @item Window
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17 No matter what environment you are running in, XEmacs allows you to look
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18 at several buffers at the same time by having several windows be part of
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19 the frame. Often, the whole frame is taken up by just one window, but
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20 you can split the frame into two or more subwindows. If you are
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21 running XEmacs under the X window system, that means you can have several
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22 @dfn{XEmacs windows} inside the X window that contains the XEmacs frame.
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23 You can even have multiple frames in different X windows, each with
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24 their own set of subwindows.
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25 @refill
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26 @end table
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27
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28 Each XEmacs frame displays a variety of information:
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29 @itemize @bullet
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30 @item
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31 The biggest area usually displays the text you are editing. It may
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32 consist of one window or of two or more windows if you need to look at two
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33 buffers a the same time.
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34 @item
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35 Below each text window's last line is a @dfn{mode line} (@pxref{Mode
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36 Line}), which describes what is going on in that window. The mode line
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37 is in inverse video if the terminal supports that. If there are several
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38 XEmacs windows in one frame, each window has its own mode line.
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39 @item
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40 At the bottom of each XEmacs frame is the @dfn{echo area} or @dfn{minibuffer
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41 window}(@pxref{Echo Area}). It is used by XEmacs to exchange information
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42 with the user. There is only one echo area per XEmacs frame.
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43 @item
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442
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44 If you are running XEmacs under a graphical windowing system, a
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428
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45 menu bar at the top of the frame makes shortcuts to several of the
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46 commands available (@pxref{Pull-down Menus}).
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442
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47 @item
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48 If you are running XEmacs under a graphical windowing system, a
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49 toolbar at the top of the frame, just under the menu bar if it exists,
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50 provides ``one-touch'' shortcuts to several commands. (Not yet
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51 documented.)
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52 @item
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53 If you are running XEmacs under a graphical windowing system, a
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54 gutter at the top (under the toolbar) and/or bottom of the frame
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55 provides advanced GUI facilities like tab controls for rapid switching
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56 among related windows and progress bars for time-consuming operations
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57 like downloads across the Internet. Gutters are an experimental feature
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58 introduced in XEmacs version 21.2. (Not yet documented.)
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428
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59 @end itemize
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60
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61 You can subdivide the XEmacs frame into multiple text windows, and use
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62 each window for a different file (@pxref{Windows}). Multiple XEmacs
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63 windows are tiled vertically on the XEmacs frame. The upper XEmacs window
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64 is separated from the lower window by its mode line.
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65
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66 When there are multiple, tiled XEmacs windows on a single XEmacs frame,
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67 the XEmacs window receiving input from the keyboard has the @dfn{keyboard
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68 focus} and is called the @dfn{selected window}. The selected window
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69 contains the cursor, which indicates the insertion point. If you are
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70 working in an environment that permits multiple XEmacs frames, and you
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71 move the focus from one XEmacs frame into another, the
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72 selected window is the one that was last selected in that frame.
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73
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74 The same text can be displayed simultaneously in several XEmacs
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75 windows, which can be in different XEmacs frames. If you alter the text
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76 in an XEmacs buffer by editing it in one XEmacs window, the changes are
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77 visible in all XEmacs windows containing that buffer.
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78
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79
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80 @menu
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81 * Point:: The place in the text where editing commands operate.
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82 * Echo Area:: Short messages appear at the bottom of the frame.
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83 * Mode Line:: Interpreting the mode line.
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84 * XEmacs under X:: Some information on using XEmacs under the X
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85 Window System.
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86 @end menu
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87
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88 @node Point, Echo Area, Frame, Frame
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89 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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90 @section Point
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91 @cindex point
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92 @cindex cursor
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93
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94 When XEmacs is running, the cursor shows the location at which editing
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95 commands will take effect. This location is called @dfn{point}. You
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96 can use keystrokes or the mouse cursor to move point through the text
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97 and edit the text at different places.
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98
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99 While the cursor appears to point @var{at} a character, you should
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100 think of point as @var{between} two characters: it points @var{before}
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101 the character on which the cursor appears. The exception is at the
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102 end of the line, where the cursor appears after the last character of
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103 the line. Where the display is capable, the cursor at the end of the
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104 line will appear differently from a cursor over whitespace at the end
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105 of the line. (In an X Windows frame, the end-of-line cursor is half
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106 the width of a within-line cursor.) Sometimes people speak of ``the
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107 cursor'' when they mean ``point,'' or speak of commands that move
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108 point as ``cursor motion'' commands.
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109
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110 Each XEmacs frame has only one cursor. When output is in progress, the cursor
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111 must appear where the typing is being done. This does not mean that
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112 point is moving. It is only that XEmacs has no way to show you the
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113 location of point except when the terminal is idle.
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114
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115 If you are editing several files in XEmacs, each file has its own point
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116 location. A file that is not being displayed remembers where point is.
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117 Point becomes visible at the correct location when you look at the file again.
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118
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119 When there are multiple text windows, each window has its own point
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120 location. The cursor shows the location of point in the selected
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121 window. The visible cursor also shows you which window is selected. If
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122 the same buffer appears in more than one window, point can be moved in
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123 each window independently.
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124
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125 The term `point' comes from the character @samp{.}, which was the
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126 command in TECO (the language in which the original Emacs was written)
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127 for accessing the value now called `point'.
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128
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129 @node Echo Area, Mode Line, Point, Frame
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130 @section The Echo Area
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131 @cindex echo area
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132
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133 The line at the bottom of the frame (below the mode line) is the
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134 @dfn{echo area}. XEmacs uses this area to communicate with the user:
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135
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136 @itemize @bullet
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137 @item
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138 @dfn{Echoing} means printing out the characters that the user types. XEmacs
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139 never echoes single-character commands. Multi-character commands are
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140 echoed only if you pause while typing them: As soon as you pause for more
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141 than one second in the middle of a command, all the characters of the command
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142 so far are echoed. This is intended to @dfn{prompt} you for the rest of
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143 the command. Once echoing has started, the rest of the command is echoed
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144 immediately as you type it. This behavior is designed to give confident
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145 users fast response, while giving hesitant users maximum feedback. You
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146 can change this behavior by setting a variable (@pxref{Display Vars}).
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147 @item
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148 If you issue a command that cannot be executed, XEmacs may print an
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149 @dfn{error message} in the echo area. Error messages are accompanied by
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150 a beep or by flashing the frame. Any input you have typed ahead is
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151 thrown away when an error happens.
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152 @item
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153 Some commands print informative messages in the echo area. These
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154 messages look similar to error messages, but are not announced with a
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155 beep and do not throw away input. Sometimes a message tells you what the
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156 command has done, when this is not obvious from looking at the text being
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157 edited. Sometimes the sole purpose of a command is to print a message
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158 giving you specific information. For example, the command @kbd{C-x =} is
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159 used to print a message describing the character position of point in the
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160 text and its current column in the window. Commands that take a long time
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161 often display messages ending in @samp{...} while they are working, and
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162 add @samp{done} at the end when they are finished.
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163 @item
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164 The echo area is also used to display the @dfn{minibuffer}, a window
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165 that is used for reading arguments to commands, such as the name of a
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166 file to be edited. When the minibuffer is in use, the echo area displays
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167 with a prompt string that usually ends with a colon. The cursor
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168 appears after the prompt. You can always get out of the minibuffer by
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169 typing @kbd{C-g}. @xref{Minibuffer}.
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170 @end itemize
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171
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172 @node Mode Line, XEmacs under X, Echo Area, Frame
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173 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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174 @section The Mode Line
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175 @cindex mode line
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176 @cindex top level
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177
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178 Each text window's last line is a @dfn{mode line} which describes what is
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179 going on in that window. When there is only one text window, the mode line
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180 appears right above the echo area. The mode line is in inverse video if
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181 the terminal supports that, starts and ends with dashes, and contains text
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182 like @samp{XEmacs:@: @var{something}}.
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183
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184 If a mode line has something else in place of @samp{XEmacs:@:
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185 @var{something}}, the window above it is in a special subsystem
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186 such as Dired. The mode line then indicates the status of the
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187 subsystem.
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188
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189 Normally, the mode line has the following appearance:
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190
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191 @example
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192 --@var{ch}-XEmacs: @var{buf} (@var{major} @var{minor})----@var{pos}------
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193 @end example
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194
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195 @noindent
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196 This gives information about the buffer being displayed in the window: the
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197 buffer's name, what major and minor modes are in use, whether the buffer's
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198 text has been changed, and how far down the buffer you are currently
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199 looking.
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200
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201 @var{ch} contains two stars (@samp{**}) if the text in the buffer has been
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202 edited (the buffer is ``modified''), or two dashes (@samp{--}) if the
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203 buffer has not been edited. Exception: for a read-only buffer, it is
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204 @samp{%%}.
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205
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206 @var{buf} is the name of the window's chosen @dfn{buffer}. The chosen
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207 buffer in the selected window (the window that the cursor is in) is also
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208 XEmacs's selected buffer, the buffer in which editing takes place. When
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209 we speak of what some command does to ``the buffer'', we mean the
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210 currently selected buffer. @xref{Buffers}.
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211
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212 @var{pos} tells you whether there is additional text above the top of
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213 the screen or below the bottom. If your file is small and it is
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214 completely visible on the screen, @var{pos} is @samp{All}. Otherwise,
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215 @var{pos} is @samp{Top} if you are looking at the beginning of the file,
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216 @samp{Bot} if you are looking at the end of the file, or
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217 @samp{@var{nn}%}, where @var{nn} is the percentage of the file above the
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218 top of the screen.@refill
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219
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220 @var{major} is the name of the @dfn{major mode} in effect in the buffer. At
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221 any time, each buffer is in one and only one major mode.
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222 The available major modes include Fundamental mode (the least specialized),
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223 Text mode, Lisp mode, and C mode. @xref{Major Modes}, for details
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224 on how the modes differ and how you select one.@refill
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225
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226 @var{minor} is a list of some of the @dfn{minor modes} that are turned on
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227 in the window's chosen buffer. For example, @samp{Fill} means that Auto
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228 Fill mode is on. @code{Abbrev} means that Word Abbrev mode is on.
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229 @code{Ovwrt} means that Overwrite mode is on. @xref{Minor Modes}, for more
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230 information. @samp{Narrow} means that the buffer being displayed has
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231 editing restricted to only a portion of its text. This is not really a
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232 minor mode, but is like one. @xref{Narrowing}. @code{Def} means that a
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233 keyboard macro is being defined. @xref{Keyboard Macros}.
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234
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235 Some buffers display additional information after the minor modes. For
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236 example, Rmail buffers display the current message number and the total
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237 number of messages. Compilation buffers and Shell mode display the status
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238 of the subprocess.
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239
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240 If XEmacs is currently inside a recursive editing level, square
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241 brackets (@samp{[@dots{}]}) appear around the parentheses that surround
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242 the modes. If XEmacs is in one recursive editing level within another,
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243 double square brackets appear, and so on. Since information on
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244 recursive editing applies to XEmacs in general and not to any one buffer,
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245 the square brackets appear in every mode line on the screen or not in
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246 any of them. @xref{Recursive Edit}.@refill
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247
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248 @findex display-time
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249 XEmacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode lines.
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250 To enable this feature, type @kbd{M-x display-time}. The information added
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251 to the mode line usually appears after the file name, before the mode names
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252 and their parentheses. It looks like this:
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253
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254 @example
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255 @var{hh}:@var{mm}pm @var{l.ll} [@var{d}]
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256 @end example
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257
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258 @noindent
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259 (Some fields may be missing if your operating system cannot support them.)
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260 @var{hh} and @var{mm} are the hour and minute, followed always by @samp{am}
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261 or @samp{pm}. @var{l.ll} is the average number of running processes in the
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262 whole system recently. @var{d} is an approximate index of the ratio of
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263 disk activity to CPU activity for all users.
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264
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265 The word @samp{Mail} appears after the load level if there is mail for
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266 you that you have not read yet.
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267
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268 @vindex mode-line-inverse-video
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269 Customization note: the variable @code{mode-line-inverse-video}
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270 controls whether the mode line is displayed in inverse video (assuming
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271 the terminal supports it); @code{nil} means no inverse video. The
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272 default is @code{t}. For X frames, simply set the foreground and
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273 background colors appropriately.
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274
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275 @node XEmacs under X, , Mode Line, Frame
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276 @section Using XEmacs Under the X Window System
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277 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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278
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279 XEmacs can be used with the X Window System and a window manager like
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280 MWM or TWM. In that case, the X window manager opens, closes, and
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281 resizes XEmacs frames. You use the window manager's mouse gestures to
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282 perform the operations. Consult your window manager guide or reference
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283 manual for information on manipulating X windows.
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284
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285 When you are working under X, each X window (that is, each XEmacs frame)
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286 has a menu bar for mouse-controlled operations (@pxref{Pull-down Menus}).
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287
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288 @cindex multi-frame XEmacs
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289 @findex make-frame
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290 XEmacs under X is also a multi-frame XEmacs. You can use the @b{New
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291 Frame} menu item from the @b{File} menu to create a new XEmacs frame in a
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292 new X window from the same process. The different frames will share the
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293 same buffer list, but you can look at different buffers in the different
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294 frames.
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295
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296 @findex find-file-other-frame
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297 The function @code{find-file-other-frame} is just like @code{find-file},
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298 but creates a new frame to display the buffer in first. This is
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299 normally bound to @kbd{C-x 5 C-f}, and is what the @b{Open File, New
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300 Frame} menu item does.
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301
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302 @findex switch-to-buffer-other-frame
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303 The function @code{switch-to-buffer-other-frame} is just like
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304 @code{switch-to-buffer}, but creates a new frame to display the buffer
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305 in first. This is normally bound to @kbd{C-x 5 b}.
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306
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307 @vindex default-frame-alist
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308 You can specify a different default frame size other than the one provided.
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309 Use the variable @code{default-frame-alist}, which is an alist of default
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310 values for frame creation other than the first one. These may be set in
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311 your init file, like this:
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312
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313 @example
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314 (setq default-frame-alist '((width . 80) (height . 55)))
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315 @end example
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316
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317 @vindex x-frame-defaults
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318 For values specific to the first XEmacs frame, you must use X resources.
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319 The variable @code{x-frame-defaults} takes an alist of default frame
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320 creation parameters for X window frames. These override what is
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321 specified in @file{~/.Xdefaults} but are overridden by the arguments to
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322 the particular call to @code{x-create-frame}.
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323
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324 @vindex create-frame-hook
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325 When you create a new frame, the variable @code{create-frame-hook}
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326 is called with one argument, the frame just created.
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327
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328 If you want to close one or more of the X windows you created using
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329 @b{New Frame}, use the @b{Delete Frame} menu item from the @b{File} menu.
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330
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331 @vindex frame-title-format
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332 @vindex frame-icon-title-format
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333 If you are working with multiple frames, some special information
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334 applies:
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335 @itemize @bullet
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336 @item
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337 Two variables, @code{frame-title-format} and
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338 @code{frame-icon-title-format} determine the title of the frame and
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339 the title of the icon that results if you shrink the frame.
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340
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341 @vindex auto-lower-frame
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342 @vindex auto-raise-frame
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343 @item
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344 The variables @code{auto-lower-frame} and @code{auto-raise-frame}
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345 position a frame. If true, @code{auto-lower-frame} lowers a frame to
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346 the bottom when it is no longer selected. If true,
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347 @code{auto-raise-frame} raises a frame to the top when it is
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348 selected. Under X, most ICCCM-compliant window managers will have
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349 options to do this for you, but these variables are provided in case you
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350 are using a broken window manager.
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351
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352 @item
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353 There is a new frame/modeline format directive, %S, which expands to
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354 the name of the current frame (a frame's name is distinct from its
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355 title; the name is used for resource lookup, among other things, and the
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356 title is simply what appears above the window.)
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357 @end itemize
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