1XEMACS(1)                   General Commands Manual                  XEMACS(1)
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3
4

NAME

6       xemacs - Emacs: The Next Generation
7

SYNOPSIS

9       xemacs [ command-line switches ] [ files ...  ]
10

DESCRIPTION

12       XEmacs  is  a  version  of  Emacs,  compatible with and containing many
13       improvements over GNU Emacs, written by Richard Stallman  of  the  Free
14       Software  Foundation.   It  was originally based on an early release of
15       GNU Emacs Version 19, and has tracked subsequent releases of GNU  Emacs
16       as they have become available.
17
18       The  primary documentation of XEmacs is in the XEmacs Reference Manual,
19       which you can read on-line using Info, a subsystem of  XEmacs.   Please
20       look  there  for complete and up-to-date documentation.  Complete docu‐
21       mentation on using Emacs Lisp is available on-line through  the  XEmacs
22       Lisp  Programmer's Manual.  Both manuals also can be printed out nicely
23       using the TeX formatting package.
24
25       The user functionality of XEmacs  encompasses  everything  other  Emacs
26       editors  do, and it is easily extensible since its editing commands are
27       written in Lisp.
28
29       XEmacs has an extensive interactive help  facility,  but  the  facility
30       assumes  that  you  know  how to manipulate XEmacs windows and buffers.
31       CTRL-h enters the Help facility.  Help Tutorial (CTRL-h t) requests  an
32       interactive  tutorial  which  can  teach  beginners the fundamentals of
33       XEmacs in a few minutes.  Help Apropos (CTRL-h a) helps you find a com‐
34       mand  given  its functionality, Help Key Binding (CTRL-h k) describes a
35       given key sequence's effect, and Help Function (CTRL-h f)  describes  a
36       given  Lisp  function  specified  by  name.   You  can also look up key
37       sequences in the XEmacs  Reference  Manual  using  Lookup  Key  Binding
38       (CTRL-h CTRL-k), and look up Lisp functions in the XEmacs Lisp Program‐
39       mer's Manual using Lookup Function (CTRL-h CTRL-f).  All of these  help
40       functions,  and more, are available on the Help menu if you are using a
41       window system.
42
43       XEmacs has extensive GUI (graphical user interface) support  when  run‐
44       ning  under  a window system such as X, including multiple frames (top-
45       level windows), a menubar, a toolbar, horizontal and  vertical  scroll‐
46       bars, dialog boxes, and extensive mouse support.
47
48       XEmacs  has  full support for multiple fonts and colors, variable-width
49       fonts, and variable-height lines, and allows for pixmaps to be inserted
50       into a buffer. (This is used in the W3 web-browsing package and in some
51       of the debugger and outlining interfaces, among other things.)
52
53       XEmacs's Undo can undo several steps of modification to  your  buffers,
54       so it is easy to recover from editing mistakes.
55
56       XEmacs's many special packages handle mail reading (VM, MH-E and RMail)
57       and sending (Mail), Usenet news reading and posting (GNUS), World  Wide
58       Web  browsing  (W3),  specialized  modes for editing source code in all
59       common programming languages, syntax highlighting  for  many  languages
60       (Font-Lock),  compiling (Compile), running subshells within XEmacs win‐
61       dows (Shell), outline editing (Outline), running a Lisp read-eval-print
62       loop (Lisp-Interaction-Mode), and automated psychotherapy (Doctor).
63
64       There  is  an  extensive  reference  manual, but users of other Emacsen
65       should have little trouble adapting even without a copy.  Users new  to
66       Emacs will be able to use basic features fairly rapidly by studying the
67       tutorial and using the self-documentation features.
68
69       XEmacs Options
70
71       XEmacs accepts all standard X Toolkit command line options when run  in
72       an  X  Windows  environment.   In  addition,  the following options are
73       accepted (when options imply a sequence of actions to perform, they are
74       performed in the order encountered):
75
76       -t file Use  specified file as the terminal instead of using stdin/std‐
77               out.  This implies -nw.
78
79       -batch  Edit in batch mode.  The editor will send messages  to  stdout.
80               You  must use the -l, -f, and -eval options to specify files to
81               execute and functions to call.
82
83       -nw     Inhibit the use of any window-system-specific display code: use
84               the current TTY.
85
86       -debug-init
87               Enter the debugger if an error occurs loading the init file.
88
89       -unmapped
90               Do not map the initial frame.
91
92       -no-site-file
93               Do not load the site-specific init file (site-start.el).
94
95       -q, -no-init-file
96               Do not load an init file.
97
98       -no-early-packages
99               Do not process the early packages.
100
101       -vanilla
102               Load  no extra files at startup.  Equivalent to the combination
103               of -q, -no-site-file, and -no-early-packages.
104
105       -u user, -user user
106               Load user's init file.
107
108       file    Edit file.
109
110       +number Go to the line specified by  number  (do  not  insert  a  space
111               between the "+" sign and the number).
112
113       -help   Print a help message and exit.
114
115       -V, -version,
116               Print the version number and exit.
117
118       -f function, -funcall function
119               Execute the lisp function function.
120
121       -l file, -load file
122               Load the Lisp code in the file file.
123
124       -eval form
125               Evaluate the Lisp form form.
126
127       -i file, -insert file
128               Insert file into the current buffer.
129
130       -kill   Exit XEmacs (useful with -batch).
131
132       Using XEmacs with X Windows
133
134       XEmacs has been tailored to work well with the X window system.  If you
135       run XEmacs from under X windows, it will create its  own  X  window  to
136       display in.
137
138       XEmacs can be started with the following standard X options:
139
140       -visual <visualname><bitdepth>
141              Select the visual that XEmacs will attempt to use.  <visualname>
142              should  be  one  of  the  strings  "StaticColor",   "TrueColor",
143              "GrayScale",  "PseudoColor"  or  "DirectColor",  and  <bitdepth>
144              should be the number of bits per pixel (example, "-visual  True‐
145              Color24"  for a 24bit TrueColor visual) See X(1) for more infor‐
146              mation.
147
148       -privateColormap
149              Require XEmacs to create and use a private colormap for display.
150              This  will  keep XEmacs from taking colors from the default col‐
151              ormap and keeping them from other clients, at the cost of  caus‐
152              ing  annoying  flicker  when the focus changes.  Use this option
153              only if your X server does not support 24 bit visuals.
154
155       -geometry ##x##+##+##
156              Specify the geometry of the initial window.  The ##'s  represent
157              a number; the four numbers are width (characters), height (char‐
158              acters), X offset (pixels), and Y offset (pixels), respectively.
159              Partial  specifications  of  the  form  ##x## or +##+## are also
160              allowed. (The geometry specification is in the standard  X  for‐
161              mat; see X(1) for more information.)
162
163       -iconic
164              Specifies that the initial window should initially appear iconi‐
165              fied.
166
167       -name name
168               Specifies the program name which should be used when looking up
169               defaults in the user's X resources.
170
171       -title title, -T title, -wn title
172               Specifies the title which should be assigned to the XEmacs win‐
173               dow.
174
175       -d displayname, -display displayname
176               Create the XEmacs window on the display specified  by  display‐
177               name.  Must be the first option specified in the command line.
178
179       -font font, -fn font
180               Set  the  XEmacs  window's font to that specified by font.  You
181               will find the various X fonts in the /usr/lib/X11/fonts  direc‐
182               tory.  XEmacs works with either fixed- or variable-width fonts,
183               but will probably look better with a fixed-width font.
184
185       -scrollbar-width pixels
186               Specify the width of the vertical scrollbars.
187
188       -scrollbar-height pixels
189               Specify the height of the horizontal scrollbars.
190
191       -bw pixels, -borderwidth pixels
192               Set the XEmacs window's border width to the  number  of  pixels
193               specified by pixels.  Defaults to one pixel on each side of the
194               window.
195
196       -ib pixels, -internal-border-width pixels
197               Specify the width between a frame's border  and  its  text,  in
198               pixels.  Defaults to one pixel on each side of the window.
199
200       -fg color, -foreground color
201               Sets the color of the text.
202
203               See  the  file /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt for a list of valid color
204               names.
205
206       -bg color, -background color
207               Sets the color of the window's background.
208
209       -bd color, -bordercolor color
210               Sets the color of the window's border.
211
212       -mc color
213               Sets the color of the mouse pointer.
214
215       -cr color
216               Sets the color of the text cursor.
217
218       -rv, -reverse
219               Reverses the foreground and background colors (reverse  video).
220               Consider  explicitly setting the foreground and background col‐
221               ors instead of using this option.
222
223       -xrm argument
224               This allows you to set an arbitrary  resource  on  the  command
225               line.  argument should be a resource specification, as might be
226               found in your .Xresources or .Xdefaults file.
227
228       You can also set resources, i.e.  X default  values,  for  your  XEmacs
229       windows  in your .Xresources or .Xdefaults file (see xrdb(1)).  Use the
230       following format:
231
232              Emacs.keyword:value
233
234       or
235
236              Emacs*EmacsFrame.keyword:value
237
238       where value specifies the default value of  keyword.   (Some  resources
239       need the former format; some the latter.)
240
241       You can also set resources for a particular frame by using the format
242
243              Emacs*framename.keyword:value
244
245       where framename is the resource name assigned to that particular frame.
246       (Certain packages, such as VM, give their frames unique resource names,
247       in this case "VM".)
248
249       XEmacs lets you set default values for the following keywords:
250
251       default.attributeFont (class Face.AttributeFont)
252               Sets the window's text font.
253
254       default.attributeForeground (class Face.AttributeForeground)
255               Sets the window's text color.
256
257       default.attributeBackground (class Face.AttributeBackground)
258               Sets the window's background color.
259
260       face.attributeFont (class Face.AttributeFont)
261               Sets  the  font  for  face, which should be the name of a face.
262               Common face names are
263
264               FACE            PURPOSE
265               default         Normal text.
266               bold            Bold text.
267               italic          Italicized text.
268               bold-italic     Bold and italicized text.
269               modeline        Modeline text.
270               zmacs-region    Text selected with the mouse.
271               highlight       Text highlighted when the mouse passes over.
272               left-margin     Text in the left margin.
273               right-margin    Text in the right margin.
274               isearch         Text highlighted during incremental search.
275               info-node       Text of Info menu items.
276               info-xref       Text of Info cross references.
277
278       face.attributeForeground (class Face.AttributeForeground)
279               Sets the foreground color for face.
280
281       face.attributeBackground (class Face.AttributeBackground)
282               Sets the background color for face.
283
284       face.attributeBackgroundPixmap (class Face.AttributeBackgroundPixmap)
285               Sets the background pixmap (stipple) for face.
286
287       face.attributeUnderline (class Face.AttributeUnderline)
288               Whether face should be underlined.
289
290       reverseVideo (class ReverseVideo)
291               If set to on, the window will be displayed  in  reverse  video.
292               Consider  explicitly setting the foreground and background col‐
293               ors instead of using this resource.
294
295       borderWidth (class BorderWidth)
296               Sets the window's border width in pixels.
297
298       internalBorderWidth (class InternalBorderWidth)
299               Sets the window's internal border width in pixels.
300
301       borderColor (class BorderColor)
302               Sets the color of the window's border.
303
304       cursorColor (class Foreground)
305               Sets the color of the window's text cursor.
306
307       pointerColor (class Foreground)
308               Sets the color of the window's mouse cursor.
309
310       emacsVisual (class EmacsVisual)
311               Sets the default visual XEmacs will try to  use  (as  described
312               above).
313
314       privateColormap (class PrivateColormap)
315               If set, XEmacs will default to using a private colormap.
316
317       geometry (class Geometry)
318               Sets the geometry of the XEmacs window (as described above).
319
320       iconic (class Iconic)
321               If  set  to  on,  the XEmacs window will initially appear as an
322               icon.
323
324       menubar (class Menubar)
325               Whether the XEmacs window will have  a  menubar.   Defaults  to
326               true.
327
328       initiallyUnmapped (class InitiallyUnmapped)
329               Whether  XEmacs  will  leave the initial frame unmapped when it
330               starts up.
331
332       barCursor (class BarCursor)
333               Whether the cursor should be a bar instead of  the  traditional
334               box.
335
336       title (class Title)
337               Sets the title of the XEmacs window.
338
339       iconName (class Title)
340               Sets the icon name for the XEmacs window icon.
341
342       scrollBarWidth (class ScrollBarWidth)
343               Sets  the width of the vertical scrollbars, in pixels.  A width
344               of 0 means no vertical scrollbars.
345
346       scrollBarHeight (class ScrollBarHeight)
347               Sets the height of the horizontal  scrollbars,  in  pixels.   A
348               height of 0 means no horizontal scrollbars.
349
350       scrollBarPlacement (class ScrollBarPlacement)
351               Sets  the  position  of  vertical  and  horizontal  scrollbars.
352               Should be one of the strings "top-left",  "bottom-left",  "top-
353               right",  or  "bottom-right".  The default is "bottom-right" for
354               the Motif and Lucid scrollbars and "bottom-left" for the Athena
355               scrollbars.
356
357       topToolBarHeight (class TopToolBarHeight)
358               Sets  the height of the top toolbar, in pixels.  0 means no top
359               toolbar.
360
361       bottomToolBarHeight (class BottomToolBarHeight)
362               Sets the height of the bottom toolbar, in pixels.  0  means  no
363               bottom toolbar.
364
365       leftToolBarWidth (class LeftToolBarWidth)
366               Sets the width of the left toolbar, in pixels.  0 means no left
367               toolbar.
368
369       rightToolBarWidth (class RightToolBarWidth)
370               Sets the width of the right toolbar, in  pixels.   0  means  no
371               right toolbar.
372
373       topToolBarShadowColor (class TopToolBarShadowColor)
374               Sets  the  color  of the top shadows for the toolbars. (For all
375               toolbars, not just the toolbar at the top of the frame.)
376
377       bottomToolBarShadowColor (class BottomToolBarShadowColor)
378               Sets the color of the bottom shadows for the toolbars. (For all
379               toolbars, not just the toolbar at the bottom of the frame.)
380
381       topToolBarShadowPixmap (class TopToolBarShadowPixmap)
382               Sets  the  pixmap of the top shadows for the toolbars. (For all
383               toolbars, not just the toolbar at the top  of  the  frame.)  If
384               set, this resource overrides the corresponding color resource.
385
386       bottomToolBarShadowPixmap (class BottomToolBarShadowPixmap)
387               Sets  the  pixmap  of the bottom shadows for the toolbars. (For
388               all toolbars, not just the toolbar at the bottom of the frame.)
389               If   set,  this  resource  overrides  the  corresponding  color
390               resource.
391
392       toolBarShadowThickness (class ToolBarShadowThickness)
393               Thickness of the shadows around the toolbars, in pixels.
394
395       visualBell (class VisualBell)
396               Whether XEmacs should flash the screen rather  than  making  an
397               audible beep.
398
399       bellVolume (class BellVolume)
400               Volume of the audible beep.  Range is 0 through 100.
401
402       useBackingStore (class UseBackingStore)
403               Whether  XEmacs should set the backing-store attribute of the X
404               windows it creates.  This increases the memory usage of  the  X
405               server  but  decreases  the  amount  of  X traffic necessary to
406               update the screen, and is useful when the connection to  the  X
407               server  goes  over a low-bandwidth line such as a modem connec‐
408               tion.
409
410       textPointer (class Cursor)
411               The cursor to use when the mouse is over text.
412
413       selectionPointer (class Cursor)
414               The cursor to use when the mouse is  over  a  mouse-highlighted
415               text region.
416
417       spacePointer (class Cursor)
418               The  cursor  to  use  when the mouse is over a blank space in a
419               buffer (that is, after the end of a line or after  the  end-of-
420               file).
421
422       modeLinePointer (class Cursor)
423               The cursor to use when the mouse is over a mode line.
424
425       gcPointer (class Cursor)
426               The cursor to display when a garbage-collection is in progress.
427
428       scrollbarPointer (class Cursor)
429               The cursor to use when the mouse is over the scrollbar.
430
431       pointerColor (class Foreground)
432               The foreground color of the mouse cursor.
433
434       pointerBackground (class Background)
435               The background color of the mouse cursor.
436
437       Using the Mouse
438
439       The  following  lists  the  mouse button bindings for the XEmacs window
440       under X11.
441
442       MOUSE BUTTON         FUNCTION
443       left                 Set point or make a text selection.
444       middle               Paste text.
445       right                Pop up a menu of options.
446       SHIFT-left           Extend a selection.
447       CTRL-left            Make a selection and insert it at point.
448       CTRL-middle          Set point and move selected text there.
449       CTRL-SHIFT-left      Make a selection, delete  it,  and  insert  it  at
450                            point.
451       META-left            Make a rectangular selection.
452

FILES

454       Lisp   code   is   read   at   startup   from  the  user's  init  file,
455       $HOME/.xemacs/init.el. If this file does not  exist  then  $HOME/.emacs
456       will be read if it is present.
457
458       /usr/local/info - files for the Info documentation browser (a subsystem
459       of XEmacs) to refer to.  The complete text of the XEmacs Reference Man‐
460       ual and the XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual is included in a convenient
461       tree structured form.
462
463       /usr/local/lib/xemacs-$VERSION/info  -  the  Info  files  may  be  here
464       instead.
465
466       /usr/local/lib/xemacs-$VERSION/lisp/*  - Lisp source files and compiled
467       files that define most editing commands.  The files  are  contained  in
468       subdirectories,  categorized  by  function or individual package.  Some
469       are preloaded; others are autoloaded from these directories when used.
470
471       /usr/local/lib/xemacs-$VERSION/etc - some files of information,  pixmap
472       files, other data files used by certain packages, etc.
473
474       /usr/local/lib/xemacs-$VERSION/$CONFIGURATION  -  various programs that
475       are used with XEmacs.
476
477       /usr/local/lib/xemacs-$VERSION/$CONFIGURATION/DOC - contains the  docu‐
478       mentation  strings for the Lisp primitives and preloaded Lisp functions
479       of XEmacs.  They are stored here to reduce the size of XEmacs proper.
480
481       /usr/local/lib/xemacs/site-lisp - locally-provided Lisp files.
482

BUGS AND HELP

484       There is a newsgroup, comp.emacs.xemacs, for reporting XEmacs bugs  and
485       fixes  and  requesting  help.  But before reporting something as a bug,
486       please try to be sure that it really is a bug, not  a  misunderstanding
487       or  a  deliberate  feature.  We ask you to read the section ``Reporting
488       XEmacs Bugs'' near the end of the reference manual (or Info system) for
489       hints on how and when to report bugs.  Also, include the version number
490       of the XEmacs you are running and the system you are running it  on  in
491       every  bug  report that you send in.  Finally, the more you can isolate
492       the cause of a bug and the conditions it happens under, the more likely
493       it is to be fixed, so please take the time to do so.
494
495       The newsgroup is bidirectionally gatewayed to and from the mailing list
496       xemacs@xemacs.org.  You can read the list instead of the  newsgroup  if
497       you  do not have convenient Usenet news access.  To request to be added
498       to the mailing list, send mail to  xemacs-request@xemacs.org.  (Do  not
499       send mail to the list itself.)
500
501       The XEmacs maintainers read the newsgroup regularly and will attempt to
502       fix bugs reported in a timely fashion.  However, not every message will
503       get  a  response from one of the maintainers.  Note that there are many
504       people other than the maintainers who read the newsgroup, and will usu‐
505       ally be of assistance in helping with any problems encountered.
506
507       If  you need more personal assistance than can be provided by the news‐
508       group, look in the SERVICE file (see above) for a list  of  people  who
509       offer it.
510
511       For   more  information  about  XEmacs  mailing  lists,  see  the  file
512       /usr/local/lib/xemacs-$VERSION/etc/MAILINGLISTS.
513

UNRESTRICTIONS

515       XEmacs is free; anyone may redistribute  copies  of  XEmacs  to  anyone
516       under  the terms stated in the XEmacs General Public License, a copy of
517       which accompanies each copy of XEmacs and which  also  appears  in  the
518       reference manual.
519
520       Copies  of XEmacs may sometimes be received packaged with distributions
521       of Unix systems, but it is never included in the scope of  any  license
522       covering  those  systems.   Such  inclusion violates the terms on which
523       distribution is permitted.  In fact, the primary purpose of the General
524       Public  License is to prohibit anyone from attaching any other restric‐
525       tions to redistribution of XEmacs.
526

SEE ALSO

528       X(1), xlsfonts(1), xterm(1), xrdb(1), emacs(1), vi(1)
529

AUTHORS

531       XEmacs was written by Steve Baur  <steve@xemacs.org>,  Martin  Buchholz
532       <martin@xemacs.org>,   Richard  Mlynarik  <mly@adoc.xerox.com>,  Hrvoje
533       Niksic <hniksic@xemacs.org>, Chuck  Thompson  <cthomp@xemacs.org>,  Ben
534       Wing  <ben@xemacs.org>,  Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, and many others.
535       It was based on an early version of GNU Emacs Version  19,  written  by
536       Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> of the Free Software Foundation, and has
537       tracked subsequent releases of GNU Emacs as they have become available.
538       It  was originally written by Lucid, Inc.  (now defunct) and was called
539       Lucid Emacs.
540
541       Chuck Thompson wrote the XEmacs redisplay engine, maintains the  XEmacs
542       FTP  and  WWW sites, and has put out all releases of XEmacs since 19.11
543       (the first release called XEmacs).  Ben Wing wrote  the  Asian-language
544       support, the on-line documentation (including this man page and much of
545       the FAQ), the external widget code, and retooled or rewrote most of the
546       basic,  low-level  XEmacs  subsystems.   Jamie  Zawinski  put  out  all
547       releases of Lucid  Emacs,  from  the  first  (19.0)  through  the  last
548       (19.10),  and  was  the  primary  code  contributor  for  all  of these
549       releases.  Richard Mlynarik rewrote the XEmacs  Lisp-object  allocation
550       system,  improved  the  keymap and minibuffer code, and did the initial
551       synching of XEmacs with GNU Emacs Version 19.
552
553       Many others have also contributed  significantly.   For  more  detailed
554       information,  including  a  long  history of XEmacs from multiple view‐
555       points and pretty pictures and bios of the major  XEmacs  contributors,
556       see the XEmacs About Page (the About XEmacs option on the Help menu).
557

MORE INFORMATION

559       For more information about XEmacs, see the XEmacs About Page (mentioned
560       above), look in the  file  /usr/local/lib/xemacs-$VERSION/etc/NEWS,  or
561       point your Web browser at
562
563       http://www.xemacs.org/
564
565       for up-to-the-minute information about XEmacs.
566
567       The  XEmacs  FAQ  (Frequently  Asked Questions) can be found at the Web
568       site just listed.  A possibly out-of-date version  is  also  accessible
569       through the Info system inside of XEmacs.
570
571       The latest version of XEmacs can be downloaded using anonymous FTP from
572
573       ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/
574
575       or  from  a  mirror site near you.  Mirror sites are listed in the file
576       etc/FTP in the XEmacs distribution or see the Web site  for  an  up-to-
577       date list of mirror sites.
578
579

COPYING

581       Copyright (C) 2004 Shyamal Prasad
582       Copyright (C) 1998, 2000 Martin Buchholz
583       Copyright (C) 1998 Andreas Jaeger
584       Copyright (C) 1998 Michael Sperber
585       Copyright (C) 1997, 1998 SL Baur
586       Copyright (C) 1992-1997 Ben Wing
587
588       This file is part of XEmacs.
589
590       XEmacs is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
591       the terms of the GNU General Public License as published  by  the  Free
592       Software  Foundation,  either  version  3  of  the License, or (at your
593       option) any later version.
594
595       XEmacs is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,  but  WITHOUT
596       ANY  WARRANTY;  without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
597       FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General  Public  License
598       for more details.
599
600       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
601       with XEmacs.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
602
603
604
6054th Berkeley Distribution         2000-09-20                         XEMACS(1)
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