\input texinfo.tex      @c -*-texinfo-*-
@c %**start of header
@setfilename xemacs-faq.info
@settitle Frequently asked questions about XEmacs
@setchapternewpage off
@c %**end of header

@titlepage
@title XEmacs FAQ
@subtitle Frequently asked questions about XEmacs
@subtitle Last Modified:  1997/01/16
@sp 1
@author Tony Rossini <arossini@@stat.sc.edu>
@author Ben Wing <wing@@netcom.com>
@author Chuck Thompson <cthomp@@cs.uiuc.edu>
@author Steve Baur <steve@@miranova.com>
@page
@end titlepage

@node Top, Introduction, (dir), (dir)
@top XEmacs FAQ

This is the guide to the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list---a
compendium of questions and answers pertaining to one of the finest
programs ever written.  It is much more than just a Text Editor.

This FAQ is freely redistributable.  I take no liability for the
correctness and safety of any procedures or advice given here.  This
FAQ is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

If you have a Web browser, the official hypertext version is at
<URL:http://www.miranova.com/~steve/xemacs-faq.html> and also at
<URL:http://www.xemacs.org/faq/xemacs-faq.html>.  This version is much
nicer than the unofficial hypertext versions that are archived at
Utrecht, Oxford, Smart Pages, and other FAQ archives.

@menu
* Introduction::        Introduction, Policy, Credits.
* Installation::        Installation and Trouble Shooting.
* Customization::       Customization and Options.
* Subsystems::          Major Subsystems.
* Miscellaneous::       The Miscellaneous Stuff.
* Current Events::      What the Future Holds.
@end menu

@node Introduction, Installation, Top, Top
@chapter Introduction, Policy, Credits

Learning XEmacs is a lifelong activity.  I've been using Emacs for
over a decade now, and I'm still discovering new features.  Therefore
this document cannot be complete.  Instead it is aimed at the person
who is either considering XEmacs for their own use, or has just
obtained it and is wondering what to do next.  It is also useful as a
reference to available resources.

The previous maintainer of the FAQ was Anthony Rossini
<rossini@@stat.sc.edu>, who started it, after getting tired of hearing
JWZ complain about repeatedly having to answer questions.  Ben Wing
<ben@@666.com> and Chuck Thompson <cthomp@@xemacs.org>, the principal
authors of XEmacs, then took over and Ben did a massive update
reorganizing the whole thing.  At which point Anthony took back over,
but then had to give it up again.  Some of the other contributors to
this FAQ are listed later in this document.

The previous version was converted to hypertext format, and edited by
Steven L. Baur <steve@@altair.xemacs.org>.  It was converted back to
texinfo by Hrvoje Niksic <hniksic@@srce.hr>.

This version was edited and updated by Andreas Kaempf
<andreas@@sccon.com>.


@menu
Introduction:
* Q1.0.1::      What is XEmacs?
* Q1.0.2::      What is the current version of XEmacs?
* Q1.0.3::      Where can I find it?
* Q1.0.4::      Why Another Version of Emacs?
* Q1.0.5::      Why Haven't XEmacs and GNU Emacs Merged?
* Q1.0.6::      Where can I get help?
* Q1.0.7::      Where is the mailing list archived?
* Q1.0.8::      How do you pronounce XEmacs?
* Q1.0.9::      What does XEmacs look like?
* Q1.0.10::     Is there a port of XEmacs to Microsoft ('95 or NT)?
* Q1.0.11::     Is there a port of XEmacs to the Macintosh?
* Q1.0.12::     Is there a port of XEmacs to NextStep?
* Q1.0.13::     Is there a port of XEmacs to OS/2?
* Q1.0.14::     Where can I get a printed copy of the XEmacs users manual?

Policies:
* Q1.1.1::      What is the FAQ editorial policy?
* Q1.1.2::      How do I become a Beta Tester?
* Q1.1.3::      How do I contribute to XEmacs itself?

Credits:
* Q1.2.1::      Who wrote XEmacs?
* Q1.2.2::      Who contributed to this version of the FAQ?
* Q1.2.3::      Who contributed to the FAQ in the past?

Internationalization:
* Q1.3.1::      What is the status of XEmacs v20?
* Q1.3.2::      What is the status of Asian-language support, aka @var{mule}?
* Q1.3.3::      How do I type non-ASCII characters?
* Q1.3.4::      Can XEmacs messages come out in a different language?
* Q1.3.5::      Please explain the various input methods in MULE/XEmacs 20.0
* Q1.3.6::      How do I portably code for MULE/XEmacs 20.0?
* Q1.3.7::      How about Cyrillic Modes?

Getting Started:
* Q1.4.1::      What is a @file{.emacs} and is there a sample one?
* Q1.4.2::      Can I use the same @file{.emacs} with the other Emacs?
* Q1.4.3::      Any good XEmacs tutorials around?
* Q1.4.4::      May I see an example of a useful XEmacs Lisp function?
* Q1.4.5::      And how do I bind it to a key?
* Q1.4.6::      What's the difference between a macro and a function?
* Q1.4.7::      Why options saved with 19.13 don't work with 19.14 or 20.0?
@end menu

@node Q1.0.1, Q1.0.2, Introduction, Introduction
@section What is XEmacs?

An alternative to GNU Emacs, originally based on an early alpha version
of FSF's version 19, and has diverged quite a bit since then.  XEmacs
was known as Lucid Emacs through version 19.10.  Almost all features of
GNU Emacs are supported in XEmacs The maintainers of XEmacs actively
track changes to GNU Emacs while also working to add new features.

@node Q1.0.2, Q1.0.3, Q1.0.1, Introduction
@section What is the current version of XEmacs?

The current version is 19.15, released in March, 1997.

It has been decided that XEmacs 19.15 will be the final release of v19.
XEmacs 19.15 is scheduled for release in late March.  After a brief
period of further testing, XEmacs v20.1 will be released shortly after
that.

@node Q1.0.3, Q1.0.4, Q1.0.2, Introduction
@section Where can I find it?

The canonical source and binaries is found via anonymous FTP at:

@example
<URL:ftp.xemacs.org:/pub/xemacs/>
@end example

@node Q1.0.4, Q1.0.5, Q1.0.3, Introduction
@section Why Another Version of Emacs?

For a detailed description of the differences between GNU Emacs and
XEmacs and a detailed history of XEmacs, check out the
@example
<URL:http://www.xemacs.org/NEWS.html>
@end example

However, here is a list of some of the reasons why we think you might
consider using it:

@itemize @bullet
@item
It looks nicer.

@item
The XEmacs maintainers are generally more receptive to suggestions than
the GNU Emacs maintainers.

@item
Many more bundled packages than GNU Emacs

@item
Binaries are available for many common operating systems.

@item
Face support on TTY's.

@item
A built-in toolbar.

@item
Better Motif compliance.

@item
Some internationalization support (full MULE support starting with 20.0).

@item
Variable-width fonts.

@item
Variable-height lines.

@item
Marginal annotations.

@item
ToolTalk support.

@item
XEmacs can be used as an Xt widget, and can be embedded within another
application.

@item
Horizontal and vertical scrollbars (using real toolkit scrollbars).

@item
Better APIs (and performance) for attaching fonts, colors, and other
properties to text.

@item
The ability to embed arbitrary graphics in a buffer.

@item
Completely compatible (at the C level) with the Xt-based toolkits.

@item
First production Web Browser supporting Style Sheets.
@end itemize

@node Q1.0.5, Q1.0.6, Q1.0.4, Introduction
@section Why Haven't XEmacs and GNU Emacs Merged?

There are currently irreconcilable differences in the views about
technical, programming, design and organizational matters between RMS
and the XEmacs development team which provide little hope for a merge to
take place in the short-term future.

@node Q1.0.6, Q1.0.7, Q1.0.5, Introduction
@section Where can I get help?

Probably the easiest way, if everything is installed, is to use info, by
pressing @kbd{C-h i}, or selecting @code{Emacs Info} from the Help Menu.

Also, @kbd{M-x apropos} will look for commands for you.

Try reading this FAQ, examining the regular GNU Emacs FAQ (which can be
found with the Emacs 19 distribution) as well as at
@example
<URL:http://www.eecs.nwu.edu/emacs/faq/>
@end example
and reading the Usenet group comp.emacs.xemacs.

If that does not help, try posting your question to comp.emacs.xemacs.
Please @strong{do not} post XEmacs related questions to gnu.emacs.help.

If you cannot post or read Usenet news, there is a corresponding mailing
list which is available.  It can be subscribed to by sending a message
with a subject of @samp{subscribe} to
@example
<xemacs-request@@xemacs.org>
@end example
for subscription information and
@example
<xemacs@@xemacs.org>
@end example
to send messages to the list.

To cancel a subscription, you @strong{must} use the xemacs-request
address.  Send a message with a subject of @samp{unsubscribe} to be
removed.

@node Q1.0.7, Q1.0.8, Q1.0.6, Introduction
@section Where is the mailing list archived?

The mailing list is archived in the directory
@example
<URL:ftp://ftp.xemacs.org:/pub/mlists/>.
@end example

@node Q1.0.8, Q1.0.9, Q1.0.7, Introduction
@section How do you pronounce XEmacs?

I pronounce it @samp{Eks eemax}.

@node Q1.0.9, Q1.0.10, Q1.0.8, Introduction
@section What does XEmacs look like?

Screen snapshots are available in the WWW version of the FAQ.

@node Q1.0.10, Q1.0.11, Q1.0.9, Introduction
@section Is there a port of XEmacs to Microsoft ('95 or NT)?

The closest is @dfn{Win-Emacs}, which is based on Lucid Emacs 19.6.
Available from <URL:http://www.pearlsoft.com/>.

There are some people actively working on a NT port of v20.1: David
Hobley started the port.  Marc Paquette
@example
<marcpa@@cam.org>
@end example
has also became part of this effort.

Email the beta list
@example
<xemacs-beta@@xemacs.org>
@end example
if you are interested in helping.

There's a port of GNU Emacs (not XEmacs) at
@example
<URL:http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/voelker/ntemacs.html>.
@end example

@node Q1.0.11, Q1.0.12, Q1.0.10, Introduction
@section Is there a port of XEmacs to the Macintosh?

There has been a port to the MachTen environment of XEmacs 19.13, but no
patches have been submitted to the maintainers to get this in the
mainstream distribution.

@node Q1.0.12, Q1.0.13, Q1.0.11, Introduction
@section Is there a port of XEmacs to NextStep?

Carl Edman, apparently no longer at <cedman@@princeton.edu>, did the
port of GNU Emacs to NeXTstep and expressed interest in doing the XEmacs
port, but never went any farther.

@node Q1.0.13, Q1.0.14, Q1.0.12, Introduction
@section Is there a port of XEmacs to OS/2?

No, and there is no news of anyone working on it.

@node Q1.0.14, Q1.1.1, Q1.0.13, Introduction
@section Where can I obtain a printed copy of the XEmacs users manual?

InfoDock Associates, a firm specializing in Emacs-related support and
development, will be maintaining the XEmacs user manual.  The firm plans
to begin publishing printed copies of the manual in March 1997.

@example
  Web:     http://www.xemacs.com
  E-mail:  <info@@xemacs.com>
  Tel:     +1 408 243 3300
@end example

@node Q1.1.1, Q1.1.2, Q1.0.14, Introduction
@section What is the FAQ editorial policy?

The FAQ is actively maintained and modified regularly.  All links should
be up to date.

Changes are displayed on a monthly basis.  @dfn{Months}, for this
purpose are defined as the 5th of the month through the 5th of the
month.  Preexisting questions that have been changed are marked as such.
Brand new questions are tagged.

All submissions are welcome.  E-mail submissions to
<andreas@@sccon.com>.

Please make sure that @samp{XEmacs FAQ} appears on the Subject: line.
If you think you have a better way of answering a question, or think a
question should be included, I'd like to hear about it.  Questions and
answers included into the FAQ will be edited for spelling and grammar,
and will be attributed.  Answers appearing without attribution are
either from versions of the FAQ dated before May 1996, or are from one
of the four people listed at the top of this document.  Answers quoted
from Usenet news articles will always be attributed, regardless of the
author.

@node Q1.1.2, Q1.1.3, Q1.1.1, Introduction
@section How do I become a Beta Tester?

Send an email message to <xemacs-beta-request@@xemacs.org> with a
subject line of @samp{subscribe}.  Fill out and return the questionaire
you get back, and you will receive the password to get at the current
beta.

Be prepared to get your hands dirty, as beta testers are expected to
identify problems as best they can.

@node Q1.1.3, Q1.2.1, Q1.1.2, Introduction
@section How do I contribute to XEmacs itself?

Ben Wing <ben@@666.com> writes:

@quotation
BTW if you have a wish list of things that you want added, you have to
speak up about it!  More specifically, you can do the following if you
want a feature added (in increasing order of usefulness):

@itemize @bullet
@item
Make a posting about a feature you want added.

@item
Become a beta tester and make more postings about those same features.

@item
Convince us that you're going to use the features in some cool and
useful way.

@item
Come up with a clear and well-thought-out API concerning the features.

@item
Write the code to implement a feature and send us a patch.
@end itemize

(not that we're necessarily requiring you to write the code, but we can
always hope :)
@end quotation

@node Q1.2.1, Q1.2.2, Q1.1.3, Introduction
@section Who wrote XEmacs?

XEmacs is the result of the time and effort of many people.  The
developers responsible for the 19.15/20.0 release are:

@itemize @bullet
@item Martin Buchholz <mrb@@eng.sun.com>

@item Steve Baur <steve@@altair.xemacs.org>
@end itemize

The developers responsible for the 19.14 release are:

@itemize @bullet
@item Chuck Thompson <cthomp@@xemacs.org>

Chuck was Mr. XEmacs from 19.11 through 19.14, and is responsible
for XEmacs becoming a widely distributed program over the Internet.

@item Ben Wing <ben@@666.com>
@end itemize

Jamie Zawinski was Mr. Lucid Emacs from 19.0 through 19.10, the last
release actually named Lucid Emacs.  Richard Mlynarik was crucial to
most of those releases.

@itemize @bullet
@item Jamie Zawinski <jwz@@netscape.com>

@item Richard Mlynarik <mly@@adoc.xerox.com>
@end itemize

Along with many other contributors, partially enumerated in the
@samp{About XEmacs} option in the Help menu.

@node Q1.2.2, Q1.2.3, Q1.2.1, Introduction
@section Who contributed to this version of the FAQ?

The following people contributed valuable suggestions to building this
version of the FAQ (listed in alphabetical order):

@itemize @bullet
@item Steven L Baur <steve@@miranova.com>

@item Darrell Kindred <dkindred@@cmu.edu>

@item David Moore <dmoore@@ucsd.edu>

@item Justin Sheehy <dworkin@@ccs.neu.edu>
@end itemize

@node Q1.2.3, Q1.3.1, Q1.2.2, Introduction
@section Who contributed to the FAQ in the past?

This is only a partial list, as many names were lost in a hard disk
crash some time ago.

@itemize @bullet
@item Curtis.N.Bingham <binge@@aloft.att.com>

@item Richard Caley <rjc@@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>

@item William G. Dubuque <wgd@@martigny.ai.mit.edu>

@item Eric Eide <eeide@@cs.utah.edu>

@item Chris Flatters <cflatter@@nrao.edu>

@item Evelyn Ginsparg <ginsparg@@adra.com>

@item Marty Hall <hall@@aplcenmp.apl.jhu.edu>

@item Arup Mukherjee <arup+@@cmu.edu>

@item Juergen Nickelsen <nickel@@prz.tu-berlin.de>

@item Kevin R. Powell <powell@@csl.ncsa.uiuc.edu>

@item Stig <stig@@hackvan.com>
@end itemize

@node Q1.3.1, Q1.3.2, Q1.2.3, Introduction
@section What is the status of XEmacs v20?

XEmacs v20 is the version of XEmacs that includes MULE (Asian-language)
support.  XEmacs 20.0 was released in February 1997.  When compiled
without MULE support 20.0 is currently very similar to 19.15 (except for
some changes to the byte-code format, some new primitive types including
@code{char}, @code{char-table}, and @code{range-table}) and equally
stable.

@node Q1.3.2, Q1.3.3, Q1.3.1, Introduction
@section What is the status of Asian-language support, aka MULE?

The MULE support works OK but still needs a fair amount of work before
it's really solid.  We could definitely use some help here, esp. people
who speak Japanese and will use XEmacs/MULE to work with Japanese and
have some experience with E-Lisp.  Martin Buchholz
<Martin.Buchholz@@sun.com> is working full-time on this currently.  If
you can help out here, @xref{Q1.1.2}.

@node Q1.3.3, Q1.3.4, Q1.3.2, Introduction
@section How do I type non-ASCII characters?

See question 3.5.7 (@xref{Q3.5.7}) in part 3 of this FAQ.

@node Q1.3.4, Q1.3.5, Q1.3.3, Introduction
@section Can XEmacs messages come out in a different language?

The message-catalog support has mostly been written but doesn't
currently work.  The first release of XEmacs 20 will @emph{not} support
it.  However, menubar localization @emph{does} work, even in 19.14.  To
enable it, add to your @file{Emacs} file entries like this:

@example
Emacs*XlwMenu.resourceLabels:			True
Emacs*XlwMenu.file.labelString:	        	Fichier
Emacs*XlwMenu.openInOtherWindow.labelString: 	In anderem Fenster offnen
@end example

The name of the resource is derived from the non-localized entry by
removing punctuation and capitalizing as above.  Martin Buchholz
<Martin.Buchholz@@sun.com> is working on adding support for Asian
language menubar localization to XEmacs 20.

@node Q1.3.5, Q1.3.6, Q1.3.4, Introduction
@section Please explain the various input methods in MULE/XEmacs 20.0

MORIOKA Tomohiko <morioka@@jaist.ac.jp> writes:

@quotation
Original Mule supports following input methods: Wnn4, Wnn6, Canna, SJ3
and XIM. Interfaces for Wnn and SJ3 uses the @code{egg} user
interface. Interface for Canna does not use @samp{egg}. I don't know
about XIM. It is to support ATOK, of course, it may work for another
servers.

Wnn supports Japanese, Chinese and Korean. It is made by OMRON and Kyôto
university. It is a powerful and complex system.  Wnn4 is free and Wnn6
is not free.

Canna supports only Japanese. It is made by NEC. It is a simple and
powerful system. Canna uses only grammar (Wnn uses grammar and
probability between words), so I think Wnn is cleverer than Canna,
however Canna users made a good grammar and dictionary.  So for standard
modern Japanese, Canna seems cleverer than Wnn4. In addition, the UNIX
version of Canna is free (now there is a Microsoft Windows version).

SJ3 supports only Japanese. It is made by Sony.  XIM supports was made
to use ATOK (a major input method in personal computer world).  XIM is
the standard for accessing input methods bundled in Japanese versions of
Solaris.  (XEmacs 20 will support XIM input).

Egg consists of following parts:

@enumerate
@item Input character Translation System (ITS) layer.
It translates ASCII inputs to Kana/PinYin/Hangul characters.

@item Kana/PinYin/Hangul to Kanji transfer layer.
It is
interface layer for network Kana-Kanji server (Wnn and Sj3).
@end enumerate

These input methods are modal, namely there are mode, alphabet mode and
Kana-Kanji transfer mode.  However there are mode-less input methods for
Egg and Canna.  @samp{Boiled-egg} is a mode-less input method running on
Egg.  For Canna, @samp{canna.el} has a tiny boiled-egg like command,
@code{(canna-boil)}, and there are some boiled-egg like utilities.  In
addition, it was planned to make an abstraction for all transfer type
input methods.  However authors of input methods are busy, so maybe this
plan is stopped.  Perhaps after Mule merged GNU Emacs will be released,
it will be continued.
@end quotation

@node Q1.3.6, Q1.3.7, Q1.3.5, Introduction
@section How do I portably code for MULE/XEmacs 20.0?

MORIOKA Tomohiko <morioka@@jaist.ac.jp> writes:

@quotation
MULE and XEmacs are quite different. So the application
implementor must write separate code for these mule variants.

MULE and the next version of Emacs are similar but the symbols are very
different---requiring separate code as well.

Namely we must support 3 kinds of mule variants and 4 or 5 or 6 kinds of
emacs variants... (;_;) I'm shocked, so I wrote a wrapper package called
@code{emu} to provide a common interface.

I have the following suggestions about dealing with mule variants:

@itemize @bullet
@item
@code{(featurep 'mule)} @code{t} on all mule variants

@item
@code{(boundp 'MULE)} is @code{t} on only MULE.  Maybe the next version
of Emacs will not have this symbol.

@item
MULE has a variable @code{mule-version}.  Perhaps the next version of
Emacs will have this variable as well.
@end itemize

Following is a sample to distinguish mule variants:

@lisp
(if (featurep 'mule)
    (cond ((boundp 'MULE)
           ;; for original Mule
           )
	  ((string-match "XEmacs" emacs-version)
	   ;; for XEmacs with Mule
	   )
	  (t
	   ;; for next version of Emacs
	   ))
  ;; for old emacs variants
  )
@end lisp
@end quotation

@node Q1.3.7, Q1.4.1, Q1.3.6, Introduction
@section How about Cyrillic Modes?

Ilya Zakharevich <ilya@@math.ohio-state.edu> writes:

@quotation
There is a cyrillic mode in the file @file{mysetup.zip} in
<URL:ftp://ftp.math.ohio-state.edu/pub/users/ilya/emacs/>.  This is a
modification to Valery Alexeev's <ava@@math.jhu.ed> @file{russian.el}
which can be obtained from 
<URL:ftp://tut.cis.ohio-state.edu/pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/packages/russian.el.Z>.
@end quotation

Dima Barsky <d.barsky@@ee.surrey.ac.uk> writes:

@quotation
There is another cyrillic mode for both GNU Emacs and XEmacs by Dmitrii
(Mitya) Manin <manin@@camelot.mssm.edu> at
<URL:http://camelot.mssm.edu/~manin/cyr.el>.
@end quotation

@node Q1.4.1, Q1.4.2, Q1.3.7, Introduction
@section What is a @file{.emacs} and is there a sample one?

The @file{.emacs} file is used to customize XEmacs to your tastes.  No
two are alike, nor are they expected to be alike, but that's the point.
The XEmacs distribution contains an excellent starter example in the etc
directory called @file{sample.emacs}.  Copy this file from there to your
home directory and rename it @file{.emacs}.  Then edit it to suit.

Starting with 19.14, you may bring the @file{sample.emacs} into an
XEmacs buffer by selecting @samp{Help->Sample .emacs} from the menubar.
To determine the location of the @file{etc} directory type the command
@kbd{C-h v data-directory RET}.

@node Q1.4.2, Q1.4.3, Q1.4.1, Introduction
@section Can I use the same @file{.emacs} with the other Emacs?

Yes.  The sample @file{.emacs} included in the XEmacs distribution will
show you how to handle different versions and flavors of Emacs.

@node Q1.4.3, Q1.4.4, Q1.4.2, Introduction
@section Any good tutorials around?

There's the XEmacs tutorial available from the Help Menu, or by typing
@kbd{C-h t}.

There's an Emacs Lisp tutorial at

@example
<URL:ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/emacs-lisp-intro-1.04.tar.gz>.
@end example

Erik Sundermann <erik@@petaxp.rug.ac.be> has made a tutorial web page at
<URL:http://petaxp.rug.ac.be/~erik/xemacs/>.

@node Q1.4.4, Q1.4.5, Q1.4.3, Introduction
@section May I see an example of a useful XEmacs Lisp function?

The following function does a little bit of everything useful.  It does
something with the prefix argument, it examines the text around the
cursor, and it's interactive so it may be bound to a key.  It inserts
copies of the current word the cursor is sitting on at the cursor.  If
you give it a prefix argument: @kbd{C-u 3 M-x double-word} then it will
insert 3 copies.

@lisp
(defun double-word (count)
  "Insert a copy of the current word underneath the cursor"
  (interactive "*p")
  (let (here there string)
    (save-excursion
      (forward-word -1)
      (setq here (point))
      (forward-word 1)
      (setq there (point))
      (setq string (buffer-substring here there)))
    (while (>= count 1)
      (progn
	(insert string)
	(setq count (1- count))))))
@end lisp

The best way to see what is going on here is to let XEmacs tell you.
Put the code into an XEmacs buffer, and do a @kbd{C-h f} with the cursor
sitting just to the right of the function you want explained.  Eg.  move
the cursor to the SPACE between @code{interactive} and @samp{"*p"} and
hit @kbd{C-h f} to see what the function @code{interactive} does.  Doing
this will tell you that the @code{*} requires a writable buffer, and
@code{p} converts the prefix argument to a number, and
@code{interactive} allows you to execute the command with @kbd{M-x}.

@node Q1.4.5, Q1.4.6, Q1.4.4, Introduction
@section And how do I bind it to a key?

To bind to a key do:

@lisp
(global-set-key "\C-cd" 'double-word)
@end lisp

Or interactively, @kbd{M-x global-set-key} and follow the prompts.

Jari Aalto has written a guide to Emacs keys binding, available at
<URL:ftp://cs.uta.fi/pub/ssjaaa/ema-keys.gui>.

@node Q1.4.6, Q1.4.7, Q1.4.5, Introduction
@section What's the difference between a macro and a function?

Quoting from the Lisp Reference (a.k.a @dfn{lispref}) Manual:

@dfn{Macros} enable you to define new control constructs and other
language features.  A macro is defined much like a function, but instead
of telling how to compute a value, it tells how to compute another Lisp
expression which will in turn compute the value.  We call this
expression the @dfn{expansion} of the macro.

Macros can do this because they operate on the unevaluated expressions
for the arguments, not on the argument values as functions do.  They can
therefore construct an expansion containing these argument expressions
or parts of them.

@node Q1.4.7,  , Q1.4.6, Introduction
@section How come options saved with 19.13 don't work with 19.14 or 20.0?

There's a problem with options of the form:

@lisp
(add-spec-list-to-specifier (face-property 'searchm-field 'font)
                            '((global (nil))))
@end lisp

saved by a 19.13 XEmacs that causes a 19.14 XEmacs grief.  You must
delete these options.  19.14 and later no longer write the options
directly to @file{.emacs} which should allow us to deal with version
incompatibilities better in the future.

Options saved under XEmacs 19.13 are protected by code that specifically
requires a version 19 XEmacs.  This won't be a problem unless you're
testing XEmacs v20.  You should consider changing the code to read:

@lisp
(cond
 ((and (string-match "XEmacs" emacs-version)
       (boundp 'emacs-major-version)
       (or (and (= emacs-major-version 19)
                (>= emacs-minor-version 12))
           (>= emacs-major-version 20)))
 ...
@end lisp

@node Installation, Customization, Introduction, Top
@chapter Installation and Trouble Shooting

This is part 2 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list.  This
section is devoted to Installation, Maintenance and Trouble Shooting.

@menu
Installation:
* Q2.0.1::      Running XEmacs without installing.
* Q2.0.2::      XEmacs is too big.
* Q2.0.3::      Compiling XEmacs with Netaudio.
* Q2.0.4::      Problems with Linux and ncurses.
* Q2.0.5::      Do I need X11 to run XEmacs?
* Q2.0.6::      I'm having strange crashes.  What do I do?
* Q2.0.7::      Libraries in non-standard locations.
* Q2.0.8::      can't resolve symbol _h_errno
* Q2.0.9::      Where do I find external libraries?
* Q2.0.10::     After I run configure I find a coredump, is something wrong?
* Q2.0.11::     XEmacs can't resolve host names.
* Q2.0.12::     Why can't I strip XEmacs?
* Q2.0.13::     Can't link XEmacs on Solaris with Gcc.

Trouble Shooting:
* Q2.1.1::      XEmacs just crashed on me!
* Q2.1.2::      Cryptic Minibuffer messages.
* Q2.1.3::      Translation Table Syntax messages at Startup.
* Q2.1.4::      Startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?
* Q2.1.5::      XEmacs cannot connect to my X Terminal.
* Q2.1.6::      XEmacs just locked up my Linux X server.
* Q2.1.7::      HP Alt key as Meta.
* Q2.1.8::      got (wrong-type-argument color-instance-p nil)!
* Q2.1.9::      XEmacs causes my OpenWindows 3.0 server to crash.
* Q2.1.10::     Warnings from incorrect key modifiers.
* Q2.1.11::     @samp{wrong type argument: bufferp, "......"}.
* Q2.1.12::     Regular Expression Problems on DEC OSF1.
* Q2.1.13::     HP/UX 10.10 and @code{create_process} failure
* Q2.1.14::     @kbd{C-g} doesn't work for me.  Is it broken?
* Q2.1.15::     How to debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger.
* Q2.1.16::     XEmacs crashes in @code{strcat} on HP/UX 10.
* Q2.1.17::     @samp{Marker does not point anywhere}.
* Q2.1.18::     19.14 hangs on HP/UX 10.10.
* Q2.1.19::     XEmacs does not follow the local timezone.
* Q2.1.20::     @samp{Symbol's function definition is void: hkey-help-show.}
* Q2.1.21::     Every so often the XEmacs frame freezes.
* Q2.1.22::     XEmacs seems to take a really long time to do some things.
@end menu

@node Q2.0.1, Q2.0.2, Installation, Installation
@section Running XEmacs without installing

The @file{INSTALL} file says that up to 108 MB of space is needed
temporarily during installation!  How can I just try it out?

XEmacs will run in place without requiring installation and copying of
the Lisp directories, and without having to specify a special build-time
flag.  It's the copying of the Lisp directories that requires so much
space.  XEmacs is largely written in Lisp.

A good method is to make a shell alias for xemacs:

@example
alias xemacs=/i/xemacs-19.14/src/xemacs
@end example

(You will obviously use whatever directory you downloaded the source
tree to instead of @file{/i/xemacs-19.14}).

This will let you run XEmacs without massive copying.

@node Q2.0.2, Q2.0.3, Q2.0.1, Installation
@section XEmacs is too big

Steve Baur <steve@@altair.xemacs.org> writes:

@quotation
The 45MB of space required by the installation directories can be
reduced dramatically if desired.  Gzip all the .el files.  Remove all
the packages you'll never want to use (or even ones you do like the two
obsolete mailcrypts and Gnus 4 in 19.13).  Remove the TexInfo manuals.
Remove the Info (and use just hardcopy versions of the manual).  Remove
most of the stuff in etc.  Remove or gzip all the source code.  Gzip or
remove the C source code.  Configure it so that copies are not made of
the support lisp.  I'm not advocating any of these things, just pointing
out ways to reduce the disk requirements if desired.

Now examine the space used by directory:

@example
0	/usr/local/bin/xemacs
2048	/usr/local/bin/xemacs-19.13

1546	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/i486-miranova-sco3.2v4.2
1158	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/i486-unknown-linux1.2.13
@end example

You need to keep these.  XEmacs isn't stripped by default in
installation, you should consider stripping.  That will save you about
5MB right there.

@example
207	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/w3
122	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/sounds
18	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/sparcworks
159	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/vm
6	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/e
21	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/eos
172	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/toolbar
61	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/ns
43	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc/gnus
@end example

These are support directories for various packages.  In general they
match a directory under ./xemacs-19.13/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/.  If you
do not require the package, you may delete or gzip the support too.

@example
1959	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/etc
175	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/bytecomp
340	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/calendar
342	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/comint
517	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/dired
42	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/electric
212	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/emulators
238	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/energize
289	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/gnus
457	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/ilisp
1439	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/modes
2276	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/packages
1040	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/prim
176	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/pcl-cvs
154	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/rmail
3	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/epoch
45	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/term
860	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/utils
851	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/vm
13	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/vms
157	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/x11
19	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/tooltalk
14	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/sunpro
291	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/games
198	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/edebug
619	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/w3
229	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/eos
55	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/iso
59	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/mailcrypt
187	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/eterm
356	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/ediff
408	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/hyperbole/kotl
1262	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/hyperbole
247	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/hm--html-menus
161	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/mh-e
299	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/viper
53	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/oobr/tree-x
4	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/oobr/tree-nx/English.lproj/DocWindow.nib
3	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/oobr/tree-nx/English.lproj/InfoPanel.nib
3	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/oobr/tree-nx/English.lproj/TreeView.nib
11	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/oobr/tree-nx/English.lproj
53	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/oobr/tree-nx
466	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp/oobr
14142	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp
@end example

These are all Emacs Lisp source code and bytecompiled object code.  You
may safely gzip everything named *.el here.  You may remove any package
you don't use.  @emph{Nothing bad will happen if you delete a package
that you do not use}.  You must be sure you do not use it though, so be
conservative at first.

Possible candidates for deletion include w3 (newer versions exist, or
you may just use Lynx or Netscape for web browsing), games, hyperbole,
mh-e, hm--html-menus (better packages exist), vm, viper, oobr, gnus (new
versions exist), etc.  Ask yourself, @emph{Do I ever want to use this
package?}  If the answer is no, then it is a candidate for removal.

First, gzip all the .el files.  Then go about package by package and
start gzipping the .elc files.  Then run XEmacs and do whatever it is
you normally do.  If nothing bad happens, then delete the directory.  Be
conservative about deleting directories, and it would be handy to have a
backup tape around in case you get too zealous.

@file{prim}, @file{modes}, @file{packages}, and @file{utils} are four
directories you definitely do @strong{not} want to delete, although
certain packages can be removed from them if you do not use them.

@example
1972	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/info
@end example

These are online texinfo sources.  You may either gzip them or remove
them.  In either case, @kbd{C-h i} (info mode) will no longer work.

@example
20778	/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13
@end example

The 20MB achieved is less than half of what the full distribution takes up,
@strong{and} can be achieved without deleting a single file.
@end quotation

giacomo boffi <boffi@@hp735.stru.polimi.it> provides this procedure:

@quotation
Substitute @file{/usr/local/lib/} with the path where the xemacs tree is
rooted, then use this script:

@example
#!/bin/sh

r=/usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.13/lisp

cd $r ; rm -f cmpr ; touch cmpr

du -s .

for d in * ; do
  if test -d $d ; then
    cd $d
    for f in *.el ; do
#     compress (remove) only (ONLY) the sources that have a
#     corresponding compiled file --- do not (DO NOT) touch other
#     sources
      if test -f $@{f@}c ; then gzip -v9 $f >> $r/cmpr ; fi
    done
    cd ..
  fi
done

du -s .
@end example

A step beyond would be substituting @samp{rm -f} for @samp{gzip -v9},
but you have to be desperate for removing the sources (remember that
emacs can access compressed files transparently).

Also, a good megabyte could easily be trimmed from the $r/../etc
directory, e.g., the termcap files, some O+NEWS, others that I don't
remember as well.
@end quotation

@node Q2.0.3, Q2.0.4, Q2.0.2, Installation
@section Compiling XEmacs with Netaudio.

What is the best way to compile XEmacs with the netaudio system, since I
have got the netaudio system compiled but installed at a weird place, I
am not root.  Also in the READMEs it does not say anything about
compiling with the audioserver?

You should only need to add some stuff to the configure command line.
To tell it to compile in netaudio support: @samp{--with-sound=both}, or
@samp{--with-sound=nas} if you don't want native sound support for some
reason.) To tell it where to find the netaudio includes and libraries:

@example
--site-libraries=WHATEVER
--site-includes=WHATEVER
@end example

Then (fingers crossed) it should compile and it will use netaudio if you
have a server running corresponding to the X server. The netaudio server
has to be there when XEmacs starts. If the netaudio server goes away and
another is run, XEmacs should cope (fingers crossed, error handling in
netaudio isn't perfect).

BTW, netaudio has been renamed as it has a name clash with something
else, so if you see references to NAS or Network Audio System, it's the
same thing.  It also might be found at
<URL:ftp.x.org:/contrib/audio/nas/>.

@node Q2.0.4, Q2.0.5, Q2.0.3, Installation
@section Problems with Linux and ncurses.

On Linux 1.3.98 with termcap 2.0.8 and the ncurses that came with libc
5.2.18, xemacs 20.0b20 is unable to open a tty device:

@example
src/xemacs -nw -q
Initialization error: Terminal type `xterm' undefined (or can't access database?)
@end example

Ben Wing <ben@@666.com&gt writes:

@quotation
Your ncurses configuration is messed up.  Your /usr/lib/terminfo is a
bad pointer, perhaps to a CD-ROM that is not inserted.
@end quotation

@node Q2.0.5, Q2.0.6, Q2.0.4, Installation
@section Do I need X11 to run XEmacs?

No.  The name @dfn{XEmacs} is unfortunate in the sense that it is
@strong{not} an X Window System-only version of Emacs.  Starting with
19.14 XEmacs has full color support on a color capable character
terminal.

@node Q2.0.6, Q2.0.7, Q2.0.5, Installation
@section I'm having strange crashes.  What do I do?

There have been a variety of reports of crashes due to compilers with
buggy optimizers.  Please see the @file{PROBLEMS} file that comes with
XEmacs to read what it says about your platform.

@node Q2.0.7, Q2.0.8, Q2.0.6, Installation
@section Libraries in non-standard locations

I have x-faces, jpeg, xpm etc. all in different places.  I've tried
space-separated, comma-separated, several --site-libraries, all to no
avail.

@example
--site-libraries='/path/one /path/two /path/etc'
@end example

@node Q2.0.8, Q2.0.9, Q2.0.7, Installation
@section can't resolve symbol _h_errno

You are using the Linux/ELF distribution of XEmacs 19.14, and your ELF
libraries are out of date.  You have the following options:

@enumerate
@item
Upgrade your libc to at least 5.2.16 (better is 5.2.18, 5.3.12, or
5.4.10).

@item
Patch the XEmacs binary by replacing all occurrences of
@samp{_h_errno^@@} with @samp{h_errno^@@^@@}.  Any version of Emacs will
suffice.  If you don't understand how to do this, don't do it.

@item
Rebuild XEmacs yourself -- any working ELF version of libc should be
O.K.
@end enumerate

Hrvoje Niksic <hniksic@@srce.hr> writes:

@quotation
Why not use a Perl one-liner for No. 2?

@example
perl -pi -e 's/_h_errno\0/h_errno\0\0/g' /usr/local/bin/xemacs-19.14
@end example

NB: You @emph{must} patch @file{/usr/local/bin/xemacs-19.14}, and not
@file{xemacs} because @file{xemacs} is a link to @file{xemacs-19.14};
the Perl @samp{-i} option will cause unwanted side-effects if applied to
a symbolic link.
@end quotation

Steve L. Baur <steve@@miranova.com> writes:

@quotation
If you build against a recent libc-5.4 (late enough to have caused
problems earlier in the beta cycle) and then run with an earlier version
of libc, you get a

@example
$ xemacs
xemacs: can't resolve symbol '__malloc_hook'
zsh: 7942 segmentation fault (core dumped)  xemacs
@end example

(Example binary compiled against libc-5.4.23 and run with libc-5.4.16).

The solution is to upgrade to at least libc-5.4.23.  Sigh.  Drat.
@end quotation

@node Q2.0.9, Q2.0.10, Q2.0.8, Installation
@section Where do I find external libraries?

All external libraries used by XEmacs can be found at the XEmacs FTP
site <URL:ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/aux/>.

The canonical locations are as follows:

@table @asis
@item JPEG
<URL:ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/tg/tgl/uunet/>, mirrored at
<URL:ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/>.  Version 6a is current.

@item XPM
<URL:ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/libraries/>.  Version 3.4j is current.
Older versions of this package are known to cause XEmacs crashes.

@item TIFF
<URL:ftp://ftp.sgi.com/graphics/tiff/>.  v3.4 is current.  The latest
beta is v3.4b035.  There is a HOWTO here.

@item PNG
<URL:ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/png/>.  0.89c is current.  XEmacs
requires a fairly recent version to avoid using temporary files.

<URL:ftp://swrinde.nde.swri.edu/pub/png/src/>

@item Compface
<URL:ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu/pub/faces/compface/>.  This library has
been frozen for about 6 years, and is distributed without version
numbers.  @emph{It should be compiled with the same options that X11 was
compiled with on your system}.  The version of this library at
XEmacs.org includes the @file{xbm2xface.pl} script, written by
stig@@hackvan.com, which may be useful when generating your own xface.

@item NAS
<URL:ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/audio/nas/>.
Version 1.2p5 is current.  There is a FAQ here.
@end table

@node Q2.0.10, Q2.0.11, Q2.0.9, Installation
@section After I run configure I find a coredump, is something wrong?

Not necessarily.  If you have GNU sed 3.0 you should downgrade it to
2.05.  From the @file{README} at prep.ai.mit.edu:

@quotation
sed 3.0 has been withdrawn from distribution.  It has major revisions,
which mostly seem to be improvements; but it turns out to have bugs too
which cause trouble in some common cases.

Tom Lord won't be able to work fixing the bugs until May.  So in the
mean time, we've decided to withdraw sed 3.0 from distribution and make
version 2.05 once again the recommended version.
@end quotation

It has also been observed that the vfork test on Solaris will leave a
coredump.

@node Q2.0.11, Q2.0.12, Q2.0.10, Installation
@section XEmacs doesn't resolve hostnames.

This is the result of a long-standing problem with SunOS and the fact
that stock SunOS systems do not ship with DNS resolver code in libc.

Christopher Davis <ckd@@loiosh.kei.com> writes:

@quotation
That's correct [The SunOS 4.1.3 precompiled binaries don't do name
lookup].  Since Sun figured that everyone used NIS to do name lookups
(that DNS thing was apparently only a passing fad, right?), the stock
SunOS 4.x systems don't have DNS-based name lookups in libc.

This is also why Netscape ships two binaries for SunOS 4.1.x.

The best solution is to compile it yourself; the configure script will
check to see if you've put DNS in the shared libc and will then proceed
to link against the DNS resolver library code.
@end quotation

@node Q2.0.12, Q2.0.13, Q2.0.11, Installation
@section Why can't I strip XEmacs?

Richard Cognot <cognot@@fronsac.ensg.u-nancy.fr> writes:

@quotation
Because of the way XEmacs (and every other Emacsen, AFAIK) is built. The
link gives you a bare-boned emacs (called temacs). temacs is then run,
preloading some of the lisp files. The result is then dumped into a new
executable, named xemacs, which will contain all of the preloaded lisp
functions and data.

Now, during the dump itself, the executable (code+data+symbols) is
written on disk using a special unexec() function. This function is
obviously heavily system dependent. And on some systems, it leads to an
executable which, although valid, cannot be stripped without damage. If
memory serves, this is especially the case for AIX binaries. On other
architecture it might work OK.

The Right Way to strip the emacs binary is to strip temacs prior to
dumping xemacs. This will always work, although you can do that only if
you install from sources (as temacs is @file{not} part of the binary
kits).
@end quotation

Nat Makarevitch <nat@@nataa.fr.eu.org> writes:

@quotation
Here is the trick:

@enumerate
@item
[ configure; make ]

@item
cd src

@item
rm xemacs

@item
strip temacs

@item
cd ..

@item
make

@item
cp src/xemacs /usr/local/bin/xemacs

@item
cp lib-src/DOC-19.14-XEmacs /usr/local/lib/xemacs-19.14/i586-unknown-linuxaout
@end enumerate
@end quotation

@node Q2.0.13, Q2.1.1, Q2.0.12, Installation
@section Problems linking with Gcc on Solaris

There are known difficulties linking with Gnu ld on Solaris.  A typical
error message might look like:

@example
unexec(): dlopen(../dynodump/dynodump.so): ld.so.1: ./temacs: 
fatal: relocation error: 
symbol not found: main: referenced in ../dynodump/dynodump.so
@end example

Martin Buchholz <mrb@@eng.sun.com> writes:

@quotation
You need to specify @samp{-fno-gnu-linker} as part of your flags to pass
to ld.  Future releases of XEmacs will try to do this automatically.
@end quotation

@node Q2.1.1, Q2.1.2, Q2.0.13, Installation
@section Help!  XEmacs just crashed on me!

First of all, don't panic.  Whenever XEmacs crashes, it tries extremely
hard to auto-save all of your files before dying. (The main time that
this will not happen is if the machine physically lost power or if you
killed the XEmacs process using @code{kill -9}). The next time you try
to edit those files, you will be informed that a more recent auto-save
file exists.  You can use @kbd{M-x recover-file} to retrieve the
auto-saved version of the file.

Starting with 19.14, you may use the command @kbd{M-x recover-session}
after a crash to pick up where you left off.

Now, XEmacs is not perfect, and there may occasionally be times, or
particular sequences of actions, that cause it to crash.  If you can
come up with a reproducible way of doing this (or even if you have a
pretty good memory of exactly what you were doing at the time), the
maintainers would be very interested in knowing about it.  Post a
message to comp.emacs.xemacs or send mail to <crashes@@xemacs.org>.
Please note that the @samp{crashes} address is exclusively for crash
reports.

If at all possible, include a stack backtrace of the core dump that was
produced.  This shows where exactly things went wrong, and makes it much
easier to diagnose problems.  To do this, you need to locate the core
file (it's called @file{core}, and is usually sitting in the directory
that you started XEmacs from, or your home directory if that other
directory was not writable).  Then, go to that directory and execute a
command like:

@example
gdb `which xemacs` core
@end example

and then issue the command @samp{where} to get the stack backtrace.  You
might have to use @code{dbx} or some similar debugger in place of
@code{gdb}.  If you don't have any such debugger available, complain to
your system administrator.

It's possible that a core file didn't get produced, in which case you're
out of luck.  Go complain to your system administrator and tell him not
to disable core files by default.  Also @xref{Q2.1.15} for tips and
techniques for dealing with a debugger.

When making a problem report make sure that:

@enumerate
@item
Report @strong{all} of the information output by XEmacs during the
crash.

@item
You mention what O/S & Hardware you are running XEmacs on.

@item
What version of XEmacs you are running.

@item
What build options you are using.

@item
If the problem is related to graphics, we will also need to know what
version of the X Window System you are running, and what window manager
you are using.

@item
If the problem happened on a tty, please include the terminal type.
@end enumerate

@node Q2.1.2, Q2.1.3, Q2.1.1, Installation
@section Cryptic Minibuffer messages.

When I try to use some particular option of some particular package, I
get a cryptic error in the minibuffer.

If you can't figure out what's going on, select Options/General
Options/Debug on Error from the Menubar and then try and make the error
happen again.  This will give you a backtrace that may be enlightening.
If not, try reading through this FAQ; if that fails, you could try
posting to comp.emacs.xemacs (making sure to include the backtrace) and
someone may be able to help.  If you can identify which Emacs lisp
source file the error is coming from you can get a more detailed stack
backtrace by doing the following:

@enumerate
@item
Visit the .el file in an XEmacs buffer.

@item
Issue the command @kbd{M-x eval-current-buffer}.

@item
Reproduce the error.
@end enumerate

Depending on the version of XEmacs, you may either select Edit->Show
Messages (19.13 and earlier) or Help->Recent Keystrokes/Messages (19.14
and later) from the menubar to see the most recent messages.  This
command is bound to @kbd{C-h l} by default.

@node Q2.1.3, Q2.1.4, Q2.1.2, Installation
@section Translation Table Syntax messages at Startup

I get tons of translation table syntax error messages during startup.
How do I get rid of them?

There are two causes of this problem.  The first usually only strikes
people using the prebuilt binaries.  The culprit in both cases is the
file @file{XKeysymDB}.

@itemize @bullet
@item
The binary cannot find the @file{XKeysymDB} file.  The location is
hardcoded at compile time so if the system the binary was built on puts
it a different place than your system does, you have problems.  To fix,
set the environment variable @var{XKEYSYMDB} to the location of the
@file{XKeysymDB} file on your system or to the location of the one
included with XEmacs which should be at
@file{<xemacs_root_directory>/lib/xemacs-19.14/etc/XKeysymDB}.

@item
The binary is finding the XKeysymDB but it is out-of-date on your system
and does not contain the necessary lines.  Either ask your system
administrator to replace it with the one which comes with XEmacs (which
is the stock R6 version and is backwards compatible) or set your
@var{XKEYSYMDB} variable to the location of XEmacs's described above.
@end itemize

@node Q2.1.4, Q2.1.5, Q2.1.3, Installation
@section Startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?

How can I avoid the startup warnings about deducing proper fonts?

This is highly dependent on your installation, but try with the
following font as your base font for XEmacs and see what it does:

@example
-adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
@end example

More precisely, do the following in your resource file:

@example
Emacs.default.attributeFont: -adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
@end example

If you just don't want to see the @samp{*Warnings*} buffer at startup
time, you can set this:

@lisp
(setq display-warning-minimum-level 'error)
@end lisp

The buffer still exists; it just isn't in your face.

@node Q2.1.5, Q2.1.6, Q2.1.4, Installation
@section XEmacs cannot connect to my X Terminal!

Help!  I can not get XEmacs to display on my Envizex X-terminal!

Try setting the @var{DISPLAY} variable using the numeric IP address of
the host you are running XEmacs from.

@node Q2.1.6, Q2.1.7, Q2.1.5, Installation
@section XEmacs just locked up my Linux X server!

Help! XEmacs just locked up my X server on my Linux box!

There have been several reports of the X server locking up under Linux.
In all reported cases removing speedo and scaled fonts from the font
path corrected the problem.  This can be done with the command
'@code{xset}.

It is possible that using a font server may also solve the problem.

@node Q2.1.7, Q2.1.8, Q2.1.6, Installation
@section HP Alt key as Meta.

How can I make XEmacs recognize the Alt key of my HP workstation as a
Meta key?

Put the following line into a file and load it with xmodmap(1) before
starting XEmacs:

@example
remove Mod1 = Mode_switch
@end example

@node Q2.1.8, Q2.1.9, Q2.1.7, Installation
@section got (wrong-type-argument color-instance-p nil)

Natalie Kershaw <nataliek@@rd.scitec.com.au> writes:

@quotation
I am trying to run xemacs 19.13 under X11R4. Whenever I move the mouse I
get the following error. Has anyone seen anything like this? This
doesn't occur on X11R5.

@lisp
Signalling: (error "got (wrong-type-argument color-instance-p nil) and I don't know why!")
@end lisp
@end quotation

dinos <map01kd@@gold.ac.uk> writes:

@quotation
I think this is due to undefined resources; You need to define color
backgrounds and foregrounds into your @file{.../app-defaults/Emacs}
like:

@example
*Foreground:	Black	;everything will be of black on grey95,
*Background:	Grey95	;unless otherwise specified.
*cursorColor:	Red3	;red3 cursor with grey95 border.
*pointerColor:	Red3	;red3 pointer with grey95 border.
@end example
@end quotation

Natalie Kershaw adds:

@quotation
What fixed the problem was adding some more colors to the X color
database (copying the X11R5 colors over), and also defining the
following resources:

@example
xemacs*cursorColor:    black
xemacs*pointerColor:   black
@end example

With the new colours installed the problem still occurs if the above 
resources are not defined.

If the new colours are not present then an additional error occurs on 
XEmacs startup, which says @samp{Color Red3} not defined.
@end quotation

@node Q2.1.9, Q2.1.10, Q2.1.8, Installation
@section XEmacs causes my OpenWindows 3.0 server to crash.

The OpenWindows 3.0 server is incredibly buggy.  Your best bet is to
replace it with one from the generic MIT X11 release.  You might also
try disabling parts of your @file{.emacs}, like enabling background
pixmaps.

@node Q2.1.10, Q2.1.11, Q2.1.9, Installation
@section Warnings from incorrect key modifiers.

The following information comes from the @file{PROBLEMS} file that comes
with XEmacs.

If you're having troubles with HP/UX it is because HP/UX defines the
modifiers wrong in X.  Here is a shell script to fix the problem; be
sure that it is run after VUE configures the X server.

@example
#! /bin/sh
xmodmap 2> /dev/null - << EOF
keysym Alt_L = Meta_L
keysym Alt_R = Meta_R
EOF

xmodmap - << EOF
clear mod1
keysym Mode_switch = NoSymbol
add mod1 = Meta_L
keysym Meta_R = Mode_switch
add mod2 = Mode_switch
EOF
@end example

@node Q2.1.11, Q2.1.12, Q2.1.10, Installation
@section @samp{wrong type argument: bufferp, "......"}.

I'm using XEmacs 19.13 on Solaris 2.5. I'm having problem using the
bookmark. When I try to set a bookmark, I always get the following error
message:

@lisp
wrong type argument: bufferp, "......"
@end lisp

You are using the wrong version of @code{set-text-properties}.  Please
use the one given with Q5.1.3 (@xref{Q5.1.3}).

@node Q2.1.12, Q2.1.13, Q2.1.11, Installation
@section Problems with Regular Expressions on DEC OSF1.

I have xemacs 19.13 running on an alpha running OSF1 V3.2 148 and ispell
would not run because it claimed the version number was incorrect
although it was indeed OK. I traced the problem to the regular
expression handler.

Douglas Kosovic <douglask@@dstc.edu.au> writes:

@quotation
Actually it's a DEC cc optimisation bug that screws up the regexp
handling in XEmacs.

Rebuilding using the @samp{-migrate} switch for DEC cc (which uses a
different sort of optimisation) works fine.
@end quotation

See @file{xemacs-19_13-dunix-3_2c.patch} at the following URL on how to
build with the @samp{-migrate} flag:

@example
<URL:http://www-digital.cern.ch/carney/emacs/emacs.html>
@end example

NOTE: There have been a variety of other problems reported that are
fixed in this fashion.

@node Q2.1.13, Q2.1.14, Q2.1.12, Installation
@section HP/UX 10.10 and @code{create_process} failure.

Dave Carrigan <Dave.Carrigan@@ipl.ca> writes:

@quotation
With XEmacs 19.13 and HP/UX 10.10, anything that relies on the
@code{create_process} function fails. This breaks a lot of things
(shell-mode, compile, ange-ftp, to name a few).
@end quotation

Phil Johnson <johnson@@dtc.hp.com> writes:

@quotation
This is a problem specific to HP-UX 10.10.  It only occurs when XEmacs
is compiled for shared libraries (the default), so you can work around
it by compiling a statically-linked binary (run configure with
@samp{--dynamic=no}).

I'm not sure whether the problem is with a particular shared library or
if it's a kernel problem which crept into 10.10.
@end quotation

Richard Cognot <cognot@@ensg.u-nancy.fr> writes:

@quotation
I had a few problems with 10.10. Apparently, some of them were solved by
forcing a static link of libc (manually).
@end quotation

@node Q2.1.14, Q2.1.15, Q2.1.13, Installation
@section @kbd{C-g} doesn't work for me.  Is it broken?

Ben Wing <ben@@666.com> writes:

@quotation
@kbd{C-g} does work for most people in most circumstances.  If it
doesn't, there are only two explanations:

@enumerate
@item
The code is wrapped with a binding of @code{inhibit-quit} to
@code{t}.  @kbd{Ctrl-Shift-G} should still work, I think.

@item
SIGIO is broken on your system, but BROKEN_SIGIO isn't defined.
@end enumerate

To test #2, try executing @code{(while t)} from the @samp{*scratch*}
buffer.  If @kbd{C-g} doesn't interrupt, then you're seeing #2.
@end quotation

Morten Welinder <terra@@diku.dk> writes:

@quotation
On some (but @emph{not} all) machines a hung XEmacs can be revived by
@code{kill -FPE <pid>}.  This is a hack, of course, not a solution.
This technique works on a Sun4 running 4.1.3_U1.  To see if it works for
you, start another XEmacs and test with that first.  If you get a core
dump the method doesn't work and if you get @samp{Arithmetic error} then
it does.
@end quotation

@node Q2.1.15, Q2.1.16, Q2.1.14, Installation
@section How to Debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger

Ben Wing <ben@@666.com> writes:

@quotation
If XEmacs does crash on you, one of the most productive things you can
do to help get the bug fixed is to poke around a bit with the debugger.
Here are some hints:

@itemize @bullet
@item
First of all, if the crash is at all reproducible, consider very
strongly recompiling your XEmacs with debugging symbols, with no
optimization, and with the configure options @samp{--debug=yes},
@samp{--error-checking=all}, and @samp{--dynamic=no}.  This will make
your XEmacs run somewhat slower but make it a lot more likely to catch
the problem earlier (closer to its source), and a lot easier to
determine what's going on with a debugger.

@item
If you're able to run XEmacs under a debugger and reproduce the crash
(if it's inconvenient to do this because XEmacs is already running or is
running in batch mode as part of a bunch of scripts, consider attaching
to the existing process with your debugger; most debuggers let you do
this by substituting the process ID for the core file when you invoke
the debugger from the command line, or by using the @code{attach}
command or something similar), here are some things you can do:

@item
If XEmacs is hitting an assertion failure, put a breakpoint on
@code{assert_failed()}.

@item
If XEmacs is hitting some weird Lisp error that's causing it to crash
(e.g. during startup), put a breakpoint on @code{signal_1()}---this is
declared static in eval.c.

@item
Internally, you will probably see lots of variables that hold objects of
type @code{Lisp_Object}.  These are exactly what they appear to be,
i.e. references to Lisp objects.  Printing them out with the debugger
probably won't be too useful---you'll just see a number.  To decode
them, do this:

@example
call debug_print (OBJECT)
@end example

where @var{OBJECT} is whatever you want to decode (it can be a variable,
a function call, etc.).  This will print out a readable representation
on the TTY from which the xemacs process was invoked.

@item
If you want to get a Lisp backtrace showing the Lisp call
stack, do this:

@example
call debug_backtrace ()
@end example

@item
If all you've got is a core dump, all is not lost.  You can still poke
around somewhat, and if you're using GDB, there are some macros in the
file @file{gdbinit} in the @file{src} directory of the XEmacs
distribution that should make it easier for you to decode Lisp objects.

If you're using DBX, you may be able to get further help from Martin
Buchholz, the engineer at Sun who works on XEmacs.  Write to him at
<Martin.Buchholz@@sun.com>.

@item
If you're using a debugger to get a C stack backtrace and you're seeing
stack traces with some of the innermost frames mangled, it may be due to
dynamic linking. (This happens especially under Linux.) Consider
reconfiguring with @samp{--dynamic=no}.  Also, sometimes (again under
Linux), stack backtraces of core dumps will have the frame where the
fatal signal occurred mangled; if you can obtain a stack trace while
running the XEmacs process under a debugger, the stack trace should be
clean.

Curtiss <1CMC3466@@ibm.mtsac.edu> suggests upgrading to ld.so version 1.8
if dynamic linking and debugging is a problem on Linux.

@item
If you're using a debugger to get a C stack backtrace and you're
getting a completely mangled and bogus stack trace, it's probably due to
one of the following:

@enumerate a
@item
Your executable has been stripped.  Bad news.  Tell your sysadmin not to
do this---it doesn't accomplish anything except to save a bit of disk
space, and makes debugging much much harder.

@item
Your stack is getting trashed.  Debugging this is hard; you have to do a
binary-search-type of narrowing down where the crash occurs, until you
figure out exactly which line is causing the problem.  Of course, this
only works if the bug is highly reproducible.

@item
If your stack trace has exactly one frame in it, with address 0x0, this
could simply mean that XEmacs attempted to execute code at that address,
e.g. through jumping to a null function pointer.  Unfortunately, under
those circumstances, GDB under Linux doesn't know how to get a stack
trace. (Yes, this is the third Linux-related problem I've mentioned.  I
have no idea why GDB under Linux is so bogus.  Complain to the GDB
authors, or to comp.os.linux.development.system).  Again, you'll have to
use the narrowing-down process described above.

@item
If you compiled 19.14 with @samp{--debug} (or by default in 19.15), you
will get a Lisp backtrace output when XEmacs crashes, so you'll have
something useful.  If you're in 19.13, you could try doing @code{call
debug_backtrace()}---sometimes this works even after a fatal signal has
been received.
@end enumerate
@end itemize
@end quotation

Here's some more info about using gdbinit:

Different version of @code{gdbinit} are provided for different
platforms.  One of these should be installed as @file{.gdbinit} in your
home directory.  If you're using XEmacs 19.14 or better, you should
install the default @code{gdbinit} in the @file{src/} directory if you
have GDB 4.14 or better.  With GDB 4.13 or earlier, install
@file{gdbinit.pre-4.14}; however, this is noticeably harder to use.  If
you're on a machine that uses a union type for Lisp_Objects (only the
DEC Alpha, I think), you'll have to use @code{gdbinit.union}, which is
of the pre-4.14 variety but should be easily upgradable.

With XEmacs 19.13 and earlier, only one @code{gdbinit} is provided (I
think); it's of the pre-4.14 variety and of the union-type
variety. (Many more machines used the union type under 19.13).

With the GDB 4.14+ gdbinit, you can print out a Lisp_Object using
@code{p1 OBJECT} (which calls @code{debug_print()}, and hence only works
if you have a running process) or @code{frob OBJECT} (which works even
on core dumps, and does its own decoding of the object, but its output
isn't always so convenient).

With the pre-GDB 4.14 gdbinit, you have to do these steps:

@example
print OBJECT
xtype
<then type "xcons" or "xstring" or whatever, depending on the type>
@end example

If the object is a record type, you'll probably have to the following
steps:

@example
print OBJECT
xtype
xrecord
<remember what type is printed>
print OBJECT
<then type "xbuffer" or "xsymbol" or whatever>
@end example

Of course, if you know in advance what type the object is of, you can
omit all but the last two steps.

@node Q2.1.16, Q2.1.17, Q2.1.15, Installation
@section XEmacs crashes in @code{strcat} on HP/UX 10

>From the problems database (through
<URL:http://support.mayfield.hp.com/>):

@example
Problem Report: 5003302299
Status:         Open

System/Model:   9000/700
Product Name:   HPUX S800 10.0X
Product Vers:   9245XB.10.00

Description: strcat(3C) may read beyond end of source string, can cause
SIGSEGV


*** PROBLEM TEXT ***
strcat(3C) may read beyond the source string onto an unmapped page,
causing a segmentation violation.
@end example

@node Q2.1.17, Q2.1.18, Q2.1.16, Installation
@section @samp{Marker does not point anywhere}

This is a problem with line-number-mode in XEmacs 19.14, and affects a
large number of other packages.  If you see this error message, turn off
line-number-mode.

@node Q2.1.18, Q2.1.19, Q2.1.17, Installation
@section 19.14 hangs on HP/UX 10.10.

Richard Cognot <cognot@@ensg.u-nancy.fr> writes:

@quotation
For the record, compiling on hpux 10.10 leads to a hang in Gnus when
compiled with optimization on.

I've just discovered that my hpux 10.01 binary was working less well
than expected. In fact, on a 10.10 system, @code{(while t)} was not
interupted by @kbd{C-g}. I defined @code{BROKEN_SIGIO} and recompiled on
10.10, and... the hang is now gone.

As far as configure goes, this will be a bit tricky: @code{BROKEN_SIGIO}
is needed on 10.10, but @strong{not} on 10.01: if I run my 10.01 binary
on a 10.01 machine, without @code{BROKEN_SIGIO} being defined, @kbd{C-g}
works as expected.
@end quotation

Richard Cognot <cognot@@ensg.u-nancy.fr> adds:

@quotation
Apparently somebody has found the reason why there is this @samp{poll:
interrupted...} message for each event.  For some reason, libcurses
reimplements a @code{select()} system call, in a highly broken fashion.
The fix is to add a -lc to the link line @emph{before} the
-lxcurses. XEmacs will then use the right version of @code{select()}.
@end quotation


Alain Fauconnet <af@@biomath.jussieu.fr> writes:

@quotation
The @emph{real} solution is to @emph{not} link -lcurses in!  I just
changed -lcurses to -ltermcap in the Makefile and it fixed:

@enumerate
@item
The @samp{poll: interrupted system call} message.

@item
A more serious problem I had discovered in the meantime, that is the
fact that subprocess handling was seriously broken: subprocesses
e.g. started by AUCTeX for TeX compilation of a buffer would
@emph{hang}.  Actually they would wait forever for emacs to read the
socket which connects stdout...
@end enumerate
@end quotation

@node Q2.1.19, Q2.1.20, Q2.1.18, Installation
@section XEmacs does not follow the local timezone.

When using one of the prebuilt binaries many users have observed that
XEmacs uses the timezone under which it was built, but not the timezone
under which it is running.  The solution is to add:

@lisp
(set-time-zone-rule "MET")
@end lisp

to your @file{.emacs} or the @file{site-start.el} file if you can.
Replace @code{MET} with your local timezone.

@node Q2.1.20, Q2.1.21, Q2.1.19, Installation
@section @samp{Symbol's function definition is void: hkey-help-show.}

This is a problem with a partially loaded hyperbole.  Try adding:

@lisp
(require 'hmouse-drv)
@end lisp

where you load hyperbole and the problem should go away.

@node Q2.1.21, Q2.1.22, Q2.1.20, Installation
@section Every so often the XEmacs frame freezes

This problem has been fixed in 19.15, and was due to a not easily
reproducible race condition.

@node Q2.1.22,  , Q2.1.21, Installation
@section XEmacs seems to take a really long time to do some things

David Moore <dmoore@@ucsd.edu> writes:

@quotation
Two things you can do:

1) C level:

When you see it going mad like this, you might want to use gdb from an
'xterm' to attach to the running process and get a stack trace.  To do
this just run:

@example
gdb /path/to/xemacs/xemacs ####
@end example

Where #### is the process id of your xemacs, instead of specifying the
core.  When gdb attaches, the xemacs will stop [1] and you can type
`where' in gdb to get a stack trace as usual.  To get things moving
again, you can just type `quit' in gdb.  It'll tell you the program is
running and ask if you want to quit anyways.  Say 'y' and it'll quit and
have your emacs continue from where it was at.

2) Lisp level:

Turn on debug-on-quit early on.  When you think things are going slow
hit C-g and it may pop you in the debugger so you can see what routine
is running.  Press `c' to get going again.

debug-on-quit doesn't work if something's turned on inhibit-quit or in
some other strange cases.
@end quotation

@node Customization, Subsystems, Installation, Top
@chapter Customization and Options

This is part 3 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list.  This
section is devoted to Customization and screen settings.

@menu
Customization---Emacs Lisp and @file{.emacs}:
* Q3.0.1::      What version of Emacs am I running?
* Q3.0.2::      How do I evaluate Elisp expressions?
* Q3.0.3::      @code{(setq tab-width 6)} behaves oddly.
* Q3.0.4::      How can I add directories to the @code{load-path}?
* Q3.0.5::      How to check if a lisp function is defined?
* Q3.0.6::      Can I force the output of @code{(face-list)} to a buffer?
* Q3.0.7::      Font selections don't get saved after @code{Save Options}.
* Q3.0.8::      How do I make a single minibuffer frame?

X Window System & Resources:
* Q3.1.1::      Where is a list of X resources?
* Q3.1.2::      How can I detect a color display?
* Q3.1.3::      @code{(set-screen-width)} worked in 19.6, but not in 19.13?
* Q3.1.4::      Specifiying @code{Emacs*EmacsScreen.geometry} in @file{.emacs} does not work in 19.13?
* Q3.1.5::      How can I get the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}?
* Q3.1.6::      How can I have the window title area display the full path?
* Q3.1.7::      @samp{xemacs -name junk} doesn't work?
* Q3.1.8::      @samp{-iconic} it doesn't work.

Textual Fonts & Colors:
* Q3.2.1::      How can I set color options from @file{.emacs}?
* Q3.2.2::      How do I set the text, menu and modeline fonts?
* Q3.2.3::      How can I set the colors when highlighting a region?
* Q3.2.4::      How can I limit color map usage?
* Q3.2.5::      My tty supports color, but XEmacs doesn't use them.

The Modeline:
* Q3.3.1::      How can I make the modeline go away?
* Q3.3.2::      How do you have XEmacs display the line number in the modeline?
* Q3.3.3::      How do I get XEmacs to put the time of day on the modeline?
* Q3.3.4::      How do I turn off current chapter from AUC-TeX modeline?
* Q3.3.5::      How can one change the modeline color based on the mode used?

3.4 Multiple Device Support:
* Q3.4.1::      How do I open a frame on another screen of my multi-headed display?
* Q3.4.2::      Can I really connect to a running XEmacs after calling up over a modem?  How?

3.5 The Keyboard:
* Q3.5.1::      How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to keys?
* Q3.5.2::      How can I stop down-arrow from adding empty lines to the bottom of my buffers?
* Q3.5.3::      How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and down?
* Q3.5.4::      Globally binding @kbd{Delete}?
* Q3.5.5::      Scrolling one line at a time.
* Q3.5.6::      How to map @kbd{Help} key alone on Sun type4 keyboard?
* Q3.5.7::      How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?
* Q3.5.8::      Why does @code{(global-set-key [delete-forward] 'delete-char)} complain?
* Q3.5.9::      How do I make the Delete key delete forward?
* Q3.5.10::     Can I turn on @dfn{sticky} modifier keys?

The Cursor:
* Q3.6.1::      Is there a way to make the bar cursor thicker?
* Q3.6.2::      Is there a way to get back the old block cursor where the cursor covers the character in front of the point?
* Q3.6.3::      Can I make the cursor blink?

The Mouse and Highlighting:
* Q3.7.1::      How can I turn off Mouse pasting?
* Q3.7.2::      How do I set control/meta/etc modifiers on mouse buttons?
* Q3.7.3::      Clicking the left button does not do anything in buffer list.
* Q3.7.4::      How can I get a list of buffers when I hit mouse button 3?
* Q3.7.5::      Why does cut-and-paste not work between XEmacs and a cmdtool?
* Q3.7.6::      How I can set XEmacs up so that it pastes where the text cursor is?
* Q3.7.7::      How do I select a rectangular region?
* Q3.7.8::      Why does @kbd{M-w} take so long?

The Menubar and Toolbar:
* Q3.8.1::      How do I get rid of the menu (or menubar)?
* Q3.8.2::      Can I customize the basic menubar?
* Q3.8.3::      How do I control how many buffers are listed in the menu @code{Buffers} list?
* Q3.8.4::      Resources like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} are not working?
* Q3.8.5::      How can I bind a key to a function to toggle the toolbar?

Scrollbars:
* Q3.9.1::      How can I disable the scrollbar?
* Q3.9.2::      How can one use resources to change scrollbar colors?
* Q3.9.3::      Moving the scrollbar can move the point; can I disable this?
* Q3.9.4::      How can I get automatic horizontal scrolling?

Text Selections:
* Q3.10.1::     How can I turn off or change highlighted selections?
* Q3.10.2::     How do I get that typing on an active region removes it?
* Q3.10.3::     Can I turn off the highlight during isearch?
* Q3.10.4::     How do I turn off highlighting after @kbd{C-x C-p} (mark-page)?
* Q3.10.5::     The region disappears when I hit the end of buffer while scrolling.
@end menu

@node Q3.0.1, Q3.0.2, Customization, Customization
@section What version of Emacs am I running?

How can @file{.emacs} determine which of the family of Emacsen I am
using?

To determine if you are currently running GNU Emacs 18, GNU Emacs 19,
XEmacs 19, or Epoch, and use appropriate code, check out the example
given in @file{etc/sample.emacs}.  There are other nifty things in there
as well!

For all new code, all you really need to do is:

@lisp
(defvar running-xemacs (string-match "XEmacs\\|Lucid" emacs-version))
@end lisp

@node Q3.0.2, Q3.0.3, Q3.0.1, Customization
@section How can I evaluate Emacs-Lisp expressions?

I know I can evaluate Elisp expressions from @code{*scratch*} buffer
with @kbd{C-j} after the expression.  How do I do it from another
buffer?

Use the following code:

@lisp
(put 'eval-expression 'disabled nil)
@end lisp

This sets it so that hitting @kbd{M-:} lets you type a single expression
to be evaluated.  This line can also be put into your @file{.emacs}.

@node Q3.0.3, Q3.0.4, Q3.0.2, Customization
@section @code{(setq tab-width 6)} behaves oddly.

If you put @code{(setq tab-width 6)} in your @file{.emacs} file it does
not work!  Is there a reason for this?  If you do it at the EVAL prompt
it works fine!! How strange.

Use @code{setq-default} instead, since @code{tab-width} is
all-buffer-local.

@node Q3.0.4, Q3.0.5, Q3.0.3, Customization
@section How can I add directories to the @code{load-path}?

Here are two ways to do that, one that puts your directories at the
front of the load-path, the other at the end:

@lisp
;;; Add things at the beginning of the load-path, do not add
;;; duplicate directories:
(if (null (member "bar" load-path))
    (setq load-path (cons "bar" load-path)))

(if (null (member "foo" load-path))
    (setq load-path (cons "foo" load-path)))

;;; Add things at the end, unconditionally
(setq load-path (append load-path '("foo" "bar")))
@end lisp

keith (k.p.) hanlan <keithh@@nortel.ca> writes:

@quotation
To add directories using Unix shell metacharacters use
@file{expand-file-name} like this:

@lisp
(setq load-path (cons (expand-file-name "~keithh/.emacsdir") load-path))
@end lisp
@end quotation

@node Q3.0.5, Q3.0.6, Q3.0.4, Customization
@section How to check if a lisp function is defined?

Use the following elisp:

@lisp
(fboundp 'foo)
@end lisp

It's almost always a mistake to test @code{emacs-version} or any similar
variables.

Instead, use feature-tests, such as @code{featurep}, @code{boundp},
@code{fboundp}, or even simple behavioural tests, eg.:

@lisp
(defvar foo-old-losing-code-p 
  (condition-case nil (progn (losing-code t) nil)
   (wrong-number-of-arguments t)))
@end lisp

There is an incredible amount of broken code out there which could work
much better more often in more places if it did the above instead of
trying to divine its environment from the value of one variable.

@node Q3.0.6, Q3.0.7, Q3.0.5, Customization
@section Can I force the output of @code{(face-list)} to a buffer?

It would be good having it in a buffer, as the output of
@code{(face-list)} is too wide to fit to a minibuffer.

Evaluate the expression in the @samp{*scratch*} buffer with point after
the rightmost paren and typing @kbd{C-j}.

@node Q3.0.7, Q3.0.8, Q3.0.6, Customization
@section Font selections don't get saved after @code{Save Options}.

John Mann <mannj@@ll.mit.edu> writes:

@quotation
You have to go to Options->Menubar Appearance and unselect
@samp{Frame-Local Font Menu}.  If this option is selected, font changes
are only applied to the @emph{current} frame and do @emph{not} get saved
when you save options.
@end quotation

@node Q3.0.8, Q3.1.1, Q3.0.7, Customization
@section How do I get a single minibuffer frame?

Vin Shelton <acs@@acm.org> writes:

@lisp
(setq initial-frame-plist '(minibuffer nil))
(setq default-frame-plist '(minibuffer nil))
(setq default-minibuffer-frame
      (make-frame
	'(minibuffer only
                     width 86
                     height 1
                     menubar-visible-p nil
                     default-toolbar-visible-p nil
                     name "minibuffer"
                     top -2
                     left -2
                     has-modeline-p nil)))
(frame-notice-user-settings)
@end lisp

@strong{NOTE:} The single minibuffer frame may not be to everyone's
taste, and there any number of other XEmacs options settings that may
make it difficult or inconvenient to use.

@node Q3.1.1, Q3.1.2, Q3.0.8, Customization
@section Where is a list of X resources?

Search through the @file{NEWS} file for @samp{X Resources}.  A fairly
comprehensive list is given after it.

In addition, an @file{app-defaults} file is supplied,
@file{etc/Emacs.ad} listing the defaults.  The file
@file{etc/sample.Xdefaults} gives a set of defaults that you might
consider.  It is essentially the same as @file{etc/Emacs.ad} but some
entries are slightly altered.  Be careful about installing the contents
of this file into your @file{.Xdefaults} or @file{.Xresources} file if
you use GNU Emacs under X11 as well.

@node Q3.1.2, Q3.1.3, Q3.1.1, Customization
@section How can I detect a color display?

You can test the return value of the function @code{(device-class)}, as
in:

@lisp
(when (eq (device-class) 'color)
  (set-face-foreground  'font-lock-comment-face "Grey")
  (set-face-foreground  'font-lock-string-face  "Red")
  ....
  )
@end lisp

@node Q3.1.3, Q3.1.4, Q3.1.2, Customization
@section @code{(set-screen-width)} worked in 19.6, but not in 19.13?

In Lucid Emacs 19.6 I did @code{(set-screen-width @var{characters})} and
@code{(set-screen-height @var{lines})} in my @file{.emacs} instead of
specifying @code{Emacs*EmacsScreen.geometry} in my @file{.Xdefaults} but
this does not work in XEmacs 19.13.

These two functions now take frame arguments:

@lisp
(set-frame-width (selected-frame) @var{characters})
(set-frame-height (selected-frame) @var{lines})
@end lisp

@node Q3.1.4, Q3.1.5, Q3.1.3, Customization
@section Specifiying @code{Emacs*EmacsScreen.geometry} in @file{.emacs} does not work in 19.13?

In XEmacs 19.11 I specified @code{Emacs*EmacsScreen.geometry} in
my @file{.emacs} but this does not work in XEmacs 19.13.

We have switched from using the term @dfn{screen} to using the term
@dfn{frame}.

The correct entry for your @file{.Xdefaults} is now:

@example
Emacs*EmacsFrame.geometry
@end example

@node Q3.1.5, Q3.1.6, Q3.1.4, Customization
@section How can I get the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}?

I'd like the icon to just say @samp{XEmacs}, and not include the name of
the current file in it.

Add the following line to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq frame-icon-title-format "XEmacs")
@end lisp

@node Q3.1.6, Q3.1.7, Q3.1.5, Customization
@section How can I have the window title area display the full path?

I'd like to have the window title area display the full directory/name
of the current buffer file and not just the name.

Add the following line to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq frame-title-format "%S: %f")
@end lisp

A more sophisticated title might be:

@lisp
(setq frame-title-format
  '("%S: " (buffer-file-name "%f" (dired-directory dired-directory "%b"))))
@end lisp

That is, use the file name, or the dired-directory, or the buffer name.

@node Q3.1.7, Q3.1.8, Q3.1.6, Customization
@section @samp{xemacs -name junk} doesn't work?

When I run @samp{xterm -name junk}, I get an xterm whose class name
according to xprop, is @samp{junk}.  This is the way it's supposed to
work, I think.  When I run @samp{xemacs -name junk} the class name is
not set to @samp{junk}.  It's still @samp{emacs}.  What does
@samp{xemacs -name} really do?  The reason I ask is that my window
manager (fvwm) will make a window sticky and I use XEmacs to read my
mail.  I want that XEmacs window to be sticky, without having to use the
window manager's function to set the window sticky.  What gives?

@samp{xemacs -name} sets the application name for the program (that is,
the thing which normally comes from @samp{argv[0]}).  Using @samp{-name}
is the same as making a copy of the executable with that new name.  The
@code{WM_CLASS} property on each frame is set to the frame-name, and the
application-class.  So, if you did @samp{xemacs -name FOO} and then
created a frame named @var{BAR}, you'd get an X window with WM_CLASS =
@code{( "BAR", "Emacs")}.  However, the resource hierarchy for this
widget would be:

@example
Name:    FOO   .shell             .container   .BAR
Class:   Emacs .TopLevelEmacsShell.EmacsManager.EmacsFrame
@end example

instead of the default

@example
Name:    xemacs.shell             .container   .emacs
Class:   Emacs .TopLevelEmacsShell.EmacsManager.EmacsFrame
@end example


It is arguable that the first element of WM_CLASS should be set to the
application-name instead of the frame-name, but I think that's less
flexible, since it does not give you the ability to have multiple frames
with different WM_CLASS properties.  Another possibility would be for
the default frame name to come from the application name instead of
simply being @samp{emacs}.  However, at this point, making that change
would be troublesome: it would mean that many users would have to make
yet another change to their resource files (since the default frame name
would suddenly change from @samp{emacs} to @samp{xemacs}, or whatever
the executable happened to be named), so we'd rather avoid it.

To make a frame with a particular name use:

@lisp
(make-frame '((name . "the-name")))
@end lisp

@node Q3.1.8, Q3.2.1, Q3.1.7, Customization
@section @samp{-iconic} doesn't work.

When I start up XEmacs using @samp{-iconic} it doesn't work right.
Using @samp{-unmapped} on the command line, and setting the
@code{initiallyUnmapped} X Resource don't seem to help much either...

Ben Wing <ben@@666.com> writes:

@quotation
Ugh, this stuff is such an incredible mess that I've about given up
getting it to work.  The principal problem is numerous window-manager
bugs...
@end quotation

@node Q3.2.1, Q3.2.2, Q3.1.8, Customization
@section How can I set color options from @file{.emacs}?

How can I set the most commonly used color options from my @file{.emacs}
instead of from my @file{.Xdefaults}?

Like this:

@lisp
(set-face-background 'default      "bisque")     ; frame background
(set-face-foreground 'default      "black")      ; normal text
(set-face-background 'zmacs-region "red")        ; When selecting w/
                                                 ; mouse 
(set-face-foreground 'zmacs-region "yellow")
(set-face-font       'default      "*courier-bold-r*120-100-100*")
(set-face-background 'highlight    "blue")       ; Ie when selecting buffers 
(set-face-foreground 'highlight    "yellow")
(set-face-background 'modeline     "blue")       ; Line at bottom of buffer
(set-face-foreground 'modeline     "white")
(set-face-font       'modeline     "*bold-r-normal*140-100-100*")
(set-face-background 'isearch      "yellow")     ; When highlighting while
                                                 ; searching		 
(set-face-foreground 'isearch      "red")
(setq x-pointer-foreground-color   "black")      ; Adds to bg color,
                                                 ; so keep black
(setq x-pointer-background-color   "blue")       ; This is color you really
                                                 ; want ptr/crsr
@end lisp

@node Q3.2.2, Q3.2.3, Q3.2.1, Customization
@section How do I set the text, menu and modeline fonts?

Note that you should use @samp{Emacs.} and not @samp{Emacs*} when
setting face values.

In @file{.Xdefaults}:

@example
Emacs.default.attributeFont:  -*-*-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-m-*-*-* 
Emacs*menubar*font:           fixed
Emacs.modeline.attributeFont: fixed
@end example

This is confusing because modeline is a face, and can be found listed
with all faces in the current mode by using @kbd{M-x set-face-font
(enter) ?}.  It uses the face specification of @code{attributeFont},
while menubar is a normal X thing that uses the specification
@code{font}.  With Motif it may be necessary to use @code{fontList}
instead of @code{font}.

Suggestions on improving the answer to this question would be
appreciated.

@node Q3.2.3, Q3.2.4, Q3.2.2, Customization
@section How can I set the colors when highlighting a region?

How can I set the background/foreground colors when highlighting a
region?

You can change the face @code{zmacs-region} either in your
@file{.Xdefaults}:

@example
Emacs.zmacs-region.attributeForeground: firebrick
Emacs.zmacs-region.attributeBackground: lightseagreen
@end example

or in your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(set-face-background 'zmacs-region "red")   
(set-face-foreground 'zmacs-region "yellow")
@end lisp

@node Q3.2.4, Q3.2.5, Q3.2.3, Customization
@section How can I limit color map usage?

I'm using Netscape (or another color grabber like XEmacs);
is there anyway to limit the number of available colors in the color map?

XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have such a mechanism (unlike netscape, or other
color-hogs).  One solution is to start XEmacs prior to netscape, since
this will prevent Netscape from grabbing all colors (but Netscape will
complain).  You can use the flags for Netscape, like -mono, -ncols <#>
or -install (for mono, limiting to <#> colors, or for using a private
color map).  Since Netscape will take the entire colormap and never
release it, the only reasonable way to run it is with @samp{-install}.

If you have the money, another solution would be to use a truecolor or
direct color video.

Starting with XEmacs 19.14, XEmacs uses the closest available color if
the colormap is full, so it's O.K. now to start Netscape first.

@node Q3.2.5, Q3.3.1, Q3.2.4, Customization
@section My tty supports color, but XEmacs doesn't use them.

XEmacs tries to automatically determine whether your tty supports color,
but sometimes guesses wrong.  In that case, you can make XEmacs Do The
Right Thing using this Lisp code:

@lisp
(if (eq 'tty (device-type))
    (set-device-class nil 'color))
@end lisp

@node Q3.3.1, Q3.3.2, Q3.2.5, Customization
@section How can I make the modeline go away?

@lisp
(set-specifier has-modeline-p nil)
@end lisp

Starting with XEmacs 19.14 the modeline responds to mouse clicks, so if
you haven't liked or used the modeline in the past, you might want to
try the new version out.

@node Q3.3.2, Q3.3.3, Q3.3.1, Customization
@section How do you have XEmacs display the line number in the modeline?

Add the following line to your @file{.emacs} file to display the
line number:

@lisp
(setq line-number-mode t)
@end lisp

Use the following to display the column number:

@lisp
(display-column-mode)
@end lisp

@node Q3.3.3, Q3.3.4, Q3.3.2, Customization
@section How do I get XEmacs to put the time of day on the modeline?

@lisp
(display-time)
@end lisp

@node Q3.3.4, Q3.3.5, Q3.3.3, Customization
@section How do I turn off current chapter from AUC-TeX modeline?

With AUC-TeX, fast typing is hard because the current chapter, section
etc. are given in the modeline.  How can I turn this off?

It's not auc-tex, it comes from @code{func-menu} in @file{func-menu.el}.
Add this code to your @file{.emacs} to turn it off:

@lisp
(setq fume-display-in-modeline-p nil)
@end lisp

Or just add a hook to @code{TeX-mode-hook} to turn it off only for TeX
mode:

@lisp
(add-hook 'TeX-mode-hook '(lambda () (setq fume-display-in-modeline-p nil)))
@end lisp

David Hughes <dhughes@@origin-at.co.uk> writes:

@quotation
If you have 19.14 or later, try this instead; you'll still get the
function name displayed in the modeline, but it won't attempt to keep
track when you modify the file. To refresh when it gets out of synch,
you simply need click on the @samp{Rescan Buffer} option in the
function-menu.

@lisp
(setq-default fume-auto-rescan-buffer-p nil)
@end lisp
@end quotation

@node Q3.3.5, Q3.4.1, Q3.3.4, Customization
@section How can one change the modeline color based on the mode used?

You can use something like the following:

@lisp
(add-hook 'lisp-mode-hook 
        '(lambda () (set-face-background 'modeline "red" (current-buffer))
                    (set-face-foreground 'modeline "yellow" (current-buffer))))
@end lisp

Then, when editing a Lisp file (i.e. when in Lisp mode), the modeline
colors change from the default set in your @file{.emacs}.  The change
will only be made in the buffer you just entered (which contains the
Lisp file you are editing) and will not affect the modeline colors
anywhere else.

Notes:

@itemize @bullet

@item
The hook is the mode name plus @code{-hook}.  eg. c-mode-hook,
c++-mode-hook, emacs-lisp-mode-hook (used for your @file{.emacs} or a
@file{xx.el} file), lisp-interaction-mode-hook (the @samp{*scratch*}
buffer), text-mode-hook, etc.

@item
Be sure to use @code{add-hook}, not @code{(setq c-mode-hook xxxx)},
otherwise you will erase anything that anybody has already put on the
hook.

@item
You can also do @code{(set-face-font 'modeline @var{font})},
eg. @code{(set-face-font 'modeline "*bold-r-normal*140-100-100*"
(current-buffer))} if you wish the modeline font to vary based on the
current mode.
@end itemize

This works in 19.14 as well, but there are additional modeline faces,
@code{modeline-buffer-id}, @code{modeline-mousable}, and
@code{modeline-mousable-minor-mode}, which you may want to customize.

@node Q3.4.1, Q3.4.2, Q3.3.5, Customization
@section How do I open a frame on another screen of my multi-headed display?

The support for this has been revamped for 19.14.  Use the command
@kbd{M-x make-frame-on-display}.  This command is also on the File menu
in the menubar.

XEmacs 19.14 also has the command @code{make-frame-on-tty} which will
establish a connection to any tty-like device.

@node Q3.4.2, Q3.5.1, Q3.4.1, Customization
@section Can I really connect to a running XEmacs after calling up over a modem?  How?

If you're not running at least XEmacs 19.14, you can't.  Otherwise check
out the @code{gnuattach} program supplied with XEmacs.

@node Q3.5.1, Q3.5.2, Q3.4.2, Customization
@section How can I bind complex functions (or macros) to keys?

As an example, say you want the @kbd{paste} key on a Sun keyboard to
insert the current Primary X selection at point. You can accomplish this
with:

@lisp
(define-key global-map [f18] 'x-insert-selection)
@end lisp

However, this only works if there is a current X selection (the
selection will be highlighted).  The functionality I like is for the
@kbd{paste} key to insert the current X selection if there is one,
otherwise insert the contents of the clipboard.  To do this you need to
pass arguments to @code{x-insert-selection}.  This is done by wrapping
the call in a 'lambda form:

@lisp
(define-key global-map [f18]
  (function (lambda () (interactive) (x-insert-selection t nil))))
@end lisp

This binds the f18 key to a @dfn{generic} functional object.  The
interactive spec is required because only interactive functions can be
bound to keys.  Also take a look at the doc for @code{function}.

For the FAQ example you could use:

@lisp
(global-set-key [(control ?.)]
		(function (lambda () (interactive) (scroll-up 1))))
(global-set-key [(control ?;)]
	        (function (lambda () (interactive) (scroll-up -1))))
@end lisp

This is fine if you only need a few functions within the lambda body.
If you're doing more it's cleaner to define a separate function as in
question 3.5.3 (@xref{Q3.5.3}).

@node Q3.5.2, Q3.5.3, Q3.5.1, Customization
@section How can I stop down-arrow from adding empty lines to the bottom of my buffers?

Add the following line to your @file{.emacs} file:

@lisp
(setq next-line-add-newlines nil)
@end lisp

@node Q3.5.3, Q3.5.4, Q3.5.2, Customization
@section How do I bind C-. and C-; to scroll one line up and down?

Add the following (Thanks to Richard Mlynarik <mly@@adoc.xerox.com> and
Wayne Newberry <wayne@@zen.cac.stratus.com>) to @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(defun scroll-up-one-line ()
  (interactive)
  (scroll-up 1))

(defun scroll-down-one-line ()
  (interactive)
  (scroll-down 1))

(global-set-key [(control ?.)]   'scroll-up-one-line)        ; C-.
(global-set-key [(control ?;)]   'scroll-down-one-line)      ; C-;
@end lisp

The key point is that you can only bind simple functions to keys; you
can not bind a key to a function that you're also passing arguments to.
(@xref{Q3.5.1} for a better answer).

@node Q3.5.4, Q3.5.5, Q3.5.3, Customization
@section Globally binding @kbd{Delete}?

I cannot manage to globally bind my @kbd{Delete} key to something other
than the default.  How does one do this?

@lisp
(defun Foo ()
  (interactive)
    (message "You hit DELETE"))

(global-set-key 'delete 'Foo)
@end lisp

However, some modes explicitly bind @kbd{Delete}, so you would need to
add a hook that does @code{local-set-key} for them.  If what you want to
do is make the Backspace and Delete keys work more PC/Motif-like, then
take a look at the @file{delbackspace.el} package.

New in XEmacs 19.14 is a variable called @code{key-translation-map}
which makes it easier to bind @kbd{Delete}.  @file{delbackspace.el} is a
good example of how to do this correctly.

@node Q3.5.5, Q3.5.6, Q3.5.4, Customization
@section Scrolling one line at a time.

Can the cursor keys scroll the screen a line at a time, rather than the
default half page jump?  I tend it to find it disorienting.

Try this:

@lisp
(defun scroll-one-line-up (&optional arg)
  "Scroll the selected window up (forward in the text) one line (or N lines)."
  (interactive "p")
  (scroll-up (or arg 1)))

(defun scroll-one-line-down (&optional arg)
  "Scroll the selected window down (backward in the text) one line (or N)."
  (interactive "p")
  (scroll-down (or arg 1)))

(global-set-key 'up 'scroll-one-line-up)
(global-set-key 'down  'scroll-one-line-down)
@end lisp


The following will also work but will affect more than just the cursor
keys (i.e. @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p}):

@lisp
(setq scroll-step 1)
@end lisp

@node Q3.5.6, Q3.5.7, Q3.5.5, Customization
@section How to map @kbd{Help} key alone on Sun type4 keyboard?

The following works in GNU Emacs 19:

@lisp
(global-set-key [help] 'help-command)  		;; Help
@end lisp

The following works in XEmacs 19.13 with the addition of shift:

@lisp
(global-set-key [(shift help)] 'help-command)  		;; Help
@end lisp

But it doesn't work alone.  This is in the file @file{PROBLEMS} which
should have come with your XEmacs installation: @emph{Emacs ignores the
@kbd{help} key when running OLWM}.

OLWM grabs the @kbd{help} key, and retransmits it to the appropriate
client using @code{XSendEvent}.  Allowing Emacs to react to synthetic
events is a security hole, so this is turned off by default.  You can
enable it by setting the variable @code{x-allow-sendevents} to t.  You
can also cause fix this by telling OLWM to not grab the help key, with
the null binding @code{OpenWindows.KeyboardCommand.Help:}.

@node Q3.5.7, Q3.5.8, Q3.5.6, Customization
@section How can you type in special characters in XEmacs?

One way is to use the package @samp{x-compose}.  Then you can use
sequences like @kbd{Compose " a} to get ä, etc.

Another way is to use the iso8859-1 package.

@node Q3.5.8, Q3.5.9, Q3.5.7, Customization
@section Why does @code{(global-set-key [delete-forward] 'delete-char)} complain?

Why does @code{(define-key global-map [ delete-forward ] 'delete-char)}
complain of not being able to bind an unknown key?

Try this instead:

@lisp
(define-key global-map [delete_forward] 'delete-char)
@end lisp

and it will work.

What you are seeing above is a bug due to code that is trying to check
for GNU Emacs syntax like:

(define-key global-map [C-M-a] 'delete-char)

which otherwise would cause no errors but would not result in the
expected behavior.

This bug has been fixed in 19.14.

@node Q3.5.9, Q3.5.10, Q3.5.8, Customization
@section How do I make the Delete key delete forward?

Use the @file{delbackspace} package:

@lisp
(load-library "delbackspace")
@end lisp

Also @xref{Q3.5.4}.

@node Q3.5.10, Q3.6.1, Q3.5.9, Customization
@section Can I turn on @dfn{sticky} modifier keys?

Yes, with @code{(setq modifier-keys-are-sticky t)}.  This will give the
effect of being able to press and release Shift and have the next
character typed come out in upper case.  This will affect all the other
modifier keys like Control and Meta as well.

Ben Wing <ben@@666.com> writes:

@quotation
One thing about the sticky modifiers is that if you move the mouse out
of the frame and back in, it cancels all currently "stuck" modifiers.
@end quotation

@node Q3.6.1, Q3.6.2, Q3.5.10, Customization
@section Is there a way to make the bar cursor thicker?

I'd like to have the bar cursor a little thicker, as I tend to "lose" it
often.

For a 1 pixel bar cursor, use:

@lisp
(setq bar-cursor t)
@end lisp

For a 2 pixel bar cursor, use:

@lisp
(setq bar-cursor 'anything-else)
@end lisp

You can use a color to make it stand out better:

@example
Emacs*cursorColor:	Red
@end example

@node Q3.6.2, Q3.6.3, Q3.6.1, Customization
@section Is there a way to get back the block cursor?

@lisp
(setq bar-cursor nil)
@end lisp

@node Q3.6.3, Q3.7.1, Q3.6.2, Customization
@section Can I make the cursor blink?

If you are running a version of XEmacs older than 19.14, no.  Otherwise
you can do the following:

@lisp
(blink-cursor-mode)
@end lisp

This function toggles between a steady cursor and a blinking cursor.
You may also set this mode from the menu bar by selecting @samp{Options
=> Frame Appearance => Blinking Cursor}.

@node Q3.7.1, Q3.7.2, Q3.6.3, Customization
@section How can I turn off Mouse pasting?

I keep hitting the middle mouse button by accident and getting stuff
pasted into my buffer so how can I turn this off?

Here is an alternative binding, whereby the middle mouse button selects
(but does not cut) the expression under the mouse. Clicking middle on a
left or right paren will select to the matching one.  Note that you can
use @code{define-key} or @code{global-set-key}.

@lisp
(defun Mouse-Set-Point-and-Select (event)
  "Sets the point at the mouse location, then marks following form"
  (interactive "@@e")
  (mouse-set-point event)
  (mark-sexp 1)
  )
(define-key global-map 'button2 'Mouse-Set-Point-and-Select)
@end lisp

@node Q3.7.2, Q3.7.3, Q3.7.1, Customization
@section How do I set control/meta/etc modifiers on mouse buttons?

Use, for instance, @code{[(meta button1)]}. For example, here is a
common setting for Common Lisp programmers who use the bundled ilisp
package, whereby meta-button1 on a function name will find the file
where the function name was defined, and put you at that location in the
source file.

[Inside a function that gets called by the lisp-mode-hook and
ilisp-mode-hook]

@lisp
(local-set-key [(meta button1)] 'edit-definitions-lisp)
@end lisp

@node Q3.7.3, Q3.7.4, Q3.7.2, Customization
@section Clicking the left button does not do anything in buffer list.

I do @kbd{C-x C-b} to get a list of buffers and the entries get
highlighted when I move the mouse over them but clicking the left mouse
does not do anything.

Use the middle mouse button.

@node Q3.7.4, Q3.7.5, Q3.7.3, Customization
@section How can I get a list of buffers when I hit mouse button 3?

The following code will actually replace the default popup on button3:

@lisp
(defun cw-build-buffers ()
  "Popup buffer menu."
  (interactive "@@")
  (run-hooks 'activate-menubar-hook)
  (popup-menu (car (find-menu-item current-menubar '("Buffers")))))

(define-key global-map [(button3)] 'cw-build-buffers)
@end lisp

@node Q3.7.5, Q3.7.6, Q3.7.4, Customization
@section Why does cut-and-paste not work between XEmacs and a cmdtool?

We don't know.  It's a bug.  There does seem to be a work-around,
however.  Try running xclipboard first.  It appears to fix the problem
even if you exit it.  (This should be mostly fixed in 19.13, but we
haven't yet verified that).

@node Q3.7.6, Q3.7.7, Q3.7.5, Customization
@section How I can set XEmacs up so that it pastes where the text cursor is?

By default XEmacs pastes X selections where the mouse pointer is.  How
do I disable this?

Examine the function @code{mouse-yank}, by typing @kbd{C-h f mouse-yank
RET}.

To get XEmacs to paste at the text cursor, add this your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq mouse-yank-at-point t)
@end lisp

@node Q3.7.7, Q3.7.8, Q3.7.6, Customization
@section How do I select a rectangular region?

Just select the region normally, then use the rectangle commands (e.g.
@code{kill-rectangle} on it.  The region does not highlight as a
rectangle, but the commands work just fine.

To actually sweep out rectangular regions with the mouse do the
following:

@lisp
(setq mouse-track-rectangle-p t)
@end lisp

Aki Vehtari <Aki.Vehtari@@hut.fi> writes:

@quotation
To actually sweep out rectangular regions with the mouse you can also
use @code{mouse-track-do-rectangle} which is assigned to
@kbd{M-button1}. Then use rectangle commands.

@example
 mouse-track-do-rectangle: (event)
   -- an interactive compiled Lisp function.
 Like `mouse-track' but selects rectangles instead of regions.
@end example
@end quotation

@node Q3.7.8, Q3.8.1, Q3.7.7, Customization
@section Why does @kbd{M-w} take so long?

It actually doesn't.  It leaves the region visible for a second so that
you can see what area is being yanked.  If you start working, though, it
will immediately complete its operation.  In other words, it will only
delay for a second if you let it.

@node Q3.8.1, Q3.8.2, Q3.7.8, Customization
@section How do I get rid of the menu (or menubar)?

If you are running XEmacs 19.13 and earlier, add this command to your
@file{.emacs}.

@lisp
(set-menubar nil)
@end lisp

Starting with XEmacs 19.14 the preferred method is:

@lisp
(set-specifier menubar-visible-p nil)
@end lisp

@node Q3.8.2, Q3.8.3, Q3.8.1, Customization
@section Can I customize the basic menubar?

For an extensive menubar, add this line to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(load "big-menubar")
@end lisp

If you'd like to write your own, this file provides as good a set of
examples as any to start from.  The file is located in
@file{lisp/packages/big-menubar.el} in the XEmacs installation
directory.

@node Q3.8.3, Q3.8.4, Q3.8.2, Customization
@section How do I control how many buffers are listed in the menu @code{Buffers List}?

Add the following to your @file{.emacs} (suit to fit):

@lisp
(setq buffers-menu-max-size 20)
@end lisp

For no limit, use an argument of @samp{nil}.

@node Q3.8.4, Q3.8.5, Q3.8.3, Customization
@section Resources like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} are not working?

I am trying to use a resource like @code{Emacs*menubar*font} to set the
font of the menubar but it's not working.

If you are using the real Motif menubar, this resource is not
recognized; you have to say:

@example
Emacs*menubar*fontList: FONT
@end example

If you are using the Lucid menubar, the former resource will be
recognized only if the latter resource is unset.  This means that the
resource

@example
*fontList: FONT
@end example

will override

@example
Emacs*menubar*font: FONT
@end example

even though the latter is more specific.

@node Q3.8.5, Q3.9.1, Q3.8.4, Customization
@section How can I bind a key to a function to toggle the toolbar?

Try something like:

@lisp
(global-set-key [(control x) T]
		'(lambda () (interactive)
		   (set-specifier default-toolbar-visible-p 
				  (not (specifier-instance
					default-toolbar-visible-p)))))
@end lisp

There are redisplay bugs in 19.14 that may make the preceding result in
a messed-up display, especially for frames with multiple windows.  You
may need to resize the frame before XEmacs completely realizes the
toolbar is really gone.

Thanks to Martin Buchholz <Martin.Buchholz@@sun.com> for the correct
code.

@node Q3.9.1, Q3.9.2, Q3.8.5, Customization
@section How can I disable the scrollbar?

To disable them for all frames, add the following line to
your @file{.Xdefaults}:

@example
Emacs.scrollBarWidth:  0
@end example

To turn the scrollbar off on a per-frame basis, use the following
function:

@lisp
(set-specifier scrollbar-width (cons (selected-frame) 0))
@end lisp

You can actually turn the scrollbars on at any level you want by
substituting for (selected-frame) in the above command.  For example, to
turn the scrollbars off only in a single buffer:

@lisp
(set-specifier scrollbar-width (cons (current-buffer) 0))
@end lisp

Starting with 19.14 you can use the more logical form:

@lisp
(set-specifier scrollbar-width 0 (selected-frame))
@end lisp

@node Q3.9.2, Q3.9.3, Q3.9.1, Customization
@section How can one use resources to change scrollbar colors?

Here's a recap of how to use resources to change your scrollbar colors:

@example
! Motif scrollbars

Emacs*XmScrollBar.Background: skyblue
Emacs*XmScrollBar.troughColor: lightgray

! Athena scrollbars

Emacs*Scrollbar.Foreground: skyblue
Emacs*Scrollbar.Background: lightgray
@end example

Note the capitalization of @code{Scrollbar} for the Athena widget.

@node Q3.9.3, Q3.9.4, Q3.9.2, Customization
@section Moving the scrollbar can move the point; can I disable this?

When I move the scrollbar in an XEmacs window, it moves the point as
well, which should not be the default behavior.  Is this a bug or a
feature?  Can I disable it?

The current behavior is a feature, not a bug.  Point remains at the same
buffer position as long as that position does not scroll off the screen.
In that event, point will end up in either the upper-left or lower-left
hand corner.

This cannot be changed.

@node Q3.9.4, Q3.10.1, Q3.9.3, Customization
@section How can I get automatic horizontal scrolling?

By the same token, how can I turn it off in specific modes?

To do this, add to your @file{.emacs} file:

@lisp
(require 'auto-show)
@end lisp

Then do @code{(setq truncate-lines t)} in the mode-hooks for any modes
in which you want lines truncated.

More precisely: If @code{truncate-lines} is nil, horizontal scrollbars
will never appear.  Otherwise, they will appear only if the value of
@code{scrollbar-height} for that buffer/window/etc. is non-zero.  If you
do

@lisp
(set-specifier scrollbar-height 0)
@end lisp

then horizontal scrollbars will not appear in truncated buffers unless
the package specifically asked for them.

Automatic horizontal scrolling is now standard, starting with 19.14.

@node Q3.10.1, Q3.10.2, Q3.9.4, Customization
@section How can I turn off or change highlighted selections?

The @code{zmacs} mode allows for what some might call gratuitous
highlighting for selected regions (either by setting mark or by using
the mouse).  This is the default behavior.  To turn off, add the
following line to your @file{.emacs} file:

@lisp
(setq zmacs-regions nil)
@end lisp

To change the face for selection, look at @code{Options->Edit Faces} on
the menubar.

@node Q3.10.2, Q3.10.3, Q3.10.1, Customization
@section How do I get that typing on an active region removes it?

I want to change things so that if I select some text and start typing,
the typed text replaces the selected text, similar to Motif.

You want to use something called @dfn{pending delete}.  Pending delete
is what happens when you select a region (with the mouse or keyboard)
and you press a key to replace the selected region by the key you typed.
Usually backspace kills the selected region.

To get this behavior, add the following line to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(require 'pending-del)
@end lisp

Note that this will work with both Backspace and Delete.

@node Q3.10.3, Q3.10.4, Q3.10.2, Customization
@section Can I turn off the highlight during isearch?

I do not like my text highlighted while I am doing isearch as I am not
able to see what's underneath.  How do I turn it off?

Put the following in your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq isearch-highlight nil)
@end lisp

Note also that isearch-highlight affects query-replace and ispell.
Instead of disabling isearch-highlight you may find that a better
solution consists of customizing the @code{isearch} face.

@node Q3.10.4, Q3.10.5, Q3.10.3, Customization
@section How do I turn off highlighting after @kbd{C-x C-p} (mark-page)?

Put this in your @code{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq zmacs-regions nil)
@end lisp

@strong{Warning: This command turns off all region highlighting.}

@node Q3.10.5,  , Q3.10.4, Customization
@section The region disappears when I hit the end of buffer while scrolling.

How do I turn this feature (if it indeed is a feature) off?

Like this:

@lisp
(defadvice scroll-up (around scroll-up freeze)
  (interactive "_P")
  (let ((zmacs-region-stays t))
    (if (interactive-p)
	(condition-case nil
	    ad-do-it
	  (end-of-buffer (goto-char (point-max))))
      ad-do-it)))

(defadvice scroll-down (around scroll-down freeze)
  (interactive "_P")
  (let ((zmacs-region-stays t))
    (if (interactive-p)
	(condition-case nil
	    ad-do-it
	  (beginning-of-buffer (goto-char (point-min))))
      ad-do-it)))
@end lisp

Thanks to T. V. Raman <raman@@adobe.com> for assistance in deriving this
answer.

@node Subsystems, Miscellaneous, Customization, Top
@chapter Major Subsystems

This is part 4 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list.  This
section is devoted to major XEmacs subsystems.

@menu
Reading Mail with VM:
* Q4.0.1::      How do I set up VM to retrieve remote mail using POP?
* Q4.0.2::      How do I get VM to filter mail for me?
* Q4.0.3::      How can I get VM to automatically check for new mail?
* Q4.0.4::      [This question intentionally left blank]
* Q4.0.5::      How do I get my outgoing mail archived?
* Q4.0.6::      I have various addresses at which I receive mail.  How can I tell VM to ignore them when doing a "reply-all"?
* Q4.0.7::      Is there a mailing list or FAQ for VM?
* Q4.0.8::      Remote Mailreading with VM.
* Q4.0.9::      rmail or VM gets an error incorporating new mail.
* Q4.0.10::     How do I make VM stay in a single frame?
* Q4.0.11::     How do I make VM or mh-e display graphical smilies?
* Q4.0.12::     Customization of VM not covered in the manual or here.

Web browsing with W3:
* Q4.1.1::      What is W3?
* Q4.1.2::      How do I run W3 from behind a firewall?

Reading Netnews and Mail with Gnus:
* Q4.2.1::      GNUS, (ding) Gnus, Gnus 5, September Gnus, Red Gnus, argh!
* Q4.2.2::      [This question intentionally left blank]
* Q4.2.3::      How do I make Gnus stay within a single frame?
* Q4.2.4::      How do I customize the From: line?

Other Mail & News:
* Q4.3.1::      How can I read and/or compose MIME messages?
* Q4.3.2::      What is TM and where do I get it?
* Q4.3.3::      Why isn't this @code{movemail} program working?
* Q4.3.4::      Movemail is also distributed by Netscape?  Can that cause problems?
* Q4.3.5::      Where do I find pstogif (required by tm)?

Sparcworks, EOS, and WorkShop:
* Q4.4.1::      What is SPARCworks, EOS, and WorkShop

Energize:
* Q4.5.1::      What is/was Energize?

Infodock:
* Q4.6.1::      What is Infodock?

Other Unbundled Packages:
* Q4.7.1::      What is AucTeX?  Where do you get it?
* Q4.7.2::      Are there any Emacs Lisp Spreadsheets?
* Q4.7.3::      Byte compiling AucTeX on XEmacs 19.14
* Q4.7.4::      Problems installing AucTeX
@end menu

@node Q4.0.1, Q4.0.2, Subsystems, Subsystems
@section How do I set up VM to retrieve mail from a remote site using POP?

Use @code{vm-spool-files}, like this for example:

@lisp
(setq vm-spool-files '("/var/spool/mail/wing"
                       "netcom23.netcom.com:110:pass:wing:MYPASS"))
@end lisp

Of course substitute your actual password for MYPASS.

@node Q4.0.2, Q4.0.3, Q4.0.1, Subsystems
@section How do I get VM to filter mail for me?

One possibility is to use procmail to split your mail before it gets to
VM.  I prefer this personally, since there are many strange and
wonderful things one can do with procmail.  Procmail may be found at
<URL:ftp://ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/pub/packages/procmail/>.

Also see the Mail Filtering FAQ at:
<URL:http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/mail/filtering-faq/faq.html>.

Another possibility is to check out Gnus 5.  Gnus 5 has mail splitting
capability, and can use VM as a mail reading backend.

@node Q4.0.3, Q4.0.4, Q4.0.2, Subsystems
@section How can I get VM to automatically check for new mail?

John Turner <turner@@lanl.gov> writes:

@quotation
Use the following:

@lisp
(setq vm-auto-get-new-mail 60)
@end lisp
@end quotation

@node Q4.0.4, Q4.0.5, Q4.0.3, Subsystems
@section [This question intentionally left blank]

Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.

@node Q4.0.5, Q4.0.6, Q4.0.4, Subsystems
@section How do I get my outgoing mail archived?

@lisp
(setq mail-archive-file-name "~/outbox")
@end lisp

@node Q4.0.6, Q4.0.7, Q4.0.5, Subsystems
@section I have various addresses at which I receive mail.  How can I tell VM to ignore them when doing a "reply-all"?

Set @code{vm-reply-ignored-addresses} to a list, like

@lisp
(setq vm-reply-ignored-addresses '("wing@@netcom[0-9]*.netcom.com"
				   "wing@@netcom.com" "wing@@666.com"))
@end lisp

Note that each string is a regular expression.

@node Q4.0.7, Q4.0.8, Q4.0.6, Subsystems
@section Is there a mailing list or FAQ for VM?

There is no archived FAQ for VM.

Kyle Jones <kyle_jones@@wonderworks.com> writes:

@quotation
No, I'm too atavistic to write one.  For some reason I'd rather just
answer the questions myself.  I guess it serves a purpose in that the VM
user community knows that I'm still alive, despite the 9 months since
the last release.
@end quotation

VM has its own newsgroup gnu.emacs.vm.info.

@node Q4.0.8, Q4.0.9, Q4.0.7, Subsystems
@section Remote Mailreading with VM.

My mailbox lives at the office on a big honkin server.  My regular INBOX
lives on my honkin desktop machine.  I now can PPP to the office from
home which is far from honking...  I'd like to be able to read mail at
home without storing it here and I'd like to use xemacs and VM at
home...  Is there a recommended setup?

Joseph J. Nuspl Jr. <nuspl@@nvwls.cc.purdue.edu> writes:

@quotation
There are several ways to do this.

@enumerate
@item
Set your display to your home machine and run dxpc or one of the other X
compressors.

@item
NFS mount your desktop machine on your home machine and modify your pop
command on your home machine to rsh to your desktop machine and actually
do the pop get's.

@item
Run a POP server on your desktop machine as well and do a sort of two
tiered POP get.
@end enumerate
@end quotation

William Perry <wmperry@@monolith.spry.com> adds:

@quotation
Or you could run a pop script periodically on your desktop machine, and
just use ange-ftp or NFS to get to your mailbox.  I used to do this all
the time back at IU.
@end quotation

@node Q4.0.9, Q4.0.10, Q4.0.8, Subsystems
@section rmail or VM gets an error incorporating new mail.

>From the XEmacs PROBLEMS file:

@quotation
rmail and VM get new mail from @file{/usr/spool/mail/$USER} using a
program called @code{movemail}.  This program interlocks with
@code{/bin/mail} using the protocol defined by @code{/bin/mail}.
 
There are two different protocols in general use.  One of them uses the
@code{flock} system call.  The other involves creating a lock file;
@code{movemail} must be able to write in @file{/usr/spool/mail} in order
to do this.  You control which one is used by defining, or not defining,
the macro @code{MAIL_USE_FLOCK} in @file{config.h} or the m- or s- file
it includes.

@strong{IF YOU DON'T USE THE FORM OF INTERLOCKING THAT IS NORMAL ON YOUR
SYSTEM, YOU CAN LOSE MAIL!}

If your system uses the lock file protocol, and fascist restrictions
prevent ordinary users from writing the lock files in
@file{/usr/spool/mail}, you may need to make @code{movemail} setgid to a
suitable group such as @samp{mail}.  You can use these commands (as
root):

@example
chgrp mail movemail
chmod 2755 movemail
@end example

If your system uses the lock file protocol, and fascist restrictions
prevent ordinary users from writing the lock files in
@file{/usr/spool/mail}, you may need to make @code{movemail} setgid to a
suitable group such as @code{mail}.  To do this, use the following
commands (as root) after doing the make install.

@example
chgrp mail movemail
chmod 2755 movemail
@end example

Installation normally copies movemail from the build directory to an
installation directory which is usually under @file{/usr/local/lib}.
The installed copy of @code{movemail} is usually in the directory
@file{/usr/local/lib/emacs/VERSION/TARGET}.  You must change the group
and mode of the installed copy; changing the group and mode of the build
directory copy is ineffective.
@end quotation

@node Q4.0.10, Q4.0.11, Q4.0.9, Subsystems
@section How do I make VM stay in a single frame?

John S Cooper <John.Cooper@@Eng.Sun.COM> writes:

@quotation
@lisp
; Don't use multiple frames
(setq vm-frame-per-composition nil)
(setq vm-frame-per-folder nil)
(setq vm-frame-per-edit nil)
(setq vm-frame-per-summary nil)
@end lisp
@end quotation

@node Q4.0.11, Q4.0.12, Q4.0.10, Subsystems
@section How do I make VM or mh-e display graphical smilies?

For mh-e use the following:

@lisp
(add-hook 'mh-show-mode-hook '(lambda () (smiley-region (point-min)
                                                        (point-max))))
@end lisp

For vm use the following:
@lisp
(require 'messagexmas)
(require 'smiley)
(add-hook 'vm-select-message-hook '(lambda () (smiley-region (point-min)
                                                             (point-max))))
@end lisp

For tm use the following:
@lisp
(autoload 'smiley-buffer "smiley" nil t)
(add-hook 'mime-viewer/plain-text-preview-hook 'smiley-buffer)
@end lisp

@node Q4.0.12, Q4.1.1, Q4.0.11, Subsystems
@section Customization of VM not covered in the manual, or here.

giacomo boffi <boffi@@hp735.stru.polimi.it> writes:

@quotation
The meta-answer is to look into the file @file{vm-vars.el}, in the vm
directory of the lisp library.

@file{vm-vars.el} contains, initializes and carefully describes, with
examples of usage, the plethora of user options that @emph{fully}
control VM's behavior.

Enter vm-vars, @code{forward-search} for toolbar, find the variables
that control the toolbar placement, appearance, existence, copy to your
@file{.emacs} or @file{.vm} and modify according to the detailed
instructions.

The above also applies to all the various features of VM: search for
some keywords, maybe the first you conjure isn't appropriate, find the
appropriate variables, copy and experiment.
@end quotation

@node Q4.1.1, Q4.1.2, Q4.0.12, Subsystems
@section What is W3?

W3 is an advanced graphical browser written in Emacs lisp that runs on
XEmacs.  It has full support for cascaded style sheets, and more...

It has a home web page at
<URL:http://www.cs.indiana.edu/elisp/w3/docs.html>.

@node Q4.1.2, Q4.2.1, Q4.1.1, Subsystems
@section How do I run W3 from behind a firewall?

There is a long, well-written, detailed section in the W3 manual that
describes how to do this.  Look in the section entitled "Firewalls".

@node Q4.2.1, Q4.2.2, Q4.1.2, Subsystems
@section GNUS, (ding) Gnus, Gnus 5, September Gnus, Red Gnus, Mamey Sapote Gnus, argh!

Please see <URL:http://www.ccs.neu.edu/software/gnus/> for details.

@node Q4.2.2, Q4.2.3, Q4.2.1, Subsystems
@section This question intentionally left blank.

Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.

@node Q4.2.3, Q4.2.4, Q4.2.2, Subsystems
@section How do I make Gnus stay within a single frame?

When starting Gnus from the toolbar it is automatically put into a new
frame.  Gnus not being frame-aware code, has no provision to disable
this feature.  If you feel this is a problem here are some workarounds:

@enumerate
@item
Don't start Gnus from the toolbar, use @kbd{M-x gnus}.  This is what I
do.

@item
Redefine the function called by the toolbar:

@lisp
(defun toolbar-news ()
  "Run Gnus in the frame it was started from."
  (interactive)
  (gnus))
@end lisp
@end enumerate

@node Q4.2.4, Q4.3.1, Q4.2.3, Subsystems
@section How do I customize the From: line?

How do I change the @code{From:} line?  I have set gnus-user-from-line
to Gail Gurman <gail.gurman@@sybase.com>, but XEmacs Gnus doesn't use
it. Instead it uses Gail Mara Gurman <gailg@@deall> and then complains
that it's incorrect. Also, as you perhaps can see, my Message-ID is
screwy. How can I change that?

Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@aegir.ifi.uio.no> writes:

@quotation
Set @code{user-mail-address} to @samp{gail.gurman@@sybase.com} or
@code{mail-host-address} to @samp{sybase.com}.
@end quotation

@node Q4.3.1, Q4.3.2, Q4.2.4, Subsystems
@section How can I read and/or compose MIME messages?

One answer is @code{tra-vm-mime}.  You may find it at
<URL:http://lenkkari.cs.tut.fi/~tra/software/tra-vm-mime.el>.

Another possibility is RMIME.  You may find RMIME at
<URL:http://www.cinti.net/~rmoody/rmime/index.html>.

You probably want to use the Tools for MIME (tm).  @xref{Q4.3.2} for
details.

Trey Jackson <trey@@cs.berkeley.edu> has an Emacs & MIME web page at
<URL:http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/~trey/emacs/mime.html>.

@node Q4.3.2, Q4.3.3, Q4.3.1, Subsystems
@section What is TM and where do I get it?

TM stands for @dfn{Tools for MIME} and not Tiny MIME.  TM integrates
with all major XEmacs packages like Gnus (all flavors), VM, MH-E, and
mailcrypt.  It provides totally transparent and trouble-free MIME
support.  When appropriate a message will be decoded in place in an
XEmacs buffer.

TM was written by MORIOKA Tomohiko <morioka@@jaist.ac.jp> and KOBAYASHI
Shuhei <shuhei-k@@jaist.ac.jp>.  It is based on the work of UMEDA
Masanobu <umerin@@mse.kyutech.ac.jp>, the original writer of GNUS.

The following information is from the @file{README}:

@dfn{tm} is a MIME package for GNU Emacs.
tm has following functions:

@itemize @bullet
@item MIME style multilingual header.
@item MIME message viewer (mime/viewer-mode).
@item MIME message composer (mime/editor-mode).
@item MIME extenders for mh-e, GNUS, RMAIL and VM.
@end itemize

tm is available from following anonymous ftp sites:
@itemize @bullet
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/GNU/elisp/mime/> (Japan).
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.nis.co.jp/pub/gnu/emacs-lisp/tm/> (Japan).
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.nisiq.net/pub/gnu/emacs-lisp/tm/> (US).
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.miranova.com/pub/gnus/jaist.ac.jp/> (US).
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.unicamp.br/pub/mail/mime/tm/> (Brasil).
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.th-darmstadt.de/pub/editors/GNU-Emacs/lisp/mime/> (Germany).
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.tnt.uni-hannover.de/pub/editors/xemacs/contrib/> (Germany).
@end itemize

Don't let the installation procedure & instructions stop you from trying
this package out---it's much simpler than it looks, and once installed,
trivial to use.

@node Q4.3.3, Q4.3.4, Q4.3.2, Subsystems
@section Why isn't this @code{movemail} program working?

Ben Wing <ben@@666.com> writes:

@quotation
It wasn't chown'ed/chmod'd correctly.
@end quotation

@node Q4.3.4, Q4.3.5, Q4.3.3, Subsystems
@section Movemail is also distributed by Netscape?  Can that cause problems?

Steve Baur <steve@@altair.xemacs.org> writes:

@quotation
Yes.  Always use the movemail installed with your XEmacs.  Failure to do
so can result in lost mail.
@end quotation

Please refer to Jamie Zawinski's <jwz@@netscape.com> notes at
<URL:http://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/2.0/relnotes/demo/movemail.html>.
In particular, this document will show you how to make Netscape use the
version of movemail configured for your system by the person who built
XEmacs.

@node Q4.3.5, Q4.4.1, Q4.3.4, Subsystems
@section Where do I find pstogif (required by tm)?

pstogif is part of the latex2html package.

Jan Vroonhof <vroonhof@@math.ethz.ch> writes:

latex2html is best found at the CTAN hosts and their mirrors
in @file{tex-archive/support/latex2html}.

CTAN hosts are:

@itemize @bullet
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/support/latex2html/>.
@item <URL:ftp://ftp.dante.de/tex-archive/support/latex2html/>.
@end itemize

There is a good mirror at ftp.cdrom.com;
<URL:ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/tex/ctan/support/latex2html/>.

@node Q4.4.1, Q4.5.1, Q4.3.5, Subsystems
@section What is SPARCworks, EOS, and WorkShop?

John Turner <turner@@lanl.gov> writes:

@quotation
SPARCworks is SunSoft's development environment, comprising compilers
(C, C++, FORTRAN 77, Fortran 90, Ada, and Pascal), a debugger, and other
tools such as TeamWare (for configuration management), MakeTool, etc.
@end quotation

See <URL:http://www.sun.com/sunsoft/Developer-products/products.html>
for more info.

EOS stands for "Era on SPARCworks", but I don't know what Era stands
for.

EOS is the integration of XEmacs with the SPARCworks debugger.  It
allows one to use an XEmacs frame to view code (complete with
fontification, etc.), set breakpoints, print variables, etc., while
using the SPARCworks debugger.  It works very well and I use it all the
time.

Chuck Thompson <cthomp@@xemacs.org> writes:

@quotation
Era stood for "Emacs Rewritten Again".  It was what we were calling the
modified version of Lucid Emacs for Sun when I was dragged, er, allowed
to work on this wonderful editor.
@end quotation

Martin Buchholz <Martin.Buchholz@@sun.com> writes:

@quotation
EOS is being replaced with a new graphical development environment
called Sun WorkShop, which is currently (07/96) in Alpha Test.  For more
details, check out
<URL:http://www.sun.com/sunsoft/Products/Developer-products/programs.html>.
@end quotation

@node Q4.5.1, Q4.6.1, Q4.4.1, Subsystems
@section What is/was Energize?

David N Gray <gray@@meteor.harlequin.com> writes:
@quotation
The files in @file{lisp/energize} are to enable Emacs to interface with
the "Energize Programming System", a C and C++ development environment,
which was a product of Lucid, Inc.  Tragically, Lucid went out of
business in 1994, so although Energize is still a great system, if you
don't already have it, there isn't any way to get it now.  (Unless you
happen to be in Japan; INS Engineering may still be selling it there.
Tartan bought the rights to sell it in the rest of the world, but never
did so.)
@end quotation

@node Q4.6.1, Q4.7.1, Q4.5.1, Subsystems
@section What is Infodock?

InfoDock is an integrated productivity toolset, mainly aimed at
technical people.  It is developed and supported by InfoDock
Associates, a firm that offers custom support and development
for InfoDock, XEmacs and GNU Emacs.  (http://www.infodock.com,
<info@@infodock.com>, +1 408 243 3300).

InfoDock is built atop the XEmacs variant of GNU Emacs and so has all of
the power of Emacs, but with an easier to use and more comprehensive
menu-based user interface.  The bottom portion of this text describes
how it differs from XEmacs and GNU Emacs from the Free Software
Foundation.

InfoDock is aimed at people who want a free, turn-key productivity
environment.  Although InfoDock is customizable, it is not intended for
people who like basic versions of Emacs which need to be customized
extensively for local use; standard Emacs distributions are better for
such uses.  InfoDock is for those people who want a complete,
pre-customized environment in one package, which they need not touch
more than once or twice a year to update to new revisions.

InfoDock is pre-built for SPARC SunOS/Solaris systems, PA-RISC HP-UX,
and Intel Linux systems.  It is intended for use on a color display,
although most features will work on monochrome monitors.  Simply unpack
InfoDock according to the instructions in the ID-INSTALL file and you
are ready to run.

The InfoDock Manual is concise, yet sufficient as a user guide for users
who have never used an Emacs-type editor before.  For users who are
already familiar with Emacs, it supplements the information in the GNU
Emacs Manual.

InfoDock menus are much more extensive and more mature than standard
Emacs menus.  Each menu offers a @samp{Manual} item which displays
documentation associated with the menu's functions.
    
@noindent
Four types of menubars are provided:
@enumerate
@item
An extensive menubar providing access to global InfoDock commands.
@item
Mode-specific menubars tailored to the current major mode.
@item
A simple menubar for basic editing to help novices get started with InfoDock.
@item
The standard XEmacs menubar.
@end enumerate

Most modes also include mode-specific popup menus.  Additionally, region and
rectangle popup menus are included.

@samp{Hyperbole}, the everyday information manager, is a core part of
InfoDock.  This provides context-sensitive mouse keys, a rolodex-type
contact manager, programmable hypertext buttons, and an autonumbered
outliner with embedded hyperlink anchors.

The @samp{OO-Browser}, a multi-language object-oriented code browser, is a
standard part of InfoDock.

InfoDock saves a more extensive set of user options than other Emacs
versions.

InfoDock inserts a useful file header in many file types, showing the
author, summary, and last modification time of each file.  A summary
program can then be used to summarize all of the files in a directory,
for easy MANIFEST file creation.

Your working set of buffers is automatically saved and restored (if you
answer yes to a prompt) between InfoDock sessions.

Refined color choices for code highlighting are provided for both dark and
light background display frames.

The @kbd{C-z} key prefix performs frame-based commands which parallel the
@kbd{C-x} key prefix for window-based commands.

The Smart Menu system is included for producing command menus on dumb
terminals.

Lisp libraries are better categorized according to function.

Extensions and improvements to many areas of Emacs are included, such as:
paragraph filling, mail reading with Rmail, shell handling, outlining, code
highlighting and browsing, and man page browsing.

InfoDock questions, answers and discussion should go to the mail list
@samp{infodock@@infodock.com}.  Use
@samp{infodock-request@@infodock.com} to be added or removed from the
list.  Always include your InfoDock version number when sending help
requests.

InfoDock is available across the Internet via anonymous FTP.  To get
it, first move to a directory into which you want the InfoDock archive
files placed.  We will call this <DIST-DIR>.
 
@example
   cd <DIST-DIR>
@end example

Ftp to ftp.xemacs.org  (Internet Host ID = 128.174.252.16):

@example
   prompt> ftp ftp.xemacs.org
@end example

Login as @samp{anonymous} with your own <user-id>@@<site-name> as a password.

@example   
   Name (ftp.xemacs.org): anonymous
   331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password.
   Password: -<your-user-id@@your-domain>
   230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
@end example

Move to the location of the InfoDock archives:

@example
   ftp> cd pub/infodock
@end example

Set your transfer mode to binary:

@example
   ftp> bin
   200 Type set to I.
@end example

Turn off prompting:

@example
   ftp> prompt
   Interactive mode off.
@end example

Retrieve the InfoDock archives that you want, either by using a
@samp{get <file>} for each file you want or by using the following to
get a complete distribution, including all binaries:

@example
   ftp> mget ID-INSTALL
   ftp> mget id-*
@end example

Close the FTP connection:

@example
   ftp> quit
   221 Goodbye.
@end example

Read the @file{ID-INSTALL} file which you just retrieved for
step-by-step installation instructions.

@node Q4.7.1, Q4.7.2, Q4.6.1, Subsystems
@section What is AucTeX?  Where do you get it?

AucTeX is a package written by Per Abrahamsen <abraham@@dina.kvl.dk>.
The following information is from the @file{README} and website.

AUC TeX is an extensible package that supports writing and formatting
TeX files for most variants of GNU Emacs. Many different macro packages
are supported, including AMS TeX, LaTeX, and TeXinfo.

The most recent version is always available by ftp at
<URL:ftp://sunsite.auc.dk/packages/auctex/auctex.tar.gz>.

In case you don't have access to anonymous ftp, you can get it by an
email request to <URL:mailto:ftpmail@@decwrl.dec.com>.

WWW users may want to check out the AUC TeX page at
<URL:http://sunsite.auc.dk/auctex/>.

@node Q4.7.2, Q4.7.3, Q4.7.1, Subsystems
@section Are there any Emacs Lisp Spreadsheets?

Yes.  Check out @dfn{dismal} (which stands for Dis' Mode Ain't Lotus) at
<URL:ftp://cs.nyu.edu/pub/local/fox/dismal/>.

@node Q4.7.3, Q4.7.4, Q4.7.2, Subsystems
@section Byte compiling AucTeX on XEmacs 19.14.

Georges Brun-Cottan <bruncott@@dormeur.inria.fr> writes:

@quotation
When byte compiling auxtex-9.4g, you must use the command:

@example
xemacs -batch -l lpath.el
@end example
@end quotation

@node Q4.7.4,  , Q4.7.3, Subsystems
@section Problems installing AucTeX.

Jan Vroonhof <vroonhof@@math.ethz.ch> writes:

@quotation
AucTeX works fine on both stock Emacs and XEmacs has been doing so for a
very very long time. This is mostly due to the work of Per Abrahamsen
<abraham@@dina.kvl.dk> (clap clap) in particular his @file{easymenu}
package.  Which leads to what is probably the problem...
@end quotation

Most problems with AucTeX are one of two things:

@itemize @bullet
@item
The TeX-lisp-directory in @file{tex-site.el} and the makefile don't
match.

Fix: make sure you configure AucTeX properly @strong{before} installing.

@item
You have an old version of easymenu.el in your path.

Fix: use @code{locate-library} and remove old versions to make sure it
@strong{only} finds the one that came with XEmacs.
@end itemize

@node Miscellaneous, Current Events, Subsystems, Top
@chapter The Miscellaneous Stuff

This is part 5 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list.  This
section is devoted to anything that doesn't fit neatly into the other
sections.

@menu
Major & Minor Modes:
* Q5.0.1::      How can I do source code highlighting using font-lock?
* Q5.0.2::      I do not like cc-mode.  How do I use the old c-mode?
* Q5.0.3::      How do I get @samp{More} Syntax Highlighting on by default?
* Q5.0.4::      How can I enable auto-indent?
* Q5.0.5::      How can I get XEmacs to come up in text/auto-fill mode by default?
* Q5.0.6::      How do I start up a second shell buffer?
* Q5.0.7::      Telnet from shell filters too much.
* Q5.0.8::      Why does edt emulation not work?
* Q5.0.9::      How can I emulate VI and use it as my default mode?
* Q5.0.10::     What is @samp{Omit} minor mode?
* Q5.0.11::     Filladapt doesn't work in 19.13?
* Q5.0.12::     How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?
* Q5.0.13::     How do I start gnuserv so that each subsequent XEmacs is a client?
* Q5.0.14::     Strange things are happening in Shell Mode.
* Q5.0.15::     Where do I get the latest CC Mode?
* Q5.0.16::     I find auto-show-mode disconcerting.  How do I turn it off?
* Q5.0.17::     How can I get two instances of info?
* Q5.0.18::     I upgraded to XEmacs 19.14 and gnuserv stopped working
* Q5.0.19::     Is there something better than LaTeX mode?

Emacs Lisp Programming Techniques:
* Q5.1.1::      The difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?
* Q5.1.2::      Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?
* Q5.1.3::      How can I visit several marked files at once in dired?
* Q5.1.4::      In 19.13, why do I get @samp{set-text-something} lisp errors with Gnus and AUC-TeX?
* Q5.1.5::      How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?

Sound:
* Q5.2.1::      How do I turn off the sound?
* Q5.2.2::      How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?
* Q5.2.3::      What's NAS, how do I get it?
* Q5.2.4::      Sunsite sounds don't play.

Miscellaneous:
* Q5.3.1::      How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?
* Q5.3.2::      Fontifying hangs when editing a postscript file.
* Q5.3.3::      How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?
* Q5.3.4::      Getting @kbd{M-x lpr} to work with postscript printer.
* Q5.3.5::      How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?
* Q5.3.6::      [This question intentionally left blank]
* Q5.3.7::      Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?
* Q5.3.8::      How do I insert today's date into a buffer?
* Q5.3.9::      Are only certain syntactic character classes available for abbrevs?
* Q5.3.10::     How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?
* Q5.3.11::     How do I add new Info directories?
* Q5.3.12::     What do I need to change to make printing work?
@end menu

@node Q5.0.1, Q5.0.2, Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous
@section How can I do source code highlighting using font-lock?

For most modes, font-lock is already set up and just needs to be turned
on.  This can be done by @kbd{M-x font-lock-mode}, or by having XEmacs
automatically start it by adding lines like:

@lisp
(add-hook 'emacs-lisp-mode-hook	'turn-on-font-lock)
(add-hook 'dired-mode-hook	'turn-on-font-lock)
@end lisp

to your @file{.emacs}.  See the file @file{etc/sample.emacs} for more
examples.

@node Q5.0.2, Q5.0.3, Q5.0.1, Miscellaneous
@section I do not like cc-mode.  How do I use the old c-mode?

Well, first off, consider if you really want to do this.  cc-mode is
much more powerful than the old c-mode.  If you're having trouble
getting your old offsets to work, try using @code{c-set-offset} instead.
You might also consider using the package @code{cc-compat}.

But, if you still insist, add the following lines to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(fmakunbound 'c-mode)
(makunbound 'c-mode-map)
(fmakunbound 'c++-mode)
(makunbound 'c++-mode-map)
(makunbound 'c-style-alist)
(load-library "old-c-mode")
(load-library "old-c++-mode")	
@end lisp

This must be done before any other reference is made to either c-mode or
c++-mode.

@node Q5.0.3, Q5.0.4, Q5.0.2, Miscellaneous
@section How do I get @samp{More} Syntax Highlighting on by default?

For C, C++, and Lisp, you can add the following to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq c-font-lock-keywords c-font-lock-keywords-2)
(setq c++-font-lock-keywords c++-font-lock-keywords-2)
(setq lisp-font-lock-keywords lisp-font-lock-keywords-2)
@end lisp

@node Q5.0.4, Q5.0.5, Q5.0.3, Miscellaneous
@section How can I enable auto-indent?

Put the following line in your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq indent-line-function 'indent-relative-maybe)
@end lisp

If you want to get fancy, try the @code{filladapt} package available
standard with XEmacs.  Put this into your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(require 'filladapt)
(add-hook 'text-mode-hook    'turn-on-filladapt-mode)
(add-hook 'message-mode-hook 'turn-on-filladapt-mode)
;;; and so forth ...
@end lisp

Please note that the @code{fa-extras} package is no longer useful.

@node Q5.0.5, Q5.0.6, Q5.0.4, Miscellaneous
@section How can I get XEmacs to come up in text/auto-fill mode by default?

Try the following lisp in your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq default-major-mode 'text-mode)
(setq text-mode-hook 'turn-on-auto-fill)
@end lisp

@strong{WARNING}: note that changing the value of
@code{default-major-mode} from @code{fundamental-mode} can break a large
amount of built-in code that expects newly created buffers to be in
@code{fundamental-mode}.  (Changing from @code{fundamental-mode} to
@code{text-mode} might not wreak too much havoc, but changing to
something more exotic like a lisp-mode would break many Emacs packages).

Note that Emacs by default starts up in buffer @code{*scratch*} in
@code{initial-major-mode}, which defaults to
@code{lisp-interaction-mode}. Thus adding the following form to your
Emacs init file will cause the initial @code{*scratch*} buffer to be put
into auto-fill'ed @code{text-mode}:

@lisp
(setq initial-major-mode
      (function (lambda ()
        (text-mode)
        (turn-on-auto-fill))))
@end lisp

Note that after your init file is loaded, if
@code{inhibit-startup-message} is null (the default) and the startup
buffer is @code{*scratch*} then the startup message will be inserted
into @code{*scratch*}; it will be removed after a timeout by erasing the
entire @code{*scratch*} buffer. Keep in mind this default usage of
@code{*scratch*} if you desire any prior manipulation of
@code{*scratch*} from within your Emacs init file. In particular,
anything you insert into @code{*scratch*} from your init file will be
later erased. Also, if you change the mode of the @code{*scratch*}
buffer, be sure that this will not interfere with possible later
insertion of the startup message (e.g. if you put @code{*scratch*} into
a nonstandard mode that has automatic font lock rules, then the startup
message might get fontified in a strange foreign manner, e.g. as code in
some programming language).

@node Q5.0.6, Q5.0.7, Q5.0.5, Miscellaneous
@section How do I start up a second shell buffer?

In the @code{*shell*} buffer:

@lisp
M-x rename-buffer RET *shell-1* RET
M-x shell RET
@end lisp

This will then start a second shell.  The key is that no buffer named
@samp{*shell*} can exist.  It might be preferable to use @kbd{M-x
rename-uniquely} to rename the @code{*shell*} buffer instead of @kbd{M-x
rename-buffer}.

@node Q5.0.7, Q5.0.8, Q5.0.6, Miscellaneous
@section Telnet from shell filters too much

I'm using the Emacs @kbd{M-x shell} function, and I would like to invoke
and use a telnet session within it.  Everything works fine except that
now all @samp{^M}'s are filtered out by Emacs.  Fixes?

Use @kbd{M-x rsh} or @kbd{M-x telnet} to open remote sessions rather
than doing rsh or telnet within the local shell buffer.

@node Q5.0.8, Q5.0.9, Q5.0.7, Miscellaneous
@section Why does edt emulation not work?

We don't know, but you can use tpu-edt emulation instead, which works
fine and is a little fancier than the standard edt emulation.  To do
this, add the following line to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(load "tpu-edt")
@end lisp

If you don't want it to replace @kbd{C-h} with an edt-style help menu
add this as well:

@lisp
(global-set-key '(control h) 'help-for-help)
@end lisp

@node Q5.0.9, Q5.0.10, Q5.0.8, Miscellaneous
@section How can I emulate VI and use it as my default mode?

Our recommended VI emulator is viper. To make viper-mode the default,
add this to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(viper-mode)
@end lisp

Michael Kifer <kifer@@CS.SunySB.EDU> writes:

@quotation
This should be added as close to the top of @file{.emacs} as you can get
it, otherwise some minor modes may not get viper-ized.
@end quotation

@node Q5.0.10, Q5.0.11, Q5.0.9, Miscellaneous
@section What is @code{Omit} minor mode?

I have no idea where this is coming from, but ever since I moved from
19.9 to 19.13 I have started seeing that all of my buffers will get a
minor mode called @code{Omit}.  I have no idea how it got there nor do I
know what it does.  What is it?

It's part of dired.  In dired, you can type M-o to get Omit mode and
that will ignore uninteresting files (checkpoint files and backups, for
example).  You get Omit in the modeline everywhere because the variable
@code{dired-omit-files-p} is globally set to some non-nil value.  If you
want this functionality, it's probably best to use a hook:

@lisp
(add-hook 'dired-after-readin-hook '(lambda () (dired-omit-toggle)))
@end lisp

Alternatively, since it seems odd to toggle the omit state with every
readin, since readin can happen many times in a Dired buffer, you can
try this hook to correct the @code{Omit} problem:

@lisp
(add-hook 'dired-mode-hook
  (function (lambda ()
      ;; `dired-omit-files-p' is made buffer-local by "dired-x.el", but
      ;; maybe not soon enough.
            (make-local-variable 'dired-omit-files-p)
            (setq dired-omit-files-p t))))
@end lisp

This is only run once, when the Dired buffer is created.

@node Q5.0.11, Q5.0.12, Q5.0.10, Miscellaneous
@section Filladapt doesn't work in 19.13?

Filladapt 2.x is included in 19.13+.  In it filladapt is now a minor
mode and minor modes are traditionally off by default.  The following
added to your @file{.emacs} will turn it on for all buffers:

@lisp
(setq-default filladapt-mode t)
@end lisp

Use @code{turn-on-filladapt-mode} to turn Filladapt on in particular
major modes, like this:

@lisp
(add-hook 'text-mode-hook 'turn-on-filladapt-mode) 
@end lisp

@node Q5.0.12, Q5.0.13, Q5.0.11, Miscellaneous
@section How do I disable gnuserv from opening a new frame?

If you set the @code{gnuserv-frame} variable to the frame that should be
used to display buffers that are pulled up, a new frame will not be
created. For example, you could put

@lisp
(setq gnuserv-frame (selected-frame))
@end lisp

early on in your @file{.emacs}, to ensure that the first frame created
is the one used for your gnuserv buffers.

Starting in 19.15, there is an option to set the gnuserv target to
the current frame.  See
@code{Options->"Other Window" Location->Make current frame gnuserv target}

@node Q5.0.13, Q5.0.14, Q5.0.12, Miscellaneous
@section How do I start gnuserv so that each subsequent XEmacs is a client?

Put the following in your @file{.emacs} file to start the server:

@lisp
(gnuserv-start)
@end lisp

Start your first XEmacs as usual.  After that, you can do:

@example
gnuclient randomfilename
@end example

from the command line to get your existing XEmacs process to open a new
frame and visit randomfilename in that window. When you're done editing
randomfilename, hit @kbd{C-x #} to kill the buffer and get rid of the
frame.

@node Q5.0.14, Q5.0.15, Q5.0.13, Miscellaneous
@section Strange things are happening in Shell Mode.

Sometimes (i.e. it's not repeatable, and I can't work out why it
happens) when I'm typing into shell mode, I hit return and only a
portion of the command is given to the shell, and a blank prompt is
returned.  If I hit return again, the rest of the previous command is
given to the shell.

Martin Buchholz <Martin.Buchholz@@sun.com> writes:

@quotation
There is a known problem with interaction between @code{csh} and the
@code{filec} option and XEmacs.  You should add the following to your
@file{.cshrc}:

@example
if ( "$TERM" == emacs || "$TERM" == unknown ) unset filec
@end example
@end quotation

@node Q5.0.15, Q5.0.16, Q5.0.14, Miscellaneous
@section Where do I get the latest CC Mode?

Barry A. Warsaw <bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us> writes:

@quotation
This can be had from <URL:http://www.python.org/ftp/emacs/>.
@end quotation

@node Q5.0.16, Q5.0.17, Q5.0.15, Miscellaneous
@section I find auto-show-mode disconcerting.  How do I turn it off?

@code{auto-show-mode} controls whether or not a horizontal scrollbar
magically appears when a line is too long to be displayed.  This is
enabled by default.  To turn it off, put the following in your
@file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq auto-show-mode nil)
(setq-default auto-show-mode nil)
@end lisp

@node Q5.0.17, Q5.0.18, Q5.0.16, Miscellaneous
@section How can I get two instances of info?

You can't.  The info package does not provide for multiple info buffers.

@node Q5.0.18, Q5.0.19, Q5.0.17, Miscellaneous
@section I upgraded to XEmacs 19.14 and gnuserv stopped working.

Mark Daku <daku@@nortel.ca> writes:

@quotation
It turns out I was using an older version of gnuserv.  The installation
didn't put the binary into the public bin directory.  It put it in
@file{lib/xemacs-19.14/hppa1.1-hp-hpux9.05/gnuserv}.  Shouldn't it have
been put in @file{bin/hppa1.1-hp-hpux9.0}?
@end quotation

@node Q5.0.19, Q5.1.1, Q5.0.18, Miscellaneous
@section Is there something better than LaTeX mode?

David Kastrup <dak@@fsnif.neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de> writes:

@quotation
The standard TeX modes leave much to be desired, and are somewhat
leniently maintained.  Serious TeX users use AucTeX (@xref{Q4.7.1}).
@end quotation

@node Q5.1.1, Q5.1.2, Q5.0.19, Miscellaneous
@section What is the difference in key sequences between XEmacs and GNU Emacs?

Erik Naggum <erik@@naggum.no> writes;

@quotation
Emacs has a legacy of keyboards that produced characters with modifier
bits, and therefore map a variety of input systems into this scheme even
today.  XEmacs is instead optimized for X events.  This causes an
incompatibility in the way key sequences are specified, but both Emacs
and XEmacs will accept a key sequence as a vector of lists of modifiers
that ends with a key, e.g., to bind M-C-a, you would say [(meta control
a)] in both Emacsen.  XEmacs has an abbreviated form for a single key,
just (meta control a).  Emacs has an abbreviated form for the Control
and the Meta modifiers to string-characters (the ASCII characters), as
in "\M-\C-a".  XEmacs users need to be aware that the abbreviated form
works only for one-character key sequences, while Emacs users need to be
aware that the string-character is rather limited.  Specifically, the
string-character can accomodate only 256 different values, 128 of which
have the Meta modifier and 128 of which have not.  In each of these
blocks, only 32 characters have the Control modifier.  Whereas [(meta
control A)] differs from [(meta control a)] because the case differs,
"\M-\C-a" and "\M-\C-A" do not.  Programmers are advised to use the full
common form, both because it is more readable and less error-prone, and
because it is supported by both Emacsen.
@end quotation

@node Q5.1.2, Q5.1.3, Q5.1.1, Miscellaneous
@section Can I generate "fake" keyboard events?

I wonder if there is an interactive function that can generate "fake"
keyboard events.  This way, I could simply map them inside XEmacs.

This seems to work:

@lisp
(defun cg--generate-char-event (ch)
  "Generate an event, as if ch has been typed"
  (dispatch-event (character-to-event ch)))

;;  Backspace and Delete stuff
(global-set-key '(backspace)
                '(lambda () (interactive) (cg--generate-char-event 127)))
(global-set-key '(unknown_keysym_0x4)
                '(lambda () (interactive) (cg--generate-char-event 4)))
@end lisp

@node Q5.1.3, Q5.1.4, Q5.1.2, Miscellaneous
@section How can I visit several marked files at once in dired?

You can put this in your @file{.emacs} and then @kbd{F} will find marked
files:

@lisp
(add-hook
 'dired-load-hook
 (function (lambda ()
	     (define-key dired-mode-map "F"
	       (function
		(lambda () (interactive)
		  (mapcar 'find-file
			  (dired-mark-get-files))))))))
@end lisp

Aki Vehtari <Aki.Vehtari@@hut.fi> writes:

@quotation
You can also use @file{dired-x.el} (Sebastian Kremer's Extra DIRED). It
defines F and makes other improvements too.  See @file{dired/dired-x.el}
in the XEmacs distribution.

In your @file{~/.emacs}, add:

@lisp
(setq dired-load-hook '(lambda () (load "dired-x")))
@end lisp
@end quotation

@node Q5.1.4, Q5.1.5, Q5.1.3, Miscellaneous
@section In 19.13, why do I get @samp{set-text-something} lisp errors with Gnus and AUC-TeX?

The real problem is out of date software.  Upgrade to later versions of
Gnus and AUC-TeX where this problem doesn't exist.

The problem lies with the needs for an Emacs function,
@code{set-text-properties}, which generally isn't required by XEmacs.
The solutions include adding the following code to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(fset 'set-text-properties (symbol-function 'ignore))
@end lisp

or 

@lisp
(defadvice set-text-properties (around ignore-strings activate)
  "Ignore strings."
  (or (stringp (ad-get-arg 3))
      ad-do-it))
@end lisp

The best is probably the canonical solution (posted by C.Thompson, on
10/17/95):

@lisp
(defun set-text-properties (start end props &optional buffer)
  "You should NEVER use this function.  It is ideologically blasphemous.
It is provided only to ease porting of broken FSF Emacs programs."
  (if (stringp buffer) nil
    (map-extents 
     #'(lambda (extent ignored)
	 (remove-text-properties
	  start end (list (extent-property extent 'text-prop) nil)
	  buffer))
     buffer start end nil nil 'text-prop)
    (add-text-properties start end props buffer)))
@end lisp

@node Q5.1.5, Q5.2.1, Q5.1.4, Miscellaneous
@section How do I put a glyph as annotation in a buffer?

Thomas Feuster <feuster@@tp4.physik.uni-giessen.de> writes:

@quotation
@lisp
(let ((image-glyph (make-glyph-internal)))
(seems to be unavoidable to do 'make-glyph-internal')
@end lisp

Now for viewing files:

@lisp
(set-glyph-image image-glyph view-graph-file-buf))
@end lisp

For viewing already loaded buffers:

@lisp
(setq image-glyph (make-glyph 
                   (vector view-graph-file-format :data 
		           (buffer-substring 
			   (point-min) 
		       	   (point-max)))))
@end lisp

The thing I couldn't figure out is how to make XEmacs guess the format
from the contents - like it does for files. So it's a real pain to
extract the format from the extensions of the file-name...
@end quotation

@node Q5.2.1, Q5.2.2, Q5.1.5, Miscellaneous
@section How do I turn off the sound?

Add the following line to your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq bell-volume 0)
(setq sound-alist nil)
@end lisp

@node Q5.2.2, Q5.2.3, Q5.2.1, Miscellaneous
@section How do I get funky sounds instead of a boring beep?

Make sure your XEmacs was compiled with sound support, and then put this
in your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(load-default-sounds)
@end lisp

The sound support in XEmacs 19.14 is greatly improved over previous
versions.

@node Q5.2.3, Q5.2.4, Q5.2.2, Miscellaneous
@section What's NAS, how do I get it?

@xref{Q2.0.3} for an explanation of the @dfn{Network Audio System}.

@node Q5.2.4, Q5.3.1, Q5.2.3, Miscellaneous
@section Sunsite sounds don't play.

I'm having some trouble with sounds I've downloaded from sunsite.  They
play when I run them through @code{showaudio} or cat them directly to
@file{/dev/audio}, but XEmacs refuses to play them.

Markus Gutschke <gutschk@@uni-muenster.de> writes:

@quotation
[Many of] These files have an (erroneous) 24byte header that tells about
the format that they have been recorded in. If you cat them to
@file{/dev/audio}, the header will be ignored and the default behavior
for /dev/audio will be used. This happens to be 8kHz uLaw. It is
probably possible to fix the header by piping through @code{sox} and
passing explicit parameters for specifying the sampling format; you then
need to perform a 'null' conversion from SunAudio to SunAudio.
@end quotation

@node Q5.3.1, Q5.3.2, Q5.2.4, Miscellaneous
@section How do you make XEmacs indent CL if-clauses correctly?

I'd like XEmacs to indent all the clauses of a Common Lisp @code{if} the
same amount instead of indenting the 3rd clause differently from the
first two.

One way is to add, to @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(put 'if 'lisp-indent-function nil)
@end lisp

However, note that the package @file{cl-indent.el} that comes with
XEmacs sets up this kind of indentation by default.  @code{cl-indent}
also knows about many other CL-specific forms.  To use @code{cl-indent},
one can do this:

@lisp
(load "cl-indent")
(setq lisp-indent-function (function common-lisp-indent-function))
@end lisp

One can also customize @file{cl-indent.el} so it mimics the default
@code{if} indentation @code{then} indented more than the @code{else}.
Here's how:

@lisp
(put 'if 'common-lisp-indent-function '(nil nil &body))
@end lisp

Also, a new version (1.2) of @file{cl-indent.el} was posted to
comp.emacs.xemacs on 12/9/94.  This version includes more documentation
than previous versions.  This may prove useful if you need to customize
any indent-functions.

NB: I would have thought with the passage of time this would be the
standard version by now, but that appears not to be the case.  The
version of filladapt included with 19.14 is last dated 1993, and does
not have a version number.

@node Q5.3.2, Q5.3.3, Q5.3.1, Miscellaneous
@section Fontifying hang when editing a postscript file.

When I try to edit a postscript file it gets stuck saying:
@samp{fontifying 'filename' (regexps....)} and it just sits there.  If I
press @kbd{C-c} in the window where XEmacs was started, it suddenly
becomes alive again.

This was caused by a bug in the Postscript font-lock regular
expressions.  It was fixed in 19.13.  For earlier versions of XEmacs,
have a look at your @file{.emacs} file.  You will probably have a line
like:

@lisp
(add-hook 'postscript-mode-hook	'turn-on-font-lock)
@end lisp

Take it out, restart XEmacs, and it won't try to fontify your postscript
files anymore.

@node Q5.3.3, Q5.3.4, Q5.3.2, Miscellaneous
@section How can I print WYSIWYG a font-locked buffer?

Font-lock looks nice.  How can I print (WYSIWYG) the highlighted
document?

The package @file{ps-print.el}, which is now included with XEmacs,
provides the ability to do this.  The source code contains complete
instructions on its use, in
@file{<xemacs_src_root>/lisp/packages/ps-print.el}.

@node Q5.3.4, Q5.3.5, Q5.3.3, Miscellaneous
@section Getting @kbd{M-x lpr} to work with postscript printer.

My printer is a Postscript printer and @code{lpr} only works for
Postscript files, so how do I get @kbd{M-x lpr-region} and @kbd{M-x
lpr-buffer} to work?

Put something like this in your @file{.emacs}:

@lisp
(setq lpr-command "a2ps")
(setq lpr-switches '("-p" "-1"))
@end lisp

If you don't use a2ps to convert ASCII to postscript (why not, it's
free?), replace with the command you do use.  Note also that some
versions of a2ps require a @samp{-Pprinter} to ensure spooling.

@node Q5.3.5, Q5.3.6, Q5.3.4, Miscellaneous
@section How do I specify the paths that XEmacs uses for finding files?

You can specify what paths to use by using a number of different flags
when running configure.  See the section MAKE VARIABLES in the top-level
file INSTALL in the XEmacs distribution for a listing of those flags.

Most of the time, however, the simplest fix is: @strong{do not} specify
paths as you might for GNU Emacs.  XEmacs can generally determine the
necessary paths dynamically at run time.  The only path that generally
needs to be specified is the root directory to install into.  That can
be specified by passing the @code{--prefix} flag to configure.  For a
description of the XEmacs install tree, please consult the @file{NEWS}
file.

@node Q5.3.6, Q5.3.7, Q5.3.5, Miscellaneous
@section [This question intentionally left blank]

Obsolete question, left blank to avoid renumbering.

@node Q5.3.7, Q5.3.8, Q5.3.6, Miscellaneous
@section Can I have the end of the buffer delimited in some way?

Say, with: [END]?

Use this:

@lisp
(make-annotation "[END]" (point-max) 'text (current-buffer))
@end lisp

Note that you might want to put this in a hook.  Since
@code{make-annotation} is not defined by default, you might also need:

@lisp
(require 'annotations)
@end lisp

@node Q5.3.8, Q5.3.9, Q5.3.7, Miscellaneous
@section How do I insert today's date into a buffer?

Like this:

@lisp
(insert (current-time-string))
@end lisp

@node Q5.3.9, Q5.3.10, Q5.3.8, Miscellaneous
@section Are only certain syntactic character classes available for abbrevs?

Markus Gutschke <gutschk@@uni-muenster.de> writes:

@quotation
Yes, abbrevs only expands word-syntax strings. While XEmacs does not
prevent you from defining (e.g. with @kbd{C-x a g} or @kbd{C-x a l})
abbrevs that contain special characters, it will refuse to expand
them. So you need to ensure, that the abbreviation contains letters and
digits only. This means that @samp{xd}, @samp{d5}, and @samp{5d} are
valid abbrevs, but @samp{&d}, and @samp{x d} are not.

If this sounds confusing to you, (re-)read the online documentation for
abbrevs (@kbd{C-h i m XEmacs RET m Abbrevs RET}), and then come back and
read this question/answer again.
@end quotation

@node Q5.3.10, Q5.3.11, Q5.3.9, Miscellaneous
@section How can I get those oh-so-neat X-Face lines?

Firstly there is an ftp site which describes X-faces and has the
associated tools mentioned below, at
<URL:ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu:/pub/faces/>.

Then the steps are

@enumerate
@item
Create 48x48x1 bitmap with your favorite tool

@item
Convert to "icon" format using one of xbm2ikon, pbmtoicon, etc.,
and then compile the face.

@item
@example
cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon |compface > file.face
@end example

@item
Then be sure to quote things that are necessary for emacs strings:

@example
cat ./file.face | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g'  | sed 's/\"/\\\"/g' > ./file.face.quoted
@end example

@item
Then set up emacs to include the file as a mail header - there were a
couple of suggestions here---either something like:

@lisp
(setq  mail-default-headers 
  "X-Face:  <Ugly looking text string here>")
@end lisp

Or, alternatively, as:

@lisp
(defun mail-insert-x-face ()
  (save-excursion 
    (goto-char (point-min))
    (search-forward mail-header-separator)
    (beginning-of-line nil)
    (insert "X-Face:")
    (insert-file "~/.face")))

(add-hook 'mail-setup-hook 'mail-insert-x-face)
@end lisp
@end enumerate

However, 2 things might be wrong:

Some versions of pbmtoicon produces some header lines that is not
expected by the version of compface that I grabbed. So I found I had to
include a @code{tail +3} in the pipeline like this:

@example
cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon | tail +3 |compface > file.face
@end example

Some people have also found that if one uses the @code{(insert-file)}
method, one should NOT quote the face string using the sed script .

It might also be helpful to use Stig's <stig@@hackvan.com> script
(included in the compface distribution at XEmacs.org) to do the
conversion.  For convenience xbm2xface is available for anonymous FTP at
<URL:ftp://ftp.miranova.com/pub/xemacs/xbm2xface.pl>.

Contributors for this item:

Paul Emsley, 
Ricardo Marek,
Amir J. Katz,
Glen McCort,
Heinz Uphoff, 
Peter Arius,
Paul Harrison, and
Vegard Vesterheim

@node Q5.3.11, Q5.3.12, Q5.3.10, Miscellaneous
@section How do I add new Info directories?

You use something like:

@lisp
(setq Info-directory-list (cons 
			    (expand-file-name "~/info")
 			    Info-default-directory-list))
@end lisp

David Masterson <davidm@@prism.kla.com> writes:

@quotation
Emacs Info and XEmacs Info do many things differently.  If you're trying to
support a number of versions of Emacs, here are some notes to remember:

@enumerate
@item
Emacs Info scans @code{Info-directory-list} from right-to-left while
XEmacs Info reads it from left-to-right, so append to the @emph{correct}
end of the list.

@item
Use @code{Info-default-directory-list} to initialize
@code{Info-directory-list} @emph{if} it is available at startup, but not
all Emacsen define it.

@item
Emacs Info looks for a standard @file{dir} file in each of the
directories scanned from #1 and magically concatenates them together.

@item
XEmacs Info looks for a @file{localdir} file (which consists of just the
menu entries from a @file{dir} file) in each of the directories scanned
from #1 (except the first), does a simple concatentation of them, and
magically attaches the resulting list to the end of the menu in the
@file{dir} file in the first directory.
@end enumerate

Another alternative is to convert the documentation to HTML with
texi2html and read it from a web browser like Lynx or W3.
@end quotation

@node Q5.3.12,  , Q5.3.11, Miscellaneous
@section What do I need to change to make printing work?

For regular printing there are two variables that can be customized.

@table @code
@item lpr-command
This should be set to a command that takes standard input and sends
it to a printer.  Something like:

@lisp
(setq lpr-command "lp")
@end lisp

@item lpr-switches
This should be set to a list that contains whatever the print command
requires to do its job.  Something like:

@lisp
(setq lpr-switches '("-depson"))
@end lisp
@end table

For postscript printing there are three analogous variables to
customize.

@table @code
@item ps-lpr-command
This should be set to a command that takes postscript on standard input
and directs it to a postscript printer.

@item ps-lpr-switches
This should be set to a list of switches required for
@code{ps-lpr-command} to do its job.

@item ps-print-color-p
This boolean variable should be set @code{t} if printing will be done in
color, otherwise it should be set to @code{nil}.
@end table

NOTE: It is an undocumented limitation in XEmacs that postscript
printing (the @code{Pretty Print Buffer} menu item) @strong{requires} a
window system environment.  It cannot be used outside of X11.

@node Current Events,  , Miscellaneous, Top
@chapter What the Future Holds

This is part 6 of the XEmacs Frequently Asked Questions list.  This
section will change monthly, and contains any interesting items that have
transpired over the previous month.  If you are reading this from the
XEmacs distribution, please see the version on the Web or archived at the
various FAQ FTP sites, as this file is surely out of date.

@menu
* Q6.0.1::      What is new in 19.15?
* Q6.0.3::      Procedural changes in XEmacs development.
@end menu

@node Q6.0.1, Q6.0.3, Current Events, Current Events
@section What is new in 19.15?

The biggest changes in 19.15 include integration of TM (a MIME package
for VM and Gnus), EFS (the next generation of ange-ftp) and AUC TeX (the
Emacs subsystem that includes a major mode for editing TeX and LaTeX,
and a lot of other stuff).  Many bugs from 19.14 have been fixed for
this release.

XEmacs 20.0 (which includes full Asian-language support aka MULE) has
been released, but is still considered unstable.  This work is being
supported by Sun Microsystems.

@node Q6.0.3,  , Q6.0.1, Current Events
@section Procedural changes in XEmacs development.

@enumerate
@item
Discussion about the development of XEmacs occurs on the xemacs-beta
mailing list.  Subscriptions to this list will now be fully automated
instead of being handled by hand.  Send a mail message to
<xemacs-beta-request@@xemacs.org> with a subject of subscribe to join
the list.  Please note this is a developers mailing list for people who
have an active interest in the development process.

@item
Due to the long development cycle in between releases, it has been
decided that intermediate versions will be made available in source only
form for the truly interested.

XEmacs 19.15 is the end of the road for version 19 XEmacs.  The next
release after 19.15 will be XEmacs 20.1.

@item
As of December 1996, Steve Baur <steve@@altair.xemacs.org> has become
the lead maintainer of XEmacs.

@bye
