1@c This is part of the Emacs manual. 2@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 3@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 4@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. 5@node Windows, Frames, Buffers, Top 6@chapter Multiple Windows 7@cindex windows in Emacs 8@cindex multiple windows in Emacs 9 10 Emacs can split a frame into two or many windows. Multiple windows 11can display parts of different buffers, or different parts of one 12buffer. Multiple frames always imply multiple windows, because each 13frame has its own set of windows. Each window belongs to one and only 14one frame. 15 16@menu 17* Basic Window:: Introduction to Emacs windows. 18* Split Window:: New windows are made by splitting existing windows. 19* Other Window:: Moving to another window or doing something to it. 20* Pop Up Window:: Finding a file or buffer in another window. 21* Force Same Window:: Forcing certain buffers to appear in the selected 22 window rather than in another window. 23* Change Window:: Deleting windows and changing their sizes. 24* Window Convenience:: Convenience functions for window handling. 25@end menu 26 27@node Basic Window 28@section Concepts of Emacs Windows 29 30 Each Emacs window displays one Emacs buffer at any time. A single 31buffer may appear in more than one window; if it does, any changes in 32its text are displayed in all the windows where it appears. But these 33windows can show different parts of the buffer, because each window 34has its own value of point. 35 36@cindex selected window 37 At any time, one Emacs window is the @dfn{selected window}; the 38buffer this window is displaying is the current buffer. The terminal's 39cursor shows the location of point in this window. Each other window 40has a location of point as well. On text-only terminals, there is no 41way to show where those locations are, since the terminal has only one 42cursor. On a graphical display, the location of point in a 43non-selected window is indicated by a hollow box; the cursor in the 44selected window is blinking or solid. 45 46 Commands to move point affect the value of point for the selected Emacs 47window only. They do not change the value of point in other Emacs 48windows, even those showing the same buffer. The same is true for commands 49such as @kbd{C-x b} to switch buffers in the selected window; 50they do not affect other windows at all. However, there are other commands 51such as @kbd{C-x 4 b} that select a different window and switch buffers in 52it. Also, all commands that display information in a window, including 53(for example) @kbd{C-h f} (@code{describe-function}) and @kbd{C-x C-b} 54(@code{list-buffers}), work by switching buffers in a nonselected window 55without affecting the selected window. 56 57 When multiple windows show the same buffer, they can have different 58regions, because they can have different values of point. However, 59they all have the same value for the mark, because each buffer has 60only one mark position. 61 62 Each window has its own mode line, which displays the buffer name, 63modification status and major and minor modes of the buffer that is 64displayed in the window. The selected window's mode line appears in a 65different color. @xref{Mode Line}, for full details on the mode line. 66 67@node Split Window 68@section Splitting Windows 69 70@table @kbd 71@item C-x 2 72Split the selected window into two windows, one above the other 73(@code{split-window-vertically}). 74@item C-x 3 75Split the selected window into two windows positioned side by side 76(@code{split-window-horizontally}). 77@item C-Mouse-2 78In the mode line or scroll bar of a window, split that window. 79@end table 80 81@kindex C-x 2 82@findex split-window-vertically 83 The command @kbd{C-x 2} (@code{split-window-vertically}) breaks the 84selected window into two windows, one above the other. Both windows start 85out displaying the same buffer, with the same value of point. By default 86the two windows each get half the height of the window that was split; a 87numeric argument specifies how many lines to give to the top window. 88 89@kindex C-x 3 90@findex split-window-horizontally 91 @kbd{C-x 3} (@code{split-window-horizontally}) breaks the selected 92window into two side-by-side windows. A numeric argument specifies how 93many columns to give the one on the left. If you are not using 94scrollbars, a vertical line separates the two windows. 95You can customize its color with the face @code{vertical-border}. 96Windows that are not the full width of the screen have mode lines, but 97they are truncated. On terminals where Emacs does not support 98highlighting, truncated mode lines sometimes do not appear in inverse 99video. 100 101@kindex C-Mouse-2 @r{(scroll bar)} 102 You can split a window horizontally or vertically by clicking 103@kbd{C-Mouse-2} in the mode line or the scroll bar. The line of 104splitting goes through the place where you click: if you click on the 105mode line, the new scroll bar goes above the spot; if you click in the 106scroll bar, the mode line of the split window is side by side with 107your click. 108 109@vindex truncate-partial-width-windows 110 When a window is less than the full width, text lines too long to 111fit are frequent. Continuing all those lines might be confusing, so 112if the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is 113non-@code{nil}, that forces truncation in all windows less than the 114full width of the screen, independent of the buffer being displayed 115and its value for @code{truncate-lines}. @xref{Line Truncation}. 116 117 Horizontal scrolling is often used in side-by-side windows. 118@xref{Horizontal Scrolling}. 119 120@vindex split-window-keep-point 121 If @code{split-window-keep-point} is non-@code{nil}, the default, 122both of the windows resulting from @kbd{C-x 2} inherit the value of 123point from the window that was split. This means that scrolling is 124inevitable. If this variable is @code{nil}, then @kbd{C-x 2} tries to 125avoid scrolling the text currently visible on the screen, by putting 126point in each window at a position already visible in the window. It 127also selects whichever window contains the screen line that the cursor 128was previously on. Some users prefer that mode on slow terminals. 129 130@node Other Window 131@section Using Other Windows 132 133@table @kbd 134@item C-x o 135Select another window (@code{other-window}). That is @kbd{o}, not zero. 136@item C-M-v 137Scroll the next window (@code{scroll-other-window}). 138@item M-x compare-windows 139Find next place where the text in the selected window does not match 140the text in the next window. 141@item Mouse-1 142@kbd{Mouse-1}, in a window's mode line, selects that window 143but does not move point in it (@code{mouse-select-window}). 144@end table 145 146@kindex C-x o 147@findex other-window 148 To select a different window, click with @kbd{Mouse-1} on its mode 149line. With the keyboard, you can switch windows by typing @kbd{C-x o} 150(@code{other-window}). That is an @kbd{o}, for ``other,'' not a zero. 151When there are more than two windows, this command moves through all the 152windows in a cyclic order, generally top to bottom and left to right. 153After the rightmost and bottommost window, it goes back to the one at 154the upper left corner. A numeric argument means to move several steps 155in the cyclic order of windows. A negative argument moves around the 156cycle in the opposite order. When the minibuffer is active, the 157minibuffer is the last window in the cycle; you can switch from the 158minibuffer window to one of the other windows, and later switch back and 159finish supplying the minibuffer argument that is requested. 160@xref{Minibuffer Edit}. 161 162@kindex C-M-v 163@findex scroll-other-window 164 The usual scrolling commands (@pxref{Display}) apply to the selected 165window only, but there is one command to scroll the next window. 166@kbd{C-M-v} (@code{scroll-other-window}) scrolls the window that 167@kbd{C-x o} would select. It takes arguments, positive and negative, 168like @kbd{C-v}. (In the minibuffer, @kbd{C-M-v} scrolls the window 169that contains the minibuffer help display, if any, rather than the 170next window in the standard cyclic order.) 171 172 The command @kbd{M-x compare-windows} lets you compare two files or 173buffers visible in two windows, by moving through them to the next 174mismatch. @xref{Comparing Files}, for details. 175 176@vindex mouse-autoselect-window 177 If you set @code{mouse-autoselect-window} to a non-@code{nil} value, 178moving the mouse into a different window selects that window. This 179feature is off by default. 180 181@node Pop Up Window 182@section Displaying in Another Window 183 184@cindex selecting buffers in other windows 185@kindex C-x 4 186 @kbd{C-x 4} is a prefix key for commands that select another window 187(splitting the window if there is only one) and select a buffer in that 188window. Different @kbd{C-x 4} commands have different ways of finding the 189buffer to select. 190 191@table @kbd 192@item C-x 4 b @var{bufname} @key{RET} 193Select buffer @var{bufname} in another window. This runs 194@code{switch-to-buffer-other-window}. 195@item C-x 4 C-o @var{bufname} @key{RET} 196Display buffer @var{bufname} in another window, but 197don't select that buffer or that window. This runs 198@code{display-buffer}. 199@item C-x 4 f @var{filename} @key{RET} 200Visit file @var{filename} and select its buffer in another window. This 201runs @code{find-file-other-window}. @xref{Visiting}. 202@item C-x 4 d @var{directory} @key{RET} 203Select a Dired buffer for directory @var{directory} in another window. 204This runs @code{dired-other-window}. @xref{Dired}. 205@item C-x 4 m 206Start composing a mail message in another window. This runs 207@code{mail-other-window}; its same-window analogue is @kbd{C-x m} 208(@pxref{Sending Mail}). 209@item C-x 4 . 210Find a tag in the current tags table, in another window. This runs 211@code{find-tag-other-window}, the multiple-window variant of @kbd{M-.} 212(@pxref{Tags}). 213@item C-x 4 r @var{filename} @key{RET} 214Visit file @var{filename} read-only, and select its buffer in another 215window. This runs @code{find-file-read-only-other-window}. 216@xref{Visiting}. 217@end table 218 219@node Force Same Window 220@section Forcing Display in the Same Window 221 222 Certain Emacs commands switch to a specific buffer with special 223contents. For example, @kbd{M-x shell} switches to a buffer named 224@samp{*shell*}. By convention, all these commands are written to pop up 225the buffer in a separate window. But you can specify that certain of 226these buffers should appear in the selected window. 227 228@vindex same-window-buffer-names 229 If you add a buffer name to the list @code{same-window-buffer-names}, 230the effect is that such commands display that particular buffer by 231switching to it in the selected window. For example, if you add the 232element @code{"*grep*"} to the list, the @code{grep} command will 233display its output buffer in the selected window. 234 235 The default value of @code{same-window-buffer-names} is not 236@code{nil}: it specifies buffer names @samp{*info*}, @samp{*mail*} and 237@samp{*shell*} (as well as others used by more obscure Emacs packages). 238This is why @kbd{M-x shell} normally switches to the @samp{*shell*} 239buffer in the selected window. If you delete this element from the 240value of @code{same-window-buffer-names}, the behavior of @kbd{M-x 241shell} will change---it will pop up the buffer in another window 242instead. 243 244@vindex same-window-regexps 245 You can specify these buffers more generally with the variable 246@code{same-window-regexps}. Set it to a list of regular expressions; 247then any buffer whose name matches one of those regular expressions is 248displayed by switching to it in the selected window. (Once again, this 249applies only to buffers that normally get displayed for you in a 250separate window.) The default value of this variable specifies Telnet 251and rlogin buffers. 252 253 An analogous feature lets you specify buffers which should be 254displayed in their own individual frames. @xref{Special Buffer Frames}. 255 256@node Change Window 257@section Deleting and Rearranging Windows 258 259@table @kbd 260@item C-x 0 261Delete the selected window (@code{delete-window}). The last character 262in this key sequence is a zero. 263@item C-x 1 264Delete all windows in the selected frame except the selected window 265(@code{delete-other-windows}). 266@item C-x 4 0 267Delete the selected window and kill the buffer that was showing in it 268(@code{kill-buffer-and-window}). The last character in this key 269sequence is a zero. 270@item C-x ^ 271Make selected window taller (@code{enlarge-window}). 272@item C-x @} 273Make selected window wider (@code{enlarge-window-horizontally}). 274@item C-x @{ 275Make selected window narrower (@code{shrink-window-horizontally}). 276@item C-x - 277Shrink this window if its buffer doesn't need so many lines 278(@code{shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer}). 279@item C-x + 280Make all windows the same height (@code{balance-windows}). 281@end table 282 283@kindex C-x 0 284@findex delete-window 285 To delete a window, type @kbd{C-x 0} (@code{delete-window}). (That is 286a zero.) The space occupied by the deleted window is given to an 287adjacent window (but not the minibuffer window, even if that is active 288at the time). Once a window is deleted, its attributes are forgotten; 289only restoring a window configuration can bring it back. Deleting the 290window has no effect on the buffer it used to display; the buffer 291continues to exist, and you can select it in any window with @kbd{C-x 292b}. 293 294@findex kill-buffer-and-window 295@kindex C-x 4 0 296 @kbd{C-x 4 0} (@code{kill-buffer-and-window}) is a stronger command 297than @kbd{C-x 0}; it kills the current buffer and then deletes the 298selected window. 299 300@kindex C-x 1 301@findex delete-other-windows 302 @kbd{C-x 1} (@code{delete-other-windows}) is more powerful in a 303different way; it deletes all the windows except the selected one (and 304the minibuffer); the selected window expands to use the whole frame 305except for the echo area. 306 307@kindex C-x ^ 308@findex enlarge-window 309@kindex C-x @} 310@findex enlarge-window-horizontally 311@vindex window-min-height 312@vindex window-min-width 313 To readjust the division of space among vertically adjacent windows, 314use @kbd{C-x ^} (@code{enlarge-window}). It makes the currently 315selected window one line bigger, or as many lines as is specified 316with a numeric argument. With a negative argument, it makes the 317selected window smaller. @kbd{C-x @}} 318(@code{enlarge-window-horizontally}) makes the selected window wider by 319the specified number of columns. @kbd{C-x @{} 320(@code{shrink-window-horizontally}) makes the selected window narrower 321by the specified number of columns. 322 323 When you make a window bigger, the space comes from its peers. If 324this makes any window too small, it is deleted and its space is given 325to an adjacent window. The minimum size is specified by the variables 326@code{window-min-height} and @code{window-min-width}. 327 328@kindex C-x - 329@findex shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer 330 The command @kbd{C-x -} (@code{shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer}) 331reduces the height of the selected window, if it is taller than 332necessary to show the whole text of the buffer it is displaying. It 333gives the extra lines to other windows in the frame. 334 335@kindex C-x + 336@findex balance-windows 337 You can also use @kbd{C-x +} (@code{balance-windows}) to even out the 338heights of all the windows in the selected frame. 339 340 Mouse clicks on the mode line provide another way to change window 341heights and to delete windows. @xref{Mode Line Mouse}. 342 343@node Window Convenience 344@section Window Handling Convenience Features and Customization 345 346@findex winner-mode 347@cindex Winner mode 348@cindex mode, Winner 349@cindex undoing window configuration changes 350@cindex window configuration changes, undoing 351 @kbd{M-x winner-mode} is a global minor mode that records the 352changes in the window configuration (i.e. how the frames are 353partitioned into windows), so that you can ``undo'' them. To undo, 354use @kbd{C-c left} (@code{winner-undo}). If you change your mind 355while undoing, you can redo the changes you had undone using @kbd{C-c 356right} (@code{M-x winner-redo}). Another way to enable Winner mode is 357by customizing the variable @code{winner-mode}. 358 359@cindex Windmove package 360@cindex directional window selection 361@findex windmove-right 362@findex windmove-default-keybindings 363 The Windmove commands move directionally between neighboring windows in 364a frame. @kbd{M-x windmove-right} selects the window immediately to the 365right of the currently selected one, and similarly for the ``left,'' ``up,'' 366and ``down'' counterparts. @kbd{M-x windmove-default-keybindings} binds 367these commands to @kbd{S-right} etc. (Not all terminals support shifted 368arrow keys, however.) 369 370 Follow minor mode (@kbd{M-x follow-mode}) synchronizes several 371windows on the same buffer so that they always display adjacent 372sections of that buffer. @xref{Follow Mode}. 373 374@vindex scroll-all-mode 375@cindex scrolling windows together 376@cindex Scroll-all mode 377@cindex mode, Scroll-all 378 @kbd{M-x scroll-all-mode} provides commands to scroll all visible 379windows together. You can also turn it on by customizing the variable 380@code{scroll-all-mode}. The commands provided are @kbd{M-x 381scroll-all-scroll-down-all}, @kbd{M-x scroll-all-page-down-all} and 382their corresponding ``up'' equivalents. To make this mode useful, 383you should bind these commands to appropriate keys. 384 385@ignore 386 arch-tag: 8bea7453-d4b1-49b1-9bf4-cfe4383e1113 387@end ignore 388