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authorRichard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>2002-07-07 11:37:07 +0000
committerRichard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>2002-07-07 11:37:07 +0000
commitffa7d02ad8cc2c06b71972782e1d8e8f9d139c72 (patch)
tree2fb992bd5c196e008d5af58c70611dafcb64c712 /man
parentc84d4f59035644b4ed0ca0177f731871e218219f (diff)
downloademacs-ffa7d02ad8cc2c06b71972782e1d8e8f9d139c72.tar.gz
Clarify cursors with multiple windows.
Diffstat (limited to 'man')
-rw-r--r--man/screen.texi48
1 files changed, 26 insertions, 22 deletions
diff --git a/man/screen.texi b/man/screen.texi
index 30a10e8c441..7c711d77d89 100644
--- a/man/screen.texi
+++ b/man/screen.texi
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ can access a series of menus; then there may be a @dfn{tool bar}, a
row of icons that perform editing commands if you click on them.
Below this, the window begins. The last line is a special @dfn{echo
area} or @dfn{minibuffer window}, where prompts appear and where you
-can enter information when Emacs asks for it. See below for more
+enter information when Emacs asks for it. See below for more
information about these special lines.
You can subdivide the large text window horizontally or vertically
@@ -29,13 +29,14 @@ into multiple text windows, each of which can be used for a different
file (@pxref{Windows}). In this manual, the word ``window'' always
refers to the subdivisions of a frame within Emacs.
- The window that the cursor is in is the @dfn{selected window}, in
-which editing takes place. Most Emacs commands implicitly apply to the
-text in the selected window (though mouse commands generally operate on
-whatever window you click them in, whether selected or not). The other
-windows display text for reference only, unless/until you select them.
-If you use multiple frames under the X Window System, then giving the
-input focus to a particular frame selects a window in that frame.
+ At any time, one window is the @dfn{selected window}; the most
+prominent cursor indicates which window is selected. Most Emacs
+commands implicitly apply to the text in the selected window (though
+mouse commands generally operate on whatever window you click them in,
+whether selected or not). The other windows display text for
+reference only, unless/until you select them. If you use multiple
+frames under the X Window System, then giving the input focus to a
+particular frame selects a window in that frame.
Each window's last line is a @dfn{mode line}, which describes what
is going on in that window. It appears in inverse video, if the
@@ -75,24 +76,27 @@ the @samp{b}, as before.
Sometimes people speak of ``the cursor'' when they mean ``point,'' or
speak of commands that move point as ``cursor motion'' commands.
- Text-only terminals have only one cursor, and when output is in
-progress it must appear where the output is being displayed. This
-does not mean that point is moving. It is only that Emacs has no way
-to show you the location of point except when the terminal is idle.
-
If you are editing several files in Emacs, each in its own buffer,
-each buffer has its own point location. A buffer that is not currently
-displayed remembers where point is in case you display it again later.
-
- When Emacs displays multiple windows, each window has its own point
-location. On text-only terminals, the cursor shows the location of
-point in the selected window. On graphical terminals, Emacs shows a
-cursor in each window; the selected window's cursor is solid, and the
-other cursors are hollow. Either way, the cursor or cursors tell you
-which window is selected. If the same buffer appears in more than one
+each buffer has its own point location. A buffer that is not
+currently displayed remembers its point location in case you display
+it again later. When Emacs displays multiple windows, each window has
+its own point location. If the same buffer appears in more than one
window, each window has its own position for point in that buffer, and
(when possible) its own cursor.
+ A text-only terminal has just one cursor, so Emacs puts it
+in the selected window. The other windows do not show a cursor, even
+though they do have a location of point. When Emacs updates the
+screen on a text-only terminal, it has to put the cursor temporarily
+at the place the output goes. This doesn't mean point is there,
+though. Once display updating finishes, Emacs puts the cursor where
+point is.
+
+ On graphical terminals, Emacs shows a cursor in each window; the
+selected window's cursor is solid or blinking, and the other cursors
+are just hollow. Thus, the most striking cursor always shows you
+the selected window, on all kinds of terminals.
+
@xref{Cursor Display}, for customization options that control display
of the cursor or cursors.