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annotate man/mule.texi @ 26347:7fd9f4ecdd29
(Fdelete_field): Renamed from Ferase_field.
author | Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org> |
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date | Thu, 04 Nov 1999 20:30:05 +0000 |
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25829 | 1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual. |
2 @c Copyright (C) 1997, 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc. | |
3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. | |
4 @node International, Major Modes, Frames, Top | |
5 @chapter International Character Set Support | |
6 @cindex MULE | |
7 @cindex international scripts | |
8 @cindex multibyte characters | |
9 @cindex encoding of characters | |
10 | |
11 @cindex Chinese | |
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12 @cindex Cyrillic |
25829 | 13 @cindex Devanagari |
14 @cindex Hindi | |
15 @cindex Marathi | |
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16 @cindex Ethiopic |
25829 | 17 @cindex Greek |
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18 @cindex Hebrew |
25829 | 19 @cindex IPA |
20 @cindex Japanese | |
21 @cindex Korean | |
22 @cindex Lao | |
23 @cindex Thai | |
24 @cindex Tibetan | |
25 @cindex Vietnamese | |
26 Emacs supports a wide variety of international character sets, | |
27 including European variants of the Latin alphabet, as well as Chinese, | |
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28 Cyrillic, Devanagari (Hindi and Marathi), Ethiopic, Greek, Hebrew, IPA, |
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29 Japanese, Korean, Lao, Thai, Tibetan, and Vietnamese scripts. These features |
25829 | 30 have been merged from the modified version of Emacs known as MULE (for |
31 ``MULti-lingual Enhancement to GNU Emacs'') | |
32 | |
33 @menu | |
34 * International Intro:: Basic concepts of multibyte characters. | |
35 * Enabling Multibyte:: Controlling whether to use multibyte characters. | |
36 * Language Environments:: Setting things up for the language you use. | |
37 * Input Methods:: Entering text characters not on your keyboard. | |
38 * Select Input Method:: Specifying your choice of input methods. | |
39 * Multibyte Conversion:: How single-byte characters convert to multibyte. | |
40 * Coding Systems:: Character set conversion when you read and | |
41 write files, and so on. | |
42 * Recognize Coding:: How Emacs figures out which conversion to use. | |
43 * Specify Coding:: Various ways to choose which conversion to use. | |
44 * Fontsets:: Fontsets are collections of fonts | |
45 that cover the whole spectrum of characters. | |
46 * Defining Fontsets:: Defining a new fontset. | |
47 * Single-Byte European Support:: | |
48 You can pick one European character set | |
49 to use without multibyte characters. | |
50 @end menu | |
51 | |
52 @node International Intro | |
53 @section Introduction to International Character Sets | |
54 | |
55 The users of these scripts have established many more-or-less standard | |
56 coding systems for storing files. Emacs internally uses a single | |
57 multibyte character encoding, so that it can intermix characters from | |
58 all these scripts in a single buffer or string. This encoding | |
59 represents each non-ASCII character as a sequence of bytes in the range | |
60 0200 through 0377. Emacs translates between the multibyte character | |
61 encoding and various other coding systems when reading and writing | |
62 files, when exchanging data with subprocesses, and (in some cases) in | |
63 the @kbd{C-q} command (@pxref{Multibyte Conversion}). | |
64 | |
65 @kindex C-h h | |
66 @findex view-hello-file | |
67 The command @kbd{C-h h} (@code{view-hello-file}) displays the file | |
68 @file{etc/HELLO}, which shows how to say ``hello'' in many languages. | |
69 This illustrates various scripts. | |
70 | |
71 Keyboards, even in the countries where these character sets are used, | |
72 generally don't have keys for all the characters in them. So Emacs | |
73 supports various @dfn{input methods}, typically one for each script or | |
74 language, to make it convenient to type them. | |
75 | |
76 @kindex C-x RET | |
77 The prefix key @kbd{C-x @key{RET}} is used for commands that pertain | |
78 to multibyte characters, coding systems, and input methods. | |
79 | |
80 @node Enabling Multibyte | |
81 @section Enabling Multibyte Characters | |
82 | |
83 You can enable or disable multibyte character support, either for | |
84 Emacs as a whole, or for a single buffer. When multibyte characters are | |
85 disabled in a buffer, then each byte in that buffer represents a | |
86 character, even codes 0200 through 0377. The old features for | |
87 supporting the European character sets, ISO Latin-1 and ISO Latin-2, | |
88 work as they did in Emacs 19 and also work for the other ISO 8859 | |
89 character sets. | |
90 | |
91 However, there is no need to turn off multibyte character support to | |
92 use ISO Latin; the Emacs multibyte character set includes all the | |
93 characters in these character sets, and Emacs can translate | |
94 automatically to and from the ISO codes. | |
95 | |
96 To edit a particular file in unibyte representation, visit it using | |
97 @code{find-file-literally}. @xref{Visiting}. To convert a buffer in | |
98 multibyte representation into a single-byte representation of the same | |
99 characters, the easiest way is to save the contents in a file, kill the | |
100 buffer, and find the file again with @code{find-file-literally}. You | |
101 can also use @kbd{C-x @key{RET} c} | |
102 (@code{universal-coding-system-argument}) and specify @samp{raw-text} as | |
103 the coding system with which to find or save a file. @xref{Specify | |
104 Coding}. Finding a file as @samp{raw-text} doesn't disable format | |
105 conversion, uncompression and auto mode selection as | |
106 @code{find-file-literally} does. | |
107 | |
108 @vindex enable-multibyte-characters | |
109 @vindex default-enable-multibyte-characters | |
110 To turn off multibyte character support by default, start Emacs with | |
111 the @samp{--unibyte} option (@pxref{Initial Options}), or set the | |
112 environment variable @samp{EMACS_UNIBYTE}. You can also customize | |
113 @code{enable-multibyte-characters} or, equivalently, directly set the | |
114 variable @code{default-enable-multibyte-characters} in your init file to | |
115 have basically the same effect as @samp{--unibyte}. | |
116 | |
117 Multibyte strings are not created during initialization from the | |
118 values of environment variables, @file{/etc/passwd} entries etc.@: that | |
119 contain non-ASCII 8-bit characters. However, the initialization file is | |
120 normally read as multibyte---like Lisp files in general---even with | |
121 @samp{--unibyte}. To avoid multibyte strings being generated by | |
122 non-ASCII characters in it, put @samp{-*-unibyte: t;-*-} in a comment on | |
123 the first line. Do the same for initialization files for packages like | |
124 Gnus. | |
125 | |
126 The mode line indicates whether multibyte character support is enabled | |
127 in the current buffer. If it is, there are two or more characters (most | |
128 often two dashes) before the colon near the beginning of the mode line. | |
129 When multibyte characters are not enabled, just one dash precedes the | |
130 colon. | |
131 | |
132 @node Language Environments | |
133 @section Language Environments | |
134 @cindex language environments | |
135 | |
136 All supported character sets are supported in Emacs buffers whenever | |
137 multibyte characters are enabled; there is no need to select a | |
138 particular language in order to display its characters in an Emacs | |
139 buffer. However, it is important to select a @dfn{language environment} | |
140 in order to set various defaults. The language environment really | |
141 represents a choice of preferred script (more or less) rather than a | |
142 choice of language. | |
143 | |
144 The language environment controls which coding systems to recognize | |
145 when reading text (@pxref{Recognize Coding}). This applies to files, | |
146 incoming mail, netnews, and any other text you read into Emacs. It may | |
147 also specify the default coding system to use when you create a file. | |
148 Each language environment also specifies a default input method. | |
149 | |
150 @findex set-language-environment | |
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151 @vindex current-language-environment |
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152 To select a language environment, customize the option |
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153 @code{current-language-environment} or use the command @kbd{M-x |
25829 | 154 set-language-environment}. It makes no difference which buffer is |
155 current when you use this command, because the effects apply globally to | |
156 the Emacs session. The supported language environments include: | |
157 | |
158 @quotation | |
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159 Chinese-BIG5, Chinese-CNS, Chinese-GB, Cyrillic-ALT, Cyrillic-ISO, |
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160 Cyrillic-KOI8, Czech, Devanagari, English, Ethiopic, German, Greek, |
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161 Hebrew, IPA, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Latin-1, Latin-2, Latin-3, |
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162 Latin-4, Latin-5, Latin-8, Latin-9, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Thai, |
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163 Tibetan, Turkish, and Vietnamese. |
25829 | 164 @end quotation |
165 | |
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166 @findex set-locale-environment |
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167 @vindex locale-language-names |
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168 @vindex locale-charset-language-names |
25829 | 169 Some operating systems let you specify the language you are using by |
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170 setting the locale environment variables @env{LC_ALL}, @env{LC_CTYPE}, |
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171 and @env{LANG}; the first of these which is nonempty specifies your |
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172 locale. Emacs handles this during startup by invoking the |
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173 @code{set-locale-environment} function, which matches your locale |
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174 against entries in the value of the variable |
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175 @code{locale-language-names} and selects the corresponding language |
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176 environment if a match is found. But if your locale also matches an |
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177 entry in the variable @code{locale-charset-language-names}, this entry |
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178 is preferred if its character set disagrees. For example, suppose the |
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179 locale @samp{en_GB.ISO8859-15} matches @code{"Latin-1"} in |
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180 @code{locale-language-names} and @code{"Latin-9"} in |
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181 @code{locale-charset-language-names}; since these two language |
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182 environments' character sets disagree, Emacs uses @code{"Latin-9"}. |
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183 |
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184 @findex set-locale-environment |
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185 @vindex locale-preferred-coding-systems |
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186 The @code{set-locale-environment} function normally uses the preferred |
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187 coding system established by the language environment to decode system |
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188 messages. But if your locale matches an entry in the variable |
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189 @code{locale-preferred-coding-systems}, Emacs uses the corresponding |
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190 coding system instead. For example, if the locale @samp{ja_JP.PCK} |
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191 matches @code{japanese-shift-jis} in |
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192 @code{locale-preferred-coding-systems}, Emacs uses that encoding even |
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193 though it might normally use @code{japanese-iso-8bit}. |
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194 |
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195 The environment chosen from the locale when Emacs starts is |
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196 overidden by any explicit use of the command |
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197 @code{set-language-environment} or customization of |
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198 @code{current-language-environment} in your init file. |
25829 | 199 |
200 @kindex C-h L | |
201 @findex describe-language-environment | |
202 To display information about the effects of a certain language | |
203 environment @var{lang-env}, use the command @kbd{C-h L @var{lang-env} | |
204 @key{RET}} (@code{describe-language-environment}). This tells you which | |
205 languages this language environment is useful for, and lists the | |
206 character sets, coding systems, and input methods that go with it. It | |
207 also shows some sample text to illustrate scripts used in this language | |
208 environment. By default, this command describes the chosen language | |
209 environment. | |
210 | |
211 @vindex set-language-environment-hook | |
212 You can customize any language environment with the normal hook | |
213 @code{set-language-environment-hook}. The command | |
214 @code{set-language-environment} runs that hook after setting up the new | |
215 language environment. The hook functions can test for a specific | |
216 language environment by checking the variable | |
217 @code{current-language-environment}. | |
218 | |
219 @vindex exit-language-environment-hook | |
220 Before it starts to set up the new language environment, | |
221 @code{set-language-environment} first runs the hook | |
222 @code{exit-language-environment-hook}. This hook is useful for undoing | |
223 customizations that were made with @code{set-language-environment-hook}. | |
224 For instance, if you set up a special key binding in a specific language | |
225 environment using @code{set-language-environment-hook}, you should set | |
226 up @code{exit-language-environment-hook} to restore the normal binding | |
227 for that key. | |
228 | |
229 @node Input Methods | |
230 @section Input Methods | |
231 | |
232 @cindex input methods | |
233 An @dfn{input method} is a kind of character conversion designed | |
234 specifically for interactive input. In Emacs, typically each language | |
235 has its own input method; sometimes several languages which use the same | |
236 characters can share one input method. A few languages support several | |
237 input methods. | |
238 | |
239 The simplest kind of input method works by mapping ASCII letters into | |
240 another alphabet. This is how the Greek and Russian input methods work. | |
241 | |
242 A more powerful technique is composition: converting sequences of | |
243 characters into one letter. Many European input methods use composition | |
244 to produce a single non-ASCII letter from a sequence that consists of a | |
245 letter followed by accent characters (or vice versa). For example, some | |
246 methods convert the sequence @kbd{a'} into a single accented letter. | |
247 These input methods have no special commands of their own; all they do | |
248 is compose sequences of printing characters. | |
249 | |
250 The input methods for syllabic scripts typically use mapping followed | |
251 by composition. The input methods for Thai and Korean work this way. | |
252 First, letters are mapped into symbols for particular sounds or tone | |
253 marks; then, sequences of these which make up a whole syllable are | |
254 mapped into one syllable sign. | |
255 | |
256 Chinese and Japanese require more complex methods. In Chinese input | |
257 methods, first you enter the phonetic spelling of a Chinese word (in | |
258 input method @code{chinese-py}, among others), or a sequence of portions | |
259 of the character (input methods @code{chinese-4corner} and | |
260 @code{chinese-sw}, and others). Since one phonetic spelling typically | |
261 corresponds to many different Chinese characters, you must select one of | |
262 the alternatives using special Emacs commands. Keys such as @kbd{C-f}, | |
263 @kbd{C-b}, @kbd{C-n}, @kbd{C-p}, and digits have special definitions in | |
264 this situation, used for selecting among the alternatives. @key{TAB} | |
265 displays a buffer showing all the possibilities. | |
266 | |
267 In Japanese input methods, first you input a whole word using | |
268 phonetic spelling; then, after the word is in the buffer, Emacs converts | |
269 it into one or more characters using a large dictionary. One phonetic | |
270 spelling corresponds to many differently written Japanese words, so you | |
271 must select one of them; use @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} to cycle through | |
272 the alternatives. | |
273 | |
274 Sometimes it is useful to cut off input method processing so that the | |
275 characters you have just entered will not combine with subsequent | |
276 characters. For example, in input method @code{latin-1-postfix}, the | |
277 sequence @kbd{e '} combines to form an @samp{e} with an accent. What if | |
278 you want to enter them as separate characters? | |
279 | |
280 One way is to type the accent twice; that is a special feature for | |
281 entering the separate letter and accent. For example, @kbd{e ' '} gives | |
282 you the two characters @samp{e'}. Another way is to type another letter | |
283 after the @kbd{e}---something that won't combine with that---and | |
284 immediately delete it. For example, you could type @kbd{e e @key{DEL} | |
285 '} to get separate @samp{e} and @samp{'}. | |
286 | |
287 Another method, more general but not quite as easy to type, is to use | |
288 @kbd{C-\ C-\} between two characters to stop them from combining. This | |
289 is the command @kbd{C-\} (@code{toggle-input-method}) used twice. | |
290 @ifinfo | |
291 @xref{Select Input Method}. | |
292 @end ifinfo | |
293 | |
294 @kbd{C-\ C-\} is especially useful inside an incremental search, | |
295 because it stops waiting for more characters to combine, and starts | |
296 searching for what you have already entered. | |
297 | |
298 @vindex input-method-verbose-flag | |
299 @vindex input-method-highlight-flag | |
300 The variables @code{input-method-highlight-flag} and | |
301 @code{input-method-verbose-flag} control how input methods explain what | |
302 is happening. If @code{input-method-highlight-flag} is non-@code{nil}, | |
303 the partial sequence is highlighted in the buffer. If | |
304 @code{input-method-verbose-flag} is non-@code{nil}, the list of possible | |
305 characters to type next is displayed in the echo area (but not when you | |
306 are in the minibuffer). | |
307 | |
308 @node Select Input Method | |
309 @section Selecting an Input Method | |
310 | |
311 @table @kbd | |
312 @item C-\ | |
313 Enable or disable use of the selected input method. | |
314 | |
315 @item C-x @key{RET} C-\ @var{method} @key{RET} | |
316 Select a new input method for the current buffer. | |
317 | |
318 @item C-h I @var{method} @key{RET} | |
319 @itemx C-h C-\ @var{method} @key{RET} | |
320 @findex describe-input-method | |
321 @kindex C-h I | |
322 @kindex C-h C-\ | |
323 Describe the input method @var{method} (@code{describe-input-method}). | |
324 By default, it describes the current input method (if any). | |
325 This description should give you the full details of how to | |
326 use any particular input method. | |
327 | |
328 @item M-x list-input-methods | |
329 Display a list of all the supported input methods. | |
330 @end table | |
331 | |
332 @findex set-input-method | |
333 @vindex current-input-method | |
334 @kindex C-x RET C-\ | |
335 To choose an input method for the current buffer, use @kbd{C-x | |
336 @key{RET} C-\} (@code{set-input-method}). This command reads the | |
337 input method name with the minibuffer; the name normally starts with the | |
338 language environment that it is meant to be used with. The variable | |
339 @code{current-input-method} records which input method is selected. | |
340 | |
341 @findex toggle-input-method | |
342 @kindex C-\ | |
343 Input methods use various sequences of ASCII characters to stand for | |
344 non-ASCII characters. Sometimes it is useful to turn off the input | |
345 method temporarily. To do this, type @kbd{C-\} | |
346 (@code{toggle-input-method}). To reenable the input method, type | |
347 @kbd{C-\} again. | |
348 | |
349 If you type @kbd{C-\} and you have not yet selected an input method, | |
350 it prompts for you to specify one. This has the same effect as using | |
351 @kbd{C-x @key{RET} C-\} to specify an input method. | |
352 | |
353 @vindex default-input-method | |
354 Selecting a language environment specifies a default input method for | |
355 use in various buffers. When you have a default input method, you can | |
356 select it in the current buffer by typing @kbd{C-\}. The variable | |
357 @code{default-input-method} specifies the default input method | |
358 (@code{nil} means there is none). | |
359 | |
360 @findex quail-set-keyboard-layout | |
361 Some input methods for alphabetic scripts work by (in effect) | |
362 remapping the keyboard to emulate various keyboard layouts commonly used | |
363 for those scripts. How to do this remapping properly depends on your | |
364 actual keyboard layout. To specify which layout your keyboard has, use | |
365 the command @kbd{M-x quail-set-keyboard-layout}. | |
366 | |
367 @findex list-input-methods | |
368 To display a list of all the supported input methods, type @kbd{M-x | |
369 list-input-methods}. The list gives information about each input | |
370 method, including the string that stands for it in the mode line. | |
371 | |
372 @node Multibyte Conversion | |
373 @section Unibyte and Multibyte Non-ASCII characters | |
374 | |
375 When multibyte characters are enabled, character codes 0240 (octal) | |
376 through 0377 (octal) are not really legitimate in the buffer. The valid | |
377 non-ASCII printing characters have codes that start from 0400. | |
378 | |
379 If you type a self-inserting character in the invalid range 0240 | |
380 through 0377, Emacs assumes you intended to use one of the ISO | |
381 Latin-@var{n} character sets, and converts it to the Emacs code | |
382 representing that Latin-@var{n} character. You select @emph{which} ISO | |
383 Latin character set to use through your choice of language environment | |
384 @iftex | |
385 (see above). | |
386 @end iftex | |
387 @ifinfo | |
388 (@pxref{Language Environments}). | |
389 @end ifinfo | |
390 If you do not specify a choice, the default is Latin-1. | |
391 | |
392 The same thing happens when you use @kbd{C-q} to enter an octal code | |
393 in this range. | |
394 | |
395 @node Coding Systems | |
396 @section Coding Systems | |
397 @cindex coding systems | |
398 | |
399 Users of various languages have established many more-or-less standard | |
400 coding systems for representing them. Emacs does not use these coding | |
401 systems internally; instead, it converts from various coding systems to | |
402 its own system when reading data, and converts the internal coding | |
403 system to other coding systems when writing data. Conversion is | |
404 possible in reading or writing files, in sending or receiving from the | |
405 terminal, and in exchanging data with subprocesses. | |
406 | |
407 Emacs assigns a name to each coding system. Most coding systems are | |
408 used for one language, and the name of the coding system starts with the | |
409 language name. Some coding systems are used for several languages; | |
410 their names usually start with @samp{iso}. There are also special | |
411 coding systems @code{no-conversion}, @code{raw-text} and | |
412 @code{emacs-mule} which do not convert printing characters at all. | |
413 | |
414 @cindex end-of-line conversion | |
415 In addition to converting various representations of non-ASCII | |
416 characters, a coding system can perform end-of-line conversion. Emacs | |
417 handles three different conventions for how to separate lines in a file: | |
418 newline, carriage-return linefeed, and just carriage-return. | |
419 | |
420 @table @kbd | |
421 @item C-h C @var{coding} @key{RET} | |
422 Describe coding system @var{coding}. | |
423 | |
424 @item C-h C @key{RET} | |
425 Describe the coding systems currently in use. | |
426 | |
427 @item M-x list-coding-systems | |
428 Display a list of all the supported coding systems. | |
429 @end table | |
430 | |
431 @kindex C-h C | |
432 @findex describe-coding-system | |
433 The command @kbd{C-h C} (@code{describe-coding-system}) displays | |
434 information about particular coding systems. You can specify a coding | |
435 system name as argument; alternatively, with an empty argument, it | |
436 describes the coding systems currently selected for various purposes, | |
437 both in the current buffer and as the defaults, and the priority list | |
438 for recognizing coding systems (@pxref{Recognize Coding}). | |
439 | |
440 @findex list-coding-systems | |
441 To display a list of all the supported coding systems, type @kbd{M-x | |
442 list-coding-systems}. The list gives information about each coding | |
443 system, including the letter that stands for it in the mode line | |
444 (@pxref{Mode Line}). | |
445 | |
446 @cindex end-of-line conversion | |
447 @cindex MS-DOS end-of-line conversion | |
448 @cindex Macintosh end-of-line conversion | |
449 Each of the coding systems that appear in this list---except for | |
450 @code{no-conversion}, which means no conversion of any kind---specifies | |
451 how and whether to convert printing characters, but leaves the choice of | |
452 end-of-line conversion to be decided based on the contents of each file. | |
453 For example, if the file appears to use the sequence carriage-return | |
454 linefeed to separate lines, DOS end-of-line conversion will be used. | |
455 | |
456 Each of the listed coding systems has three variants which specify | |
457 exactly what to do for end-of-line conversion: | |
458 | |
459 @table @code | |
460 @item @dots{}-unix | |
461 Don't do any end-of-line conversion; assume the file uses | |
462 newline to separate lines. (This is the convention normally used | |
463 on Unix and GNU systems.) | |
464 | |
465 @item @dots{}-dos | |
466 Assume the file uses carriage-return linefeed to separate lines, and do | |
467 the appropriate conversion. (This is the convention normally used on | |
468 Microsoft systems.@footnote{It is also specified for MIME `text/*' | |
469 bodies and in other network transport contexts. It is different | |
470 from the SGML reference syntax record-start/record-end format which | |
471 Emacs doesn't support directly.}) | |
472 | |
473 @item @dots{}-mac | |
474 Assume the file uses carriage-return to separate lines, and do the | |
475 appropriate conversion. (This is the convention normally used on the | |
476 Macintosh system.) | |
477 @end table | |
478 | |
479 These variant coding systems are omitted from the | |
480 @code{list-coding-systems} display for brevity, since they are entirely | |
481 predictable. For example, the coding system @code{iso-latin-1} has | |
482 variants @code{iso-latin-1-unix}, @code{iso-latin-1-dos} and | |
483 @code{iso-latin-1-mac}. | |
484 | |
485 The coding system @code{raw-text} is good for a file which is mainly | |
486 ASCII text, but may contain byte values above 127 which are not meant to | |
487 encode non-ASCII characters. With @code{raw-text}, Emacs copies those | |
488 byte values unchanged, and sets @code{enable-multibyte-characters} to | |
489 @code{nil} in the current buffer so that they will be interpreted | |
490 properly. @code{raw-text} handles end-of-line conversion in the usual | |
491 way, based on the data encountered, and has the usual three variants to | |
492 specify the kind of end-of-line conversion to use. | |
493 | |
494 In contrast, the coding system @code{no-conversion} specifies no | |
495 character code conversion at all---none for non-ASCII byte values and | |
496 none for end of line. This is useful for reading or writing binary | |
497 files, tar files, and other files that must be examined verbatim. It, | |
498 too, sets @code{enable-multibyte-characters} to @code{nil}. | |
499 | |
500 The easiest way to edit a file with no conversion of any kind is with | |
501 the @kbd{M-x find-file-literally} command. This uses | |
502 @code{no-conversion}, and also suppresses other Emacs features that | |
503 might convert the file contents before you see them. @xref{Visiting}. | |
504 | |
505 The coding system @code{emacs-mule} means that the file contains | |
506 non-ASCII characters stored with the internal Emacs encoding. It | |
507 handles end-of-line conversion based on the data encountered, and has | |
508 the usual three variants to specify the kind of end-of-line conversion. | |
509 | |
510 @node Recognize Coding | |
511 @section Recognizing Coding Systems | |
512 | |
513 Most of the time, Emacs can recognize which coding system to use for | |
514 any given file---once you have specified your preferences. | |
515 | |
516 Some coding systems can be recognized or distinguished by which byte | |
517 sequences appear in the data. However, there are coding systems that | |
518 cannot be distinguished, not even potentially. For example, there is no | |
519 way to distinguish between Latin-1 and Latin-2; they use the same byte | |
520 values with different meanings. | |
521 | |
522 Emacs handles this situation by means of a priority list of coding | |
523 systems. Whenever Emacs reads a file, if you do not specify the coding | |
524 system to use, Emacs checks the data against each coding system, | |
525 starting with the first in priority and working down the list, until it | |
526 finds a coding system that fits the data. Then it converts the file | |
527 contents assuming that they are represented in this coding system. | |
528 | |
529 The priority list of coding systems depends on the selected language | |
530 environment (@pxref{Language Environments}). For example, if you use | |
531 French, you probably want Emacs to prefer Latin-1 to Latin-2; if you use | |
532 Czech, you probably want Latin-2 to be preferred. This is one of the | |
533 reasons to specify a language environment. | |
534 | |
535 @findex prefer-coding-system | |
536 However, you can alter the priority list in detail with the command | |
537 @kbd{M-x prefer-coding-system}. This command reads the name of a coding | |
538 system from the minibuffer, and adds it to the front of the priority | |
539 list, so that it is preferred to all others. If you use this command | |
540 several times, each use adds one element to the front of the priority | |
541 list. | |
542 | |
543 If you use a coding system that specifies the end-of-line conversion | |
544 type, such as @code{iso-8859-1-dos}, what that means is that Emacs | |
545 should attempt to recognize @code{iso-8859-1} with priority, and should | |
546 use DOS end-of-line conversion in case it recognizes @code{iso-8859-1}. | |
547 | |
548 @vindex file-coding-system-alist | |
549 Sometimes a file name indicates which coding system to use for the | |
550 file. The variable @code{file-coding-system-alist} specifies this | |
551 correspondence. There is a special function | |
552 @code{modify-coding-system-alist} for adding elements to this list. For | |
553 example, to read and write all @samp{.txt} files using the coding system | |
554 @code{china-iso-8bit}, you can execute this Lisp expression: | |
555 | |
556 @smallexample | |
557 (modify-coding-system-alist 'file "\\.txt\\'" 'china-iso-8bit) | |
558 @end smallexample | |
559 | |
560 @noindent | |
561 The first argument should be @code{file}, the second argument should be | |
562 a regular expression that determines which files this applies to, and | |
563 the third argument says which coding system to use for these files. | |
564 | |
565 @vindex inhibit-eol-conversion | |
566 Emacs recognizes which kind of end-of-line conversion to use based on | |
567 the contents of the file: if it sees only carriage-returns, or only | |
568 carriage-return linefeed sequences, then it chooses the end-of-line | |
569 conversion accordingly. You can inhibit the automatic use of | |
570 end-of-line conversion by setting the variable @code{inhibit-eol-conversion} | |
571 to non-@code{nil}. | |
572 | |
573 @vindex coding | |
574 You can specify the coding system for a particular file using the | |
575 @samp{-*-@dots{}-*-} construct at the beginning of a file, or a local | |
576 variables list at the end (@pxref{File Variables}). You do this by | |
577 defining a value for the ``variable'' named @code{coding}. Emacs does | |
578 not really have a variable @code{coding}; instead of setting a variable, | |
579 it uses the specified coding system for the file. For example, | |
580 @samp{-*-mode: C; coding: latin-1;-*-} specifies use of the Latin-1 | |
581 coding system, as well as C mode. If you specify the coding explicitly | |
582 in the file, that overrides @code{file-coding-system-alist}. | |
583 | |
584 @vindex auto-coding-alist | |
585 The variable @code{auto-coding-alist} is the strongest way to specify | |
586 the coding system for certain patterns of file names; this variable even | |
587 overrides @samp{-*-coding:-*-} tags in the file itself. Emacs uses this | |
588 feature for tar and archive files, to prevent Emacs from being confused | |
589 by a @samp{-*-coding:-*-} tag in a member of the archive and thinking it | |
590 applies to the archive file as a whole. | |
591 | |
592 @vindex buffer-file-coding-system | |
593 Once Emacs has chosen a coding system for a buffer, it stores that | |
594 coding system in @code{buffer-file-coding-system} and uses that coding | |
595 system, by default, for operations that write from this buffer into a | |
596 file. This includes the commands @code{save-buffer} and | |
597 @code{write-region}. If you want to write files from this buffer using | |
598 a different coding system, you can specify a different coding system for | |
599 the buffer using @code{set-buffer-file-coding-system} (@pxref{Specify | |
600 Coding}). | |
601 | |
602 @vindex sendmail-coding-system | |
603 When you send a message with Mail mode (@pxref{Sending Mail}), Emacs has | |
604 four different ways to determine the coding system to use for encoding | |
605 the message text. It tries the buffer's own value of | |
606 @code{buffer-file-coding-system}, if that is non-@code{nil}. Otherwise, | |
607 it uses the value of @code{sendmail-coding-system}, if that is | |
608 non-@code{nil}. The third way is to use the default coding system for | |
609 new files, which is controlled by your choice of language environment, | |
610 if that is non-@code{nil}. If all of these three values are @code{nil}, | |
611 Emacs encodes outgoing mail using the Latin-1 coding system. | |
612 | |
613 @vindex rmail-decode-mime-charset | |
614 When you get new mail in Rmail, each message is translated | |
615 automatically from the coding system it is written in---as if it were a | |
616 separate file. This uses the priority list of coding systems that you | |
617 have specified. If a MIME message specifies a character set, Rmail | |
618 obeys that specification, unless @code{rmail-decode-mime-charset} is | |
619 @code{nil}. | |
620 | |
621 @vindex rmail-file-coding-system | |
622 For reading and saving Rmail files themselves, Emacs uses the coding | |
623 system specified by the variable @code{rmail-file-coding-system}. The | |
624 default value is @code{nil}, which means that Rmail files are not | |
625 translated (they are read and written in the Emacs internal character | |
626 code). | |
627 | |
628 @node Specify Coding | |
629 @section Specifying a Coding System | |
630 | |
631 In cases where Emacs does not automatically choose the right coding | |
632 system, you can use these commands to specify one: | |
633 | |
634 @table @kbd | |
635 @item C-x @key{RET} f @var{coding} @key{RET} | |
636 Use coding system @var{coding} for the visited file | |
637 in the current buffer. | |
638 | |
639 @item C-x @key{RET} c @var{coding} @key{RET} | |
640 Specify coding system @var{coding} for the immediately following | |
641 command. | |
642 | |
643 @item C-x @key{RET} k @var{coding} @key{RET} | |
644 Use coding system @var{coding} for keyboard input. | |
645 | |
646 @item C-x @key{RET} t @var{coding} @key{RET} | |
647 Use coding system @var{coding} for terminal output. | |
648 | |
649 @item C-x @key{RET} p @var{input-coding} @key{RET} @var{output-coding} @key{RET} | |
650 Use coding systems @var{input-coding} and @var{output-coding} for | |
651 subprocess input and output in the current buffer. | |
652 | |
653 @item C-x @key{RET} x @var{coding} @key{RET} | |
654 Use coding system @var{coding} for transferring selections to and from | |
655 other programs through the window system. | |
656 | |
657 @item C-x @key{RET} X @var{coding} @key{RET} | |
658 Use coding system @var{coding} for transferring @emph{one} | |
659 selection---the next one---to or from the window system. | |
660 @end table | |
661 | |
662 @kindex C-x RET f | |
663 @findex set-buffer-file-coding-system | |
664 The command @kbd{C-x @key{RET} f} (@code{set-buffer-file-coding-system}) | |
665 specifies the file coding system for the current buffer---in other | |
666 words, which coding system to use when saving or rereading the visited | |
667 file. You specify which coding system using the minibuffer. Since this | |
668 command applies to a file you have already visited, it affects only the | |
669 way the file is saved. | |
670 | |
671 @kindex C-x RET c | |
672 @findex universal-coding-system-argument | |
673 Another way to specify the coding system for a file is when you visit | |
674 the file. First use the command @kbd{C-x @key{RET} c} | |
675 (@code{universal-coding-system-argument}); this command uses the | |
676 minibuffer to read a coding system name. After you exit the minibuffer, | |
677 the specified coding system is used for @emph{the immediately following | |
678 command}. | |
679 | |
680 So if the immediately following command is @kbd{C-x C-f}, for example, | |
681 it reads the file using that coding system (and records the coding | |
682 system for when the file is saved). Or if the immediately following | |
683 command is @kbd{C-x C-w}, it writes the file using that coding system. | |
684 Other file commands affected by a specified coding system include | |
685 @kbd{C-x C-i} and @kbd{C-x C-v}, as well as the other-window variants of | |
686 @kbd{C-x C-f}. | |
687 | |
688 @kbd{C-x @key{RET} c} also affects commands that start subprocesses, | |
689 including @kbd{M-x shell} (@pxref{Shell}). | |
690 | |
691 However, if the immediately following command does not use the coding | |
692 system, then @kbd{C-x @key{RET} c} ultimately has no effect. | |
693 | |
694 An easy way to visit a file with no conversion is with the @kbd{M-x | |
695 find-file-literally} command. @xref{Visiting}. | |
696 | |
697 @vindex default-buffer-file-coding-system | |
698 The variable @code{default-buffer-file-coding-system} specifies the | |
699 choice of coding system to use when you create a new file. It applies | |
700 when you find a new file, and when you create a buffer and then save it | |
701 in a file. Selecting a language environment typically sets this | |
702 variable to a good choice of default coding system for that language | |
703 environment. | |
704 | |
705 @kindex C-x RET t | |
706 @findex set-terminal-coding-system | |
707 The command @kbd{C-x @key{RET} t} (@code{set-terminal-coding-system}) | |
708 specifies the coding system for terminal output. If you specify a | |
709 character code for terminal output, all characters output to the | |
710 terminal are translated into that coding system. | |
711 | |
712 This feature is useful for certain character-only terminals built to | |
713 support specific languages or character sets---for example, European | |
714 terminals that support one of the ISO Latin character sets. You need to | |
715 specify the terminal coding system when using multibyte text, so that | |
716 Emacs knows which characters the terminal can actually handle. | |
717 | |
718 By default, output to the terminal is not translated at all, unless | |
719 Emacs can deduce the proper coding system from your terminal type. | |
720 | |
721 @kindex C-x RET k | |
722 @findex set-keyboard-coding-system | |
723 The command @kbd{C-x @key{RET} k} (@code{set-keyboard-coding-system}) | |
724 specifies the coding system for keyboard input. Character-code | |
725 translation of keyboard input is useful for terminals with keys that | |
726 send non-ASCII graphic characters---for example, some terminals designed | |
727 for ISO Latin-1 or subsets of it. | |
728 | |
729 By default, keyboard input is not translated at all. | |
730 | |
731 There is a similarity between using a coding system translation for | |
732 keyboard input, and using an input method: both define sequences of | |
733 keyboard input that translate into single characters. However, input | |
734 methods are designed to be convenient for interactive use by humans, and | |
735 the sequences that are translated are typically sequences of ASCII | |
736 printing characters. Coding systems typically translate sequences of | |
737 non-graphic characters. | |
738 | |
739 @kindex C-x RET x | |
740 @kindex C-x RET X | |
741 @findex set-selection-coding-system | |
742 @findex set-next-selection-coding-system | |
743 The command @kbd{C-x @key{RET} x} (@code{set-selection-coding-system}) | |
744 specifies the coding system for sending selected text to the window | |
745 system, and for receiving the text of selections made in other | |
746 applications. This command applies to all subsequent selections, until | |
747 you override it by using the command again. The command @kbd{C-x | |
748 @key{RET} X} (@code{set-next-selection-coding-system}) specifies the | |
749 coding system for the next selection made in Emacs or read by Emacs. | |
750 | |
751 @kindex C-x RET p | |
752 @findex set-buffer-process-coding-system | |
753 The command @kbd{C-x @key{RET} p} (@code{set-buffer-process-coding-system}) | |
754 specifies the coding system for input and output to a subprocess. This | |
755 command applies to the current buffer; normally, each subprocess has its | |
756 own buffer, and thus you can use this command to specify translation to | |
757 and from a particular subprocess by giving the command in the | |
758 corresponding buffer. | |
759 | |
760 By default, process input and output are not translated at all. | |
761 | |
762 @vindex file-name-coding-system | |
763 The variable @code{file-name-coding-system} specifies a coding system | |
764 to use for encoding file names. If you set the variable to a coding | |
765 system name (as a Lisp symbol or a string), Emacs encodes file names | |
766 using that coding system for all file operations. This makes it | |
767 possible to use non-ASCII characters in file names---or, at least, those | |
768 non-ASCII characters which the specified coding system can encode. | |
769 | |
770 If @code{file-name-coding-system} is @code{nil}, Emacs uses a default | |
771 coding system determined by the selected language environment. In the | |
772 default language environment, any non-ASCII characters in file names are | |
773 not encoded specially; they appear in the file system using the internal | |
774 Emacs representation. | |
775 | |
776 @strong{Warning:} if you change @code{file-name-coding-system} (or the | |
777 language environment) in the middle of an Emacs session, problems can | |
778 result if you have already visited files whose names were encoded using | |
779 the earlier coding system and cannot be encoded (or are encoded | |
780 differently) under the new coding system. If you try to save one of | |
781 these buffers under the visited file name, saving may use the wrong file | |
782 name, or it may get an error. If such a problem happens, use @kbd{C-x | |
783 C-w} to specify a new file name for that buffer. | |
784 | |
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785 @vindex locale-coding-system |
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786 The variable @code{locale-coding-system} specifies a coding system to |
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787 use when encoding and decoding system strings such as system error |
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788 messages and @code{format-time-string} formats and time stamps. This |
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789 coding system should be compatible with the underlying system's coding |
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790 system, which is normally specified by the first environment variable in |
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791 the list @env{LC_ALL}, @env{LC_CTYPE}, @env{LANG} whose value is |
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792 nonempty. |
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793 |
25829 | 794 @node Fontsets |
795 @section Fontsets | |
796 @cindex fontsets | |
797 | |
798 A font for X Windows typically defines shapes for one alphabet or | |
799 script. Therefore, displaying the entire range of scripts that Emacs | |
800 supports requires a collection of many fonts. In Emacs, such a | |
801 collection is called a @dfn{fontset}. A fontset is defined by a list of | |
802 fonts, each assigned to handle a range of character codes. | |
803 | |
804 Each fontset has a name, like a font. The available X fonts are | |
805 defined by the X server; fontsets, however, are defined within Emacs | |
806 itself. Once you have defined a fontset, you can use it within Emacs by | |
807 specifying its name, anywhere that you could use a single font. Of | |
808 course, Emacs fontsets can use only the fonts that the X server | |
809 supports; if certain characters appear on the screen as hollow boxes, | |
810 this means that the fontset in use for them has no font for those | |
811 characters. | |
812 | |
813 Emacs creates two fontsets automatically: the @dfn{standard fontset} | |
814 and the @dfn{startup fontset}. The standard fontset is most likely to | |
815 have fonts for a wide variety of non-ASCII characters; however, this is | |
816 not the default for Emacs to use. (By default, Emacs tries to find a | |
817 font which has bold and italic variants.) You can specify use of the | |
818 standard fontset with the @samp{-fn} option, or with the @samp{Font} X | |
819 resource (@pxref{Font X}). For example, | |
820 | |
821 @example | |
822 emacs -fn fontset-standard | |
823 @end example | |
824 | |
825 A fontset does not necessarily specify a font for every character | |
826 code. If a fontset specifies no font for a certain character, or if it | |
827 specifies a font that does not exist on your system, then it cannot | |
828 display that character properly. It will display that character as an | |
829 empty box instead. | |
830 | |
831 @vindex highlight-wrong-size-font | |
832 The fontset height and width are determined by the ASCII characters | |
833 (that is, by the font used for ASCII characters in that fontset). If | |
834 another font in the fontset has a different height, or a different | |
835 width, then characters assigned to that font are clipped to the | |
836 fontset's size. If @code{highlight-wrong-size-font} is non-@code{nil}, | |
837 a box is displayed around these wrong-size characters as well. | |
838 | |
839 @node Defining Fontsets | |
840 @section Defining fontsets | |
841 | |
842 @vindex standard-fontset-spec | |
843 @cindex standard fontset | |
844 Emacs creates a standard fontset automatically according to the value | |
845 of @code{standard-fontset-spec}. This fontset's name is | |
846 | |
847 @example | |
848 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-16-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-standard | |
849 @end example | |
850 | |
851 @noindent | |
852 or just @samp{fontset-standard} for short. | |
853 | |
854 Bold, italic, and bold-italic variants of the standard fontset are | |
855 created automatically. Their names have @samp{bold} instead of | |
856 @samp{medium}, or @samp{i} instead of @samp{r}, or both. | |
857 | |
858 @cindex startup fontset | |
859 If you specify a default ASCII font with the @samp{Font} resource or | |
860 the @samp{-fn} argument, Emacs generates a fontset from it | |
861 automatically. This is the @dfn{startup fontset} and its name is | |
862 @code{fontset-startup}. It does this by replacing the @var{foundry}, | |
863 @var{family}, @var{add_style}, and @var{average_width} fields of the | |
864 font name with @samp{*}, replacing @var{charset_registry} field with | |
865 @samp{fontset}, and replacing @var{charset_encoding} field with | |
866 @samp{startup}, then using the resulting string to specify a fontset. | |
867 | |
868 For instance, if you start Emacs this way, | |
869 | |
870 @example | |
871 emacs -fn "*courier-medium-r-normal--14-140-*-iso8859-1" | |
872 @end example | |
873 | |
874 @noindent | |
875 Emacs generates the following fontset and uses it for the initial X | |
876 window frame: | |
877 | |
878 @example | |
879 -*-*-medium-r-normal-*-14-140-*-*-*-*-fontset-startup | |
880 @end example | |
881 | |
882 With the X resource @samp{Emacs.Font}, you can specify a fontset name | |
883 just like an actual font name. But be careful not to specify a fontset | |
884 name in a wildcard resource like @samp{Emacs*Font}---that wildcard | |
885 specification applies to various other purposes, such as menus, and | |
886 menus cannot handle fontsets. | |
887 | |
888 You can specify additional fontsets using X resources named | |
889 @samp{Fontset-@var{n}}, where @var{n} is an integer starting from 0. | |
890 The resource value should have this form: | |
891 | |
892 @smallexample | |
893 @var{fontpattern}, @r{[}@var{charsetname}:@var{fontname}@r{]@dots{}} | |
894 @end smallexample | |
895 | |
896 @noindent | |
897 @var{fontpattern} should have the form of a standard X font name, except | |
898 for the last two fields. They should have the form | |
899 @samp{fontset-@var{alias}}. | |
900 | |
901 The fontset has two names, one long and one short. The long name is | |
902 @var{fontpattern}. The short name is @samp{fontset-@var{alias}}. You | |
903 can refer to the fontset by either name. | |
904 | |
905 The construct @samp{@var{charset}:@var{font}} specifies which font to | |
906 use (in this fontset) for one particular character set. Here, | |
907 @var{charset} is the name of a character set, and @var{font} is the | |
908 font to use for that character set. You can use this construct any | |
909 number of times in defining one fontset. | |
910 | |
911 For the other character sets, Emacs chooses a font based on | |
912 @var{fontpattern}. It replaces @samp{fontset-@var{alias}} with values | |
913 that describe the character set. For the ASCII character font, | |
914 @samp{fontset-@var{alias}} is replaced with @samp{ISO8859-1}. | |
915 | |
916 In addition, when several consecutive fields are wildcards, Emacs | |
917 collapses them into a single wildcard. This is to prevent use of | |
918 auto-scaled fonts. Fonts made by scaling larger fonts are not usable | |
919 for editing, and scaling a smaller font is not useful because it is | |
920 better to use the smaller font in its own size, which Emacs does. | |
921 | |
922 Thus if @var{fontpattern} is this, | |
923 | |
924 @example | |
925 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24 | |
926 @end example | |
927 | |
928 @noindent | |
929 the font specification for ASCII characters would be this: | |
930 | |
931 @example | |
932 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-ISO8859-1 | |
933 @end example | |
934 | |
935 @noindent | |
936 and the font specification for Chinese GB2312 characters would be this: | |
937 | |
938 @example | |
939 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-gb2312*-* | |
940 @end example | |
941 | |
942 You may not have any Chinese font matching the above font | |
943 specification. Most X distributions include only Chinese fonts that | |
944 have @samp{song ti} or @samp{fangsong ti} in @var{family} field. In | |
945 such a case, @samp{Fontset-@var{n}} can be specified as below: | |
946 | |
947 @smallexample | |
948 Emacs.Fontset-0: -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24,\ | |
949 chinese-gb2312:-*-*-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-gb2312*-* | |
950 @end smallexample | |
951 | |
952 @noindent | |
953 Then, the font specifications for all but Chinese GB2312 characters have | |
954 @samp{fixed} in the @var{family} field, and the font specification for | |
955 Chinese GB2312 characters has a wild card @samp{*} in the @var{family} | |
956 field. | |
957 | |
958 @findex create-fontset-from-fontset-spec | |
959 The function that processes the fontset resource value to create the | |
960 fontset is called @code{create-fontset-from-fontset-spec}. You can also | |
961 call this function explicitly to create a fontset. | |
962 | |
963 @xref{Font X}, for more information about font naming in X. | |
964 | |
965 @node Single-Byte European Support | |
966 @section Single-byte European Character Support | |
967 | |
968 @cindex European character sets | |
969 @cindex accented characters | |
970 @cindex ISO Latin character sets | |
971 @cindex Unibyte operation | |
972 @vindex enable-multibyte-characters | |
973 The ISO 8859 Latin-@var{n} character sets define character codes in | |
974 the range 160 to 255 to handle the accented letters and punctuation | |
975 needed by various European languages. If you disable multibyte | |
976 characters, Emacs can still handle @emph{one} of these character codes | |
977 at a time. To specify @emph{which} of these codes to use, invoke | |
978 @kbd{M-x set-language-environment} and specify a suitable language | |
979 environment such as @samp{Latin-@var{n}}. | |
980 | |
981 For more information about unibyte operation, see @ref{Enabling | |
982 Multibyte}. Note particularly that you probably want to ensure that | |
983 your initialization files are read as unibyte if they contain non-ASCII | |
984 characters. | |
985 | |
986 @vindex unibyte-display-via-language-environment | |
987 Emacs can also display those characters, provided the terminal or font | |
988 in use supports them. This works automatically. Alternatively, if you | |
989 are using a window system, Emacs can also display single-byte characters | |
990 through fontsets, in effect by displaying the equivalent multibyte | |
991 characters according to the current language environment. To request | |
992 this, set the variable @code{unibyte-display-via-language-environment} | |
993 to a non-@code{nil} value. | |
994 | |
995 @cindex @code{iso-ascii} library | |
996 If your terminal does not support display of the Latin-1 character | |
997 set, Emacs can display these characters as ASCII sequences which at | |
998 least give you a clear idea of what the characters are. To do this, | |
999 load the library @code{iso-ascii}. Similar libraries for other | |
1000 Latin-@var{n} character sets could be implemented, but we don't have | |
1001 them yet. | |
1002 | |
1003 @findex standard-display-8bit | |
1004 @cindex 8-bit display | |
1005 Normally non-ISO-8859 characters (between characters 128 and 159 | |
1006 inclusive) are displayed as octal escapes. You can change this for | |
1007 non-standard `extended' versions of ISO-8859 character sets by using the | |
1008 function @code{standard-display-8bit} in the @code{disp-table} library. | |
1009 | |
1010 There are three different ways you can input single-byte non-ASCII | |
1011 characters: | |
1012 | |
1013 @itemize @bullet | |
1014 @item | |
1015 If your keyboard can generate character codes 128 and up, representing | |
1016 non-ASCII characters, execute the following expression to enable Emacs to | |
1017 understand them: | |
1018 | |
1019 @example | |
1020 (set-input-mode (car (current-input-mode)) | |
1021 (nth 1 (current-input-mode)) | |
1022 0) | |
1023 @end example | |
1024 | |
1025 @item | |
1026 You can use an input method for the selected language environment. | |
1027 @xref{Input Methods}. When you use an input method in a unibyte buffer, | |
1028 the non-ASCII character you specify with it is converted to unibyte. | |
1029 | |
1030 @kindex C-x 8 | |
1031 @cindex @code{iso-transl} library | |
1032 @item | |
1033 For Latin-1 only, you can use the | |
1034 key @kbd{C-x 8} as a ``compose character'' prefix for entry of | |
1035 non-ASCII Latin-1 printing characters. @kbd{C-x 8} is good for | |
1036 insertion (in the minibuffer as well as other buffers), for searching, | |
1037 and in any other context where a key sequence is allowed. | |
1038 | |
1039 @kbd{C-x 8} works by loading the @code{iso-transl} library. Once that | |
1040 library is loaded, the @key{ALT} modifier key, if you have one, serves | |
1041 the same purpose as @kbd{C-x 8}; use @key{ALT} together with an accent | |
1042 character to modify the following letter. In addition, if you have keys | |
1043 for the Latin-1 ``dead accent characters'', they too are defined to | |
1044 compose with the following character, once @code{iso-transl} is loaded. | |
1045 @end itemize |