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git-archimport-id: lorentey@elte.hu--2004/emacs--multi-tty--0--patch-556
author | Karoly Lorentey <lorentey@elte.hu> |
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date | Wed, 10 May 2006 15:04:01 +0000 |
parents | 01e158ca557c |
children | 3d45362f1d38 |
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1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual. | |
2 @c Copyright (C) 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc. | |
3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. | |
4 @c | |
5 @c This file is included either in emacs-xtra.texi (when producing the | |
6 @c printed version) or in the main Emacs manual (for the on-line version). | |
7 @node MS-DOS | |
8 @section Emacs and MS-DOS | |
9 @cindex MS-DOG | |
10 @cindex MS-DOS peculiarities | |
11 | |
12 This section briefly describes the peculiarities of using Emacs on | |
13 the MS-DOS ``operating system'' (also known as ``MS-DOG''). | |
14 @iftex | |
15 Information about Emacs and Microsoft's current operating system | |
16 Windows (also known as ``Losedows) is in the main Emacs manual | |
17 (@pxref{Microsoft Systems,,, emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
18 @end iftex | |
19 @ifnottex | |
20 Information about peculiarities common to MS-DOS and Microsoft's | |
21 current operating systems Windows (also known as ``Losedows) is in | |
22 @ref{Microsoft Windows}. | |
23 @end ifnottex | |
24 | |
25 If you build Emacs for MS-DOS, the binary will also run on Windows | |
26 3.X, Windows NT, Windows 9X/ME, Windows 2000/XP, or OS/2 as a DOS | |
27 application; all of this chapter applies for all of those systems, if | |
28 you use an Emacs that was built for MS-DOS. | |
29 | |
30 @iftex | |
31 @xref{Text and Binary,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}, for information | |
32 @end iftex | |
33 @ifnottex | |
34 @xref{Text and Binary}, for information | |
35 @end ifnottex | |
36 about Emacs' special handling of text files under MS-DOS (and Windows). | |
37 | |
38 @menu | |
39 * Keyboard: MS-DOS Keyboard. Keyboard conventions on MS-DOS. | |
40 * Mouse: MS-DOS Mouse. Mouse conventions on MS-DOS. | |
41 * Display: MS-DOS Display. Fonts, frames and display size on MS-DOS. | |
42 * Files: MS-DOS File Names. File name conventions on MS-DOS. | |
43 * Printing: MS-DOS Printing. Printing specifics on MS-DOS. | |
44 * I18N: MS-DOS and MULE. Support for internationalization on MS-DOS. | |
45 * Processes: MS-DOS Processes. Running subprocesses on MS-DOS. | |
46 @end menu | |
47 | |
48 @node MS-DOS Keyboard | |
49 @subsection Keyboard Usage on MS-DOS | |
50 | |
51 @kindex DEL @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
52 @kindex BS @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
53 The key that is called @key{DEL} in Emacs (because that's how it is | |
54 designated on most workstations) is known as @key{BS} (backspace) on a | |
55 PC. That is why the PC-specific terminal initialization remaps the | |
56 @key{BS} key to act as @key{DEL}; the @key{DELETE} key is remapped to act | |
57 as @kbd{C-d} for the same reasons. | |
58 | |
59 @kindex C-g @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
60 @kindex C-BREAK @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
61 @cindex quitting on MS-DOS | |
62 Emacs built for MS-DOS recognizes @kbd{C-@key{BREAK}} as a quit | |
63 character, just like @kbd{C-g}. This is because Emacs cannot detect | |
64 that you have typed @kbd{C-g} until it is ready for more input. As a | |
65 consequence, you cannot use @kbd{C-g} to stop a running command | |
66 @iftex | |
67 (@pxref{Quitting,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
68 @end iftex | |
69 @ifnottex | |
70 (@pxref{Quitting}). | |
71 @end ifnottex | |
72 By contrast, @kbd{C-@key{BREAK}} @emph{is} detected as soon as you | |
73 type it (as @kbd{C-g} is on other systems), so it can be used to stop | |
74 a running command and for emergency escape | |
75 @iftex | |
76 (@pxref{Emergency Escape,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
77 @end iftex | |
78 @ifnottex | |
79 (@pxref{Emergency Escape}). | |
80 @end ifnottex | |
81 | |
82 @cindex Meta (under MS-DOS) | |
83 @cindex Hyper (under MS-DOS) | |
84 @cindex Super (under MS-DOS) | |
85 @vindex dos-super-key | |
86 @vindex dos-hyper-key | |
87 The PC keyboard maps use the left @key{ALT} key as the @key{META} key. | |
88 You have two choices for emulating the @key{SUPER} and @key{HYPER} keys: | |
89 choose either the right @key{CTRL} key or the right @key{ALT} key by | |
90 setting the variables @code{dos-hyper-key} and @code{dos-super-key} to 1 | |
91 or 2 respectively. If neither @code{dos-super-key} nor | |
92 @code{dos-hyper-key} is 1, then by default the right @key{ALT} key is | |
93 also mapped to the @key{META} key. However, if the MS-DOS international | |
94 keyboard support program @file{KEYB.COM} is installed, Emacs will | |
95 @emph{not} map the right @key{ALT} to @key{META}, since it is used for | |
96 accessing characters like @kbd{~} and @kbd{@@} on non-US keyboard | |
97 layouts; in this case, you may only use the left @key{ALT} as @key{META} | |
98 key. | |
99 | |
100 @kindex C-j @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
101 @vindex dos-keypad-mode | |
102 The variable @code{dos-keypad-mode} is a flag variable that controls | |
103 what key codes are returned by keys in the numeric keypad. You can also | |
104 define the keypad @key{ENTER} key to act like @kbd{C-j}, by putting the | |
105 following line into your @file{_emacs} file: | |
106 | |
107 @smallexample | |
108 ;; @r{Make the @key{ENTER} key from the numeric keypad act as @kbd{C-j}.} | |
109 (define-key function-key-map [kp-enter] [?\C-j]) | |
110 @end smallexample | |
111 | |
112 @node MS-DOS Mouse | |
113 @subsection Mouse Usage on MS-DOS | |
114 | |
115 @cindex mouse support under MS-DOS | |
116 Emacs on MS-DOS supports a mouse (on the default terminal only). | |
117 The mouse commands work as documented, including those that use menus | |
118 and the menu bar | |
119 @iftex | |
120 (@pxref{Menu Bar,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
121 @end iftex | |
122 @ifnottex | |
123 (@pxref{Menu Bar}). | |
124 @end ifnottex | |
125 Scroll bars don't work in MS-DOS Emacs. PC mice usually have only | |
126 two buttons; these act as @kbd{Mouse-1} and @kbd{Mouse-2}, but if you | |
127 press both of them together, that has the effect of @kbd{Mouse-3}. If | |
128 the mouse does have 3 buttons, Emacs detects that at startup, and all | |
129 the 3 buttons function normally, as on X. | |
130 | |
131 Help strings for menu-bar and pop-up menus are displayed in the echo | |
132 area when the mouse pointer moves across the menu items. Highlighting | |
133 of mouse-sensitive text | |
134 @iftex | |
135 (@pxref{Mouse References,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}) | |
136 @end iftex | |
137 @ifnottex | |
138 (@pxref{Mouse References}) | |
139 @end ifnottex | |
140 is also supported. | |
141 | |
142 @cindex mouse, set number of buttons | |
143 @findex msdos-set-mouse-buttons | |
144 Some versions of mouse drivers don't report the number of mouse | |
145 buttons correctly. For example, mice with a wheel report that they | |
146 have 3 buttons, but only 2 of them are passed to Emacs; the clicks on | |
147 the wheel, which serves as the middle button, are not passed. In | |
148 these cases, you can use the @kbd{M-x msdos-set-mouse-buttons} command | |
149 to tell Emacs how many mouse buttons to expect. You could make such a | |
150 setting permanent by adding this fragment to your @file{_emacs} init | |
151 file: | |
152 | |
153 @example | |
154 ;; @r{Treat the mouse like a 2-button mouse.} | |
155 (msdos-set-mouse-buttons 2) | |
156 @end example | |
157 | |
158 @cindex Windows clipboard support | |
159 Emacs built for MS-DOS supports clipboard operations when it runs on | |
160 Windows. Commands that put text on the kill ring, or yank text from | |
161 the ring, check the Windows clipboard first, just as Emacs does on the | |
162 X Window System | |
163 @iftex | |
164 (@pxref{Mouse Commands,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
165 @end iftex | |
166 @ifnottex | |
167 (@pxref{Mouse Commands}). | |
168 @end ifnottex | |
169 Only the primary selection and the cut buffer are supported by MS-DOS | |
170 Emacs on Windows; the secondary selection always appears as empty. | |
171 | |
172 Due to the way clipboard access is implemented by Windows, the | |
173 length of text you can put into the clipboard is limited by the amount | |
174 of free DOS memory that is available to Emacs. Usually, up to 620KB of | |
175 text can be put into the clipboard, but this limit depends on the system | |
176 configuration and is lower if you run Emacs as a subprocess of | |
177 another program. If the killed text does not fit, Emacs outputs a | |
178 message saying so, and does not put the text into the clipboard. | |
179 | |
180 Null characters also cannot be put into the Windows clipboard. If the | |
181 killed text includes null characters, Emacs does not put such text into | |
182 the clipboard, and displays in the echo area a message to that effect. | |
183 | |
184 @vindex dos-display-scancodes | |
185 The variable @code{dos-display-scancodes}, when non-@code{nil}, | |
186 directs Emacs to display the @acronym{ASCII} value and the keyboard scan code of | |
187 each keystroke; this feature serves as a complement to the | |
188 @code{view-lossage} command, for debugging. | |
189 | |
190 @node MS-DOS Display | |
191 @subsection Display on MS-DOS | |
192 @cindex faces under MS-DOS | |
193 @cindex fonts, emulating under MS-DOS | |
194 | |
195 Display on MS-DOS cannot use font variants, like bold or italic, but | |
196 it does support multiple faces, each of which can specify a foreground | |
197 and a background color. Therefore, you can get the full functionality | |
198 of Emacs packages that use fonts (such as @code{font-lock}, Enriched | |
199 Text mode, and others) by defining the relevant faces to use different | |
200 colors. Use the @code{list-colors-display} command | |
201 @iftex | |
202 (@pxref{Frame Parameters,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}) | |
203 @end iftex | |
204 @ifnottex | |
205 (@pxref{Frame Parameters}) | |
206 @end ifnottex | |
207 and the @code{list-faces-display} command | |
208 @iftex | |
209 (@pxref{Faces,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}) | |
210 @end iftex | |
211 @ifnottex | |
212 (@pxref{Faces}) | |
213 @end ifnottex | |
214 to see what colors and faces are available and what they look like. | |
215 | |
216 @xref{MS-DOS and MULE}, later in this chapter, for information on | |
217 how Emacs displays glyphs and characters that aren't supported by the | |
218 native font built into the DOS display. | |
219 | |
220 @cindex cursor shape on MS-DOS | |
221 When Emacs starts, it changes the cursor shape to a solid box. This | |
222 is for compatibility with other systems, where the box cursor is the | |
223 default in Emacs. This default shape can be changed to a bar by | |
224 specifying the @code{cursor-type} parameter in the variable | |
225 @code{default-frame-alist} | |
226 @iftex | |
227 (@pxref{Creating Frames,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
228 @end iftex | |
229 @ifnottex | |
230 (@pxref{Creating Frames}). | |
231 @end ifnottex | |
232 The MS-DOS terminal doesn't support a vertical-bar cursor, | |
233 so the bar cursor is horizontal, and the @code{@var{width}} parameter, | |
234 if specified by the frame parameters, actually determines its height. | |
235 For this reason, the @code{bar} and @code{hbar} cursor types produce | |
236 the same effect on MS-DOS. As an extension, the bar cursor | |
237 specification can include the starting scan line of the cursor as well | |
238 as its width, like this: | |
239 | |
240 @example | |
241 '(cursor-type bar @var{width} . @var{start}) | |
242 @end example | |
243 | |
244 @noindent | |
245 In addition, if the @var{width} parameter is negative, the cursor bar | |
246 begins at the top of the character cell. | |
247 | |
248 @cindex frames on MS-DOS | |
249 The MS-DOS terminal can only display a single frame at a time. The | |
250 Emacs frame facilities work on MS-DOS much as they do on text-only | |
251 terminals | |
252 @iftex | |
253 (@pxref{Frames,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
254 @end iftex | |
255 @ifnottex | |
256 (@pxref{Frames}). | |
257 @end ifnottex | |
258 When you run Emacs from a DOS window on MS-Windows, you can make the | |
259 visible frame smaller than the full screen, but Emacs still cannot | |
260 display more than a single frame at a time. | |
261 | |
262 @cindex frame size under MS-DOS | |
263 @findex mode4350 | |
264 @findex mode25 | |
265 The @code{mode4350} command switches the display to 43 or 50 | |
266 lines, depending on your hardware; the @code{mode25} command switches | |
267 to the default 80x25 screen size. | |
268 | |
269 By default, Emacs only knows how to set screen sizes of 80 columns by | |
270 25, 28, 35, 40, 43 or 50 rows. However, if your video adapter has | |
271 special video modes that will switch the display to other sizes, you can | |
272 have Emacs support those too. When you ask Emacs to switch the frame to | |
273 @var{n} rows by @var{m} columns dimensions, it checks if there is a | |
274 variable called @code{screen-dimensions-@var{n}x@var{m}}, and if so, | |
275 uses its value (which must be an integer) as the video mode to switch | |
276 to. (Emacs switches to that video mode by calling the BIOS @code{Set | |
277 Video Mode} function with the value of | |
278 @code{screen-dimensions-@var{n}x@var{m}} in the @code{AL} register.) | |
279 For example, suppose your adapter will switch to 66x80 dimensions when | |
280 put into video mode 85. Then you can make Emacs support this screen | |
281 size by putting the following into your @file{_emacs} file: | |
282 | |
283 @example | |
284 (setq screen-dimensions-66x80 85) | |
285 @end example | |
286 | |
287 Since Emacs on MS-DOS can only set the frame size to specific | |
288 supported dimensions, it cannot honor every possible frame resizing | |
289 request. When an unsupported size is requested, Emacs chooses the next | |
290 larger supported size beyond the specified size. For example, if you | |
291 ask for 36x80 frame, you will get 40x80 instead. | |
292 | |
293 The variables @code{screen-dimensions-@var{n}x@var{m}} are used only | |
294 when they exactly match the specified size; the search for the next | |
295 larger supported size ignores them. In the above example, even if your | |
296 VGA supports 38x80 dimensions and you define a variable | |
297 @code{screen-dimensions-38x80} with a suitable value, you will still get | |
298 40x80 screen when you ask for a 36x80 frame. If you want to get the | |
299 38x80 size in this case, you can do it by setting the variable named | |
300 @code{screen-dimensions-36x80} with the same video mode value as | |
301 @code{screen-dimensions-38x80}. | |
302 | |
303 Changing frame dimensions on MS-DOS has the effect of changing all the | |
304 other frames to the new dimensions. | |
305 | |
306 @node MS-DOS File Names | |
307 @subsection File Names on MS-DOS | |
308 @cindex file names under MS-DOS | |
309 @cindex init file, default name under MS-DOS | |
310 | |
311 On MS-DOS, file names are case-insensitive and limited to eight | |
312 characters, plus optionally a period and three more characters. Emacs | |
313 knows enough about these limitations to handle file names that were | |
314 meant for other operating systems. For instance, leading dots | |
315 @samp{.} in file names are invalid in MS-DOS, so Emacs transparently | |
316 converts them to underscores @samp{_}; thus your default init file | |
317 @iftex | |
318 (@pxref{Init File,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}) | |
319 @end iftex | |
320 @ifnottex | |
321 (@pxref{Init File}) | |
322 @end ifnottex | |
323 is called @file{_emacs} on MS-DOS. Excess characters before or after | |
324 the period are generally ignored by MS-DOS itself; thus, if you visit | |
325 the file @file{LongFileName.EvenLongerExtension}, you will silently | |
326 get @file{longfile.eve}, but Emacs will still display the long file | |
327 name on the mode line. Other than that, it's up to you to specify | |
328 file names which are valid under MS-DOS; the transparent conversion as | |
329 described above only works on file names built into Emacs. | |
330 | |
331 @cindex backup file names on MS-DOS | |
332 The above restrictions on the file names on MS-DOS make it almost | |
333 impossible to construct the name of a backup file | |
334 @iftex | |
335 (@pxref{Backup Names,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}) | |
336 @end iftex | |
337 @ifnottex | |
338 (@pxref{Backup Names}) | |
339 @end ifnottex | |
340 without losing some of the original file name characters. For | |
341 example, the name of a backup file for @file{docs.txt} is | |
342 @file{docs.tx~} even if single backup is used. | |
343 | |
344 @cindex file names under Windows 95/NT | |
345 @cindex long file names in DOS box under Windows 95/NT | |
346 If you run Emacs as a DOS application under Windows 9X, Windows ME, or | |
347 Windows 2000/XP, you can turn on support for long file names. If you do | |
348 that, Emacs doesn't truncate file names or convert them to lower case; | |
349 instead, it uses the file names that you specify, verbatim. To enable | |
350 long file name support, set the environment variable @env{LFN} to | |
351 @samp{y} before starting Emacs. Unfortunately, Windows NT doesn't allow | |
352 DOS programs to access long file names, so Emacs built for MS-DOS will | |
353 only see their short 8+3 aliases. | |
354 | |
355 @cindex @env{HOME} directory under MS-DOS | |
356 MS-DOS has no notion of home directory, so Emacs on MS-DOS pretends | |
357 that the directory where it is installed is the value of the @env{HOME} | |
358 environment variable. That is, if your Emacs binary, | |
359 @file{emacs.exe}, is in the directory @file{c:/utils/emacs/bin}, then | |
360 Emacs acts as if @env{HOME} were set to @samp{c:/utils/emacs}. In | |
361 particular, that is where Emacs looks for the init file @file{_emacs}. | |
362 With this in mind, you can use @samp{~} in file names as an alias for | |
363 the home directory, as you would on GNU or Unix. You can also set | |
364 @env{HOME} variable in the environment before starting Emacs; its | |
365 value will then override the above default behavior. | |
366 | |
367 Emacs on MS-DOS handles the directory name @file{/dev} specially, | |
368 because of a feature in the emulator libraries of DJGPP that pretends | |
369 I/O devices have names in that directory. We recommend that you avoid | |
370 using an actual directory named @file{/dev} on any disk. | |
371 | |
372 @node MS-DOS Printing | |
373 @subsection Printing and MS-DOS | |
374 | |
375 Printing commands, such as @code{lpr-buffer} | |
376 @iftex | |
377 (@pxref{Printing,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}) and @code{ps-print-buffer} | |
378 (@pxref{PostScript,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}) | |
379 @end iftex | |
380 @ifnottex | |
381 (@pxref{Printing}) and @code{ps-print-buffer} (@pxref{PostScript}) | |
382 @end ifnottex | |
383 can work on MS-DOS by sending the output to one of the printer ports, | |
384 if a Posix-style @code{lpr} program is unavailable. The same Emacs | |
385 variables control printing on all systems, but in some cases they have | |
386 different default values on MS-DOS. | |
387 | |
388 @iftex | |
389 @xref{Windows Printing,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}, | |
390 @end iftex | |
391 @ifnottex | |
392 @xref{Windows Printing}, | |
393 @end ifnottex | |
394 for details about setting up printing to a networked printer. | |
395 | |
396 Some printers expect DOS codepage encoding of non-@acronym{ASCII} text, even | |
397 though they are connected to a Windows machine which uses a different | |
398 encoding for the same locale. For example, in the Latin-1 locale, DOS | |
399 uses codepage 850 whereas Windows uses codepage 1252. @xref{MS-DOS and | |
400 MULE}. When you print to such printers from Windows, you can use the | |
401 @kbd{C-x RET c} (@code{universal-coding-system-argument}) command before | |
402 @kbd{M-x lpr-buffer}; Emacs will then convert the text to the DOS | |
403 codepage that you specify. For example, @kbd{C-x RET c cp850-dos RET | |
404 M-x lpr-region RET} will print the region while converting it to the | |
405 codepage 850 encoding. You may need to create the @code{cp@var{nnn}} | |
406 coding system with @kbd{M-x codepage-setup}. | |
407 | |
408 @vindex dos-printer | |
409 @vindex dos-ps-printer | |
410 For backwards compatibility, the value of @code{dos-printer} | |
411 (@code{dos-ps-printer}), if it has a value, overrides the value of | |
412 @code{printer-name} (@code{ps-printer-name}), on MS-DOS. | |
413 | |
414 | |
415 @node MS-DOS and MULE | |
416 @subsection International Support on MS-DOS | |
417 @cindex international support @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
418 | |
419 Emacs on MS-DOS supports the same international character sets as it | |
420 does on GNU, Unix and other platforms | |
421 @iftex | |
422 (@pxref{International,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}), | |
423 @end iftex | |
424 @ifnottex | |
425 (@pxref{International}), | |
426 @end ifnottex | |
427 including coding systems for converting between the different | |
428 character sets. However, due to incompatibilities between | |
429 MS-DOS/MS-Windows and other systems, there are several DOS-specific | |
430 aspects of this support that you should be aware of. This section | |
431 describes these aspects. | |
432 | |
433 The description below is largely specific to the MS-DOS port of | |
434 Emacs, especially where it talks about practical implications for | |
435 Emacs users. For other operating systems, see the @file{code-pages.el} | |
436 package, which implements support for MS-DOS- and MS-Windows-specific | |
437 encodings for all platforms other than MS-DOS. | |
438 | |
439 @table @kbd | |
440 @item M-x dos-codepage-setup | |
441 Set up Emacs display and coding systems as appropriate for the current | |
442 DOS codepage. | |
443 | |
444 @item M-x codepage-setup | |
445 Create a coding system for a certain DOS codepage. | |
446 @end table | |
447 | |
448 @cindex codepage, MS-DOS | |
449 @cindex DOS codepages | |
450 MS-DOS is designed to support one character set of 256 characters at | |
451 any given time, but gives you a variety of character sets to choose | |
452 from. The alternative character sets are known as @dfn{DOS codepages}. | |
453 Each codepage includes all 128 @acronym{ASCII} characters, but the other 128 | |
454 characters (codes 128 through 255) vary from one codepage to another. | |
455 Each DOS codepage is identified by a 3-digit number, such as 850, 862, | |
456 etc. | |
457 | |
458 In contrast to X, which lets you use several fonts at the same time, | |
459 MS-DOS normally doesn't allow use of several codepages in a single | |
460 session. MS-DOS was designed to load a single codepage at system | |
461 startup, and require you to reboot in order to change | |
462 it@footnote{Normally, one particular codepage is burnt into the | |
463 display memory, while other codepages can be installed by modifying | |
464 system configuration files, such as @file{CONFIG.SYS}, and rebooting. | |
465 While there is third-party software that allows changing the codepage | |
466 without rebooting, we describe here how a stock MS-DOS system | |
467 behaves.}. Much the same limitation applies when you run DOS | |
468 executables on other systems such as MS-Windows. | |
469 | |
470 @cindex unibyte operation @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
471 If you invoke Emacs on MS-DOS with the @samp{--unibyte} option | |
472 @iftex | |
473 (@pxref{Initial Options,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}), | |
474 @end iftex | |
475 @ifnottex | |
476 (@pxref{Initial Options}), | |
477 @end ifnottex | |
478 Emacs does not perform any conversion of non-@acronym{ASCII} | |
479 characters. Instead, it reads and writes any non-@acronym{ASCII} | |
480 characters verbatim, and sends their 8-bit codes to the display | |
481 verbatim. Thus, unibyte Emacs on MS-DOS supports the current | |
482 codepage, whatever it may be, but cannot even represent any other | |
483 characters. | |
484 | |
485 @vindex dos-codepage | |
486 For multibyte operation on MS-DOS, Emacs needs to know which | |
487 characters the chosen DOS codepage can display. So it queries the | |
488 system shortly after startup to get the chosen codepage number, and | |
489 stores the number in the variable @code{dos-codepage}. Some systems | |
490 return the default value 437 for the current codepage, even though the | |
491 actual codepage is different. (This typically happens when you use the | |
492 codepage built into the display hardware.) You can specify a different | |
493 codepage for Emacs to use by setting the variable @code{dos-codepage} in | |
494 your init file. | |
495 | |
496 @cindex language environment, automatic selection on @r{MS-DOS} | |
497 Multibyte Emacs supports only certain DOS codepages: those which can | |
498 display Far-Eastern scripts, like the Japanese codepage 932, and those | |
499 that encode a single ISO 8859 character set. | |
500 | |
501 The Far-Eastern codepages can directly display one of the MULE | |
502 character sets for these countries, so Emacs simply sets up to use the | |
503 appropriate terminal coding system that is supported by the codepage. | |
504 The special features described in the rest of this section mostly | |
505 pertain to codepages that encode ISO 8859 character sets. | |
506 | |
507 For the codepages which correspond to one of the ISO character sets, | |
508 Emacs knows the character set name based on the codepage number. Emacs | |
509 automatically creates a coding system to support reading and writing | |
510 files that use the current codepage, and uses this coding system by | |
511 default. The name of this coding system is @code{cp@var{nnn}}, where | |
512 @var{nnn} is the codepage number.@footnote{The standard Emacs coding | |
513 systems for ISO 8859 are not quite right for the purpose, because | |
514 typically the DOS codepage does not match the standard ISO character | |
515 codes. For example, the letter @samp{@,{c}} (@samp{c} with cedilla) has | |
516 code 231 in the standard Latin-1 character set, but the corresponding | |
517 DOS codepage 850 uses code 135 for this glyph.} | |
518 | |
519 @cindex mode line @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
520 All the @code{cp@var{nnn}} coding systems use the letter @samp{D} | |
521 (for ``DOS'') as their mode-line mnemonic. Since both the terminal | |
522 coding system and the default coding system for file I/O are set to | |
523 the proper @code{cp@var{nnn}} coding system at startup, it is normal | |
524 for the mode line on MS-DOS to begin with @samp{-DD\-}. | |
525 @iftex | |
526 @xref{Mode Line,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}. | |
527 @end iftex | |
528 @ifnottex | |
529 @xref{Mode Line}. | |
530 @end ifnottex | |
531 Far-Eastern DOS terminals do not use the @code{cp@var{nnn}} coding | |
532 systems, and thus their initial mode line looks like the Emacs | |
533 default. | |
534 | |
535 Since the codepage number also indicates which script you are using, | |
536 Emacs automatically runs @code{set-language-environment} to select the | |
537 language environment for that script | |
538 @iftex | |
539 (@pxref{Language Environments,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
540 @end iftex | |
541 @ifnottex | |
542 (@pxref{Language Environments}). | |
543 @end ifnottex | |
544 | |
545 If a buffer contains a character belonging to some other ISO 8859 | |
546 character set, not the one that the chosen DOS codepage supports, Emacs | |
547 displays it using a sequence of @acronym{ASCII} characters. For example, if the | |
548 current codepage doesn't have a glyph for the letter @samp{@`o} (small | |
549 @samp{o} with a grave accent), it is displayed as @samp{@{`o@}}, where | |
550 the braces serve as a visual indication that this is a single character. | |
551 (This may look awkward for some non-Latin characters, such as those from | |
552 Greek or Hebrew alphabets, but it is still readable by a person who | |
553 knows the language.) Even though the character may occupy several | |
554 columns on the screen, it is really still just a single character, and | |
555 all Emacs commands treat it as one. | |
556 | |
557 @cindex IBM graphics characters (MS-DOS) | |
558 @cindex box-drawing characters (MS-DOS) | |
559 @cindex line-drawing characters (MS-DOS) | |
560 Not all characters in DOS codepages correspond to ISO 8859 | |
561 characters---some are used for other purposes, such as box-drawing | |
562 characters and other graphics. Emacs maps these characters to two | |
563 special character sets called @code{eight-bit-control} and | |
564 @code{eight-bit-graphic}, and displays them as their IBM glyphs. | |
565 However, you should be aware that other systems might display these | |
566 characters differently, so you should avoid them in text that might be | |
567 copied to a different operating system, or even to another DOS machine | |
568 that uses a different codepage. | |
569 | |
570 @vindex dos-unsupported-character-glyph | |
571 Emacs supports many other characters sets aside from ISO 8859, but it | |
572 cannot display them on MS-DOS. So if one of these multibyte characters | |
573 appears in a buffer, Emacs on MS-DOS displays them as specified by the | |
574 @code{dos-unsupported-character-glyph} variable; by default, this glyph | |
575 is an empty triangle. Use the @kbd{C-u C-x =} command to display the | |
576 actual code and character set of such characters. | |
577 @iftex | |
578 @xref{Position Info,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}. | |
579 @end iftex | |
580 @ifnottex | |
581 @xref{Position Info}. | |
582 @end ifnottex | |
583 | |
584 @findex codepage-setup | |
585 By default, Emacs defines a coding system to support the current | |
586 codepage. To define a coding system for some other codepage (e.g., to | |
587 visit a file written on a DOS machine in another country), use the | |
588 @kbd{M-x codepage-setup} command. It prompts for the 3-digit code of | |
589 the codepage, with completion, then creates the coding system for the | |
590 specified codepage. You can then use the new coding system to read and | |
591 write files, but you must specify it explicitly for the file command | |
592 when you want to use it | |
593 @iftex | |
594 (@pxref{Text Coding,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}). | |
595 @end iftex | |
596 @ifnottex | |
597 (@pxref{Text Coding}). | |
598 @end ifnottex | |
599 | |
600 These coding systems are also useful for visiting a file encoded using | |
601 a DOS codepage, using Emacs running on some other operating system. | |
602 | |
603 @cindex MS-Windows codepages | |
604 MS-Windows provides its own codepages, which are different from the | |
605 DOS codepages for the same locale. For example, DOS codepage 850 | |
606 supports the same character set as Windows codepage 1252; DOS codepage | |
607 855 supports the same character set as Windows codepage 1251, etc. | |
608 The MS-Windows version of Emacs uses the current codepage for display | |
609 when invoked with the @samp{-nw} option. Support for codepages in the | |
610 Windows port of Emacs is part of the @file{code-pages.el} package. | |
611 | |
612 @node MS-DOS Processes | |
613 @subsection Subprocesses on MS-DOS | |
614 | |
615 @cindex compilation under MS-DOS | |
616 @cindex inferior processes under MS-DOS | |
617 @findex compile @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
618 @findex grep @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
619 Because MS-DOS is a single-process ``operating system,'' | |
620 asynchronous subprocesses are not available. In particular, Shell | |
621 mode and its variants do not work. Most Emacs features that use | |
622 asynchronous subprocesses also don't work on MS-DOS, including | |
623 Shell mode and GUD. When in doubt, try and see; commands that | |
624 don't work output an error message saying that asynchronous processes | |
625 aren't supported. | |
626 | |
627 Compilation under Emacs with @kbd{M-x compile}, searching files with | |
628 @kbd{M-x grep} and displaying differences between files with @kbd{M-x | |
629 diff} do work, by running the inferior processes synchronously. This | |
630 means you cannot do any more editing until the inferior process | |
631 finishes. | |
632 | |
633 Spell checking also works, by means of special support for synchronous | |
634 invocation of the @code{ispell} program. This is slower than the | |
635 asynchronous invocation on other platforms | |
636 | |
637 Instead of the Shell mode, which doesn't work on MS-DOS, you can use | |
638 the @kbd{M-x eshell} command. This invokes the Eshell package that | |
639 implements a Posix-like shell entirely in Emacs Lisp. | |
640 | |
641 By contrast, Emacs compiled as a native Windows application | |
642 @strong{does} support asynchronous subprocesses. | |
643 @iftex | |
644 @xref{Windows Processes,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}. | |
645 @end iftex | |
646 @ifnottex | |
647 @xref{Windows Processes}. | |
648 @end ifnottex | |
649 | |
650 @cindex printing under MS-DOS | |
651 Printing commands, such as @code{lpr-buffer} | |
652 @iftex | |
653 (@pxref{Printing,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}) and | |
654 @code{ps-print-buffer} (@pxref{PostScript,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}), | |
655 work in MS-DOS by sending the output to one of the printer ports. | |
656 @xref{MS-DOS Printing,,,emacs, the Emacs Manual}. | |
657 @end iftex | |
658 @ifnottex | |
659 (@pxref{Printing}) and @code{ps-print-buffer} (@pxref{PostScript}), | |
660 work in MS-DOS by sending the output to one of the printer ports. | |
661 @xref{MS-DOS Printing}. | |
662 @end ifnottex | |
663 | |
664 When you run a subprocess synchronously on MS-DOS, make sure the | |
665 program terminates and does not try to read keyboard input. If the | |
666 program does not terminate on its own, you will be unable to terminate | |
667 it, because MS-DOS provides no general way to terminate a process. | |
668 Pressing @kbd{C-c} or @kbd{C-@key{BREAK}} might sometimes help in these | |
669 cases. | |
670 | |
671 Accessing files on other machines is not supported on MS-DOS. Other | |
672 network-oriented commands such as sending mail, Web browsing, remote | |
673 login, etc., don't work either, unless network access is built into | |
674 MS-DOS with some network redirector. | |
675 | |
676 @cindex directory listing on MS-DOS | |
677 @vindex dired-listing-switches @r{(MS-DOS)} | |
678 Dired on MS-DOS uses the @code{ls-lisp} package where other | |
679 platforms use the system @code{ls} command. Therefore, Dired on | |
680 MS-DOS supports only some of the possible options you can mention in | |
681 the @code{dired-listing-switches} variable. The options that work are | |
682 @samp{-A}, @samp{-a}, @samp{-c}, @samp{-i}, @samp{-r}, @samp{-S}, | |
683 @samp{-s}, @samp{-t}, and @samp{-u}. | |
684 | |
685 @ignore | |
686 arch-tag: 868d50ff-07f8-4a13-a807-dab6f1cdb431 | |
687 @end ignore |