@c This is part of the Emacs manual.@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001,@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.@node Emacs and Microsoft Windows, Manifesto, Mac OS, Top@appendix Emacs and Microsoft Windows@cindex Microsoft Windows@cindex MS-Windows, Emacs peculiarities This section describes peculiarities of using Emacs on MicrosoftWindows. Some of these peculiarities are also relevant to Microsoft'solder MS-DOS ``operating system'' (also known as ``MS-DOG'').However, Emacs features that are relevant @emph{only} to MS-DOS aredescribed in a separate manual (@inforef{MS-DOG,, emacs-xtra}). The behavior of Emacs on MS-Windows is reasonably similar to what isdocumented in the rest of the manual, including support for long filenames, multiple frames, scroll bars, mouse menus, and subprocesses.However, a few special considerations apply, and they are describedhere.@menu* Text and Binary:: Text files use CRLF to terminate lines.* Windows Files:: File-name conventions on Windows.* Windows HOME:: Where Emacs looks for your @file{.emacs}.* Windows Processes:: Running subprocesses on Windows.* Windows Printing:: How to specify the printer on MS-Windows.* Windows System Menu:: Controlling what the ALT key does.@end menu@node Text and Binary@section Text Files and Binary Files@cindex text and binary files on MS-DOS/MS-Windows GNU Emacs uses newline characters to separate text lines. This is theconvention used on GNU, Unix, and other Posix-compliant systems.@cindex end-of-line conversion on MS-DOS/MS-Windows By contrast, MS-DOS and MS-Windows normally use carriage-return linefeed,a two-character sequence, to separate text lines. (Linefeed is the samecharacter as newline.) Therefore, convenient editing of typical fileswith Emacs requires conversion of these end-of-line (EOL) sequences.And that is what Emacs normally does: it converts carriage-returnlinefeed into newline when reading files, and converts newline intocarriage-return linefeed when writing files. The same mechanism thathandles conversion of international character codes does this conversionalso (@pxref{Coding Systems}).@cindex cursor location, on MS-DOS@cindex point location, on MS-DOS One consequence of this special format-conversion of most files isthat character positions as reported by Emacs (@pxref{Position Info}) donot agree with the file size information known to the operating system. In addition, if Emacs recognizes from a file's contents that it usesnewline rather than carriage-return linefeed as its line separator, itdoes not perform EOL conversion when reading or writing that file.Thus, you can read and edit files from GNU and Unix systems on MS-DOSwith no special effort, and they will retain their Unix-styleend-of-line convention after you edit them. The mode line indicates whether end-of-line translation was used forthe current buffer. If MS-DOS end-of-line translation is in use for thebuffer, the MS-Windows build of Emacs displays a backslash @samp{\} afterthe coding system mnemonic near the beginning of the mode line(@pxref{Mode Line}). If no EOL translation was performed, the string@samp{(Unix)} is displayed instead of the backslash, to alert you that thefile's EOL format is not the usual carriage-return linefeed.@cindex DOS-to-Unix conversion of files To visit a file and specify whether it uses DOS-style or Unix-styleend-of-line, specify a coding system (@pxref{Text Coding}). Forexample, @kbd{C-x @key{RET} c unix @key{RET} C-x C-f foobar.txt}visits the file @file{foobar.txt} without converting the EOLs; if someline ends with a carriage-return linefeed pair, Emacs will display@samp{^M} at the end of that line. Similarly, you can direct Emacs tosave a buffer in a specified EOL format with the @kbd{C-x @key{RET} f}command. For example, to save a buffer with Unix EOL format, type@kbd{C-x @key{RET} f unix @key{RET} C-x C-s}. If you visit a filewith DOS EOL conversion, then save it with Unix EOL format, thateffectively converts the file to Unix EOL style, like @code{dos2unix}.@cindex untranslated file system@findex add-untranslated-filesystem When you use NFS, Samba, or some other similar method to access filesystems that reside on computers using GNU or Unix systems, Emacsshould not perform end-of-line translation on any files in these filesystems---not even when you create a new file. To request this,designate these file systems as @dfn{untranslated} file systems bycalling the function @code{add-untranslated-filesystem}. It takes oneargument: the file system name, including a drive letter andoptionally a directory. For example,@example(add-untranslated-filesystem "Z:")@end example@noindentdesignates drive Z as an untranslated file system, and@example(add-untranslated-filesystem "Z:\\foo")@end example@noindentdesignates directory @file{\foo} on drive Z as an untranslated filesystem. Most often you would use @code{add-untranslated-filesystem} in your@file{.emacs} file, or in @file{site-start.el} so that all the users atyour site get the benefit of it.@findex remove-untranslated-filesystem To countermand the effect of @code{add-untranslated-filesystem}, usethe function @code{remove-untranslated-filesystem}. This function takesone argument, which should be a string just like the one that was usedpreviously with @code{add-untranslated-filesystem}. Designating a file system as untranslated does not affect characterset conversion, only end-of-line conversion. Essentially, it directsEmacs to create new files with the Unix-style convention of usingnewline at the end of a line. @xref{Coding Systems}.@vindex file-name-buffer-file-type-alist@cindex binary files, on MS-DOS/MS-Windows Some kinds of files should not be converted at all, because theircontents are not really text. Therefore, Emacs on MS-Windows distinguishescertain files as @dfn{binary files}. (This distinction is not part ofMS-Windows; it is made by Emacs only.) Binary files include executableprograms, compressed archives, etc. Emacs uses the file name to decidewhether to treat a file as binary: the variable@code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist} defines the file-name patternsthat indicate binary files. If a file name matches one of the patternsfor binary files (those whose associations are of the type@code{(@var{pattern} . t)}, Emacs reads and writes that file using the@code{no-conversion} coding system (@pxref{Coding Systems}) which turnsoff @emph{all} coding-system conversions, not only the EOL conversion.@code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist} also includes file-name patternsfor files which are known to be Windows-style text files withcarriage-return linefeed EOL format, such as @file{CONFIG.SYS}; Emacsalways writes those files with Windows-style EOLs. If a file which belongs to an untranslated file system matches one ofthe file-name patterns in @code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist}, theEOL conversion is determined by @code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist}.@node Windows Files@section File Names on MS-Windows@cindex file names on MS-Windows MS-Windows and MS-DOS normally use a backslash, @samp{\}, toseparate name units within a file name, instead of the slash used onother systems. Emacs on MS-DOS/MS-Windows permits use of either slash orbackslash, and also knows about drive letters in file names.@cindex file-name completion, on MS-Windows On MS-DOS/MS-Windows, file names are case-insensitive, so Emacs bydefault ignores letter-case in file names during completion.@node Windows HOME@section HOME Directory on MS-Windows@cindex @code{HOME} directory on MS-Windows The MS-Windows equivalent of the @code{HOME} directory is the@dfn{user-specific application data directory}. The actual locationdepends on your Windows version and system configuration; typical valuesare @file{C:\Documents and Settings\@var{username}\Application Data} onWindows 2K/XP and later, and either @file{C:\WINDOWS\Application Data}or @file{C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\@var{username}\Application Data} on theolder Windows 9X/ME systems.@cindex init file @file{.emacs} on MS-Windows The home directory is where your init file @file{.emacs} is stored.When Emacs starts, it first checks whether the environment variable@env{HOME} is set. If it is, it looks for the init file in thedirectory pointed by @env{HOME}. If @env{HOME} is not defined, Emacschecks for an existing @file{.emacs} file in @file{C:\}, the rootdirectory of drive @file{C:}@footnote{The check in @file{C:\} is in preference to the application datadirectory for compatibility with older versions of Emacs, which didn'tcheck the application data directory.}. If there's no such file in @file{C:\}, Emacs next uses the Windowssystem calls to find out the exact location of your application datadirectory. If that fails as well, Emacs falls back to @file{C:\}. Whatever the final place is, Emacs sets the value of the @env{HOME}environment variable to point to it, and it will use that location forother files and directories it normally creates in the user's homedirectory. You can always find out where Emacs thinks is your home directory'slocation by typing @kbd{C-x d ~/ @key{RET}}. This should present thelist of files in the home directory, and show its full name on thefirst line. Likewise, to visit your init file, type @kbd{C-x C-f~/.emacs @key{RET}}.@cindex @file{_emacs} init file, MS-Windows Because MS-DOS does not allow file names with leading dots, andbecause older Windows systems made it hard to create files with suchnames, the Windows port of Emacs supports an alternative name@file{_emacs} as a fallback, if such a file exists in the homedirectory, whereas @file{.emacs} does not.@node Windows Processes@section Subprocesses on Windows 9X/ME and Windows NT/2K/XP@cindex subprocesses on MS-Windows@cindex DOS applications, running from Emacs Emacs compiled as a native Windows application (as opposed to the DOSversion) includes full support for asynchronous subprocesses.In the Windows version, synchronous and asynchronous subprocesses workfine on bothWindows 9X/ME and Windows NT/2K/XP as long as you run only 32-bit Windowsapplications. However, when you run a DOS application in a subprocess,you may encounter problems or be unable to run the application at all;and if you run two DOS applications at the same time in twosubprocesses, you may have to reboot your system.Since the standard command interpreter (and most command line utilities)on Windows 9X are DOS applications, these problems are significant whenusing that system. But there's nothing we can do about them; onlyMicrosoft can fix them.If you run just one DOS application subprocess, the subprocess shouldwork as expected as long as it is ``well-behaved'' and does not performdirect screen access or other unusual actions. If you have a CPUmonitor application, your machine will appear to be 100% busy even whenthe DOS application is idle, but this is only an artifact of the way CPUmonitors measure processor load.You must terminate the DOS application before you start any other DOSapplication in a different subprocess. Emacs is unable to interrupt orterminate a DOS subprocess. The only way you can terminate such asubprocess is by giving it a command that tells its program to exit.If you attempt to run two DOS applications at the same time in separatesubprocesses, the second one that is started will be suspended until thefirst one finishes, even if either or both of them are asynchronous.@cindex kill DOS applicationIf you can go to the first subprocess, and tell it to exit, the secondsubprocess should continue normally. However, if the second subprocessis synchronous, Emacs itself will be hung until the first subprocessfinishes. If it will not finish without user input, then you have nochoice but to reboot if you are running on Windows 9X. If you arerunning on Windows NT/2K/XP, you can use a process viewer application to killthe appropriate instance of NTVDM instead (this will terminate both DOSsubprocesses).If you have to reboot Windows 9X in this situation, do not use the@code{Shutdown} command on the @code{Start} menu; that usually hangs thesystem. Instead, type @kbd{CTL-ALT-@key{DEL}} and then choose@code{Shutdown}. That usually works, although it may take a few minutesto do its job.@node Windows Printing@section Printing and MS-Windows Printing commands, such as @code{lpr-buffer} (@pxref{Printing}) and@code{ps-print-buffer} (@pxref{PostScript}) work in MS-DOS andMS-Windows by sending the output to one of the printer ports, if aPosix-style @code{lpr} program is unavailable. The same Emacsvariables control printing on all systems, but in some cases they havedifferent default values on MS-DOS and MS-Windows. Emacs on Windows automatically determines your default printer andsets the variable @var{printer-name} to that printer's name. But insome rare cases this can fail, or you may wish to use a differentprinter from within Emacs. The rest of this section explains how totell Emacs which printer to use.@vindex printer-name@r{, (MS-DOS/MW-Windows)} If you want to use your local printer, then set the Lisp variable@code{lpr-command} to @code{""} (its default value on Windows) and@code{printer-name} to the name of the printer port---for example,@code{"PRN"}, the usual local printer port or @code{"LPT2"}, or@code{"COM1"} for a serial printer. You can also set@code{printer-name} to a file name, in which case ``printed'' outputis actually appended to that file. If you set @code{printer-name} to@code{"NUL"}, printed output is silently discarded (sent to the systemnull device). You can also use a printer shared by another machine by setting@code{printer-name} to the UNC share name for that printer---forexample, @code{"//joes_pc/hp4si"}. (It doesn't matter whether you useforward slashes or backslashes here.) To find out the names of sharedprinters, run the command @samp{net view} from the command prompt toobtain a list of servers, and @samp{net view @var{server-name}} to seethe names of printers (and directories) shared by that server.Alternatively, click the @samp{Network Neighborhood} icon on yourdesktop, and look for machines which share their printers via thenetwork.@cindex @samp{net use}, and printing on MS-Windows@cindex networked printers (MS-Windows) If the printer doesn't appear in the output of @samp{net view}, orif setting @code{printer-name} to the UNC share name doesn't produce ahardcopy on that printer, you can use the @samp{net use} command toconnect a local print port such as @code{"LPT2"} to the networkedprinter. For example, typing @kbd{net use LPT2: \\joes_pc\hp4si}@footnote{Note that the @samp{net use} command requires the UNC share name to betyped with the Windows-style backslashes, while the value of@code{printer-name} can be set with either forward- or backslashes.}causes Windows to @dfn{capture} the @code{LPT2} port and redirect theprinted material to the printer connected to the machine @code{joes_pc}.After this command, setting @code{printer-name} to @code{"LPT2"}should produce the hardcopy on the networked printer. With some varieties of Windows network software, you can instructWindows to capture a specific printer port such as @code{"LPT2"}, andredirect it to a networked printer via the @w{@code{ControlPanel->Printers}} applet instead of @samp{net use}. If you set @code{printer-name} to a file name, it's best to use anabsolute file name. Emacs changes the working directory according tothe default directory of the current buffer, so if the file name in@code{printer-name} is relative, you will end up with several suchfiles, each one in the directory of the buffer from which the printingwas done.@findex print-buffer @r{(MS-DOS)}@findex print-region @r{(MS-DOS)}@vindex lpr-headers-switches @r{(MS-DOS)} The commands @code{print-buffer} and @code{print-region} call the@code{pr} program, or use special switches to the @code{lpr} program, toproduce headers on each printed page. MS-DOS and MS-Windows don'tnormally have these programs, so by default, the variable@code{lpr-headers-switches} is set so that the requests to print pageheaders are silently ignored. Thus, @code{print-buffer} and@code{print-region} produce the same output as @code{lpr-buffer} and@code{lpr-region}, respectively. If you do have a suitable @code{pr}program (for example, from GNU Coreutils), set@code{lpr-headers-switches} to @code{nil}; Emacs will then call@code{pr} to produce the page headers, and print the resulting output asspecified by @code{printer-name}.@vindex print-region-function @r{(MS-DOS)}@cindex lpr usage under MS-DOS@vindex lpr-command @r{(MS-DOS)}@vindex lpr-switches @r{(MS-DOS)} Finally, if you do have an @code{lpr} work-alike, you can set thevariable @code{lpr-command} to @code{"lpr"}. Then Emacs will use@code{lpr} for printing, as on other systems. (If the name of theprogram isn't @code{lpr}, set @code{lpr-command} to specify where tofind it.) The variable @code{lpr-switches} has its standard meaningwhen @code{lpr-command} is not @code{""}. If the variable@code{printer-name} has a string value, it is used as the value for the@code{-P} option to @code{lpr}, as on Unix.@findex ps-print-buffer @r{(MS-DOS)}@findex ps-spool-buffer @r{(MS-DOS)}@vindex ps-printer-name @r{(MS-DOS)}@vindex ps-lpr-command @r{(MS-DOS)}@vindex ps-lpr-switches @r{(MS-DOS)} A parallel set of variables, @code{ps-lpr-command},@code{ps-lpr-switches}, and @code{ps-printer-name} (@pxref{PostScriptVariables}), defines how PostScript files should be printed. Thesevariables are used in the same way as the corresponding variablesdescribed above for non-PostScript printing. Thus, the value of@code{ps-printer-name} is used as the name of the device (or file) towhich PostScript output is sent, just as @code{printer-name} is usedfor non-PostScript printing. (There are two distinct sets ofvariables in case you have two printers attached to two differentports, and only one of them is a PostScript printer.) The default value of the variable @code{ps-lpr-command} is @code{""},which causes PostScript output to be sent to the printer port specifiedby @code{ps-printer-name}, but @code{ps-lpr-command} can also be set tothe name of a program which will accept PostScript files. Thus, if youhave a non-PostScript printer, you can set this variable to the name ofa PostScript interpreter program (such as Ghostscript). Any switchesthat need to be passed to the interpreter program are specified using@code{ps-lpr-switches}. (If the value of @code{ps-printer-name} is astring, it will be added to the list of switches as the value for the@code{-P} option. This is probably only useful if you are using@code{lpr}, so when using an interpreter typically you would set@code{ps-printer-name} to something other than a string so it isignored.) For example, to use Ghostscript for printing on the system's defaultprinter, put this in your @file{.emacs} file:@example(setq ps-printer-name t)(setq ps-lpr-command "D:/gs6.01/bin/gswin32c.exe")(setq ps-lpr-switches '("-q" "-dNOPAUSE" "-dBATCH" "-sDEVICE=mswinpr2" "-sPAPERSIZE=a4"))@end example@noindent(This assumes that Ghostscript is installed in the@file{D:/gs6.01} directory.)@node Windows System Menu@section Using the System Menu on Windows@cindex @code{Alt} key invokes menu (Windows)Emacs compiled as a native Windows application normally turns off theWindows feature that tapping the @key{ALT} key invokes the Windowsmenu. The reason is that the @key{ALT} serves as @key{META} in Emacs.When using Emacs, users often press the @key{META} key temporarily andthen change their minds; if this has the effect of bringing up theWindows menu, it alters the meaning of subsequent commands. Manyusers find this frustrating.@vindex w32-pass-alt-to-systemYou can re-enable Windows' default handling of tapping the @key{ALT} keyby setting @code{w32-pass-alt-to-system} to a non-@code{nil} value.@ignore arch-tag: f39d2590-5dcc-4318-88d9-0eb73ca10fa2@end ignore