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author | Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org> |
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date | Wed, 14 Nov 2001 03:49:57 +0000 |
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@c -*-texinfo-*- @c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual. @c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998 Free Software Foundation, Inc. @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions. @node Calendar, System Interface, Display, Top @chapter Customizing the Calendar and Diary There are many customizations that you can use to make the calendar and diary suit your personal tastes. @menu * Calendar Customizing:: Defaults you can set. * Holiday Customizing:: Defining your own holidays. * Date Display Format:: Changing the format. * Time Display Format:: Changing the format. * Daylight Savings:: Changing the default. * Diary Customizing:: Defaults you can set. * Hebrew/Islamic Entries:: How to obtain them. * Fancy Diary Display:: Enhancing the diary display, sorting entries, using included diary files. * Sexp Diary Entries:: Fancy things you can do. * Appt Customizing:: Customizing appointment reminders. @end menu @node Calendar Customizing @section Customizing the Calendar @vindex view-diary-entries-initially If you set the variable @code{view-diary-entries-initially} to @code{t}, calling up the calendar automatically displays the diary entries for the current date as well. The diary dates appear only if the current date is visible. If you add both of the following lines to your init file:@refill @example (setq view-diary-entries-initially t) (calendar) @end example @noindent this displays both the calendar and diary windows whenever you start Emacs. @vindex view-calendar-holidays-initially Similarly, if you set the variable @code{view-calendar-holidays-initially} to @code{t}, entering the calendar automatically displays a list of holidays for the current three-month period. The holiday list appears in a separate window. @vindex mark-diary-entries-in-calendar You can set the variable @code{mark-diary-entries-in-calendar} to @code{t} in order to mark any dates with diary entries. This takes effect whenever the calendar window contents are recomputed. There are two ways of marking these dates: by changing the face (@pxref{Faces}), or by placing a plus sign (@samp{+}) beside the date. @vindex mark-holidays-in-calendar Similarly, setting the variable @code{mark-holidays-in-calendar} to @code{t} marks holiday dates, either with a change of face or with an asterisk (@samp{*}). @vindex calendar-holiday-marker @vindex diary-entry-marker The variable @code{calendar-holiday-marker} specifies how to mark a date as being a holiday. Its value may be a character to insert next to the date, or a face name to use for displaying the date. Likewise, the variable @code{diary-entry-marker} specifies how to mark a date that has diary entries. The calendar creates faces named @code{holiday-face} and @code{diary-face} for these purposes; those symbols are the default values of these variables. @vindex calendar-load-hook The variable @code{calendar-load-hook} is a normal hook run when the calendar package is first loaded (before actually starting to display the calendar). @vindex initial-calendar-window-hook Starting the calendar runs the normal hook @code{initial-calendar-window-hook}. Recomputation of the calendar display does not run this hook. But if you leave the calendar with the @kbd{q} command and reenter it, the hook runs again.@refill @vindex today-visible-calendar-hook The variable @code{today-visible-calendar-hook} is a normal hook run after the calendar buffer has been prepared with the calendar when the current date is visible in the window. One use of this hook is to replace today's date with asterisks; to do that, use the hook function @code{calendar-star-date}. @findex calendar-star-date @example (add-hook 'today-visible-calendar-hook 'calendar-star-date) @end example @noindent Another standard hook function marks the current date, either by changing its face or by adding an asterisk. Here's how to use it: @findex calendar-mark-today @example (add-hook 'today-visible-calendar-hook 'calendar-mark-today) @end example @noindent @vindex calendar-today-marker The variable @code{calendar-today-marker} specifies how to mark today's date. Its value should be a character to insert next to the date or a face name to use for displaying the date. A face named @code{calendar-today-face} is provided for this purpose; that symbol is the default for this variable. @vindex today-invisible-calendar-hook @noindent A similar normal hook, @code{today-invisible-calendar-hook} is run if the current date is @emph{not} visible in the window. @vindex calendar-move-hook Starting in Emacs 21, each of the calendar cursor motion commands runs the hook @code{calendar-move-hook} after it moves the cursor. @node Holiday Customizing @section Customizing the Holidays @vindex calendar-holidays @vindex christian-holidays @vindex hebrew-holidays @vindex islamic-holidays Emacs knows about holidays defined by entries on one of several lists. You can customize these lists of holidays to your own needs, adding or deleting holidays. The lists of holidays that Emacs uses are for general holidays (@code{general-holidays}), local holidays (@code{local-holidays}), Christian holidays (@code{christian-holidays}), Hebrew (Jewish) holidays (@code{hebrew-holidays}), Islamic (Moslem) holidays (@code{islamic-holidays}), and other holidays (@code{other-holidays}). @vindex general-holidays The general holidays are, by default, holidays common throughout the United States. To eliminate these holidays, set @code{general-holidays} to @code{nil}. @vindex local-holidays There are no default local holidays (but sites may supply some). You can set the variable @code{local-holidays} to any list of holidays, as described below. @vindex all-christian-calendar-holidays @vindex all-hebrew-calendar-holidays @vindex all-islamic-calendar-holidays By default, Emacs does not include all the holidays of the religions that it knows, only those commonly found in secular calendars. For a more extensive collection of religious holidays, you can set any (or all) of the variables @code{all-christian-calendar-holidays}, @code{all-hebrew-calendar-holidays}, or @code{all-islamic-calendar-holidays} to @code{t}. If you want to eliminate the religious holidays, set any or all of the corresponding variables @code{christian-holidays}, @code{hebrew-holidays}, and @code{islamic-holidays} to @code{nil}.@refill @vindex other-holidays You can set the variable @code{other-holidays} to any list of holidays. This list, normally empty, is intended for individual use. @cindex holiday forms Each of the lists (@code{general-holidays}, @code{local-holidays}, @code{christian-holidays}, @code{hebrew-holidays}, @code{islamic-holidays}, and @code{other-holidays}) is a list of @dfn{holiday forms}, each holiday form describing a holiday (or sometimes a list of holidays). Here is a table of the possible kinds of holiday form. Day numbers and month numbers count starting from 1, but ``dayname'' numbers count Sunday as 0. The element @var{string} is always the name of the holiday, as a string. @table @code @item (holiday-fixed @var{month} @var{day} @var{string}) A fixed date on the Gregorian calendar. @item (holiday-float @var{month} @var{dayname} @var{k} @var{string}) The @var{k}th @var{dayname} in @var{month} on the Gregorian calendar (@var{dayname}=0 for Sunday, and so on); negative @var{k} means count back from the end of the month. @item (holiday-hebrew @var{month} @var{day} @var{string}) A fixed date on the Hebrew calendar. @item (holiday-islamic @var{month} @var{day} @var{string}) A fixed date on the Islamic calendar. @item (holiday-julian @var{month} @var{day} @var{string}) A fixed date on the Julian calendar. @item (holiday-sexp @var{sexp} @var{string}) A date calculated by the Lisp expression @var{sexp}. The expression should use the variable @code{year} to compute and return the date of a holiday, or @code{nil} if the holiday doesn't happen this year. The value of @var{sexp} must represent the date as a list of the form @code{(@var{month} @var{day} @var{year})}. @item (if @var{condition} @var{holiday-form}) A holiday that happens only if @var{condition} is true. @item (@var{function} @r{[}@var{args}@r{]}) A list of dates calculated by the function @var{function}, called with arguments @var{args}. @end table For example, suppose you want to add Bastille Day, celebrated in France on July 14. You can do this as follows: @smallexample (setq other-holidays '((holiday-fixed 7 14 "Bastille Day"))) @end smallexample @noindent The holiday form @code{(holiday-fixed 7 14 "Bastille Day")} specifies the fourteenth day of the seventh month (July). Many holidays occur on a specific day of the week, at a specific time of month. Here is a holiday form describing Hurricane Supplication Day, celebrated in the Virgin Islands on the fourth Monday in August: @smallexample (holiday-float 8 1 4 "Hurricane Supplication Day") @end smallexample @noindent Here the 8 specifies August, the 1 specifies Monday (Sunday is 0, Tuesday is 2, and so on), and the 4 specifies the fourth occurrence in the month (1 specifies the first occurrence, 2 the second occurrence, @minus{}1 the last occurrence, @minus{}2 the second-to-last occurrence, and so on). You can specify holidays that occur on fixed days of the Hebrew, Islamic, and Julian calendars too. For example, @smallexample (setq other-holidays '((holiday-hebrew 10 2 "Last day of Hanukkah") (holiday-islamic 3 12 "Mohammed's Birthday") (holiday-julian 4 2 "Jefferson's Birthday"))) @end smallexample @noindent adds the last day of Hanukkah (since the Hebrew months are numbered with 1 starting from Nisan), the Islamic feast celebrating Mohammed's birthday (since the Islamic months are numbered from 1 starting with Muharram), and Thomas Jefferson's birthday, which is 2 April 1743 on the Julian calendar. To include a holiday conditionally, use either Emacs Lisp's @code{if} or the @code{holiday-sexp} form. For example, American presidential elections occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of years divisible by 4: @smallexample (holiday-sexp (if (= 0 (% year 4)) (calendar-gregorian-from-absolute (1+ (calendar-dayname-on-or-before 1 (+ 6 (calendar-absolute-from-gregorian (list 11 1 year)))))) "US Presidential Election")) @end smallexample @noindent or @smallexample (if (= 0 (% displayed-year 4)) (fixed 11 (extract-calendar-day (calendar-gregorian-from-absolute (1+ (calendar-dayname-on-or-before 1 (+ 6 (calendar-absolute-from-gregorian (list 11 1 displayed-year))))))) "US Presidential Election")) @end smallexample Some holidays just don't fit into any of these forms because special calculations are involved in their determination. In such cases you must write a Lisp function to do the calculation. To include eclipses, for example, add @code{(eclipses)} to @code{other-holidays} and write an Emacs Lisp function @code{eclipses} that returns a (possibly empty) list of the relevant Gregorian dates among the range visible in the calendar window, with descriptive strings, like this: @smallexample (((6 27 1991) "Lunar Eclipse") ((7 11 1991) "Solar Eclipse") ... ) @end smallexample @node Date Display Format @section Date Display Format @vindex calendar-date-display-form You can customize the manner of displaying dates in the diary, in mode lines, and in messages by setting @code{calendar-date-display-form}. This variable holds a list of expressions that can involve the variables @code{month}, @code{day}, and @code{year}, which are all numbers in string form, and @code{monthname} and @code{dayname}, which are both alphabetic strings. In the American style, the default value of this list is as follows: @smallexample ((if dayname (concat dayname ", ")) monthname " " day ", " year) @end smallexample @noindent while in the European style this value is the default: @smallexample ((if dayname (concat dayname ", ")) day " " monthname " " year) @end smallexample @noindent The ISO standard date representation is this: @smallexample (year "-" month "-" day) @end smallexample @noindent This specifies a typical American format: @smallexample (month "/" day "/" (substring year -2)) @end smallexample @node Time Display Format @section Time Display Format @vindex calendar-time-display-form The calendar and diary by default display times of day in the conventional American style with the hours from 1 through 12, minutes, and either @samp{am} or @samp{pm}. If you prefer the European style, also known in the US as military, in which the hours go from 00 to 23, you can alter the variable @code{calendar-time-display-form}. This variable is a list of expressions that can involve the variables @code{12-hours}, @code{24-hours}, and @code{minutes}, which are all numbers in string form, and @code{am-pm} and @code{time-zone}, which are both alphabetic strings. The default value of @code{calendar-time-display-form} is as follows: @smallexample (12-hours ":" minutes am-pm (if time-zone " (") time-zone (if time-zone ")")) @end smallexample @noindent Here is a value that provides European style times: @smallexample (24-hours ":" minutes (if time-zone " (") time-zone (if time-zone ")")) @end smallexample @node Daylight Savings @section Daylight Savings Time @cindex daylight savings time Emacs understands the difference between standard time and daylight savings time---the times given for sunrise, sunset, solstices, equinoxes, and the phases of the moon take that into account. The rules for daylight savings time vary from place to place and have also varied historically from year to year. To do the job properly, Emacs needs to know which rules to use. Some operating systems keep track of the rules that apply to the place where you are; on these systems, Emacs gets the information it needs from the system automatically. If some or all of this information is missing, Emacs fills in the gaps with the rules currently used in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is the center of GNU's world. @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-starts @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-ends If the default choice of rules is not appropriate for your location, you can tell Emacs the rules to use by setting the variables @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} and @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends}. Their values should be Lisp expressions that refer to the variable @code{year}, and evaluate to the Gregorian date on which daylight savings time starts or (respectively) ends, in the form of a list @code{(@var{month} @var{day} @var{year})}. The values should be @code{nil} if your area does not use daylight savings time. Emacs uses these expressions to determine the start and end dates of daylight savings time as holidays and for correcting times of day in the solar and lunar calculations. The values for Cambridge, Massachusetts are as follows: @example @group (calendar-nth-named-day 1 0 4 year) (calendar-nth-named-day -1 0 10 year) @end group @end example @noindent i.e., the first 0th day (Sunday) of the fourth month (April) in the year specified by @code{year}, and the last Sunday of the tenth month (October) of that year. If daylight savings time were changed to start on October 1, you would set @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} to this: @example (list 10 1 year) @end example For a more complex example, suppose daylight savings time begins on the first of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. You should set @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} to this value: @example (calendar-gregorian-from-absolute (calendar-absolute-from-hebrew (list 1 1 (+ year 3760)))) @end example @noindent because Nisan is the first month in the Hebrew calendar and the Hebrew year differs from the Gregorian year by 3760 at Nisan. If there is no daylight savings time at your location, or if you want all times in standard time, set @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} and @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends} to @code{nil}. @vindex calendar-daylight-time-offset The variable @code{calendar-daylight-time-offset} specifies the difference between daylight savings time and standard time, measured in minutes. The value for Cambridge is 60. @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-starts-time @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-ends-time The variable @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts-time} and the variable @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends-time} specify the number of minutes after midnight local time when the transition to and from daylight savings time should occur. For Cambridge, both variables' values are 120. @node Diary Customizing @section Customizing the Diary @vindex holidays-in-diary-buffer Ordinarily, the mode line of the diary buffer window indicates any holidays that fall on the date of the diary entries. The process of checking for holidays can take several seconds, so including holiday information delays the display of the diary buffer noticeably. If you'd prefer to have a faster display of the diary buffer but without the holiday information, set the variable @code{holidays-in-diary-buffer} to @code{nil}.@refill @vindex number-of-diary-entries The variable @code{number-of-diary-entries} controls the number of days of diary entries to be displayed at one time. It affects the initial display when @code{view-diary-entries-initially} is @code{t}, as well as the command @kbd{M-x diary}. For example, the default value is 1, which says to display only the current day's diary entries. If the value is 2, both the current day's and the next day's entries are displayed. The value can also be a vector of seven elements: for example, if the value is @code{[0 2 2 2 2 4 1]} then no diary entries appear on Sunday, the current date's and the next day's diary entries appear Monday through Thursday, Friday through Monday's entries appear on Friday, while on Saturday only that day's entries appear. @vindex print-diary-entries-hook @findex print-diary-entries The variable @code{print-diary-entries-hook} is a normal hook run after preparation of a temporary buffer containing just the diary entries currently visible in the diary buffer. (The other, irrelevant diary entries are really absent from the temporary buffer; in the diary buffer, they are merely hidden.) The default value of this hook does the printing with the command @code{lpr-buffer}. If you want to use a different command to do the printing, just change the value of this hook. Other uses might include, for example, rearranging the lines into order by day and time. @vindex diary-date-forms You can customize the form of dates in your diary file, if neither the standard American nor European styles suits your needs, by setting the variable @code{diary-date-forms}. This variable is a list of patterns for recognizing a date. Each date pattern is a list whose elements may be regular expressions (@pxref{Regular Expressions}) or the symbols @code{month}, @code{day}, @code{year}, @code{monthname}, and @code{dayname}. All these elements serve as patterns that match certain kinds of text in the diary file. In order for the date pattern, as a whole, to match, all of its elements must match consecutively. A regular expression in a date pattern matches in its usual fashion, using the standard syntax table altered so that @samp{*} is a word constituent. The symbols @code{month}, @code{day}, @code{year}, @code{monthname}, and @code{dayname} match the month number, day number, year number, month name, and day name of the date being considered. The symbols that match numbers allow leading zeros; those that match names allow three-letter abbreviations and capitalization. All the symbols can match @samp{*}; since @samp{*} in a diary entry means ``any day'', ``any month'', and so on, it should match regardless of the date being considered. The default value of @code{diary-date-forms} in the American style is this: @example ((month "/" day "[^/0-9]") (month "/" day "/" year "[^0-9]") (monthname " *" day "[^,0-9]") (monthname " *" day ", *" year "[^0-9]") (dayname "\\W")) @end example The date patterns in the list must be @emph{mutually exclusive} and must not match any portion of the diary entry itself, just the date and one character of whitespace. If, to be mutually exclusive, the pattern must match a portion of the diary entry text---beyond the whitespace that ends the date---then the first element of the date pattern @emph{must} be @code{backup}. This causes the date recognizer to back up to the beginning of the current word of the diary entry, after finishing the match. Even if you use @code{backup}, the date pattern must absolutely not match more than a portion of the first word of the diary entry. The default value of @code{diary-date-forms} in the European style is this list: @example ((day "/" month "[^/0-9]") (day "/" month "/" year "[^0-9]") (backup day " *" monthname "\\W+\\<[^*0-9]") (day " *" monthname " *" year "[^0-9]") (dayname "\\W")) @end example @noindent Notice the use of @code{backup} in the third pattern, because it needs to match part of a word beyond the date itself to distinguish it from the fourth pattern. @node Hebrew/Islamic Entries @section Hebrew- and Islamic-Date Diary Entries Your diary file can have entries based on Hebrew or Islamic dates, as well as entries based on the world-standard Gregorian calendar. However, because recognition of such entries is time-consuming and most people don't use them, you must explicitly enable their use. If you want the diary to recognize Hebrew-date diary entries, for example, you must do this: @vindex nongregorian-diary-listing-hook @vindex nongregorian-diary-marking-hook @findex list-hebrew-diary-entries @findex mark-hebrew-diary-entries @smallexample (add-hook 'nongregorian-diary-listing-hook 'list-hebrew-diary-entries) (add-hook 'nongregorian-diary-marking-hook 'mark-hebrew-diary-entries) @end smallexample @noindent If you want Islamic-date entries, do this: @findex list-islamic-diary-entries @findex mark-islamic-diary-entries @smallexample (add-hook 'nongregorian-diary-listing-hook 'list-islamic-diary-entries) (add-hook 'nongregorian-diary-marking-hook 'mark-islamic-diary-entries) @end smallexample Hebrew- and Islamic-date diary entries have the same formats as Gregorian-date diary entries, except that @samp{H} precedes a Hebrew date and @samp{I} precedes an Islamic date. Moreover, because the Hebrew and Islamic month names are not uniquely specified by the first three letters, you may not abbreviate them. For example, a diary entry for the Hebrew date Heshvan 25 could look like this: @smallexample HHeshvan 25 Happy Hebrew birthday! @end smallexample @noindent and would appear in the diary for any date that corresponds to Heshvan 25 on the Hebrew calendar. And here is an Islamic-date diary entry that matches Dhu al-Qada 25: @smallexample IDhu al-Qada 25 Happy Islamic birthday! @end smallexample As with Gregorian-date diary entries, Hebrew- and Islamic-date entries are nonmarking if they are preceded with an ampersand (@samp{&}). Here is a table of commands used in the calendar to create diary entries that match the selected date and other dates that are similar in the Hebrew or Islamic calendar: @table @kbd @item i h d Add a diary entry for the Hebrew date corresponding to the selected date (@code{insert-hebrew-diary-entry}). @item i h m Add a diary entry for the day of the Hebrew month corresponding to the selected date (@code{insert-monthly-hebrew-diary-entry}). This diary entry matches any date that has the same Hebrew day-within-month as the selected date. @item i h y Add a diary entry for the day of the Hebrew year corresponding to the selected date (@code{insert-yearly-hebrew-diary-entry}). This diary entry matches any date which has the same Hebrew month and day-within-month as the selected date. @item i i d Add a diary entry for the Islamic date corresponding to the selected date (@code{insert-islamic-diary-entry}). @item i i m Add a diary entry for the day of the Islamic month corresponding to the selected date (@code{insert-monthly-islamic-diary-entry}). @item i i y Add a diary entry for the day of the Islamic year corresponding to the selected date (@code{insert-yearly-islamic-diary-entry}). @end table @findex insert-hebrew-diary-entry @findex insert-monthly-hebrew-diary-entry @findex insert-yearly-hebrew-diary-entry @findex insert-islamic-diary-entry @findex insert-monthly-islamic-diary-entry @findex insert-yearly-islamic-diary-entry These commands work much like the corresponding commands for ordinary diary entries: they apply to the date that point is on in the calendar window, and what they do is insert just the date portion of a diary entry at the end of your diary file. You must then insert the rest of the diary entry. @node Fancy Diary Display @section Fancy Diary Display @vindex diary-display-hook @findex simple-diary-display Diary display works by preparing the diary buffer and then running the hook @code{diary-display-hook}. The default value of this hook (@code{simple-diary-display}) hides the irrelevant diary entries and then displays the buffer. However, if you specify the hook as follows, @cindex diary buffer @findex fancy-diary-display @example (add-hook 'diary-display-hook 'fancy-diary-display) @end example @noindent this enables fancy diary display. It displays diary entries and holidays by copying them into a special buffer that exists only for the sake of display. Copying to a separate buffer provides an opportunity to change the displayed text to make it prettier---for example, to sort the entries by the dates they apply to. As with simple diary display, you can print a hard copy of the buffer with @code{print-diary-entries}. To print a hard copy of a day-by-day diary for a week, position point on Sunday of that week, type @kbd{7 d}, and then do @kbd{M-x print-diary-entries}. As usual, the inclusion of the holidays slows down the display slightly; you can speed things up by setting the variable @code{holidays-in-diary-buffer} to @code{nil}. @vindex diary-list-include-blanks Ordinarily, the fancy diary buffer does not show days for which there are no diary entries, even if that day is a holiday. If you want such days to be shown in the fancy diary buffer, set the variable @code{diary-list-include-blanks} to @code{t}.@refill @cindex sorting diary entries If you use the fancy diary display, you can use the normal hook @code{list-diary-entries-hook} to sort each day's diary entries by their time of day. Here's how: @findex sort-diary-entries @example (add-hook 'list-diary-entries-hook 'sort-diary-entries t) @end example @noindent For each day, this sorts diary entries that begin with a recognizable time of day according to their times. Diary entries without times come first within each day. Fancy diary display also has the ability to process included diary files. This permits a group of people to share a diary file for events that apply to all of them. Lines in the diary file of this form: @smallexample #include "@var{filename}" @end smallexample @noindent includes the diary entries from the file @var{filename} in the fancy diary buffer. The include mechanism is recursive, so that included files can include other files, and so on; you must be careful not to have a cycle of inclusions, of course. Here is how to enable the include facility: @vindex list-diary-entries-hook @vindex mark-diary-entries-hook @findex include-other-diary-files @findex mark-included-diary-files @smallexample (add-hook 'list-diary-entries-hook 'include-other-diary-files) (add-hook 'mark-diary-entries-hook 'mark-included-diary-files) @end smallexample The include mechanism works only with the fancy diary display, because ordinary diary display shows the entries directly from your diary file. @node Sexp Diary Entries @section Sexp Entries and the Fancy Diary Display @cindex sexp diary entries Sexp diary entries allow you to do more than just have complicated conditions under which a diary entry applies. If you use the fancy diary display, sexp entries can generate the text of the entry depending on the date itself. For example, an anniversary diary entry can insert the number of years since the anniversary date into the text of the diary entry. Thus the @samp{%d} in this dairy entry: @findex diary-anniversary @smallexample %%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's birthday (%d years old) @end smallexample @noindent gets replaced by the age, so on October 31, 1990 the entry appears in the fancy diary buffer like this: @smallexample Arthur's birthday (42 years old) @end smallexample @noindent If the diary file instead contains this entry: @smallexample %%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's %d%s birthday @end smallexample @noindent the entry in the fancy diary buffer for October 31, 1990 appears like this: @smallexample Arthur's 42nd birthday @end smallexample Similarly, cyclic diary entries can interpolate the number of repetitions that have occurred: @findex diary-cyclic @smallexample %%(diary-cyclic 50 1 1 1990) Renew medication (%d%s time) @end smallexample @noindent looks like this: @smallexample Renew medication (5th time) @end smallexample @noindent in the fancy diary display on September 8, 1990. There is an early reminder diary sexp that includes its entry in the diary not only on the date of occurrence, but also on earlier dates. For example, if you want a reminder a week before your anniversary, you can use @findex diary-remind @smallexample %%(diary-remind '(diary-anniversary 12 22 1968) 7) Ed's anniversary @end smallexample @noindent and the fancy diary will show @smallexample Ed's anniversary @end smallexample @noindent both on December 15 and on December 22. @findex diary-date The function @code{diary-date} applies to dates described by a month, day, year combination, each of which can be an integer, a list of integers, or @code{t}. The value @code{t} means all values. For example, @smallexample %%(diary-date '(10 11 12) 22 t) Rake leaves @end smallexample @noindent causes the fancy diary to show @smallexample Rake leaves @end smallexample @noindent on October 22, November 22, and December 22 of every year. @findex diary-float The function @code{diary-float} allows you to describe diary entries that apply to dates like the third Friday of November, or the last Tuesday in April. The parameters are the @var{month}, @var{dayname}, and an index @var{n}. The entry appears on the @var{n}th @var{dayname} of @var{month}, where @var{dayname}=0 means Sunday, 1 means Monday, and so on. If @var{n} is negative it counts backward from the end of @var{month}. The value of @var{month} can be a list of months, a single month, or @code{t} to specify all months. You can also use an optional parameter @var{day} to specify the @var{n}th @var{dayname} of @var{month} on or after/before @var{day}; the value of @var{day} defaults to 1 if @var{n} is positive and to the last day of @var{month} if @var{n} is negative. For example, @smallexample %%(diary-float t 1 -1) Pay rent @end smallexample @noindent causes the fancy diary to show @smallexample Pay rent @end smallexample @noindent on the last Monday of every month. The generality of sexp diary entries lets you specify any diary entry that you can describe algorithmically. A sexp diary entry contains an expression that computes whether the entry applies to any given date. If its value is non-@code{nil}, the entry applies to that date; otherwise, it does not. The expression can use the variable @code{date} to find the date being considered; its value is a list (@var{month} @var{day} @var{year}) that refers to the Gregorian calendar. Suppose you get paid on the 21st of the month if it is a weekday, and on the Friday before if the 21st is on a weekend. Here is how to write a sexp diary entry that matches those dates: @smallexample &%%(let ((dayname (calendar-day-of-week date)) (day (car (cdr date)))) (or (and (= day 21) (memq dayname '(1 2 3 4 5))) (and (memq day '(19 20)) (= dayname 5))) ) Pay check deposited @end smallexample The following sexp diary entries take advantage of the ability (in the fancy diary display) to concoct diary entries whose text varies based on the date: @findex diary-sunrise-sunset @findex diary-phases-of-moon @findex diary-day-of-year @findex diary-iso-date @findex diary-julian-date @findex diary-astro-day-number @findex diary-hebrew-date @findex diary-islamic-date @findex diary-french-date @findex diary-mayan-date @table @code @item %%(diary-sunrise-sunset) Make a diary entry for the local times of today's sunrise and sunset. @item %%(diary-phases-of-moon) Make a diary entry for the phases (quarters) of the moon. @item %%(diary-day-of-year) Make a diary entry with today's day number in the current year and the number of days remaining in the current year. @item %%(diary-iso-date) Make a diary entry with today's equivalent ISO commercial date. @item %%(diary-julian-date) Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the Julian calendar. @item %%(diary-astro-day-number) Make a diary entry with today's equivalent astronomical (Julian) day number. @item %%(diary-hebrew-date) Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the Hebrew calendar. @item %%(diary-islamic-date) Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the Islamic calendar. @item %%(diary-french-date) Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the French Revolutionary calendar. @item %%(diary-mayan-date) Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the Mayan calendar. @end table @noindent Thus including the diary entry @example &%%(diary-hebrew-date) @end example @noindent causes every day's diary display to contain the equivalent date on the Hebrew calendar, if you are using the fancy diary display. (With simple diary display, the line @samp{&%%(diary-hebrew-date)} appears in the diary for any date, but does nothing particularly useful.) These functions can be used to construct sexp diary entries based on the Hebrew calendar in certain standard ways: @cindex rosh hodesh @findex diary-rosh-hodesh @cindex parasha, weekly @findex diary-parasha @cindex candle lighting times @findex diary-sabbath-candles @cindex omer count @findex diary-omer @cindex yahrzeits @findex diary-yahrzeit @table @code @item %%(diary-rosh-hodesh) Make a diary entry that tells the occurrence and ritual announcement of each new Hebrew month. @item %%(diary-parasha) Make a Saturday diary entry that tells the weekly synagogue scripture reading. @item %%(diary-sabbath-candles) Make a Friday diary entry that tells the @emph{local time} of Sabbath candle lighting. @item %%(diary-omer) Make a diary entry that gives the omer count, when appropriate. @item %%(diary-yahrzeit @var{month} @var{day} @var{year}) @var{name} Make a diary entry marking the anniversary of a date of death. The date is the @emph{Gregorian} (civil) date of death. The diary entry appears on the proper Hebrew calendar anniversary and on the day before. (In the European style, the order of the parameters is changed to @var{day}, @var{month}, @var{year}.) @end table @node Appt Customizing @section Customizing Appointment Reminders You can specify exactly how Emacs reminds you of an appointment, and how far in advance it begins doing so, by setting these variables: @vindex appt-message-warning-time @vindex appt-audible @vindex appt-visible @vindex appt-display-mode-line @vindex appt-msg-window @vindex appt-display-duration @vindex appt-disp-window-function @vindex appt-delete-window-function @table @code @item appt-message-warning-time The time in minutes before an appointment that the reminder begins. The default is 10 minutes. @item appt-audible If this is non-@code{nil}, Emacs rings the terminal bell for appointment reminders. The default is @code{t}. @item appt-visible If this is non-@code{nil}, Emacs displays the appointment message in the echo area. The default is @code{t}. @item appt-display-mode-line If this is non-@code{nil}, Emacs displays the number of minutes to the appointment on the mode line. The default is @code{t}. @item appt-msg-window If this is non-@code{nil}, Emacs displays the appointment message in another window. The default is @code{t}. @item appt-disp-window-function This variable holds a function to use to create the other window for the appointment message. @item appt-delete-window-function This variable holds a function to use to get rid of the appointment message window, when its time is up. @item appt-display-duration The number of seconds to display an appointment message. The default is 5 seconds. @end table