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| author | Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> |
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| date | Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:01:07 +0000 |
| parents | 3493d476ef0f |
| children | cb5d2387102c |
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@c -*-texinfo-*- @c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual. @c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, @c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions. @setfilename ../../info/keymaps @node Keymaps, Modes, Command Loop, Top @chapter Keymaps @cindex keymap The command bindings of input events are recorded in data structures called @dfn{keymaps}. Each entry in a keymap associates (or @dfn{binds}) an individual event type, either to another keymap or to a command. When an event type is bound to a keymap, that keymap is used to look up the next input event; this continues until a command is found. The whole process is called @dfn{key lookup}. @menu * Key Sequences:: Key sequences as Lisp objects. * Keymap Basics:: Basic concepts of keymaps. * Format of Keymaps:: What a keymap looks like as a Lisp object. * Creating Keymaps:: Functions to create and copy keymaps. * Inheritance and Keymaps:: How one keymap can inherit the bindings of another keymap. * Prefix Keys:: Defining a key with a keymap as its definition. * Active Keymaps:: How Emacs searches the active keymaps for a key binding. * Searching Keymaps:: A pseudo-Lisp summary of searching active maps. * Controlling Active Maps:: Each buffer has a local keymap to override the standard (global) bindings. A minor mode can also override them. * Key Lookup:: Finding a key's binding in one keymap. * Functions for Key Lookup:: How to request key lookup. * Changing Key Bindings:: Redefining a key in a keymap. * Remapping Commands:: A keymap can translate one command to another. * Translation Keymaps:: Keymaps for translating sequences of events. * Key Binding Commands:: Interactive interfaces for redefining keys. * Scanning Keymaps:: Looking through all keymaps, for printing help. * Menu Keymaps:: Defining a menu as a keymap. @end menu @node Key Sequences @section Key Sequences @cindex key @cindex keystroke @cindex key sequence A @dfn{key sequence}, or @dfn{key} for short, is a sequence of one or more input events that form a unit. Input events include characters, function keys, and mouse actions (@pxref{Input Events}). The Emacs Lisp representation for a key sequence is a string or vector. Unless otherwise stated, any Emacs Lisp function that accepts a key sequence as an argument can handle both representations. In the string representation, alphanumeric characters ordinarily stand for themselves; for example, @code{"a"} represents @kbd{a} and @code{"2"} represents @kbd{2}. Control character events are prefixed by the substring @code{"\C-"}, and meta characters by @code{"\M-"}; for example, @code{"\C-x"} represents the key @kbd{C-x}. In addition, the @key{TAB}, @key{RET}, @key{ESC}, and @key{DEL} events are represented by @code{"\t"}, @code{"\r"}, @code{"\e"}, and @code{"\d"} respectively. The string representation of a complete key sequence is the concatenation of the string representations of the constituent events; thus, @code{"\C-xl"} represents the key sequence @kbd{C-x l}. Key sequences containing function keys, mouse button events, or non-ASCII characters such as @kbd{C-=} or @kbd{H-a} cannot be represented as strings; they have to be represented as vectors. In the vector representation, each element of the vector represents an input event, in its Lisp form. @xref{Input Events}. For example, the vector @code{[?\C-x ?l]} represents the key sequence @kbd{C-x l}. For examples of key sequences written in string and vector representations, @ref{Init Rebinding,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}. @defmac kbd keyseq-text This macro converts the text @var{keyseq-text} (a string constant) into a key sequence (a string or vector constant). The contents of @var{keyseq-text} should describe the key sequence using almost the same syntax used in this manual. More precisely, it uses the same syntax that Edit Macro mode uses for editing keyboard macros (@pxref{Edit Keyboard Macro,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}); you must surround function key names with @samp{<@dots{}>}. @example (kbd "C-x") @result{} "\C-x" (kbd "C-x C-f") @result{} "\C-x\C-f" (kbd "C-x 4 C-f") @result{} "\C-x4\C-f" (kbd "X") @result{} "X" (kbd "RET") @result{} "\^M" (kbd "C-c SPC") @result{} "\C-c@ " (kbd "<f1> SPC") @result{} [f1 32] (kbd "C-M-<down>") @result{} [C-M-down] @end example This macro is not meant for use with arguments that vary---only with string constants. @end defmac @node Keymap Basics @section Keymap Basics @cindex key binding @cindex binding of a key @cindex complete key @cindex undefined key A keymap is a Lisp data structure that specifies @dfn{key bindings} for various key sequences. A single keymap directly specifies definitions for individual events. When a key sequence consists of a single event, its binding in a keymap is the keymap's definition for that event. The binding of a longer key sequence is found by an iterative process: first find the definition of the first event (which must itself be a keymap); then find the second event's definition in that keymap, and so on until all the events in the key sequence have been processed. If the binding of a key sequence is a keymap, we call the key sequence a @dfn{prefix key}. Otherwise, we call it a @dfn{complete key} (because no more events can be added to it). If the binding is @code{nil}, we call the key @dfn{undefined}. Examples of prefix keys are @kbd{C-c}, @kbd{C-x}, and @kbd{C-x 4}. Examples of defined complete keys are @kbd{X}, @key{RET}, and @kbd{C-x 4 C-f}. Examples of undefined complete keys are @kbd{C-x C-g}, and @kbd{C-c 3}. @xref{Prefix Keys}, for more details. The rule for finding the binding of a key sequence assumes that the intermediate bindings (found for the events before the last) are all keymaps; if this is not so, the sequence of events does not form a unit---it is not really one key sequence. In other words, removing one or more events from the end of any valid key sequence must always yield a prefix key. For example, @kbd{C-f C-n} is not a key sequence; @kbd{C-f} is not a prefix key, so a longer sequence starting with @kbd{C-f} cannot be a key sequence. The set of possible multi-event key sequences depends on the bindings for prefix keys; therefore, it can be different for different keymaps, and can change when bindings are changed. However, a one-event sequence is always a key sequence, because it does not depend on any prefix keys for its well-formedness. At any time, several primary keymaps are @dfn{active}---that is, in use for finding key bindings. These are the @dfn{global map}, which is shared by all buffers; the @dfn{local keymap}, which is usually associated with a specific major mode; and zero or more @dfn{minor mode keymaps}, which belong to currently enabled minor modes. (Not all minor modes have keymaps.) The local keymap bindings shadow (i.e., take precedence over) the corresponding global bindings. The minor mode keymaps shadow both local and global keymaps. @xref{Active Keymaps}, for details. @node Format of Keymaps @section Format of Keymaps @cindex format of keymaps @cindex keymap format @cindex full keymap @cindex sparse keymap Each keymap is a list whose @sc{car} is the symbol @code{keymap}. The remaining elements of the list define the key bindings of the keymap. A symbol whose function definition is a keymap is also a keymap. Use the function @code{keymapp} (see below) to test whether an object is a keymap. Several kinds of elements may appear in a keymap, after the symbol @code{keymap} that begins it: @table @code @item (@var{type} .@: @var{binding}) This specifies one binding, for events of type @var{type}. Each ordinary binding applies to events of a particular @dfn{event type}, which is always a character or a symbol. @xref{Classifying Events}. In this kind of binding, @var{binding} is a command. @item (@var{type} @var{item-name} @r{[}@var{cache}@r{]} .@: @var{binding}) This specifies a binding which is also a simple menu item that displays as @var{item-name} in the menu. @var{cache}, if present, caches certain information for display in the menu. @xref{Simple Menu Items}. @item (@var{type} @var{item-name} @var{help-string} @r{[}@var{cache}@r{]} .@: @var{binding}) This is a simple menu item with help string @var{help-string}. @item (@var{type} menu-item .@: @var{details}) This specifies a binding which is also an extended menu item. This allows use of other features. @xref{Extended Menu Items}. @item (t .@: @var{binding}) @cindex default key binding This specifies a @dfn{default key binding}; any event not bound by other elements of the keymap is given @var{binding} as its binding. Default bindings allow a keymap to bind all possible event types without having to enumerate all of them. A keymap that has a default binding completely masks any lower-precedence keymap, except for events explicitly bound to @code{nil} (see below). @item @var{char-table} If an element of a keymap is a char-table, it counts as holding bindings for all character events with no modifier bits (@pxref{modifier bits}): element @var{n} is the binding for the character with code @var{n}. This is a compact way to record lots of bindings. A keymap with such a char-table is called a @dfn{full keymap}. Other keymaps are called @dfn{sparse keymaps}. @item @var{string} @cindex keymap prompt string @cindex overall prompt string @cindex prompt string of keymap Aside from elements that specify bindings for keys, a keymap can also have a string as an element. This is called the @dfn{overall prompt string} and makes it possible to use the keymap as a menu. @xref{Defining Menus}. @end table When the binding is @code{nil}, it doesn't constitute a definition but it does take precedence over a default binding or a binding in the parent keymap. On the other hand, a binding of @code{nil} does @emph{not} override lower-precedence keymaps; thus, if the local map gives a binding of @code{nil}, Emacs uses the binding from the global map. @cindex meta characters lookup Keymaps do not directly record bindings for the meta characters. Instead, meta characters are regarded for purposes of key lookup as sequences of two characters, the first of which is @key{ESC} (or whatever is currently the value of @code{meta-prefix-char}). Thus, the key @kbd{M-a} is internally represented as @kbd{@key{ESC} a}, and its global binding is found at the slot for @kbd{a} in @code{esc-map} (@pxref{Prefix Keys}). This conversion applies only to characters, not to function keys or other input events; thus, @kbd{M-@key{end}} has nothing to do with @kbd{@key{ESC} @key{end}}. Here as an example is the local keymap for Lisp mode, a sparse keymap. It defines bindings for @key{DEL} and @key{TAB}, plus @kbd{C-c C-l}, @kbd{M-C-q}, and @kbd{M-C-x}. @example @group lisp-mode-map @result{} @end group @group (keymap (3 keymap ;; @kbd{C-c C-z} (26 . run-lisp)) @end group @group (27 keymap ;; @r{@kbd{M-C-x}, treated as @kbd{@key{ESC} C-x}} (24 . lisp-send-defun) keymap ;; @r{@kbd{M-C-q}, treated as @kbd{@key{ESC} C-q}} (17 . indent-sexp)) @end group @group ;; @r{This part is inherited from @code{lisp-mode-shared-map}.} keymap ;; @key{DEL} (127 . backward-delete-char-untabify) @end group @group (27 keymap ;; @r{@kbd{M-C-q}, treated as @kbd{@key{ESC} C-q}} (17 . indent-sexp)) (9 . lisp-indent-line)) @end group @end example @defun keymapp object This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a keymap, @code{nil} otherwise. More precisely, this function tests for a list whose @sc{car} is @code{keymap}, or for a symbol whose function definition satisfies @code{keymapp}. @example @group (keymapp '(keymap)) @result{} t @end group @group (fset 'foo '(keymap)) (keymapp 'foo) @result{} t @end group @group (keymapp (current-global-map)) @result{} t @end group @end example @end defun @node Creating Keymaps @section Creating Keymaps @cindex creating keymaps Here we describe the functions for creating keymaps. @defun make-sparse-keymap &optional prompt This function creates and returns a new sparse keymap with no entries. (A sparse keymap is the kind of keymap you usually want.) The new keymap does not contain a char-table, unlike @code{make-keymap}, and does not bind any events. @example @group (make-sparse-keymap) @result{} (keymap) @end group @end example If you specify @var{prompt}, that becomes the overall prompt string for the keymap. You should specify this only for menu keymaps (@pxref{Defining Menus}). A keymap with an overall prompt string will always present a mouse menu or a keyboard menu if it is active for looking up the next input event. Don't specify an overall prompt string for the main map of a major or minor mode, because that would cause the command loop to present a keyboard menu every time. @end defun @defun make-keymap &optional prompt This function creates and returns a new full keymap. That keymap contains a char-table (@pxref{Char-Tables}) with slots for all characters without modifiers. The new keymap initially binds all these characters to @code{nil}, and does not bind any other kind of event. The argument @var{prompt} specifies a prompt string, as in @code{make-sparse-keymap}. @example @group (make-keymap) @result{} (keymap #^[t nil nil nil @dots{} nil nil keymap]) @end group @end example A full keymap is more efficient than a sparse keymap when it holds lots of bindings; for just a few, the sparse keymap is better. @end defun @defun copy-keymap keymap This function returns a copy of @var{keymap}. Any keymaps that appear directly as bindings in @var{keymap} are also copied recursively, and so on to any number of levels. However, recursive copying does not take place when the definition of a character is a symbol whose function definition is a keymap; the same symbol appears in the new copy. @c Emacs 19 feature @example @group (setq map (copy-keymap (current-local-map))) @result{} (keymap @end group @group ;; @r{(This implements meta characters.)} (27 keymap (83 . center-paragraph) (115 . center-line)) (9 . tab-to-tab-stop)) @end group @group (eq map (current-local-map)) @result{} nil @end group @group (equal map (current-local-map)) @result{} t @end group @end example @end defun @node Inheritance and Keymaps @section Inheritance and Keymaps @cindex keymap inheritance @cindex inheriting a keymap's bindings A keymap can inherit the bindings of another keymap, which we call the @dfn{parent keymap}. Such a keymap looks like this: @example (keymap @var{elements}@dots{} . @var{parent-keymap}) @end example @noindent The effect is that this keymap inherits all the bindings of @var{parent-keymap}, whatever they may be at the time a key is looked up, but can add to them or override them with @var{elements}. If you change the bindings in @var{parent-keymap} using @code{define-key} or other key-binding functions, these changed bindings are visible in the inheriting keymap, unless shadowed by the bindings made by @var{elements}. The converse is not true: if you use @code{define-key} to change bindings in the inheriting keymap, these changes are recorded in @var{elements}, but have no effect on @var{parent-keymap}. The proper way to construct a keymap with a parent is to use @code{set-keymap-parent}; if you have code that directly constructs a keymap with a parent, please convert the program to use @code{set-keymap-parent} instead. @defun keymap-parent keymap This returns the parent keymap of @var{keymap}. If @var{keymap} has no parent, @code{keymap-parent} returns @code{nil}. @end defun @defun set-keymap-parent keymap parent This sets the parent keymap of @var{keymap} to @var{parent}, and returns @var{parent}. If @var{parent} is @code{nil}, this function gives @var{keymap} no parent at all. If @var{keymap} has submaps (bindings for prefix keys), they too receive new parent keymaps that reflect what @var{parent} specifies for those prefix keys. @end defun Here is an example showing how to make a keymap that inherits from @code{text-mode-map}: @example (let ((map (make-sparse-keymap))) (set-keymap-parent map text-mode-map) map) @end example A non-sparse keymap can have a parent too, but this is not very useful. A non-sparse keymap always specifies something as the binding for every numeric character code without modifier bits, even if it is @code{nil}, so these character's bindings are never inherited from the parent keymap. @node Prefix Keys @section Prefix Keys @cindex prefix key A @dfn{prefix key} is a key sequence whose binding is a keymap. The keymap defines what to do with key sequences that extend the prefix key. For example, @kbd{C-x} is a prefix key, and it uses a keymap that is also stored in the variable @code{ctl-x-map}. This keymap defines bindings for key sequences starting with @kbd{C-x}. Some of the standard Emacs prefix keys use keymaps that are also found in Lisp variables: @itemize @bullet @item @vindex esc-map @findex ESC-prefix @code{esc-map} is the global keymap for the @key{ESC} prefix key. Thus, the global definitions of all meta characters are actually found here. This map is also the function definition of @code{ESC-prefix}. @item @cindex @kbd{C-h} @code{help-map} is the global keymap for the @kbd{C-h} prefix key. @item @cindex @kbd{C-c} @vindex mode-specific-map @code{mode-specific-map} is the global keymap for the prefix key @kbd{C-c}. This map is actually global, not mode-specific, but its name provides useful information about @kbd{C-c} in the output of @kbd{C-h b} (@code{display-bindings}), since the main use of this prefix key is for mode-specific bindings. @item @cindex @kbd{C-x} @vindex ctl-x-map @findex Control-X-prefix @code{ctl-x-map} is the global keymap used for the @kbd{C-x} prefix key. This map is found via the function cell of the symbol @code{Control-X-prefix}. @item @cindex @kbd{C-x @key{RET}} @vindex mule-keymap @code{mule-keymap} is the global keymap used for the @kbd{C-x @key{RET}} prefix key. @item @cindex @kbd{C-x 4} @vindex ctl-x-4-map @code{ctl-x-4-map} is the global keymap used for the @kbd{C-x 4} prefix key. @c Emacs 19 feature @item @cindex @kbd{C-x 5} @vindex ctl-x-5-map @code{ctl-x-5-map} is the global keymap used for the @kbd{C-x 5} prefix key. @c Emacs 19 feature @item @cindex @kbd{C-x 6} @vindex 2C-mode-map @code{2C-mode-map} is the global keymap used for the @kbd{C-x 6} prefix key. @item @cindex @kbd{C-x v} @vindex vc-prefix-map @code{vc-prefix-map} is the global keymap used for the @kbd{C-x v} prefix key. @item @cindex @kbd{M-o} @vindex facemenu-keymap @code{facemenu-keymap} is the global keymap used for the @kbd{M-o} prefix key. @c Emacs 19 feature @item The other Emacs prefix keys are @kbd{M-g}, @kbd{C-x @@}, @kbd{C-x a i}, @kbd{C-x @key{ESC}} and @kbd{@key{ESC} @key{ESC}}. They use keymaps that have no special names. @end itemize The keymap binding of a prefix key is used for looking up the event that follows the prefix key. (It may instead be a symbol whose function definition is a keymap. The effect is the same, but the symbol serves as a name for the prefix key.) Thus, the binding of @kbd{C-x} is the symbol @code{Control-X-prefix}, whose function cell holds the keymap for @kbd{C-x} commands. (The same keymap is also the value of @code{ctl-x-map}.) Prefix key definitions can appear in any active keymap. The definitions of @kbd{C-c}, @kbd{C-x}, @kbd{C-h} and @key{ESC} as prefix keys appear in the global map, so these prefix keys are always available. Major and minor modes can redefine a key as a prefix by putting a prefix key definition for it in the local map or the minor mode's map. @xref{Active Keymaps}. If a key is defined as a prefix in more than one active map, then its various definitions are in effect merged: the commands defined in the minor mode keymaps come first, followed by those in the local map's prefix definition, and then by those from the global map. In the following example, we make @kbd{C-p} a prefix key in the local keymap, in such a way that @kbd{C-p} is identical to @kbd{C-x}. Then the binding for @kbd{C-p C-f} is the function @code{find-file}, just like @kbd{C-x C-f}. The key sequence @kbd{C-p 6} is not found in any active keymap. @example @group (use-local-map (make-sparse-keymap)) @result{} nil @end group @group (local-set-key "\C-p" ctl-x-map) @result{} nil @end group @group (key-binding "\C-p\C-f") @result{} find-file @end group @group (key-binding "\C-p6") @result{} nil @end group @end example @defun define-prefix-command symbol &optional mapvar prompt @cindex prefix command @anchor{Definition of define-prefix-command} This function prepares @var{symbol} for use as a prefix key's binding: it creates a sparse keymap and stores it as @var{symbol}'s function definition. Subsequently binding a key sequence to @var{symbol} will make that key sequence into a prefix key. The return value is @code{symbol}. This function also sets @var{symbol} as a variable, with the keymap as its value. But if @var{mapvar} is non-@code{nil}, it sets @var{mapvar} as a variable instead. If @var{prompt} is non-@code{nil}, that becomes the overall prompt string for the keymap. The prompt string should be given for menu keymaps (@pxref{Defining Menus}). @end defun @node Active Keymaps @section Active Keymaps @cindex active keymap @cindex global keymap @cindex local keymap Emacs normally contains many keymaps; at any given time, just a few of them are @dfn{active}, meaning that they participate in the interpretation of user input. All the active keymaps are used together to determine what command to execute when a key is entered. Normally the active keymaps are the @code{keymap} property keymap, the keymaps of any enabled minor modes, the current buffer's local keymap, and the global keymap, in that order. Emacs searches for each input key sequence in all these keymaps. @xref{Searching Keymaps}, for more details of this procedure. When the key sequence starts with a mouse event (optionally preceded by a symbolic prefix), the active keymaps are determined based on the position in that event. If the event happened on a string embedded with a @code{display}, @code{before-string}, or @code{after-string} property (@pxref{Special Properties}), the non-@code{nil} map properties of the string override those of the buffer (if the underlying buffer text contains map properties in its text properties or overlays, they are ignored). The @dfn{global keymap} holds the bindings of keys that are defined regardless of the current buffer, such as @kbd{C-f}. The variable @code{global-map} holds this keymap, which is always active. Each buffer may have another keymap, its @dfn{local keymap}, which may contain new or overriding definitions for keys. The current buffer's local keymap is always active except when @code{overriding-local-map} overrides it. The @code{local-map} text or overlay property can specify an alternative local keymap for certain parts of the buffer; see @ref{Special Properties}. Each minor mode can have a keymap; if it does, the keymap is active when the minor mode is enabled. Modes for emulation can specify additional active keymaps through the variable @code{emulation-mode-map-alists}. The highest precedence normal keymap comes from the @code{keymap} text or overlay property. If that is non-@code{nil}, it is the first keymap to be processed, in normal circumstances. However, there are also special ways for programs to substitute other keymaps for some of those. The variable @code{overriding-local-map}, if non-@code{nil}, specifies a keymap that replaces all the usual active keymaps except the global keymap. Another way to do this is with @code{overriding-terminal-local-map}; it operates on a per-terminal basis. These variables are documented below. @cindex major mode keymap Since every buffer that uses the same major mode normally uses the same local keymap, you can think of the keymap as local to the mode. A change to the local keymap of a buffer (using @code{local-set-key}, for example) is seen also in the other buffers that share that keymap. The local keymaps that are used for Lisp mode and some other major modes exist even if they have not yet been used. These local keymaps are the values of variables such as @code{lisp-mode-map}. For most major modes, which are less frequently used, the local keymap is constructed only when the mode is used for the first time in a session. The minibuffer has local keymaps, too; they contain various completion and exit commands. @xref{Intro to Minibuffers}. Emacs has other keymaps that are used in a different way---translating events within @code{read-key-sequence}. @xref{Translation Keymaps}. @xref{Standard Keymaps}, for a list of standard keymaps. @defun current-active-maps &optional olp position This returns the list of active keymaps that would be used by the command loop in the current circumstances to look up a key sequence. Normally it ignores @code{overriding-local-map} and @code{overriding-terminal-local-map}, but if @var{olp} is non-@code{nil} then it pays attention to them. @var{position} can optionally be either an event position as returned by @code{event-start} or a buffer position, and may change the keymaps as described for @code{key-binding}. @end defun @defun key-binding key &optional accept-defaults no-remap position This function returns the binding for @var{key} according to the current active keymaps. The result is @code{nil} if @var{key} is undefined in the keymaps. The argument @var{accept-defaults} controls checking for default bindings, as in @code{lookup-key} (@pxref{Functions for Key Lookup}). When commands are remapped (@pxref{Remapping Commands}), @code{key-binding} normally processes command remappings so as to returns the remapped command that will actually be executed. However, if @var{no-remap} is non-@code{nil}, @code{key-binding} ignores remappings and returns the binding directly specified for @var{key}. If @var{key} starts with a mouse event (perhaps following a prefix event), the maps to be consulted are determined based on the event's position. Otherwise, they are determined based on the value of point. However, you can override either of them by specifying @var{position}. If @var{position} is non-@code{nil}, it should be either a buffer position or an event position like the value of @code{event-start}. Then the maps consulted are determined based on @var{position}. An error is signaled if @var{key} is not a string or a vector. @example @group (key-binding "\C-x\C-f") @result{} find-file @end group @end example @end defun @node Searching Keymaps @section Searching the Active Keymaps @cindex searching active keymaps for keys After translation of event subsequences (@pxref{Translation Keymaps}) Emacs looks for them in the active keymaps. Here is a pseudo-Lisp description of the order and conditions for searching them: @lisp (or (if overriding-terminal-local-map (@var{find-in} overriding-terminal-local-map) (if overriding-local-map (@var{find-in} overriding-local-map) (or (@var{find-in} (get-char-property (point) 'keymap)) (@var{find-in-any} emulation-mode-map-alists) (@var{find-in-any} minor-mode-overriding-map-alist) (@var{find-in-any} minor-mode-map-alist) (if (get-text-property (point) 'local-map) (@var{find-in} (get-char-property (point) 'local-map)) (@var{find-in} (current-local-map)))))) (@var{find-in} (current-global-map))) @end lisp @noindent The @var{find-in} and @var{find-in-any} are pseudo functions that search in one keymap and in an alist of keymaps, respectively. (Searching a single keymap for a binding is called @dfn{key lookup}; see @ref{Key Lookup}.) If the key sequence starts with a mouse event, or a symbolic prefix event followed by a mouse event, that event's position is used instead of point and the current buffer. Mouse events on an embedded string use non-@code{nil} text properties from that string instead of the buffer. @enumerate @item The function finally found may be remapped (@pxref{Remapping Commands}). @item @code{current-active-maps} returns a list of the currently active keymaps at point. @item When a match is found (@pxref{Key Lookup}), if the binding in the keymap is a function, the search is over. However if the keymap entry is a symbol with a value or a string, Emacs replaces the input key sequences with the variable's value or the string, and restarts the search of the active keymaps. @end enumerate @node Controlling Active Maps @section Controlling the Active Keymaps @defvar global-map This variable contains the default global keymap that maps Emacs keyboard input to commands. The global keymap is normally this keymap. The default global keymap is a full keymap that binds @code{self-insert-command} to all of the printing characters. It is normal practice to change the bindings in the global keymap, but you should not assign this variable any value other than the keymap it starts out with. @end defvar @defun current-global-map This function returns the current global keymap. This is the same as the value of @code{global-map} unless you change one or the other. The return value is a reference, not a copy; if you use @code{define-key} or other functions on it you will alter global bindings. @example @group (current-global-map) @result{} (keymap [set-mark-command beginning-of-line @dots{} delete-backward-char]) @end group @end example @end defun @defun current-local-map This function returns the current buffer's local keymap, or @code{nil} if it has none. In the following example, the keymap for the @samp{*scratch*} buffer (using Lisp Interaction mode) is a sparse keymap in which the entry for @key{ESC}, @acronym{ASCII} code 27, is another sparse keymap. @example @group (current-local-map) @result{} (keymap (10 . eval-print-last-sexp) (9 . lisp-indent-line) (127 . backward-delete-char-untabify) @end group @group (27 keymap (24 . eval-defun) (17 . indent-sexp))) @end group @end example @end defun @code{current-local-map} returns a reference to the local keymap, not a copy of it; if you use @code{define-key} or other functions on it you will alter local bindings. @defun current-minor-mode-maps This function returns a list of the keymaps of currently enabled minor modes. @end defun @defun use-global-map keymap This function makes @var{keymap} the new current global keymap. It returns @code{nil}. It is very unusual to change the global keymap. @end defun @defun use-local-map keymap This function makes @var{keymap} the new local keymap of the current buffer. If @var{keymap} is @code{nil}, then the buffer has no local keymap. @code{use-local-map} returns @code{nil}. Most major mode commands use this function. @end defun @c Emacs 19 feature @defvar minor-mode-map-alist @anchor{Definition of minor-mode-map-alist} This variable is an alist describing keymaps that may or may not be active according to the values of certain variables. Its elements look like this: @example (@var{variable} . @var{keymap}) @end example The keymap @var{keymap} is active whenever @var{variable} has a non-@code{nil} value. Typically @var{variable} is the variable that enables or disables a minor mode. @xref{Keymaps and Minor Modes}. Note that elements of @code{minor-mode-map-alist} do not have the same structure as elements of @code{minor-mode-alist}. The map must be the @sc{cdr} of the element; a list with the map as the second element will not do. The @sc{cdr} can be either a keymap (a list) or a symbol whose function definition is a keymap. When more than one minor mode keymap is active, the earlier one in @code{minor-mode-map-alist} takes priority. But you should design minor modes so that they don't interfere with each other. If you do this properly, the order will not matter. See @ref{Keymaps and Minor Modes}, for more information about minor modes. See also @code{minor-mode-key-binding} (@pxref{Functions for Key Lookup}). @end defvar @defvar minor-mode-overriding-map-alist This variable allows major modes to override the key bindings for particular minor modes. The elements of this alist look like the elements of @code{minor-mode-map-alist}: @code{(@var{variable} . @var{keymap})}. If a variable appears as an element of @code{minor-mode-overriding-map-alist}, the map specified by that element totally replaces any map specified for the same variable in @code{minor-mode-map-alist}. @code{minor-mode-overriding-map-alist} is automatically buffer-local in all buffers. @end defvar @defvar overriding-local-map If non-@code{nil}, this variable holds a keymap to use instead of the buffer's local keymap, any text property or overlay keymaps, and any minor mode keymaps. This keymap, if specified, overrides all other maps that would have been active, except for the current global map. @end defvar @defvar overriding-terminal-local-map If non-@code{nil}, this variable holds a keymap to use instead of @code{overriding-local-map}, the buffer's local keymap, text property or overlay keymaps, and all the minor mode keymaps. This variable is always local to the current terminal and cannot be buffer-local. @xref{Multiple Displays}. It is used to implement incremental search mode. @end defvar @defvar overriding-local-map-menu-flag If this variable is non-@code{nil}, the value of @code{overriding-local-map} or @code{overriding-terminal-local-map} can affect the display of the menu bar. The default value is @code{nil}, so those map variables have no effect on the menu bar. Note that these two map variables do affect the execution of key sequences entered using the menu bar, even if they do not affect the menu bar display. So if a menu bar key sequence comes in, you should clear the variables before looking up and executing that key sequence. Modes that use the variables would typically do this anyway; normally they respond to events that they do not handle by ``unreading'' them and exiting. @end defvar @defvar special-event-map This variable holds a keymap for special events. If an event type has a binding in this keymap, then it is special, and the binding for the event is run directly by @code{read-event}. @xref{Special Events}. @end defvar @defvar emulation-mode-map-alists This variable holds a list of keymap alists to use for emulations modes. It is intended for modes or packages using multiple minor-mode keymaps. Each element is a keymap alist which has the same format and meaning as @code{minor-mode-map-alist}, or a symbol with a variable binding which is such an alist. The ``active'' keymaps in each alist are used before @code{minor-mode-map-alist} and @code{minor-mode-overriding-map-alist}. @end defvar @node Key Lookup @section Key Lookup @cindex key lookup @cindex keymap entry @dfn{Key lookup} is the process of finding the binding of a key sequence from a given keymap. The execution or use of the binding is not part of key lookup. Key lookup uses just the event type of each event in the key sequence; the rest of the event is ignored. In fact, a key sequence used for key lookup may designate a mouse event with just its types (a symbol) instead of the entire event (a list). @xref{Input Events}. Such a ``key sequence'' is insufficient for @code{command-execute} to run, but it is sufficient for looking up or rebinding a key. When the key sequence consists of multiple events, key lookup processes the events sequentially: the binding of the first event is found, and must be a keymap; then the second event's binding is found in that keymap, and so on until all the events in the key sequence are used up. (The binding thus found for the last event may or may not be a keymap.) Thus, the process of key lookup is defined in terms of a simpler process for looking up a single event in a keymap. How that is done depends on the type of object associated with the event in that keymap. Let's use the term @dfn{keymap entry} to describe the value found by looking up an event type in a keymap. (This doesn't include the item string and other extra elements in a keymap element for a menu item, because @code{lookup-key} and other key lookup functions don't include them in the returned value.) While any Lisp object may be stored in a keymap as a keymap entry, not all make sense for key lookup. Here is a table of the meaningful types of keymap entries: @table @asis @item @code{nil} @cindex @code{nil} in keymap @code{nil} means that the events used so far in the lookup form an undefined key. When a keymap fails to mention an event type at all, and has no default binding, that is equivalent to a binding of @code{nil} for that event type. @item @var{command} @cindex command in keymap The events used so far in the lookup form a complete key, and @var{command} is its binding. @xref{What Is a Function}. @item @var{array} @cindex string in keymap The array (either a string or a vector) is a keyboard macro. The events used so far in the lookup form a complete key, and the array is its binding. See @ref{Keyboard Macros}, for more information. @item @var{keymap} @cindex keymap in keymap The events used so far in the lookup form a prefix key. The next event of the key sequence is looked up in @var{keymap}. @item @var{list} @cindex list in keymap The meaning of a list depends on what it contains: @itemize @bullet @item If the @sc{car} of @var{list} is the symbol @code{keymap}, then the list is a keymap, and is treated as a keymap (see above). @item @cindex @code{lambda} in keymap If the @sc{car} of @var{list} is @code{lambda}, then the list is a lambda expression. This is presumed to be a function, and is treated as such (see above). In order to execute properly as a key binding, this function must be a command---it must have an @code{interactive} specification. @xref{Defining Commands}. @item If the @sc{car} of @var{list} is a keymap and the @sc{cdr} is an event type, then this is an @dfn{indirect entry}: @example (@var{othermap} . @var{othertype}) @end example When key lookup encounters an indirect entry, it looks up instead the binding of @var{othertype} in @var{othermap} and uses that. This feature permits you to define one key as an alias for another key. For example, an entry whose @sc{car} is the keymap called @code{esc-map} and whose @sc{cdr} is 32 (the code for @key{SPC}) means, ``Use the global binding of @kbd{Meta-@key{SPC}}, whatever that may be.'' @end itemize @item @var{symbol} @cindex symbol in keymap The function definition of @var{symbol} is used in place of @var{symbol}. If that too is a symbol, then this process is repeated, any number of times. Ultimately this should lead to an object that is a keymap, a command, or a keyboard macro. A list is allowed if it is a keymap or a command, but indirect entries are not understood when found via symbols. Note that keymaps and keyboard macros (strings and vectors) are not valid functions, so a symbol with a keymap, string, or vector as its function definition is invalid as a function. It is, however, valid as a key binding. If the definition is a keyboard macro, then the symbol is also valid as an argument to @code{command-execute} (@pxref{Interactive Call}). @cindex @code{undefined} in keymap The symbol @code{undefined} is worth special mention: it means to treat the key as undefined. Strictly speaking, the key is defined, and its binding is the command @code{undefined}; but that command does the same thing that is done automatically for an undefined key: it rings the bell (by calling @code{ding}) but does not signal an error. @cindex preventing prefix key @code{undefined} is used in local keymaps to override a global key binding and make the key ``undefined'' locally. A local binding of @code{nil} would fail to do this because it would not override the global binding. @item @var{anything else} If any other type of object is found, the events used so far in the lookup form a complete key, and the object is its binding, but the binding is not executable as a command. @end table In short, a keymap entry may be a keymap, a command, a keyboard macro, a symbol that leads to one of them, or an indirection or @code{nil}. Here is an example of a sparse keymap with two characters bound to commands and one bound to another keymap. This map is the normal value of @code{emacs-lisp-mode-map}. Note that 9 is the code for @key{TAB}, 127 for @key{DEL}, 27 for @key{ESC}, 17 for @kbd{C-q} and 24 for @kbd{C-x}. @example @group (keymap (9 . lisp-indent-line) (127 . backward-delete-char-untabify) (27 keymap (17 . indent-sexp) (24 . eval-defun))) @end group @end example @node Functions for Key Lookup @section Functions for Key Lookup Here are the functions and variables pertaining to key lookup. @defun lookup-key keymap key &optional accept-defaults This function returns the definition of @var{key} in @var{keymap}. All the other functions described in this chapter that look up keys use @code{lookup-key}. Here are examples: @example @group (lookup-key (current-global-map) "\C-x\C-f") @result{} find-file @end group @group (lookup-key (current-global-map) (kbd "C-x C-f")) @result{} find-file @end group @group (lookup-key (current-global-map) "\C-x\C-f12345") @result{} 2 @end group @end example If the string or vector @var{key} is not a valid key sequence according to the prefix keys specified in @var{keymap}, it must be ``too long'' and have extra events at the end that do not fit into a single key sequence. Then the value is a number, the number of events at the front of @var{key} that compose a complete key. @c Emacs 19 feature If @var{accept-defaults} is non-@code{nil}, then @code{lookup-key} considers default bindings as well as bindings for the specific events in @var{key}. Otherwise, @code{lookup-key} reports only bindings for the specific sequence @var{key}, ignoring default bindings except when you explicitly ask about them. (To do this, supply @code{t} as an element of @var{key}; see @ref{Format of Keymaps}.) If @var{key} contains a meta character (not a function key), that character is implicitly replaced by a two-character sequence: the value of @code{meta-prefix-char}, followed by the corresponding non-meta character. Thus, the first example below is handled by conversion into the second example. @example @group (lookup-key (current-global-map) "\M-f") @result{} forward-word @end group @group (lookup-key (current-global-map) "\ef") @result{} forward-word @end group @end example Unlike @code{read-key-sequence}, this function does not modify the specified events in ways that discard information (@pxref{Key Sequence Input}). In particular, it does not convert letters to lower case and it does not change drag events to clicks. @end defun @deffn Command undefined Used in keymaps to undefine keys. It calls @code{ding}, but does not cause an error. @end deffn @defun local-key-binding key &optional accept-defaults This function returns the binding for @var{key} in the current local keymap, or @code{nil} if it is undefined there. @c Emacs 19 feature The argument @var{accept-defaults} controls checking for default bindings, as in @code{lookup-key} (above). @end defun @defun global-key-binding key &optional accept-defaults This function returns the binding for command @var{key} in the current global keymap, or @code{nil} if it is undefined there. @c Emacs 19 feature The argument @var{accept-defaults} controls checking for default bindings, as in @code{lookup-key} (above). @end defun @c Emacs 19 feature @defun minor-mode-key-binding key &optional accept-defaults This function returns a list of all the active minor mode bindings of @var{key}. More precisely, it returns an alist of pairs @code{(@var{modename} . @var{binding})}, where @var{modename} is the variable that enables the minor mode, and @var{binding} is @var{key}'s binding in that mode. If @var{key} has no minor-mode bindings, the value is @code{nil}. If the first binding found is not a prefix definition (a keymap or a symbol defined as a keymap), all subsequent bindings from other minor modes are omitted, since they would be completely shadowed. Similarly, the list omits non-prefix bindings that follow prefix bindings. The argument @var{accept-defaults} controls checking for default bindings, as in @code{lookup-key} (above). @end defun @defvar meta-prefix-char @cindex @key{ESC} This variable is the meta-prefix character code. It is used for translating a meta character to a two-character sequence so it can be looked up in a keymap. For useful results, the value should be a prefix event (@pxref{Prefix Keys}). The default value is 27, which is the @acronym{ASCII} code for @key{ESC}. As long as the value of @code{meta-prefix-char} remains 27, key lookup translates @kbd{M-b} into @kbd{@key{ESC} b}, which is normally defined as the @code{backward-word} command. However, if you were to set @code{meta-prefix-char} to 24, the code for @kbd{C-x}, then Emacs will translate @kbd{M-b} into @kbd{C-x b}, whose standard binding is the @code{switch-to-buffer} command. (Don't actually do this!) Here is an illustration of what would happen: @smallexample @group meta-prefix-char ; @r{The default value.} @result{} 27 @end group @group (key-binding "\M-b") @result{} backward-word @end group @group ?\C-x ; @r{The print representation} @result{} 24 ; @r{of a character.} @end group @group (setq meta-prefix-char 24) @result{} 24 @end group @group (key-binding "\M-b") @result{} switch-to-buffer ; @r{Now, typing @kbd{M-b} is} ; @r{like typing @kbd{C-x b}.} (setq meta-prefix-char 27) ; @r{Avoid confusion!} @result{} 27 ; @r{Restore the default value!} @end group @end smallexample This translation of one event into two happens only for characters, not for other kinds of input events. Thus, @kbd{M-@key{F1}}, a function key, is not converted into @kbd{@key{ESC} @key{F1}}. @end defvar @node Changing Key Bindings @section Changing Key Bindings @cindex changing key bindings @cindex rebinding The way to rebind a key is to change its entry in a keymap. If you change a binding in the global keymap, the change is effective in all buffers (though it has no direct effect in buffers that shadow the global binding with a local one). If you change the current buffer's local map, that usually affects all buffers using the same major mode. The @code{global-set-key} and @code{local-set-key} functions are convenient interfaces for these operations (@pxref{Key Binding Commands}). You can also use @code{define-key}, a more general function; then you must specify explicitly the map to change. When choosing the key sequences for Lisp programs to rebind, please follow the Emacs conventions for use of various keys (@pxref{Key Binding Conventions}). @cindex meta character key constants @cindex control character key constants In writing the key sequence to rebind, it is good to use the special escape sequences for control and meta characters (@pxref{String Type}). The syntax @samp{\C-} means that the following character is a control character and @samp{\M-} means that the following character is a meta character. Thus, the string @code{"\M-x"} is read as containing a single @kbd{M-x}, @code{"\C-f"} is read as containing a single @kbd{C-f}, and @code{"\M-\C-x"} and @code{"\C-\M-x"} are both read as containing a single @kbd{C-M-x}. You can also use this escape syntax in vectors, as well as others that aren't allowed in strings; one example is @samp{[?\C-\H-x home]}. @xref{Character Type}. The key definition and lookup functions accept an alternate syntax for event types in a key sequence that is a vector: you can use a list containing modifier names plus one base event (a character or function key name). For example, @code{(control ?a)} is equivalent to @code{?\C-a} and @code{(hyper control left)} is equivalent to @code{C-H-left}. One advantage of such lists is that the precise numeric codes for the modifier bits don't appear in compiled files. The functions below signal an error if @var{keymap} is not a keymap, or if @var{key} is not a string or vector representing a key sequence. You can use event types (symbols) as shorthand for events that are lists. The @code{kbd} macro (@pxref{Key Sequences}) is a convenient way to specify the key sequence. @defun define-key keymap key binding This function sets the binding for @var{key} in @var{keymap}. (If @var{key} is more than one event long, the change is actually made in another keymap reached from @var{keymap}.) The argument @var{binding} can be any Lisp object, but only certain types are meaningful. (For a list of meaningful types, see @ref{Key Lookup}.) The value returned by @code{define-key} is @var{binding}. If @var{key} is @code{[t]}, this sets the default binding in @var{keymap}. When an event has no binding of its own, the Emacs command loop uses the keymap's default binding, if there is one. @cindex invalid prefix key error @cindex key sequence error Every prefix of @var{key} must be a prefix key (i.e., bound to a keymap) or undefined; otherwise an error is signaled. If some prefix of @var{key} is undefined, then @code{define-key} defines it as a prefix key so that the rest of @var{key} can be defined as specified. If there was previously no binding for @var{key} in @var{keymap}, the new binding is added at the beginning of @var{keymap}. The order of bindings in a keymap makes no difference for keyboard input, but it does matter for menu keymaps (@pxref{Menu Keymaps}). @end defun This example creates a sparse keymap and makes a number of bindings in it: @smallexample @group (setq map (make-sparse-keymap)) @result{} (keymap) @end group @group (define-key map "\C-f" 'forward-char) @result{} forward-char @end group @group map @result{} (keymap (6 . forward-char)) @end group @group ;; @r{Build sparse submap for @kbd{C-x} and bind @kbd{f} in that.} (define-key map (kbd "C-x f") 'forward-word) @result{} forward-word @end group @group map @result{} (keymap (24 keymap ; @kbd{C-x} (102 . forward-word)) ; @kbd{f} (6 . forward-char)) ; @kbd{C-f} @end group @group ;; @r{Bind @kbd{C-p} to the @code{ctl-x-map}.} (define-key map (kbd "C-p") ctl-x-map) ;; @code{ctl-x-map} @result{} [nil @dots{} find-file @dots{} backward-kill-sentence] @end group @group ;; @r{Bind @kbd{C-f} to @code{foo} in the @code{ctl-x-map}.} (define-key map (kbd "C-p C-f") 'foo) @result{} 'foo @end group @group map @result{} (keymap ; @r{Note @code{foo} in @code{ctl-x-map}.} (16 keymap [nil @dots{} foo @dots{} backward-kill-sentence]) (24 keymap (102 . forward-word)) (6 . forward-char)) @end group @end smallexample @noindent Note that storing a new binding for @kbd{C-p C-f} actually works by changing an entry in @code{ctl-x-map}, and this has the effect of changing the bindings of both @kbd{C-p C-f} and @kbd{C-x C-f} in the default global map. The function @code{substitute-key-definition} scans a keymap for keys that have a certain binding and rebinds them with a different binding. Another feature which is cleaner and can often produce the same results to remap one command into another (@pxref{Remapping Commands}). @defun substitute-key-definition olddef newdef keymap &optional oldmap @cindex replace bindings This function replaces @var{olddef} with @var{newdef} for any keys in @var{keymap} that were bound to @var{olddef}. In other words, @var{olddef} is replaced with @var{newdef} wherever it appears. The function returns @code{nil}. For example, this redefines @kbd{C-x C-f}, if you do it in an Emacs with standard bindings: @smallexample @group (substitute-key-definition 'find-file 'find-file-read-only (current-global-map)) @end group @end smallexample @c Emacs 19 feature If @var{oldmap} is non-@code{nil}, that changes the behavior of @code{substitute-key-definition}: the bindings in @var{oldmap} determine which keys to rebind. The rebindings still happen in @var{keymap}, not in @var{oldmap}. Thus, you can change one map under the control of the bindings in another. For example, @smallexample (substitute-key-definition 'delete-backward-char 'my-funny-delete my-map global-map) @end smallexample @noindent puts the special deletion command in @code{my-map} for whichever keys are globally bound to the standard deletion command. Here is an example showing a keymap before and after substitution: @smallexample @group (setq map '(keymap (?1 . olddef-1) (?2 . olddef-2) (?3 . olddef-1))) @result{} (keymap (49 . olddef-1) (50 . olddef-2) (51 . olddef-1)) @end group @group (substitute-key-definition 'olddef-1 'newdef map) @result{} nil @end group @group map @result{} (keymap (49 . newdef) (50 . olddef-2) (51 . newdef)) @end group @end smallexample @end defun @defun suppress-keymap keymap &optional nodigits @cindex @code{self-insert-command} override This function changes the contents of the full keymap @var{keymap} by remapping @code{self-insert-command} to the command @code{undefined} (@pxref{Remapping Commands}). This has the effect of undefining all printing characters, thus making ordinary insertion of text impossible. @code{suppress-keymap} returns @code{nil}. If @var{nodigits} is @code{nil}, then @code{suppress-keymap} defines digits to run @code{digit-argument}, and @kbd{-} to run @code{negative-argument}. Otherwise it makes them undefined like the rest of the printing characters. @cindex yank suppression @cindex @code{quoted-insert} suppression The @code{suppress-keymap} function does not make it impossible to modify a buffer, as it does not suppress commands such as @code{yank} and @code{quoted-insert}. To prevent any modification of a buffer, make it read-only (@pxref{Read Only Buffers}). Since this function modifies @var{keymap}, you would normally use it on a newly created keymap. Operating on an existing keymap that is used for some other purpose is likely to cause trouble; for example, suppressing @code{global-map} would make it impossible to use most of Emacs. Most often, @code{suppress-keymap} is used to initialize local keymaps of modes such as Rmail and Dired where insertion of text is not desirable and the buffer is read-only. Here is an example taken from the file @file{emacs/lisp/dired.el}, showing how the local keymap for Dired mode is set up: @smallexample @group (setq dired-mode-map (make-keymap)) (suppress-keymap dired-mode-map) (define-key dired-mode-map "r" 'dired-rename-file) (define-key dired-mode-map "\C-d" 'dired-flag-file-deleted) (define-key dired-mode-map "d" 'dired-flag-file-deleted) (define-key dired-mode-map "v" 'dired-view-file) (define-key dired-mode-map "e" 'dired-find-file) (define-key dired-mode-map "f" 'dired-find-file) @dots{} @end group @end smallexample @end defun @node Remapping Commands @section Remapping Commands @cindex remapping commands A special kind of key binding, using a special ``key sequence'' which includes a command name, has the effect of @dfn{remapping} that command into another. Here's how it works. You make a key binding for a key sequence that starts with the dummy event @code{remap}, followed by the command name you want to remap. Specify the remapped definition as the definition in this binding. The remapped definition is usually a command name, but it can be any valid definition for a key binding. Here's an example. Suppose that My mode uses special commands @code{my-kill-line} and @code{my-kill-word}, which should be invoked instead of @code{kill-line} and @code{kill-word}. It can establish this by making these two command-remapping bindings in its keymap: @smallexample (define-key my-mode-map [remap kill-line] 'my-kill-line) (define-key my-mode-map [remap kill-word] 'my-kill-word) @end smallexample Whenever @code{my-mode-map} is an active keymap, if the user types @kbd{C-k}, Emacs will find the standard global binding of @code{kill-line} (assuming nobody has changed it). But @code{my-mode-map} remaps @code{kill-line} to @code{my-kill-line}, so instead of running @code{kill-line}, Emacs runs @code{my-kill-line}. Remapping only works through a single level. In other words, @smallexample (define-key my-mode-map [remap kill-line] 'my-kill-line) (define-key my-mode-map [remap my-kill-line] 'my-other-kill-line) @end smallexample @noindent does not have the effect of remapping @code{kill-line} into @code{my-other-kill-line}. If an ordinary key binding specifies @code{kill-line}, this keymap will remap it to @code{my-kill-line}; if an ordinary binding specifies @code{my-kill-line}, this keymap will remap it to @code{my-other-kill-line}. @defun command-remapping command &optional position keymaps This function returns the remapping for @var{command} (a symbol), given the current active keymaps. If @var{command} is not remapped (which is the usual situation), or not a symbol, the function returns @code{nil}. @code{position} can optionally specify a buffer position or an event position to determine the keymaps to use, as in @code{key-binding}. If the optional argument @code{keymaps} is non-@code{nil}, it specifies a list of keymaps to search in. This argument is ignored if @code{position} is non-@code{nil}. @end defun @node Translation Keymaps @section Keymaps for Translating Sequences of Events @cindex keymaps for translating events This section describes keymaps that are used during reading a key sequence, to translate certain event sequences into others. @code{read-key-sequence} checks every subsequence of the key sequence being read, as it is read, against @code{input-decode-map}, then @code{function-key-map}, and then against @code{key-translation-map}. @defvar input-decode-map This variable holds a keymap that describes the character sequences sent by function keys on an ordinary character terminal. This keymap has the same structure as other keymaps, but is used differently: it specifies translations to make while reading key sequences, rather than bindings for key sequences. If @code{input-decode-map} ``binds'' a key sequence @var{k} to a vector @var{v}, then when @var{k} appears as a subsequence @emph{anywhere} in a key sequence, it is replaced with the events in @var{v}. For example, VT100 terminals send @kbd{@key{ESC} O P} when the keypad @key{PF1} key is pressed. Therefore, we want Emacs to translate that sequence of events into the single event @code{pf1}. We accomplish this by ``binding'' @kbd{@key{ESC} O P} to @code{[pf1]} in @code{input-decode-map}, when using a VT100. Thus, typing @kbd{C-c @key{PF1}} sends the character sequence @kbd{C-c @key{ESC} O P}; later the function @code{read-key-sequence} translates this back into @kbd{C-c @key{PF1}}, which it returns as the vector @code{[?\C-c pf1]}. The value of @code{input-decode-map} is usually set up automatically according to the terminal's Terminfo or Termcap entry, but sometimes those need help from terminal-specific Lisp files. Emacs comes with terminal-specific files for many common terminals; their main purpose is to make entries in @code{input-decode-map} beyond those that can be deduced from Termcap and Terminfo. @xref{Terminal-Specific}. @end defvar @defvar function-key-map This variable holds a keymap similar to @code{input-decode-map} except that it describes key sequences which should be translated to alternative interpretations that are usually preferred. It applies after @code{input-decode-map} and before @code{key-translation-map}. Entries in @code{function-key-map} are ignored if they conflict with bindings made in the minor mode, local, or global keymaps. I.e. the remapping only applies if the original key sequence would otherwise not have any binding. @end defvar @defvar key-translation-map This variable is another keymap used just like @code{input-decode-map} to translate input events into other events. It differs from @code{input-decode-map} in that it goes to work after @code{function-key-map} is finished rather than before; it receives the results of translation by @code{function-key-map}. Just like @code{input-decode-map}, but unlike @code{function-key-map}, this keymap is applied regardless of whether the input key-sequence has a normal binding. Note however that actual key bindings can have an effect on @code{key-translation-map}, even though they are overridden by it. Indeed, actual key bindings override @code{function-key-map} and thus may alter the key sequence that @code{key-translation-map} receives. Clearly, it is better to avoid this type of situation. The intent of @code{key-translation-map} is for users to map one character set to another, including ordinary characters normally bound to @code{self-insert-command}. @end defvar @cindex key translation function You can use @code{input-decode-map}, @code{function-key-map}, or @code{key-translation-map} for more than simple aliases, by using a function, instead of a key sequence, as the ``translation'' of a key. Then this function is called to compute the translation of that key. The key translation function receives one argument, which is the prompt that was specified in @code{read-key-sequence}---or @code{nil} if the key sequence is being read by the editor command loop. In most cases you can ignore the prompt value. If the function reads input itself, it can have the effect of altering the event that follows. For example, here's how to define @kbd{C-c h} to turn the character that follows into a Hyper character: @example @group (defun hyperify (prompt) (let ((e (read-event))) (vector (if (numberp e) (logior (lsh 1 24) e) (if (memq 'hyper (event-modifiers e)) e (add-event-modifier "H-" e)))))) (defun add-event-modifier (string e) (let ((symbol (if (symbolp e) e (car e)))) (setq symbol (intern (concat string (symbol-name symbol)))) @end group @group (if (symbolp e) symbol (cons symbol (cdr e))))) (define-key function-key-map "\C-ch" 'hyperify) @end group @end example If you have enabled keyboard character set decoding using @code{set-keyboard-coding-system}, decoding is done after the translations listed above. @xref{Terminal I/O Encoding}. However, in future Emacs versions, character set decoding may be done at an earlier stage. @node Key Binding Commands @section Commands for Binding Keys This section describes some convenient interactive interfaces for changing key bindings. They work by calling @code{define-key}. People often use @code{global-set-key} in their init files (@pxref{Init File}) for simple customization. For example, @smallexample (global-set-key (kbd "C-x C-\\") 'next-line) @end smallexample @noindent or @smallexample (global-set-key [?\C-x ?\C-\\] 'next-line) @end smallexample @noindent or @smallexample (global-set-key [(control ?x) (control ?\\)] 'next-line) @end smallexample @noindent redefines @kbd{C-x C-\} to move down a line. @smallexample (global-set-key [M-mouse-1] 'mouse-set-point) @end smallexample @noindent redefines the first (leftmost) mouse button, entered with the Meta key, to set point where you click. @cindex non-@acronym{ASCII} text in keybindings Be careful when using non-@acronym{ASCII} text characters in Lisp specifications of keys to bind. If these are read as multibyte text, as they usually will be in a Lisp file (@pxref{Loading Non-ASCII}), you must type the keys as multibyte too. For instance, if you use this: @smallexample (global-set-key "@"o" 'my-function) ; bind o-umlaut @end smallexample @noindent or @smallexample (global-set-key ?@"o 'my-function) ; bind o-umlaut @end smallexample @noindent and your language environment is multibyte Latin-1, these commands actually bind the multibyte character with code 2294, not the unibyte Latin-1 character with code 246 (@kbd{M-v}). In order to use this binding, you need to enter the multibyte Latin-1 character as keyboard input. One way to do this is by using an appropriate input method (@pxref{Input Methods, , Input Methods, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}). If you want to use a unibyte character in the key binding, you can construct the key sequence string using @code{multibyte-char-to-unibyte} or @code{string-make-unibyte} (@pxref{Converting Representations}). @deffn Command global-set-key key binding This function sets the binding of @var{key} in the current global map to @var{binding}. @smallexample @group (global-set-key @var{key} @var{binding}) @equiv{} (define-key (current-global-map) @var{key} @var{binding}) @end group @end smallexample @end deffn @deffn Command global-unset-key key @cindex unbinding keys This function removes the binding of @var{key} from the current global map. One use of this function is in preparation for defining a longer key that uses @var{key} as a prefix---which would not be allowed if @var{key} has a non-prefix binding. For example: @smallexample @group (global-unset-key "\C-l") @result{} nil @end group @group (global-set-key "\C-l\C-l" 'redraw-display) @result{} nil @end group @end smallexample This function is implemented simply using @code{define-key}: @smallexample @group (global-unset-key @var{key}) @equiv{} (define-key (current-global-map) @var{key} nil) @end group @end smallexample @end deffn @deffn Command local-set-key key binding This function sets the binding of @var{key} in the current local keymap to @var{binding}. @smallexample @group (local-set-key @var{key} @var{binding}) @equiv{} (define-key (current-local-map) @var{key} @var{binding}) @end group @end smallexample @end deffn @deffn Command local-unset-key key This function removes the binding of @var{key} from the current local map. @smallexample @group (local-unset-key @var{key}) @equiv{} (define-key (current-local-map) @var{key} nil) @end group @end smallexample @end deffn @node Scanning Keymaps @section Scanning Keymaps This section describes functions used to scan all the current keymaps for the sake of printing help information. @defun accessible-keymaps keymap &optional prefix This function returns a list of all the keymaps that can be reached (via zero or more prefix keys) from @var{keymap}. The value is an association list with elements of the form @code{(@var{key} .@: @var{map})}, where @var{key} is a prefix key whose definition in @var{keymap} is @var{map}. The elements of the alist are ordered so that the @var{key} increases in length. The first element is always @code{([] .@: @var{keymap})}, because the specified keymap is accessible from itself with a prefix of no events. If @var{prefix} is given, it should be a prefix key sequence; then @code{accessible-keymaps} includes only the submaps whose prefixes start with @var{prefix}. These elements look just as they do in the value of @code{(accessible-keymaps)}; the only difference is that some elements are omitted. In the example below, the returned alist indicates that the key @key{ESC}, which is displayed as @samp{^[}, is a prefix key whose definition is the sparse keymap @code{(keymap (83 .@: center-paragraph) (115 .@: foo))}. @smallexample @group (accessible-keymaps (current-local-map)) @result{}(([] keymap (27 keymap ; @r{Note this keymap for @key{ESC} is repeated below.} (83 . center-paragraph) (115 . center-line)) (9 . tab-to-tab-stop)) @end group @group ("^[" keymap (83 . center-paragraph) (115 . foo))) @end group @end smallexample In the following example, @kbd{C-h} is a prefix key that uses a sparse keymap starting with @code{(keymap (118 . describe-variable)@dots{})}. Another prefix, @kbd{C-x 4}, uses a keymap which is also the value of the variable @code{ctl-x-4-map}. The event @code{mode-line} is one of several dummy events used as prefixes for mouse actions in special parts of a window. @smallexample @group (accessible-keymaps (current-global-map)) @result{} (([] keymap [set-mark-command beginning-of-line @dots{} delete-backward-char]) @end group @group ("^H" keymap (118 . describe-variable) @dots{} (8 . help-for-help)) @end group @group ("^X" keymap [x-flush-mouse-queue @dots{} backward-kill-sentence]) @end group @group ("^[" keymap [mark-sexp backward-sexp @dots{} backward-kill-word]) @end group ("^X4" keymap (15 . display-buffer) @dots{}) @group ([mode-line] keymap (S-mouse-2 . mouse-split-window-horizontally) @dots{})) @end group @end smallexample @noindent These are not all the keymaps you would see in actuality. @end defun @defun map-keymap function keymap The function @code{map-keymap} calls @var{function} once for each binding in @var{keymap}. It passes two arguments, the event type and the value of the binding. If @var{keymap} has a parent, the parent's bindings are included as well. This works recursively: if the parent has itself a parent, then the grandparent's bindings are also included and so on. This function is the cleanest way to examine all the bindings in a keymap. @end defun @defun where-is-internal command &optional keymap firstonly noindirect no-remap This function is a subroutine used by the @code{where-is} command (@pxref{Help, , Help, emacs,The GNU Emacs Manual}). It returns a list of all key sequences (of any length) that are bound to @var{command} in a set of keymaps. The argument @var{command} can be any object; it is compared with all keymap entries using @code{eq}. If @var{keymap} is @code{nil}, then the maps used are the current active keymaps, disregarding @code{overriding-local-map} (that is, pretending its value is @code{nil}). If @var{keymap} is a keymap, then the maps searched are @var{keymap} and the global keymap. If @var{keymap} is a list of keymaps, only those keymaps are searched. Usually it's best to use @code{overriding-local-map} as the expression for @var{keymap}. Then @code{where-is-internal} searches precisely the keymaps that are active. To search only the global map, pass @code{(keymap)} (an empty keymap) as @var{keymap}. If @var{firstonly} is @code{non-ascii}, then the value is a single vector representing the first key sequence found, rather than a list of all possible key sequences. If @var{firstonly} is @code{t}, then the value is the first key sequence, except that key sequences consisting entirely of @acronym{ASCII} characters (or meta variants of @acronym{ASCII} characters) are preferred to all other key sequences and that the return value can never be a menu binding. If @var{noindirect} is non-@code{nil}, @code{where-is-internal} doesn't follow indirect keymap bindings. This makes it possible to search for an indirect definition itself. When command remapping is in effect (@pxref{Remapping Commands}), @code{where-is-internal} figures out when a command will be run due to remapping and reports keys accordingly. It also returns @code{nil} if @var{command} won't really be run because it has been remapped to some other command. However, if @var{no-remap} is non-@code{nil}. @code{where-is-internal} ignores remappings. @smallexample @group (where-is-internal 'describe-function) @result{} ([8 102] [f1 102] [help 102] [menu-bar help-menu describe describe-function]) @end group @end smallexample @end defun @deffn Command describe-bindings &optional prefix buffer-or-name This function creates a listing of all current key bindings, and displays it in a buffer named @samp{*Help*}. The text is grouped by modes---minor modes first, then the major mode, then global bindings. If @var{prefix} is non-@code{nil}, it should be a prefix key; then the listing includes only keys that start with @var{prefix}. The listing describes meta characters as @key{ESC} followed by the corresponding non-meta character. When several characters with consecutive @acronym{ASCII} codes have the same definition, they are shown together, as @samp{@var{firstchar}..@var{lastchar}}. In this instance, you need to know the @acronym{ASCII} codes to understand which characters this means. For example, in the default global map, the characters @samp{@key{SPC} ..@: ~} are described by a single line. @key{SPC} is @acronym{ASCII} 32, @kbd{~} is @acronym{ASCII} 126, and the characters between them include all the normal printing characters, (e.g., letters, digits, punctuation, etc.@:); all these characters are bound to @code{self-insert-command}. If @var{buffer-or-name} is non-@code{nil}, it should be a buffer or a buffer name. Then @code{describe-bindings} lists that buffer's bindings, instead of the current buffer's. @end deffn @node Menu Keymaps @section Menu Keymaps @cindex menu keymaps A keymap can operate as a menu as well as defining bindings for keyboard keys and mouse buttons. Menus are usually actuated with the mouse, but they can function with the keyboard also. If a menu keymap is active for the next input event, that activates the keyboard menu feature. @menu * Defining Menus:: How to make a keymap that defines a menu. * Mouse Menus:: How users actuate the menu with the mouse. * Keyboard Menus:: How users actuate the menu with the keyboard. * Menu Example:: Making a simple menu. * Menu Bar:: How to customize the menu bar. * Tool Bar:: A tool bar is a row of images. * Modifying Menus:: How to add new items to a menu. @end menu @node Defining Menus @subsection Defining Menus @cindex defining menus @cindex menu prompt string @cindex prompt string (of menu) A keymap acts as a menu if it has an @dfn{overall prompt string}, which is a string that appears as an element of the keymap. (@xref{Format of Keymaps}.) The string should describe the purpose of the menu's commands. Emacs displays the overall prompt string as the menu title in some cases, depending on the toolkit (if any) used for displaying menus.@footnote{It is required for menus which do not use a toolkit, e.g.@: under MS-DOS.} Keyboard menus also display the overall prompt string. The easiest way to construct a keymap with a prompt string is to specify the string as an argument when you call @code{make-keymap}, @code{make-sparse-keymap} (@pxref{Creating Keymaps}), or @code{define-prefix-command} (@pxref{Definition of define-prefix-command}). If you do not want the keymap to operate as a menu, don't specify a prompt string for it. @defun keymap-prompt keymap This function returns the overall prompt string of @var{keymap}, or @code{nil} if it has none. @end defun The menu's items are the bindings in the keymap. Each binding associates an event type to a definition, but the event types have no significance for the menu appearance. (Usually we use pseudo-events, symbols that the keyboard cannot generate, as the event types for menu item bindings.) The menu is generated entirely from the bindings that correspond in the keymap to these events. The order of items in the menu is the same as the order of bindings in the keymap. Since @code{define-key} puts new bindings at the front, you should define the menu items starting at the bottom of the menu and moving to the top, if you care about the order. When you add an item to an existing menu, you can specify its position in the menu using @code{define-key-after} (@pxref{Modifying Menus}). @menu * Simple Menu Items:: A simple kind of menu key binding, limited in capabilities. * Extended Menu Items:: More powerful menu item definitions let you specify keywords to enable various features. * Menu Separators:: Drawing a horizontal line through a menu. * Alias Menu Items:: Using command aliases in menu items. @end menu @node Simple Menu Items @subsubsection Simple Menu Items The simpler (and original) way to define a menu item is to bind some event type (it doesn't matter what event type) to a binding like this: @example (@var{item-string} . @var{real-binding}) @end example @noindent The @sc{car}, @var{item-string}, is the string to be displayed in the menu. It should be short---preferably one to three words. It should describe the action of the command it corresponds to. Note that it is not generally possible to display non-@acronym{ASCII} text in menus. It will work for keyboard menus and will work to a large extent when Emacs is built with the Gtk+ toolkit.@footnote{In this case, the text is first encoded using the @code{utf-8} coding system and then rendered by the toolkit as it sees fit.} You can also supply a second string, called the help string, as follows: @example (@var{item-string} @var{help} . @var{real-binding}) @end example @noindent @var{help} specifies a ``help-echo'' string to display while the mouse is on that item in the same way as @code{help-echo} text properties (@pxref{Help display}). As far as @code{define-key} is concerned, @var{item-string} and @var{help-string} are part of the event's binding. However, @code{lookup-key} returns just @var{real-binding}, and only @var{real-binding} is used for executing the key. If @var{real-binding} is @code{nil}, then @var{item-string} appears in the menu but cannot be selected. If @var{real-binding} is a symbol and has a non-@code{nil} @code{menu-enable} property, that property is an expression that controls whether the menu item is enabled. Every time the keymap is used to display a menu, Emacs evaluates the expression, and it enables the menu item only if the expression's value is non-@code{nil}. When a menu item is disabled, it is displayed in a ``fuzzy'' fashion, and cannot be selected. The menu bar does not recalculate which items are enabled every time you look at a menu. This is because the X toolkit requires the whole tree of menus in advance. To force recalculation of the menu bar, call @code{force-mode-line-update} (@pxref{Mode Line Format}). You've probably noticed that menu items show the equivalent keyboard key sequence (if any) to invoke the same command. To save time on recalculation, menu display caches this information in a sublist in the binding, like this: @c This line is not too long--rms. @example (@var{item-string} @r{[}@var{help}@r{]} (@var{key-binding-data}) . @var{real-binding}) @end example @noindent Don't put these sublists in the menu item yourself; menu display calculates them automatically. Don't mention keyboard equivalents in the item strings themselves, since that is redundant. @node Extended Menu Items @subsubsection Extended Menu Items @kindex menu-item An extended-format menu item is a more flexible and also cleaner alternative to the simple format. You define an event type with a binding that's a list starting with the symbol @code{menu-item}. For a non-selectable string, the binding looks like this: @example (menu-item @var{item-name}) @end example @noindent A string starting with two or more dashes specifies a separator line; see @ref{Menu Separators}. To define a real menu item which can be selected, the extended format binding looks like this: @example (menu-item @var{item-name} @var{real-binding} . @var{item-property-list}) @end example @noindent Here, @var{item-name} is an expression which evaluates to the menu item string. Thus, the string need not be a constant. The third element, @var{real-binding}, is the command to execute. The tail of the list, @var{item-property-list}, has the form of a property list which contains other information. When an equivalent keyboard key binding is cached, the extended menu item binding looks like this: @example (menu-item @var{item-name} @var{real-binding} (@var{key-binding-data}) . @var{item-property-list}) @end example Here is a table of the properties that are supported: @table @code @item :enable @var{form} The result of evaluating @var{form} determines whether the item is enabled (non-@code{nil} means yes). If the item is not enabled, you can't really click on it. @item :visible @var{form} The result of evaluating @var{form} determines whether the item should actually appear in the menu (non-@code{nil} means yes). If the item does not appear, then the menu is displayed as if this item were not defined at all. @item :help @var{help} The value of this property, @var{help}, specifies a ``help-echo'' string to display while the mouse is on that item. This is displayed in the same way as @code{help-echo} text properties (@pxref{Help display}). Note that this must be a constant string, unlike the @code{help-echo} property for text and overlays. @item :button (@var{type} . @var{selected}) This property provides a way to define radio buttons and toggle buttons. The @sc{car}, @var{type}, says which: it should be @code{:toggle} or @code{:radio}. The @sc{cdr}, @var{selected}, should be a form; the result of evaluating it says whether this button is currently selected. A @dfn{toggle} is a menu item which is labeled as either ``on'' or ``off'' according to the value of @var{selected}. The command itself should toggle @var{selected}, setting it to @code{t} if it is @code{nil}, and to @code{nil} if it is @code{t}. Here is how the menu item to toggle the @code{debug-on-error} flag is defined: @example (menu-item "Debug on Error" toggle-debug-on-error :button (:toggle . (and (boundp 'debug-on-error) debug-on-error))) @end example @noindent This works because @code{toggle-debug-on-error} is defined as a command which toggles the variable @code{debug-on-error}. @dfn{Radio buttons} are a group of menu items, in which at any time one and only one is ``selected.'' There should be a variable whose value says which one is selected at any time. The @var{selected} form for each radio button in the group should check whether the variable has the right value for selecting that button. Clicking on the button should set the variable so that the button you clicked on becomes selected. @item :key-sequence @var{key-sequence} This property specifies which key sequence is likely to be bound to the same command invoked by this menu item. If you specify the right key sequence, that makes preparing the menu for display run much faster. If you specify the wrong key sequence, it has no effect; before Emacs displays @var{key-sequence} in the menu, it verifies that @var{key-sequence} is really equivalent to this menu item. @item :key-sequence nil This property indicates that there is normally no key binding which is equivalent to this menu item. Using this property saves time in preparing the menu for display, because Emacs does not need to search the keymaps for a keyboard equivalent for this menu item. However, if the user has rebound this item's definition to a key sequence, Emacs ignores the @code{:keys} property and finds the keyboard equivalent anyway. @item :keys @var{string} This property specifies that @var{string} is the string to display as the keyboard equivalent for this menu item. You can use the @samp{\\[...]} documentation construct in @var{string}. @item :filter @var{filter-fn} This property provides a way to compute the menu item dynamically. The property value @var{filter-fn} should be a function of one argument; when it is called, its argument will be @var{real-binding}. The function should return the binding to use instead. Emacs can call this function at any time that it does redisplay or operates on menu data structures, so you should write it so it can safely be called at any time. @end table @node Menu Separators @subsubsection Menu Separators @cindex menu separators A menu separator is a kind of menu item that doesn't display any text---instead, it divides the menu into subparts with a horizontal line. A separator looks like this in the menu keymap: @example (menu-item @var{separator-type}) @end example @noindent where @var{separator-type} is a string starting with two or more dashes. In the simplest case, @var{separator-type} consists of only dashes. That specifies the default kind of separator. (For compatibility, @code{""} and @code{-} also count as separators.) Certain other values of @var{separator-type} specify a different style of separator. Here is a table of them: @table @code @item "--no-line" @itemx "--space" An extra vertical space, with no actual line. @item "--single-line" A single line in the menu's foreground color. @item "--double-line" A double line in the menu's foreground color. @item "--single-dashed-line" A single dashed line in the menu's foreground color. @item "--double-dashed-line" A double dashed line in the menu's foreground color. @item "--shadow-etched-in" A single line with a 3D sunken appearance. This is the default, used separators consisting of dashes only. @item "--shadow-etched-out" A single line with a 3D raised appearance. @item "--shadow-etched-in-dash" A single dashed line with a 3D sunken appearance. @item "--shadow-etched-out-dash" A single dashed line with a 3D raised appearance. @item "--shadow-double-etched-in" Two lines with a 3D sunken appearance. @item "--shadow-double-etched-out" Two lines with a 3D raised appearance. @item "--shadow-double-etched-in-dash" Two dashed lines with a 3D sunken appearance. @item "--shadow-double-etched-out-dash" Two dashed lines with a 3D raised appearance. @end table You can also give these names in another style, adding a colon after the double-dash and replacing each single dash with capitalization of the following word. Thus, @code{"--:singleLine"}, is equivalent to @code{"--single-line"}. Some systems and display toolkits don't really handle all of these separator types. If you use a type that isn't supported, the menu displays a similar kind of separator that is supported. @node Alias Menu Items @subsubsection Alias Menu Items Sometimes it is useful to make menu items that use the ``same'' command but with different enable conditions. The best way to do this in Emacs now is with extended menu items; before that feature existed, it could be done by defining alias commands and using them in menu items. Here's an example that makes two aliases for @code{toggle-read-only} and gives them different enable conditions: @example (defalias 'make-read-only 'toggle-read-only) (put 'make-read-only 'menu-enable '(not buffer-read-only)) (defalias 'make-writable 'toggle-read-only) (put 'make-writable 'menu-enable 'buffer-read-only) @end example When using aliases in menus, often it is useful to display the equivalent key bindings for the ``real'' command name, not the aliases (which typically don't have any key bindings except for the menu itself). To request this, give the alias symbol a non-@code{nil} @code{menu-alias} property. Thus, @example (put 'make-read-only 'menu-alias t) (put 'make-writable 'menu-alias t) @end example @noindent causes menu items for @code{make-read-only} and @code{make-writable} to show the keyboard bindings for @code{toggle-read-only}. @node Mouse Menus @subsection Menus and the Mouse The usual way to make a menu keymap produce a menu is to make it the definition of a prefix key. (A Lisp program can explicitly pop up a menu and receive the user's choice---see @ref{Pop-Up Menus}.) If the prefix key ends with a mouse event, Emacs handles the menu keymap by popping up a visible menu, so that the user can select a choice with the mouse. When the user clicks on a menu item, the event generated is whatever character or symbol has the binding that brought about that menu item. (A menu item may generate a series of events if the menu has multiple levels or comes from the menu bar.) It's often best to use a button-down event to trigger the menu. Then the user can select a menu item by releasing the button. A single keymap can appear as multiple menu panes, if you explicitly arrange for this. The way to do this is to make a keymap for each pane, then create a binding for each of those maps in the main keymap of the menu. Give each of these bindings an item string that starts with @samp{@@}. The rest of the item string becomes the name of the pane. See the file @file{lisp/mouse.el} for an example of this. Any ordinary bindings with @samp{@@}-less item strings are grouped into one pane, which appears along with the other panes explicitly created for the submaps. X toolkit menus don't have panes; instead, they can have submenus. Every nested keymap becomes a submenu, whether the item string starts with @samp{@@} or not. In a toolkit version of Emacs, the only thing special about @samp{@@} at the beginning of an item string is that the @samp{@@} doesn't appear in the menu item. Multiple keymaps that define the same menu prefix key produce separate panes or separate submenus. @node Keyboard Menus @subsection Menus and the Keyboard When a prefix key ending with a keyboard event (a character or function key) has a definition that is a menu keymap, the keymap operates as a keyboard menu; the user specifies the next event by choosing a menu item with the keyboard. Emacs displays the keyboard menu with the map's overall prompt string, followed by the alternatives (the item strings of the map's bindings), in the echo area. If the bindings don't all fit at once, the user can type @key{SPC} to see the next line of alternatives. Successive uses of @key{SPC} eventually get to the end of the menu and then cycle around to the beginning. (The variable @code{menu-prompt-more-char} specifies which character is used for this; @key{SPC} is the default.) When the user has found the desired alternative from the menu, he or she should type the corresponding character---the one whose binding is that alternative. @ignore In a menu intended for keyboard use, each menu item must clearly indicate what character to type. The best convention to use is to make the character the first letter of the item string---that is something users will understand without being told. We plan to change this; by the time you read this manual, keyboard menus may explicitly name the key for each alternative. @end ignore This way of using menus in an Emacs-like editor was inspired by the Hierarkey system. @defvar menu-prompt-more-char This variable specifies the character to use to ask to see the next line of a menu. Its initial value is 32, the code for @key{SPC}. @end defvar @node Menu Example @subsection Menu Example @cindex menu definition example Here is a complete example of defining a menu keymap. It is the definition of the @samp{Replace} submenu in the @samp{Edit} menu in the menu bar, and it uses the extended menu item format (@pxref{Extended Menu Items}). First we create the keymap, and give it a name: @smallexample (defvar menu-bar-replace-menu (make-sparse-keymap "Replace")) @end smallexample @noindent Next we define the menu items: @smallexample (define-key menu-bar-replace-menu [tags-repl-continue] '(menu-item "Continue Replace" tags-loop-continue :help "Continue last tags replace operation")) (define-key menu-bar-replace-menu [tags-repl] '(menu-item "Replace in tagged files" tags-query-replace :help "Interactively replace a regexp in all tagged files")) (define-key menu-bar-replace-menu [separator-replace-tags] '(menu-item "--")) ;; @r{@dots{}} @end smallexample @noindent Note the symbols which the bindings are ``made for''; these appear inside square brackets, in the key sequence being defined. In some cases, this symbol is the same as the command name; sometimes it is different. These symbols are treated as ``function keys,'' but they are not real function keys on the keyboard. They do not affect the functioning of the menu itself, but they are ``echoed'' in the echo area when the user selects from the menu, and they appear in the output of @code{where-is} and @code{apropos}. The menu in this example is intended for use with the mouse. If a menu is intended for use with the keyboard, that is, if it is bound to a key sequence ending with a keyboard event, then the menu items should be bound to characters or ``real'' function keys, that can be typed with the keyboard. The binding whose definition is @code{("--")} is a separator line. Like a real menu item, the separator has a key symbol, in this case @code{separator-replace-tags}. If one menu has two separators, they must have two different key symbols. Here is how we make this menu appear as an item in the parent menu: @example (define-key menu-bar-edit-menu [replace] (list 'menu-item "Replace" menu-bar-replace-menu)) @end example @noindent Note that this incorporates the submenu keymap, which is the value of the variable @code{menu-bar-replace-menu}, rather than the symbol @code{menu-bar-replace-menu} itself. Using that symbol in the parent menu item would be meaningless because @code{menu-bar-replace-menu} is not a command. If you wanted to attach the same replace menu to a mouse click, you can do it this way: @example (define-key global-map [C-S-down-mouse-1] menu-bar-replace-menu) @end example @node Menu Bar @subsection The Menu Bar @cindex menu bar Most window systems allow each frame to have a @dfn{menu bar}---a permanently displayed menu stretching horizontally across the top of the frame. The items of the menu bar are the subcommands of the fake ``function key'' @code{menu-bar}, as defined in the active keymaps. To add an item to the menu bar, invent a fake ``function key'' of your own (let's call it @var{key}), and make a binding for the key sequence @code{[menu-bar @var{key}]}. Most often, the binding is a menu keymap, so that pressing a button on the menu bar item leads to another menu. When more than one active keymap defines the same fake function key for the menu bar, the item appears just once. If the user clicks on that menu bar item, it brings up a single, combined menu containing all the subcommands of that item---the global subcommands, the local subcommands, and the minor mode subcommands. The variable @code{overriding-local-map} is normally ignored when determining the menu bar contents. That is, the menu bar is computed from the keymaps that would be active if @code{overriding-local-map} were @code{nil}. @xref{Active Keymaps}. In order for a frame to display a menu bar, its @code{menu-bar-lines} parameter must be greater than zero. Emacs uses just one line for the menu bar itself; if you specify more than one line, the other lines serve to separate the menu bar from the windows in the frame. We recommend 1 or 2 as the value of @code{menu-bar-lines}. @xref{Layout Parameters}. Here's an example of setting up a menu bar item: @example @group (modify-frame-parameters (selected-frame) '((menu-bar-lines . 2))) @end group @group ;; @r{Make a menu keymap (with a prompt string)} ;; @r{and make it the menu bar item's definition.} (define-key global-map [menu-bar words] (cons "Words" (make-sparse-keymap "Words"))) @end group @group ;; @r{Define specific subcommands in this menu.} (define-key global-map [menu-bar words forward] '("Forward word" . forward-word)) @end group @group (define-key global-map [menu-bar words backward] '("Backward word" . backward-word)) @end group @end example A local keymap can cancel a menu bar item made by the global keymap by rebinding the same fake function key with @code{undefined} as the binding. For example, this is how Dired suppresses the @samp{Edit} menu bar item: @example (define-key dired-mode-map [menu-bar edit] 'undefined) @end example @noindent @code{edit} is the fake function key used by the global map for the @samp{Edit} menu bar item. The main reason to suppress a global menu bar item is to regain space for mode-specific items. @defvar menu-bar-final-items Normally the menu bar shows global items followed by items defined by the local maps. This variable holds a list of fake function keys for items to display at the end of the menu bar rather than in normal sequence. The default value is @code{(help-menu)}; thus, the @samp{Help} menu item normally appears at the end of the menu bar, following local menu items. @end defvar @defvar menu-bar-update-hook This normal hook is run by redisplay to update the menu bar contents, before redisplaying the menu bar. You can use it to update submenus whose contents should vary. Since this hook is run frequently, we advise you to ensure that the functions it calls do not take much time in the usual case. @end defvar @node Tool Bar @subsection Tool bars @cindex tool bar A @dfn{tool bar} is a row of icons at the top of a frame, that execute commands when you click on them---in effect, a kind of graphical menu bar. The frame parameter @code{tool-bar-lines} (X resource @samp{toolBar}) controls how many lines' worth of height to reserve for the tool bar. A zero value suppresses the tool bar. If the value is nonzero, and @code{auto-resize-tool-bars} is non-@code{nil}, the tool bar expands and contracts automatically as needed to hold the specified contents. If the value of @code{auto-resize-tool-bars} is @code{grow-only}, the tool bar expands automatically, but does not contract automatically. To contract the tool bar, the user has to redraw the frame by entering @kbd{C-l}. The tool bar contents are controlled by a menu keymap attached to a fake ``function key'' called @code{tool-bar} (much like the way the menu bar is controlled). So you define a tool bar item using @code{define-key}, like this: @example (define-key global-map [tool-bar @var{key}] @var{item}) @end example @noindent where @var{key} is a fake ``function key'' to distinguish this item from other items, and @var{item} is a menu item key binding (@pxref{Extended Menu Items}), which says how to display this item and how it behaves. The usual menu keymap item properties, @code{:visible}, @code{:enable}, @code{:button}, and @code{:filter}, are useful in tool bar bindings and have their normal meanings. The @var{real-binding} in the item must be a command, not a keymap; in other words, it does not work to define a tool bar icon as a prefix key. The @code{:help} property specifies a ``help-echo'' string to display while the mouse is on that item. This is displayed in the same way as @code{help-echo} text properties (@pxref{Help display}). In addition, you should use the @code{:image} property; this is how you specify the image to display in the tool bar: @table @code @item :image @var{image} @var{images} is either a single image specification or a vector of four image specifications. If you use a vector of four, one of them is used, depending on circumstances: @table @asis @item item 0 Used when the item is enabled and selected. @item item 1 Used when the item is enabled and deselected. @item item 2 Used when the item is disabled and selected. @item item 3 Used when the item is disabled and deselected. @end table @end table If @var{image} is a single image specification, Emacs draws the tool bar button in disabled state by applying an edge-detection algorithm to the image. The @code{:rtl} property specifies an alternative image to use for right-to-left languages. Only the Gtk+ version of Emacs supports this at present. The default tool bar is defined so that items specific to editing do not appear for major modes whose command symbol has a @code{mode-class} property of @code{special} (@pxref{Major Mode Conventions}). Major modes may add items to the global bar by binding @code{[tool-bar @var{foo}]} in their local map. It makes sense for some major modes to replace the default tool bar items completely, since not many can be accommodated conveniently, and the default bindings make this easy by using an indirection through @code{tool-bar-map}. @defvar tool-bar-map By default, the global map binds @code{[tool-bar]} as follows: @example (global-set-key [tool-bar] '(menu-item "tool bar" ignore :filter (lambda (ignore) tool-bar-map))) @end example @noindent Thus the tool bar map is derived dynamically from the value of variable @code{tool-bar-map} and you should normally adjust the default (global) tool bar by changing that map. Major modes may replace the global bar completely by making @code{tool-bar-map} buffer-local and set to a keymap containing only the desired items. Info mode provides an example. @end defvar There are two convenience functions for defining tool bar items, as follows. @defun tool-bar-add-item icon def key &rest props This function adds an item to the tool bar by modifying @code{tool-bar-map}. The image to use is defined by @var{icon}, which is the base name of an XPM, XBM or PBM image file to be located by @code{find-image}. Given a value @samp{"exit"}, say, @file{exit.xpm}, @file{exit.pbm} and @file{exit.xbm} would be searched for in that order on a color display. On a monochrome display, the search order is @samp{.pbm}, @samp{.xbm} and @samp{.xpm}. The binding to use is the command @var{def}, and @var{key} is the fake function key symbol in the prefix keymap. The remaining arguments @var{props} are additional property list elements to add to the menu item specification. To define items in some local map, bind @code{tool-bar-map} with @code{let} around calls of this function: @example (defvar foo-tool-bar-map (let ((tool-bar-map (make-sparse-keymap))) (tool-bar-add-item @dots{}) @dots{} tool-bar-map)) @end example @end defun @defun tool-bar-add-item-from-menu command icon &optional map &rest props This function is a convenience for defining tool bar items which are consistent with existing menu bar bindings. The binding of @var{command} is looked up in the menu bar in @var{map} (default @code{global-map}) and modified to add an image specification for @var{icon}, which is found in the same way as by @code{tool-bar-add-item}. The resulting binding is then placed in @code{tool-bar-map}, so use this function only for global tool bar items. @var{map} must contain an appropriate keymap bound to @code{[menu-bar]}. The remaining arguments @var{props} are additional property list elements to add to the menu item specification. @end defun @defun tool-bar-local-item-from-menu command icon in-map &optional from-map &rest props This function is used for making non-global tool bar items. Use it like @code{tool-bar-add-item-from-menu} except that @var{in-map} specifies the local map to make the definition in. The argument @var{from-map} is like the @var{map} argument of @code{tool-bar-add-item-from-menu}. @end defun @defvar auto-resize-tool-bar If this variable is non-@code{nil}, the tool bar automatically resizes to show all defined tool bar items---but not larger than a quarter of the frame's height. If the value is @code{grow-only}, the tool bar expands automatically, but does not contract automatically. To contract the tool bar, the user has to redraw the frame by entering @kbd{C-l}. @end defvar @defvar auto-raise-tool-bar-buttons If this variable is non-@code{nil}, tool bar items display in raised form when the mouse moves over them. @end defvar @defvar tool-bar-button-margin This variable specifies an extra margin to add around tool bar items. The value is an integer, a number of pixels. The default is 4. @end defvar @defvar tool-bar-button-relief This variable specifies the shadow width for tool bar items. The value is an integer, a number of pixels. The default is 1. @end defvar @defvar tool-bar-border This variable specifies the height of the border drawn below the tool bar area. An integer value specifies height as a number of pixels. If the value is one of @code{internal-border-width} (the default) or @code{border-width}, the tool bar border height corresponds to the corresponding frame parameter. @end defvar You can define a special meaning for clicking on a tool bar item with the shift, control, meta, etc., modifiers. You do this by setting up additional items that relate to the original item through the fake function keys. Specifically, the additional items should use the modified versions of the same fake function key used to name the original item. Thus, if the original item was defined this way, @example (define-key global-map [tool-bar shell] '(menu-item "Shell" shell :image (image :type xpm :file "shell.xpm"))) @end example @noindent then here is how you can define clicking on the same tool bar image with the shift modifier: @example (define-key global-map [tool-bar S-shell] 'some-command) @end example @xref{Function Keys}, for more information about how to add modifiers to function keys. @node Modifying Menus @subsection Modifying Menus When you insert a new item in an existing menu, you probably want to put it in a particular place among the menu's existing items. If you use @code{define-key} to add the item, it normally goes at the front of the menu. To put it elsewhere in the menu, use @code{define-key-after}: @defun define-key-after map key binding &optional after Define a binding in @var{map} for @var{key}, with value @var{binding}, just like @code{define-key}, but position the binding in @var{map} after the binding for the event @var{after}. The argument @var{key} should be of length one---a vector or string with just one element. But @var{after} should be a single event type---a symbol or a character, not a sequence. The new binding goes after the binding for @var{after}. If @var{after} is @code{t} or is omitted, then the new binding goes last, at the end of the keymap. However, new bindings are added before any inherited keymap. Here is an example: @example (define-key-after my-menu [drink] '("Drink" . drink-command) 'eat) @end example @noindent makes a binding for the fake function key @key{DRINK} and puts it right after the binding for @key{EAT}. Here is how to insert an item called @samp{Work} in the @samp{Signals} menu of Shell mode, after the item @code{break}: @example (define-key-after (lookup-key shell-mode-map [menu-bar signals]) [work] '("Work" . work-command) 'break) @end example @end defun @ignore arch-tag: cfb87287-9364-4e46-9e93-6c2f7f6ae794 @end ignore