the text that would appear in a mode line or header line
based on certain mode-line specification.
-@defun format-mode-line &optional format window no-props buffer
+@defun format-mode-line format &optional window no-props buffer
This function formats a line of text according to @var{format} as if
it were generating the mode line for @var{window}, but instead of
displaying the text in the mode line or the header line, it returns
-the text as a string.
-
-If @var{format} is @code{nil}, that means to use
-@code{mode-line-format} and return the text that would appear in the
-mode line. If @var{format} is @code{t}, that means to use
-@code{header-line-format} so as to return the text that would appear
-in the header line (@code{""} if the window has no header line).
-The argument @var{window} defaults to the selected window.
+the text as a string. The argument @var{window} defaults to the
+selected window. If @var{buffer} is non-@code{nil}, all the
+information used is taken from @var{buffer}; by default, it comes from
+@var{window}'s buffer.
The value string normally has text properties that correspond to the
faces, keymaps, etc., that the mode line would have. If
@var{no-props} is non-@code{nil}, the value has no text properties.
-If @var{buffer} is non-@code{nil}, all the information used is taken
-from @var{buffer}; by default,it comes from @var{window}'s buffer.
+
+For example, @code{(format-mode-line header-line-format)} returns the
+text that would appear in the selected window's header line (@code{""}
+if it has no header line).
@end defun
@node Imenu