@appendixsec Font Specification Options
@cindex font name (X Window System)
- By default, Emacs displays text in a twelve point Courier font (when
-using X). You can specify a different font on your command line
-through the option @samp{-fn @var{name}} (or @samp{--font}, which is
-an alias for @samp{-fn}).
+ By default, Emacs displays text in X using a twelve point monospace
+font. You can specify a different font using the command line option
+@samp{-fn @var{font}} (or @samp{--font}, which is an alias for
+@samp{-fn}).
@table @samp
-@item -fn @var{name}
+@item -fn @var{font}
@opindex -fn
-@itemx --font=@var{name}
+@itemx --font=@var{font}
@opindex --font
@cindex specify default font from the command line
-Use font @var{name} as the default font.
+Use @var{font} as the default font.
@end table
- Under X, each font has a long name which consists of fourteen words
-or numbers, separated by dashes. Some fonts also have shorter
-nicknames. For instance, @samp{9x15} is such a nickname. This font
-makes each character nine pixels wide and fifteen pixels high. You
-can use either kind of name. Case is insignificant in both kinds.
-You can use wildcard patterns for the font name; then Emacs lets X
-choose one of the fonts that match the pattern. The wildcard
-character @samp{*} matches any sequence of characters (including none)
-and @samp{?} matches any single character. However, matching is
-implementation-dependent, and can be inaccurate when wildcards match
-dashes in a long name. For reliable results, supply all 14 dashes and
-use wildcards only within a field. Here is an example, which happens
-to specify the font whose nickname is @samp{6x13}:
+@cindex X defaults file
+@cindex X resources file
+
+ You can also specify the font using your X resources file (usually a
+file named @file{.Xdefaults} or @file{.Xresources} in your home
+directory), by adding a line like this:
+
+@smallexample
+emacs.font: @samp{font}
+@end smallexample
+
+@noindent
+You must restart X, or use the @command{xrdb} command, for the X
+resources file to take effect. @xref{Resources}.
+
+@cindex fontconfig
+ There are four different ways to express a ``font name''. The first
+is to use the @dfn{Fontconfig format}, which has the following form:
+
+@smallexample
+@var{fontname}[-@var{fontsize}][:@var{property1}][:@var{property2}]...
+@end smallexample
+
+@noindent
+Within this format, any of the elements in braces may be omitted.
+Here, @var{fontname} is the ``family name'' of the font, such as
+@samp{Monospace} or @samp{DejaVu Serif}; @var{fontsize} is the ``point
+size'' of the font (one ``printer's point'' is about 1/72 of an inch);
+and the @var{property} entries specify font settings such as
+@samp{bold}, @samp{italic}, @samp{weight=bold}, @samp{slant=oblique},
+and so forth. Here are some examples of specifying fonts using the
+Fontconfig format:
@smallexample
-emacs -fn \
- "-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1" &
+Monospace
+Monospace-12
+Monospace-12:bold
+DejaVu Sans Mono:bold:italic
+Monospace-12:weight=bold:slant=italic
@end smallexample
@noindent
-You can also specify the font in your @file{.Xdefaults} file:
+When passing a font specification to Emacs on the command line, you
+may need to ``quote'' it, by enclosing it in quotation marks, if it
+contains characters that the shell treats specially (e.g. spaces).
+For example:
@smallexample
-emacs.font: -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1
+emacs -fn "DejaVu Sans Mono-12"
@end smallexample
- Note that if you use a wildcard pattern on the command line, you
-need to enclose it in single or double quotes, to prevent the shell
-from accidentally expanding it into a list of file names. On the
-other hand, you should not quote the name in the @file{.Xdefaults}
-file.
+@noindent
+When specifying a font in your X resources file, you should not quote
+it.
-The default font used by Emacs (under X) is:
+ The second way to specify a font is to use the @dfn{GTK format}.
+This has the syntax
@smallexample
--adobe-courier-medium-r-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-1
+@var{fontname} [@var{properties}] [@var{fontsize}]
@end smallexample
- A long font name has the following form:
+where @var{fontname} is the family name, @var{properties} is a list of
+font properties separated by spaces, and @var{fontsize} is the point
+size. For example:
+
+@smallexample
+Monospace 12
+Monospace Bold Italic 12
+@end smallexample
+
+@cindex XLFD
+@cindex X Logical Font Description
+ The third way to specify a font is to use an @dfn{XLFD} (@dfn{X
+Logical Font Description}), which is the traditional method for
+specifying fonts under X. Each XLFD consists of fourteen words or
+numbers, separated by dashes, like this:
+
+@smallexample
+-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1
+@end smallexample
+
+@noindent
+A wildcard character (@samp{*}) in an XLFD matches any sequence of
+characters (including none), and @samp{?} matches any single
+character. However, matching is implementation-dependent, and can be
+inaccurate when wildcards match dashes in a long name. For reliable
+results, supply all 14 dashes and use wildcards only within a field.
+Case is insignificant in an XLFD. The syntax for an XLFD is as
+follows:
@smallexample
-@var{maker}-@var{family}-@var{weight}-@var{slant}-@var{widthtype}-@var{style}@dots{}
@dots{}-@var{pixels}-@var{height}-@var{horiz}-@var{vert}-@var{spacing}-@var{width}-@var{registry}-@var{encoding}
@end smallexample
+@noindent
+The entries have the following meanings:
+
@table @var
@item maker
-This is the name of the font manufacturer.
+The name of the font manufacturer.
@item family
-This is the name of the font family---for example, @samp{courier}.
+The name of the font family (e.g. @samp{courier}).
@item weight
-This is normally @samp{bold}, @samp{medium} or @samp{light}. Other
-words may appear here in some font names.
+The font weight---normally either @samp{bold}, @samp{medium} or
+@samp{light}. Some font names support other values.
@item slant
-This is @samp{r} (roman), @samp{i} (italic), @samp{o} (oblique),
-@samp{ri} (reverse italic), or @samp{ot} (other).
+The font slant---normally @samp{r} (roman), @samp{i} (italic),
+@samp{o} (oblique), @samp{ri} (reverse italic), or @samp{ot} (other).
+Some font names support other values.
@item widthtype
-This is normally @samp{condensed}, @samp{extended}, @samp{semicondensed}
-or @samp{normal}. Other words may appear here in some font names.
+The font width---normally @samp{condensed}, @samp{extended},
+@samp{semicondensed} or @samp{normal} (some font names support other
+values).
@item style
-This is an optional additional style name. Usually it is empty---most
-long font names have two hyphens in a row at this point.
+An optional additional style name. Usually it is empty---most long
+font names have two hyphens in a row at this point.
@item pixels
-This is the font height, in pixels.
+The font height, in pixels.
@item height
-This is the font height on the screen, measured in tenths of a printer's
-point---approximately 1/720 of an inch. In other words, it is the point
-size of the font, times ten. For a given vertical resolution,
-@var{height} and @var{pixels} are proportional; therefore, it is common
-to specify just one of them and use @samp{*} for the other.
+The font height on the screen, measured in tenths of a printer's
+point. This is the point size of the font, times ten. For a given
+vertical resolution, @var{height} and @var{pixels} are proportional;
+therefore, it is common to specify just one of them and use @samp{*}
+for the other.
@item horiz
-This is the horizontal resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
-which the font is intended.
+The horizontal resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for which
+the font is intended.
@item vert
-This is the vertical resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
-which the font is intended. Normally the resolution of the fonts on
-your system is the right value for your screen; therefore, you normally
+The vertical resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for which
+the font is intended. Normally the resolution of the fonts on your
+system is the right value for your screen; therefore, you normally
specify @samp{*} for this and @var{horiz}.
@item spacing
This is @samp{m} (monospace), @samp{p} (proportional) or @samp{c}
(character cell).
@item width
-This is the average character width, in pixels, multiplied by ten.
+The average character width, in pixels, multiplied by ten.
@item registry
@itemx encoding
-These together make up the X font character set that the font depicts.
-(X font character sets are not the same as Emacs charsets, but they
-are solutions for the same problem.) You can use the
-@command{xfontsel} program to check which choices you have. However,
-normally you should use @samp{iso8859} for @var{registry} and @samp{1}
-for @var{encoding}.
+The X font character set that the font depicts. (X font character
+sets are not the same as Emacs character sets, but they are similar.)
+You can use the @command{xfontsel} program to check which choices you
+have. Normally you should use @samp{iso8859} for @var{registry} and
+@samp{1} for @var{encoding}.
@end table
+ Some fonts have shorter nicknames, which you can use instead of a
+normal font specification. For instance,
+
+@smallexample
+-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1
+@end smallexample
+
+@noindent
+is equivalent to @samp{6x13}.
+
@cindex listing system fonts
You will probably want to use a fixed-width default font---that is,
a font in which all characters have the same width. Any font with
-@samp{m} or @samp{c} in the @var{spacing} field of the long name is a
+@samp{m} or @samp{c} in the @var{spacing} field of the XLFD is a
fixed-width font. Here's how to use the @command{xlsfonts} program to
list all the fixed-width fonts available on your system:
@noindent
displays the entire font @samp{6x13}.
- While running Emacs, you can set the font of the current frame
-(@pxref{Frame Parameters}) or for a specific kind of text
-(@pxref{Faces}).
+ While running Emacs, you can set the font of a specific kind of text
+(@pxref{Faces}), or of a particular frame (@pxref{Frame Parameters}).
@node Colors
@appendixsec Window Color Options
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