@cindex reload files
@cindex desktop
- You can use the desktop library to save the state of Emacs from one
-session to another. Saving the state means that Emacs starts up with
-the same set of buffers, major modes, buffer positions, and so on that
-the previous Emacs session had. Such a state is referred to as a ``desktop''.
+ Use the desktop library to save the state of Emacs from one session
+to another. Once you save the Emacs @dfn{desktop}---the buffers,
+their file names, major modes, buffer positions, and so on---then
+subsequent Emacs sessions reload the saved desktop.
- The saveplace library provides a simpler feature that records your
-position in each file when you kill its buffer (or kill Emacs), and
-jumps to the same position when you visit the file again (even in
-another Emacs session).
-
-@menu
-The desktop library
-* Desktop Save Mode:: How to enable desktop saving.
-* Desktop file and directory:: About desktop files and desktop directory.
-* Saving manually:: How to saving the desktop manually and why.
-* Information saved:: Controlling which information to save.
-* Desktop clear:: Clearing the desktop.
-* File name format:: Different formats to save file names in.
-
-The saveplace library
-* Saveplace:: Recording the position in each file.
-@end menu
-
-@node Desktop Save Mode
-@subsection Desktop Save Mode
-@findex desktop-save-mode
+@findex desktop-save
@vindex desktop-save-mode
- Desktop Save Mode is a global minor mode. @pxref{Minor Modes}.
-To enable desktop saving, you should use the Customization buffer
-(@pxref{Easy Customization}) to set @code{desktop-save-mode} to a
-non-@code{nil} value for future sessions, or add this line somewhere
-in your @file{.emacs} file:
+ You can save the desktop manually with the command @kbd{M-x
+desktop-save}. You can also enable automatical desktop saving when
+you exit Emacs: use the Customization buffer (@pxref{Easy
+Customization}) to set @code{desktop-save-mode} to @code{t} for future
+sessions, or add this line in your @file{~/.emacs} file:
@example
(desktop-save-mode 1)
@findex desktop-change-dir
@findex desktop-revert
-@findex desktop-read
-@vindex desktop-after-read-hook
- In order for Emacs to recover the desktop from a previous session, you
-must start it with the same current directory as you used when you
-started the previous session. This is because @code{desktop-read} looks
-in the current directory for the desktop file to read. This means that you can
-have separate saved desktops in different directories; the directory in
-which you start Emacs will control which saved desktop to use.
-You can also save the current desktop and recover one saved in another directory
-by typing @kbd{M-x desktop-change-dir}.
-Typing @kbd{M-x desktop-revert} reverts to the last recovered desktop.
-
-You may want Emacs to display a buffer list when a desktop is
-loaded. This is possible by adding e.g.@: the function @code{buffer-menu} to
-@code{desktop-after-read-hook}. @pxref{Buffers}.
-
-Specify the option @samp{--no-desktop} on the command line when you don't want
-any desktop to be loaded (even when desktop saving is enabled).
-
-@node Desktop file and directory
-@subsection Desktop file and desktop directory
-@cindex desktop file
-@cindex desktop directory
-@vindex desktop-dirname
-@vindex desktop-base-file-name
-@vindex desktop-path
- Emacs sessions are stored in desktop files. When Emacs starts, it
-looks for a desktop file in the current directory and in your home
-directory, in that order. Thus, if you save a desktop file in your
-home directory, it will act as a default desktop when you start Emacs
-from a directory that doesn't have its own. Once a desktop file is
-found, the session described in it will be restored, and the directory
-where the desktop file was found will become the desktop directory.
-The desktop directory is the directory in which the desktop file is
-saved when Emacs is exited; it is saved in the variable
-@code{desktop-dirname}.
-
- You can change the base name of the desktop file and the list of
-directories where Emacs should look for a desktop file at startup by
-customizing the variables @code{desktop-base-file-name} and
-@code{desktop-path}.
-
-@node Saving manually
-@subsection Saving the desktop manually
-@vindex desktop-save
-@findex desktop-save
-@findex desktop-save-in-desktop-dir
- If you prefer to save desktops manually rather than having Emacs
-save them automatically at exit, set the customizable variable
-@code{desktop-save} to the value @code{nil}. Then desktops are never
-saved automatically, instead you can save then by typing @kbd{M-x
-desktop-save} or @kbd{M-x desktop-save-in-desktop-dir}. The first of
-these commands prompts for a directory to save the desktop in, the
-second saves it in the desktop directory. Customization of the
-variable @code{desktop-save} also lets you control when the desktop
-should be saved, based upon whether a desktop file already exists in
-the desktop directory -- see the documentation of the variable.
-
-@node Information saved
-@subsection Controlling which information to save
-@vindex desktop-files-not-to-save
-@vindex desktop-modes-not-to-save
-@vindex desktop-buffer-modes-to-save
-@vindex desktop-globals-to-save
-@vindex desktop-locals-to-save
- The customizable variable @code{desktop-files-not-to-save} controls
-which files are excluded from state saving. Its value is a regular
-expression that matches the files to exclude. By default, remote
-(ssh- or ftp-accessed) files are excluded; this is because visiting
-them again in a subsequent session would be slow. If you want to
-include these files in state saving, set
-@code{desktop-files-not-to-save} to @code{"^$"}. @xref{Remote Files}.
-You can also exclude buffers from state saving based on their mode by
-customizing @code{desktop-modes-not-to-save}.
-
- It is possible to save the state of buffers not visiting files,
-based on their mode. To do that, mention their mode it the
-customizable variable @code{desktop-buffer-modes-to-save}. However,
-only certain non-visiting modes will have their buffers recreated when
-the desktop is loaded. These are @code{dired-mode}, @code{Info-mode},
-@code{rmail-mode} and @code{mh-folder-mode}.
-
-@vindex desktop-save-hook
-@findex desktop-truncate
- To control which variables will be saved in the desktop file,
-customize the variables @code{desktop-globals-to-save} and
-@code{desktop-locals-to-save}. List variables, such as
-@code{search-ring} and @code{regexp-search-ring}, may contain
-excessive amounts of data. If you want to save only the first
-e.g.@: three elements, add to @code{desktop-save-hook} the function
+ When Emacs starts, it looks for a saved desktop in the current
+directory. Thus, you can have separate saved desktops in different
+directories, and the starting directory determines which one Emacs
+reloads. You can save the current desktop and reload one saved in
+another directory by typing @kbd{M-x desktop-change-dir}. Typing
+@kbd{M-x desktop-revert} reverts to the desktop previously reloaded.
-@example
-'(lambda ()
- (desktop-truncate search-ring 3)
- (desktop-truncate regexp-search-ring 3))
-@end example
+ Specify the option @samp{--no-desktop} on the command line when you
+don't want it to reload any saved desktop.
-@node Desktop clear
-@subsection Clearing the desktop
@findex desktop-clear
-@findex desktop-change-dir
-@findex desktop-revert
-@findex desktop-read
@vindex desktop-globals-to-clear
@vindex desktop-clear-preserve-buffers-regexp
-@vindex desktop-no-desktop-file-hook
- Type @kbd{M-x desktop-clear} to empty the desktop. This will kill
-all buffers except for internal ones and it will clear the global
-variables listed in @code{desktop-globals-to-clear}. If you want to
+ Type @kbd{M-x desktop-clear} to empty the Emacs desktop. This kills
+all buffers except for internal ones, and clears the global variables
+listed in @code{desktop-globals-to-clear}. If you want this to
preserve certain buffers, customize the variable
-@code{desktop-clear-preserve-buffers-regexp}. Its value is a regular
-expression matching the names of buffers not to kill. The commands
-@code{desktop-change-dir} and @code{desktop-revert} both calls
-@code{desktop-clear} before loading the desktop. Furthermore,
-@code{desktop-read} calls @code{desktop-clear} if no desktop file is
-found to load. If you want a dired buffer showing the desktop
-directory in when no desktop file is found, customize
-@code{desktop-no-desktop-file-hook} to have the value
-@code{((lambda () (dired desktop-dirname)))}. @pxref{Dired}.
-
-@node File name format
-@subsection File name format
-@vindex desktop-file-name-format
- The customizable variable @code{desktop-file-name-format} controls
-the format in which file names are saved in the desktop buffer. The
-default value is @code{absolute}, which means that file names are
-absolute. If you change this to @code{tilde}, file names are relative
-to your home directory. This means that desktop files might be copied
-from one machine to another, altough the absolute name of the home
-directories differ. If you change @code{desktop-file-name-format} to
-@code{local}, file names are relative to the desktop directory.
-
-@node Saveplace
-@subsection Saveplace
-@vindex save-place
-@cindex Saveplace
-@findex toggle-save-place
- The Saveplace library provides a simpler feature that records your
-position in each file when you kill its buffer (or kill Emacs), and
-jumps to the same position when you visit the file again (even in
-another Emacs session). Use @kbd{M-x toggle-save-place} to turn on
-place-saving in a given file. Customize the option @code{save-place}
-to turn it on for all files in each session.
+@code{desktop-clear-preserve-buffers-regexp}, whose value is a regular
+expression matching the names of buffers not to kill.
@node Recursive Edit, Emulation, Saving Emacs Sessions, Top
@section Recursive Editing Levels
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