@cindex @file{.dir-locals.el} file
The usual way to define directory-local variables is to put a file
-named @file{.dir-locals.el}@footnote{ On MS-DOS, the name of this file
-should be @file{_dir-locals.el}, due to limitations of the DOS
-filesystems. If the filesystem is limited to 8+3 file names, the name
-of the file will be truncated by the OS to @file{_dir-loc.el}.
-}@footnote{ You can also use @file{.dir-locals-2.el}, which
-is loaded in addition. This is useful when @file{.dir-locals.el} is
-under version control in a shared repository and can't be used for
-personal customizations. } in a
-directory. Whenever Emacs visits any file in that directory or any of
-its subdirectories, it will apply the directory-local variables
+named @file{.dir-locals.el}@footnote{
+On MS-DOS, the name of this file should be @file{_dir-locals.el}, due
+to limitations of the DOS filesystems. If the filesystem is limited
+to 8+3 file names, the name of the file will be truncated by the OS to
+@file{_dir-loc.el}.
+}in a directory. Whenever Emacs visits any file in that directory or
+any of its subdirectories, it will apply the directory-local variables
specified in @file{.dir-locals.el}, as though they had been defined as
file-local variables for that file (@pxref{File Variables}). Emacs
searches for @file{.dir-locals.el} starting in the directory of the
extended for remote files by setting the variable
@code{enable-remote-dir-locals} to @code{t}.
+ You can also use @file{.dir-locals-2.el}; if found, Emacs loads it
+in addition to @file{.dir-locals.el}. This is useful when
+@file{.dir-locals.el} is under version control in a shared repository
+and can't be used for personal customizations.
+
The @file{.dir-locals.el} file should hold a specially-constructed
list, which maps major mode names (symbols) to alists
(@pxref{Association Lists,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}).