@c This is part of the Emacs manual. @c Copyright (C) 2000-2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc. @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. @node Mac OS / GNUstep @appendix Emacs and macOS / GNUstep @cindex macOS @cindex Macintosh @cindex GNUstep This section describes the peculiarities of using Emacs built with the GNUstep libraries on GNU/Linux or other operating systems, or on macOS with native window system support. On macOS, Emacs can be built either without window system support, with X11, or with the Cocoa interface; this section only applies to the Cocoa build. This does not support versions before macOS 10.6. For various historical and technical reasons, Emacs uses the term @samp{Nextstep} internally, instead of ``Cocoa'' or ``macOS''; for instance, most of the commands and variables described in this section begin with @samp{ns-}, which is short for @samp{Nextstep}. NeXTstep was an application interface released by NeXT Inc.@: during the 1980s, of which Cocoa is a direct descendant. Apart from Cocoa, there is another NeXTstep-style system: GNUstep, which is free software. As of this writing, Emacs GNUstep support is in alpha status (@pxref{GNUstep Support}), but we hope to improve it in the future. @menu * Mac / GNUstep Basics:: Basic Emacs usage under GNUstep or macOS. * Mac / GNUstep Customization:: Customizations under GNUstep or macOS. * Mac / GNUstep Events:: How window system events are handled. * GNUstep Support:: Details on status of GNUstep support. @end menu @node Mac / GNUstep Basics @section Basic Emacs usage under macOS and GNUstep @cindex modifier keys (macOS) By default, the @key{Alt} and @key{Option} keys are the same as @key{Meta}. The Mac @key{Cmd} key is the same as @key{Super}, and Emacs provides a set of key bindings using this modifier key that mimic other Mac / GNUstep applications (@pxref{Mac / GNUstep Events}). You can change these bindings in the usual way (@pxref{Key Bindings}). @vindex ns-alternate-modifier @vindex ns-right-alternate-modifier The variable @code{ns-right-alternate-modifier} controls the behavior of the right @key{Alt} and @key{Option} keys. These keys behave like the left-hand keys if the value is @code{left} (the default). A value of @code{control}, @code{meta}, @code{alt}, @code{super}, or @code{hyper} makes them behave like the corresponding modifier keys; a value of @code{left} means be the same key as @code{ns-alternate-modifier}; a value of @code{none} tells Emacs to ignore them, in which case you get the default behavior of macOS accentuation system from the right option key. @kbd{S-mouse-1} adjusts the region to the click position, just like @kbd{mouse-3} (@code{mouse-save-then-kill}); it does not pop up a menu for changing the default face, as @kbd{S-mouse-1} normally does (@pxref{Text Scale}). This change makes Emacs behave more like other Mac / GNUstep applications. When you open or save files using the menus, or using the @kbd{Cmd-o} and @kbd{Cmd-S} bindings, Emacs uses graphical file dialogs to read file names. However, if you use the regular Emacs key sequences, such as @kbd{C-x C-f}, Emacs uses the minibuffer to read file names. @cindex copy/paste to/from primary selection (macOS) On GNUstep, in an X-windows environment you need to use @kbd{Cmd-c} instead of one of the @kbd{C-w} or @kbd{M-w} commands to transfer text to the X primary selection; otherwise, Emacs will use the clipboard selection. Likewise, @kbd{Cmd-y} (instead of @kbd{C-y}) yanks from the X primary selection instead of the kill-ring or clipboard. @subsection Grabbing environment variables @c How is this any different to launching from a window manager menu @c in GNU/Linux? These are sometimes not login shells either. @cindex environment variables (macOS) Many programs which may run under Emacs, like latex or man, depend on the settings of environment variables. If Emacs is launched from the shell, it will automatically inherit these environment variables and its subprocesses will inherit them from it. But if Emacs is launched from the Finder it is not a descendant of any shell, so its environment variables haven't been set, which often causes the subprocesses it launches to behave differently than they would when launched from the shell. For the PATH and MANPATH variables, a system-wide method of setting PATH is recommended on macOS, using the @file{/etc/paths} files and the @file{/etc/paths.d} directory. @node Mac / GNUstep Customization @section Mac / GNUstep Customization There are a few customization options that are specific to the Nextstep port. For example, they affect things such as the modifier keys and the fullscreen behavior. To see all such options, use @kbd{M-x customize-group @key{RET} ns @key{RET}}. @subsection Font and Color Panels @findex ns-popup-font-panel The standard Mac / GNUstep font and color panels are accessible via Lisp commands. The Font Panel may be accessed with @kbd{M-x ns-popup-font-panel}. It will set the default font in the frame most recently used or clicked on. @c To make the setting permanent, use @samp{Save Options} in the @c Options menu, or run @code{menu-bar-options-save}. @findex ns-popup-color-panel You can bring up a color panel with @kbd{M-x ns-popup-color-panel} and drag the color you want over the Emacs face you want to change. Normal dragging will alter the foreground color. Shift dragging will alter the background color. To discard the settings, create a new frame and close the altered one. @c To make the changes permanent select the "Save Options" @c item in the "Options" menu, or run @code{menu-bar-options-save}. Useful in this context is the listing of all faces obtained by @kbd{M-x list-faces-display}. @cindex Core Text, on macOS @cindex font backend, on macOS In macOS, Emacs uses a Core Text based font backend by default. If you prefer the older font style, enter the following at the command-line before starting Emacs: @example % defaults write org.gnu.Emacs FontBackend ns @end example @node Mac / GNUstep Events @section Windowing System Events under macOS / GNUstep @cindex events on macOS Nextstep applications receive a number of special events which have no X equivalent. These are sent as specially defined key events, which do not correspond to any sequence of keystrokes. Under Emacs, these key events can be bound to functions just like ordinary keystrokes. Here is a list of these events. @table @key @item ns-open-file @vindex ns-pop-up-frames This event occurs when another Nextstep application requests that Emacs open a file. A typical reason for this would be a user double-clicking a file in the Finder application. By default, Emacs responds to this event by opening a new frame and visiting the file in that frame (@code{ns-find-file}). As an exception, if the selected buffer is the @file{*scratch*} buffer, Emacs visits the file in the selected frame. You can change how Emacs responds to a @code{ns-open-file} event by changing the variable @code{ns-pop-up-frames}. Its default value, @samp{fresh}, is what we have just described. A value of @code{t} means to always visit the file in a new frame. A value of @code{nil} means to always visit the file in the selected frame. @item ns-open-temp-file This event occurs when another application requests that Emacs open a temporary file. By default, this is handled by just generating a @code{ns-open-file} event, the results of which are described above. @item ns-open-file-line Some applications, such as ProjectBuilder and gdb, request not only a particular file, but also a particular line or sequence of lines in the file. Emacs handles this by visiting that file and highlighting the requested line (@code{ns-open-file-select-line}). @item ns-drag-file This event occurs when a user drags files from another application into an Emacs frame. The default behavior is to insert the contents of all the dragged files into the current buffer (@code{ns-insert-files}). The list of dragged files is stored in the variable @code{ns-input-file}. @item ns-drag-color This event occurs when a user drags a color from the color well (or some other source) into an Emacs frame. The default behavior is to alter the foreground color of the area the color was dragged onto (@code{ns-set-foreground-at-mouse}). If this event is issued with a @key{Shift} modifier, Emacs changes the background color instead (@code{ns-set-background-at-mouse}). The name of the dragged color is stored in the variable @code{ns-input-color}. @item ns-change-font This event occurs when the user selects a font in a Nextstep font panel (which can be opened with @kbd{Cmd-t}). The default behavior is to adjust the font of the selected frame (@code{ns-respond-to-changefont}). The name and size of the selected font are stored in the variables @code{ns-input-font} and @code{ns-input-fontsize}, respectively. @item ns-power-off This event occurs when the user logs out and Emacs is still running, or when ``Quit Emacs'' is chosen from the application menu. The default behavior is to save all file-visiting buffers. @end table @cindex using Nextstep services (macOS) Emacs also allows users to make use of Nextstep services, via a set of commands whose names begin with @samp{ns-service-} and end with the name of the service. Type @kbd{M-x ns-service-@key{TAB}} to see a list of these commands. These functions either operate on marked text (replacing it with the result) or take a string argument and return the result as a string. You can also use the Lisp function @code{ns-perform-service} to pass arbitrary strings to arbitrary services and receive the results back. Note that you may need to restart Emacs to access newly-available services. @node GNUstep Support @section GNUstep Support Emacs can be built and run under GNUstep, but there are still issues to be addressed. Interested developers should contact @ifnothtml @email{emacs-devel@@gnu.org}. @end ifnothtml @ifhtml @url{https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-devel, the emacs-devel mailing list}. @end ifhtml