bug#8597: horrible default colors for emacs -nw

bug#8597: horrible default colors for emacs -nw

[Drew Adams]

In GNU Emacs 24.0.50.1 (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600)
 of 2011-04-25 on 3249CTO
Windowing system distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 5.1.2600
configured using `configure --with-gcc (4.5) --no-opt --cflags
-Ic:/imagesupport/include'

1. The region is a dark blue that does not invert the black foreground. So
selected text is illegible.

2. When sending a bug report the To and Subject lines have yellow text (on a
white background).  Illegible.  Other text, such as "--text follows this line--"
is cyan on white - also too light a color to be legible.

3. About the only reasonable color used for sending a bug report is for the
field names (e.g. From:) - that uses a dark green. All the rest is ridiculous:
magenta, yellow, light cyan foregrounds on a white background - by default?
What were you thinking?

bug#8597: horrible default colors for emacs -nw

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 09:09:03 -0700
> 
> 1. The region is a dark blue that does not invert the black foreground.

It never did.  If we want to change the foreground, we need to specify
it for the `region' face.

> So selected text is illegible.

What foreground color is the selected text, and what is the background
of the `default' face?

In fact, could you please provide a recipe starting from "emacs -Q -nw"?

> 2. When sending a bug report the To and Subject lines have yellow text (on a
> white background).  Illegible.  Other text, such as "--text follows this line--"
> is cyan on white - also too light a color to be legible.

How did you get to the white background?  The default background of
"emacs -nw" on Windows is black.  Again, please provide a full recipe.

If I start with "emacs -Q -nw", then change the fore- and back-ground
colors of the `default' face to black and white, respectively (so at
least my background is as yours), then type "M-x report-emacs-bug", I
get the `message-header-name' whose foreground is "corneflower blue"
(mapped to cyan), not yellow.  And the "--text follows this line--"
part is shown in brown (displays as a kind of light yellowish color).
They are quite legible (although the white background is too glaring
to my taste; but then it isn't the default).  But you describe
entirely different colors.

> 3. About the only reasonable color used for sending a bug report is for the
> field names (e.g. From:) - that uses a dark green. All the rest is ridiculous:
> magenta, yellow, light cyan foregrounds on a white background - by default?
> What were you thinking?

I don't know what were "we" thinking, because I don't see any of these
colors when I try to reproduce this.  Would you please show a complete
recipe, starting from "emacs -Q -nw", to reproduce these problems?

bug#8597: horrible default colors for emacs -nw

[Drew Adams]

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> > 1. The region is a dark blue that does not invert the black 
> > foreground.
> 
> It never did.  If we want to change the foreground, we need to specify
> it for the `region' face.

My point was only that a black foreground on dark blue is not wonderful.

But see below - I think I found the cause, if not the cure.

> > So selected text is illegible.
> 
> What foreground color is the selected text, and what is the background
> of the `default' face?

Black foreground.  :background "unspecified-bg"

BTW, `M-x customize-face RET default RET' gives me a Customize buffer with a
bright yellow background on much of the buffer.  See screenshot.

> In fact, could you please provide a recipe starting from 
> "emacs -Q -nw"?

1. For region: emacs -nw, then select some text with the mouse: dark blue
background.

2. For the bug-reporting color:, emacs -nw, then `M-x report-emacs-bug RET
foobar RET'.

But see below.

> > 2. When sending a bug report the To and Subject lines have 
> > yellow text (on a white background).  Illegible.  Other text, such
> > as "--text follows this line--"
> > is cyan on white - also too light a color to be legible.
> 
> How did you get to the white background?  The default background of
> "emacs -nw" on Windows is black.  Again, please provide a full recipe.

I use a Windows shortcut that has this as Target:
C:\path-to\emacs.exe -nw -Q --debug-init "C:\drews-lisp-20"
Field Start in is C:\drews-lisp-20
Field Run is `Normal window'

However, and this is no doubt the cause of the problem, the shortcut also has
these settings for tab `Colors':

Screen background: Red, Green, Blue each 255
Selected screen colors: (black)
Selected pop-up colors: (a dark magenta/purple)

I do not set any Emacs faces (e.g. `region').  This Windows shortcut setting is
all I have.  I would hope that Emacs could figure out that it is dealing with a
light background (dark foreground), but no, I don't know anything about how it
might do that.

> If I start with "emacs -Q -nw", then change the fore- and back-ground
> colors of the `default' face to black and white, respectively (so at
> least my background is as yours), then type "M-x report-emacs-bug", I
> get the `message-header-name' whose foreground is "corneflower blue"
> (mapped to cyan), not yellow.  And the "--text follows this line--"
> part is shown in brown (displays as a kind of light yellowish color).
> They are quite legible (although the white background is too glaring
> to my taste; but then it isn't the default).  But you describe
> entirely different colors.

See above.  I just double-click my Windows XP shortcut, which is as described
above.  HTH.

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bug#8597: horrible default colors for emacs -nw

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Cc: <8597@debbugs.gnu.org>
> Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 11:14:13 -0700
> 
> Screen background: Red, Green, Blue each 255
> Selected screen colors: (black)
> Selected pop-up colors: (a dark magenta/purple)
> 
> I do not set any Emacs faces (e.g. `region').  This Windows shortcut setting is
> all I have.  I would hope that Emacs could figure out that it is dealing with a
> light background (dark foreground), but no, I don't know anything about how it
> might do that.

I think Emacs cannot figure out the background mode in a -nw session,
at least not in general.  There's no interface to the text terminal
that can tell it that.  But I will try to see if there's something
that can be done on Windows specifically.

bug#8597: horrible default colors for emacs -nw

[Drew Adams]

> I think Emacs cannot figure out the background mode in a -nw session,
> at least not in general.  There's no interface to the text terminal
> that can tell it that.  But I will try to see if there's something
> that can be done on Windows specifically.

OK, thanks.  If nothing can be done then please close the bug.

I think I just copied my shortcut for ordinary Emacs without -nw and then added
the -nw.  It works fine for ordinary (non -nw) Emacs.

bug#8597: horrible default colors for emacs -nw

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Cc: <8597@debbugs.gnu.org>
> Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:26:37 -0700
> 
> > I think Emacs cannot figure out the background mode in a -nw session,
> > at least not in general.  There's no interface to the text terminal
> > that can tell it that.  But I will try to see if there's something
> > that can be done on Windows specifically.
> 
> OK, thanks.  If nothing can be done then please close the bug.
> 
> I think I just copied my shortcut for ordinary Emacs without -nw and then added
> the -nw.  It works fine for ordinary (non -nw) Emacs.

I fixed this (in revno 104155 on the trunk).  xterm.el already queries
the terminal about the background color, so I used a similar technique
to do the same on the w32 console, except that I needed a new
primitive for that.

I'm closing this bug.  If you see anything wrong with how the new code
works with your shortcut, feel free to reopen it.