Special Emacs Files
This section contains a list of all of the special files Emacs may access while it is running.
- sys$login:emacsinit.ml -- This is your private start-up file. The file is executed as a series of MLisp expressions as part of the Emacs initialisation process.
- emacs_path:emacsinit.ml -- Alternative location for the emacsinit.ml file.
- emacs_user:emacs7_nt.env -- This file contains your private saved Emacs environment saved under Windows NT.
- emacs_user:emacs7_95.env -- This file contains your private saved Emacs environment saved under Windows 95.
- sys$login:emacslib -- This file is a database which contains your private library of MLisp programs. When the ESC-x execute-mlisp-file command is issued, this text library will be included in the search for a program.
- sys$login:subrnames -- This file is a database which contains your one-line descriptions of special words for the ESC-x describe-word-in-buffer command.
- emacs_library:emacslib -- This file is a database containing all the MLisp programs and libraries supplied with Emacs.
- emacs_library:emacslang -- This is the Emacs language template database for use with c-mode and bliss-mode. The default templates are in this file. See Editing Programs for more information on language-specific editing.
- sys$login:language-templates -- This is your personal language template database file. You put your own customised language templates for use with c-mode and bliss-mode in this file. See Editing Programs for more information on language specific editing.
Emacs Logical Names
Emacs uses a number of logical names. These names point to directories. For example, the logical name emacs_user points to the users emacs library directory. A file in there called profile.ml could be referred to as follows:
If you are familiar with OpenVMS, you will realise that these logical names are the equivalent of OpenVMS logical names.
The standard logical names include the following:
- sys$login -- This is your personal directory. Under Windows NT is login in directory as defined by the system administrator.
- sys$scratch -- This is the directory that emacs creates temporary files in. Typically this is C:\TEMP.
- emacs_user -- This is your personal emacs directory. Under Windows NT it defaults to sys$login:\bemacs.
- emacs_checkpoint -- Emacs writes all checkpoint files to the directory specified by this logical name.
- emacs_info -- This name is used by the INFO subsystem to access its database.
- emacs_journal -- Points to the directory that Emacs uses to store journal files.
- emacs_library -- Is used to access files and databases nessesary to run emacs. For example it contains: emacsinit.ml, emacs_profile.ml and the supplied libraries and packages.
- emacs_local_library -- This optional logical name may be used to point at a local library of emacs programs and library files.
- emacs_memory -- Points to the location of the Emacs memory file. By default, this is the current directory. Define emacs_memory to be the null device to disable memory files. NUL is the name of the null device on Windows.
You can add your own logical definitions by editing the [DeviceNames] section in the file emacs060.ini.