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emacselispmodeline

How does Emacs select which minor modes to list in the mode line?

I plan to customize mode line in Emacs in near future, and i don't understand the algorithm behind listing minor modes in the mode line.

In section «1.3 The Mode Line» of Emacs manual it says: «MINOR is a list of some of the enabled "minor modes"»

While in section «23.2 Minor Modes» it says: «Most buffer-local minor modes say in the mode line when they are enabled»

However i have ErgoEmacs minor mode listed, which is global. Can somebody explain the mechanism behind this and preferably point at various elisp sources responsible for that?

Solution

  • This is specified for each individual mode, by the mode's own definition.

    If you read on to section 23.3.3 - Defining Minor Modes:

    The string LIGHTER says what to display in the mode line when the mode is enabled; if it is `nil', the mode is not displayed in the mode line.

    See:

    M-: (info "(elisp) Defining Minor Modes") RET

    C-hf define-minor-mode RET

    See also http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/DelightedModes which facilitates easy customisation of the mode line display for both major and minor modes.