Re: new *Help* argument highlighting

[Robert J. Chassell]

[Regarding bold causing a problem in a mode line]

   > First, will someone who understands the patch review it?  Or should I
   > commit the merged version of xfaces.c and see whether it breaks others
   > people's installations?

   My understanding of the patch is that it introduces risks of crashes.
   If you set realize-face-filter-functions to functions that are simple
   enough, it might be safe (tho maybe only if you compile with -DSYNC_INPUT).

I did suffer some crashes immediately after installing the patch, but
none in the past year or so.  As I said a year ago, I think that some
other change to xfaces.c solved that danger.  But an alternative
explanation is that I stopped doing anything that evokes the
condition.  I don't know which is which, although I doubt the latter.

Here are extracts from the message I sent on 20 Nov 2002.  As I saw it
then, the problem is how to make a permanent global change to a
variable that is buffer local?

        ... using a `10x20' font, 
            -Misc-Fixed-Medium-R-Normal--20-200-75-75-C-100-ISO8859-1
        which has been very clear for the screen I am using.

      * I cannot permanently change 
            :weight bold 
        to
            :weight normal
        in the variable `mode-line-buffer-identification', which is
        buffer-local.

        That is to say, when I reset the value of
        `mode-line-buffer-identification' so its face is 
        :weight normal rather than :weight bold, that change is only
        temporary.  I don't know what to write in my .emacs file that
        can make a permanent global change to a variable that is
        buffer local.  If there is a method please tell me!


        Put another way, evaluating the following works temporarily
        but not permanently:

            (setq
             mode-line-buffer-identification
             (quote
              (#("%14b" 0 4
                 (face
                  ;; (:weight bold)
                  (:weight normal)
                  help-echo
                  "mouse-1: other buffer, mouse-2: prev, M-mouse-2: next, 
mouse-3: buffer menu"
                  local-map
                  (keymap
                   (header-line keymap
                                (down-mouse-3 . mouse-buffer-menu)
                                (mouse-2 . bury-buffer)
                                (M-mouse-2 . mode-line-unbury-buffer)
                                (mouse-1 . mode-line-other-buffer))
                   (mode-line keymap
                              (down-mouse-3 . mouse-buffer-menu)
                              (mouse-2 . bury-buffer)
                              (M-mouse-2 . mode-line-unbury-buffer))))))
              ))


        On the other hand, the following produces the face that I specify 
        when I evaluate it:

            (custom-set-faces
            ...
             '(bold ((t (:background "DodgerBlue4" :foreground "cyan"))))
            ...)

    ...


    Please tell me how to reset the bold characteristic universally.
    I talked about `mode-line-buffer-identification' because it is easy
    and obvious, but it turns out that name of directories shown in a
    PCL-CVS *cvs* buffer are also effected.  The `m' in the word `emacs'
    becomes unreadable.

-- 
    Robert J. Chassell                         Rattlesnake Enterprises
    As I slowly update it,                     address@hidden
        I rewrite a "What's New" segment for   http://www.rattlesnake.com