Next: Side Window Options and Functions, Up: Side Windows [Contents][Index]
The following action function for display-buffer
(see Buffer Display Action Functions) creates or reuses a side window for
displaying the specified buffer.
This function displays buffer in a side window of the selected
frame. It returns the window used for displaying buffer,
nil
if no such window can be found or created.
alist is an association list of symbols and values as for
display-buffer
. The following symbols in alist are special
for this function:
side
Denotes the side of the frame where the window shall be located. Valid
values are left
, top
, right
and bottom
. If
unspecified, the window is located at the bottom of the frame.
slot
Denotes a slot at the specified side where to locate the window. A
value of zero means to preferably position the window in the middle of
the specified side. A negative value means to use a slot preceding
(that is, above or on the left of) the middle slot. A positive value
means to use a slot following (that is, below or on the right of) the
middle slot. Hence, all windows on a specific side are ordered by their
slot
value. If unspecified, the window is located in the middle
of the specified side.
If you specify the same slot on the same side for two or more different buffers, the buffer displayed last is shown in the corresponding window. Hence, slots can be used for sharing the same side window between buffers.
This function installs the window-side
and window-slot
parameters (see Window Parameters) and makes them persistent. It
does not install any other window parameters unless they have been
explicitly provided via a window-parameters
entry in alist.
By default, side windows cannot be split via split-window
(see Splitting Windows). Also, a side window is not reused or
split by any buffer display action (see Buffer Display Action Functions) unless it is explicitly specified as target of that
action. Note also that delete-other-windows
cannot make a side
window the only window on its frame (see Deleting Windows).
Once set up, side windows also change the behavior of the commands
switch-to-prev-buffer
and switch-to-next-buffer
(see Window History). In particular, these commands will refrain
from showing, in a side window, buffers that have not been displayed in
that window before. They will also refrain from having a normal,
non-side window show a buffer that has been already displayed in a side
window. A notable exception to the latter rule occurs when an
application, after displaying a buffer, resets that buffer’s local
variables.
Next: Side Window Options and Functions, Up: Side Windows [Contents][Index]