Next: , Up: The Echo Area   [Contents][Index]

37.4.1 Displaying Messages in the Echo Area

This section describes the standard functions for displaying messages in the echo area.

Function: message format-string &rest arguments

This function displays a message in the echo area. format-string is a format string, and arguments are the objects for its format specifications, like in the format-message function (see Formatting Strings). The resulting formatted string is displayed in the echo area; if it contains face text properties, it is displayed with the specified faces (see Faces). The string is also added to the *Messages* buffer, but without text properties (see Logging Messages).

The text-quoting-style variable controls what quotes are generated; See Keys in Documentation. A call using a format like "Missing `%s'" with grave accents and apostrophes typically generates a message like "Missing ‘foo’" with matching curved quotes. In contrast, a call using a format like "Missing '%s'" with only apostrophes typically generates a message like "Missing ’foo’" with only closing curved quotes, an unusual style in English.

In batch mode, the message is printed to the standard error stream, followed by a newline.

When inhibit-message is non-nil, no message will be displayed in the echo area, it will only be logged to ‘*Messages*’.

If format-string is nil or the empty string, message clears the echo area; if the echo area has been expanded automatically, this brings it back to its normal size. If the minibuffer is active, this brings the minibuffer contents back onto the screen immediately.

(message "Reverting `%s'..." (buffer-name))
 ⊣ Reverting ‘subr.el’...
⇒ "Reverting ‘subr.el’..."


        
---------- Echo Area ----------
Reverting ‘subr.el’...
---------- Echo Area ----------


      


      
To automatically display a message in the echo area or in
      a pop-buffer, depending on its size, use
      display-message-or-buffer (see below).


      
Warning: If you want to use your own
      string as a message verbatim, don’t just write
      (message string). If
      string contains ‘%’,
      ‘`’, or ‘'’
      it may be reformatted, with undesirable results. Instead, use
      (message "%s" string).

    

  


  

    
Variable:
    inhibit-message


    

      
When this variable is non-nil,
      message and related functions will not use the
      Echo Area to display messages.

    

  


  

    
Macro:
    with-temp-message message &rest
    body


    

      
This construct displays a message in the echo area
      temporarily, during the execution of body. It
      displays message, executes body, then
      returns the value of the last body form while restoring the
      previous echo area contents.

    

  


  

    
Function:
    message-or-box format-string &rest
    arguments


    

      
This function displays a message like
      message, but may display it in a dialog box
      instead of the echo area. If this function is called in a
      command that was invoked using the mouse—more
      precisely, if last-nonmenu-event (see Command Loop
      Info) is either nil or a list—then it
      uses a dialog box or pop-up menu to display the message.
      Otherwise, it uses the echo area. (This is the same criterion
      that y-or-n-p uses to make a similar decision;
      see Yes-or-No
      Queries.)


      
You can force use of the mouse or of the echo area by
      binding last-nonmenu-event to a suitable value
      around the call.

    

  


  

    
Function:
    message-box format-string &rest
    arguments


    

      

      
This function displays a message like
      message, but uses a dialog box (or a pop-up
      menu) whenever that is possible. If it is impossible to use a
      dialog box or pop-up menu, because the terminal does not
      support them, then message-box uses the echo
      area, like message.

    

  


  

    
Function:
    display-message-or-buffer message
    &optional buffer-name action frame


    

      
This function displays the message message,
      which may be either a string or a buffer. If it is shorter
      than the maximum height of the echo area, as defined by
      max-mini-window-height, it is displayed in the
      echo area, using message. Otherwise,
      display-buffer is used to show it in a pop-up
      buffer.


      
Returns either the string shown in the echo area, or when
      a pop-up buffer is used, the window used to display it.


      
If message is a string, then the optional
      argument buffer-name is the name of the buffer
      used to display it when a pop-up buffer is used, defaulting
      to *Message*. In the case where
      message is a string and displayed in the echo
      area, it is not specified whether the contents are inserted
      into the buffer anyway.


      
The optional arguments action and
      frame are as for display-buffer, and
      only used if a buffer is displayed.

    

  


  

    
Function:
    current-message


    

      
This function returns the message currently being
      displayed in the echo area, or nil if there is
      none.

    

  

  


  

    
Next: , Up: The
    Echo Area   [Contents][Index]