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Next: <a rel="next" accesskey="n" href="Basic-Macros.html#Basic-Macros">Basic Macros</a>,
Previous: <a rel="previous" accesskey="p" href="Editing.html#Editing">Editing</a>,
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<h3 class="section">2.5 Basic Preferences</h3>
<p><a name="index-Preferences-32"></a><a name="index-Flags-33"></a><a name="index-Insert-mode-34"></a><a name="index-Automatic-preferences-35"></a>
<code>ne</code> has a number of <dfn>flags</dfn> that specify alternative
behaviors, the most prototypical example being the <dfn>insert</dfn> flag,
which specifies whether the text you type is inserted into the existing text
or overwrites it. You can toggle this flag with the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Insert</span></samp>’ menu
item of the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Prefs</span></samp>’ menu, or with the <Insert> key of your
keyboard. (<dfn>Toggle</dfn> means to change the value of a flag from true to
false, or from false to true; see <a href="Insert.html#Insert">Insert</a>.)
<p>Another important flag is the <dfn>free form</dfn> flag, which specifies
whether the cursor can be moved beyond the right end of each line of
text or only to existing text (a la <code>vi</code>). Programmers usually
prefer non free form editing; text writers seem to prefer free form. See
<a href="FreeForm.html#FreeForm">FreeForm</a> for some elaboration. The free form flag can be set with
the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Free Form</span></samp>’ menu item of the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Prefs</span></samp>’ menu.
<p>At this point, we suggest you explore by trial and error the other
flags of the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Prefs</span></samp>’ menu, or try the <code>Flags</code> command (see <a href="Flags.html#Flags">Flags</a>),
which explains all the flags and the commands that operate on
them. We prefer spending a few words discussing <dfn>automatic
preferences</dfn> or <dfn>autoprefs</dfn>.
<p>Having many flags ensures a high degree of flexibility, but it can turn
editing into a nightmare if you have to turn on and off dozens of flags
for each different kind of file you edit. <code>ne</code>'s solution is to
automatically set a document's flags when a file is loaded based on your
stated preferences for each <dfn>file type</dfn>. A file's type is determined
by the <dfn>extension</dfn> of its file name, that is, the last group of letters
after the last dot. For instance, the extension of <samp><span class="file">ne.texinfo</span></samp> is
‘<samp><span class="samp">texinfo</span></samp>’, the extension of <samp><span class="file">source.c</span></samp> is ‘<samp><span class="samp">c</span></samp>’, and the
extension of <samp><span class="file">my.txt</span></samp> is ‘<samp><span class="samp">txt</span></samp>’.
<p>Whenever you select the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Save AutoPrefs</span></samp>’ menu item, <code>ne</code> saves
the flags of your current document to be used when
you load other files with the same extension as your current document.
These <dfn>autoprefs</dfn> are saved in a file in your <samp><span class="file">~/.ne</span></samp>
directory. This file has the same name as the extension of the current
document with ‘<samp><span class="samp">#ap</span></samp>’ appended to it. It contains all the commands
necessary to recreate your current document's flag settings. Whenever
you open a file with this file name extension, <code>ne</code> will
automagically recreate your preferred flag settings for that file type.
(There is a flag that inhibits the process; see <a href="AutoPrefs.html#AutoPrefs">AutoPrefs</a>.)
<p>Finally, when you select the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Save Def Prefs</span></samp>’ menu item, a special
preferences file named <samp><span class="file">.default#ap</span></samp> is saved. These preferences
are loaded whenever <code>ne</code> is run before loading any file. This is
how you set up the preferences you always want to be set.
<p>A small set of preferences are global to <code>ne</code> rather than specific
to particular document types. Thus they are saved in the <samp><span class="file">.default#ap</span></samp>
file by the <code>SaveDefPrefs</code> command or the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Save Def Prefs</span></samp>’ menu.
They are not saved by the <code>SaveAutoPrefs</code> command. These preferences are:
<code>FastGUI</code>, <code>RequestOrder</code>, <code>StatusBar</code> and <code>VerboseMacros</code>;
see <a href="FastGUI.html#FastGUI">FastGUI</a>, See <a href="RequestOrder.html#RequestOrder">RequestOrder</a>, See <a href="StatusBar.html#StatusBar">StatusBar</a>, and See <a href="VerboseMacros.html#VerboseMacros">VerboseMacros</a>.
<p>Similarly, the current syntax definition is specific to the current
document type, so it is saved only in autoprefs files by the
<code>SaveAutoPrefs</code> command or ‘<samp><span class="samp">Save AutoPrefs</span></samp>’ menu; it is not
saved in the <samp><span class="file">.default#ap</span></samp> file.
<p>Note also that a preferences file is just a macro (as described in the
following section). Thus, it can be edited manually if necessary.
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