Emacs in Microsoft Windows FAQ
Where to download emacs for Windows?
Where is emacs init file on Microsoft Windows?
How to list environment variables?
How to find out if emacs init is loaded?
put this in your Emacs Init File:
(set-background-color "ivory")
If emacs starts with new background color, then it's loaded.
How to Start Emacs by Command Line?
Launch
PowerShell
, then type for example:
~\Downloads\emacs-27.1-x86_64\bin\runemacs
How to start emacs in graphical user interface?
Go to emacs folder, then in the “bin” dir, then click on file runemacs.exe
How to start emacs with default dir at home dir?
How to disable Ctrl+Space on Windows
How to disable Ctrl+Alt+s in Microsoft Windows?
How to run PowerShell or Bash in emacs?
Setting Environment Variable for Emacs Only
Install Linux Tools
Some of emacs's features require unix utilities. The essential ones are these:
ispell
→ needed by emacs Alt+xispell-word
,flyspell-buffer
and others.diff
→ needed by emacs Alt+xdiff
grep
→ needed by emacs Alt+xgrep
and others.find
→ needed by emacs Alt+xfind-dired
.
There are several ways to get linux tools for Microsoft Windows.
I recomment one of the following:
- Install chocolatey package manager. This lets you install many unix command line tools easily. See Xah Windows Setup
- Install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
- For old school, try Cygwin Installing Cygwin Tutorial
Alternatively, i recommend not rely on unix {find, grep, diff}, because they are 30 years old technology.
You can easily use PowerShell for unix find/grep/diff. [see PowerShell Tutorial]
For find/replace/grep needs within emacs, try Emacs: Xah Find Replace (xah-find.el)
What About Setting Up Emacs Daemon
- Actually i do not recommend running emacs daemon.
- I'd recommend setup emacs so when it starts it doesn't prompt for any questions. So u can start any number of emacs process, independent from each other.
- Emacs daemon server has lots complexities, especially on Microsoft Windows.