Emacs: What is Major Mode

What is a Major Mode

Each buffer is associated with one major mode.

A major mode is a collection of emacs features, designed for specific task.

Example of major modes:

• programing languages: emacs-lisp-mode, python-mode, ruby-mode, js-mode etc.
• dired [see Emacs: File Manager, dired]
• shell [see Emacs: Run Shell in Emacs]
• image-mode [see Emacs: View Image File]
• eww [see Emacs: Eww Web Browser]

Switch to a Major Mode

Each major mode typically has a associated command. e.g. Alt+x shell. If a mode is named “xx-mode”, the command to turn it on is usually named “xx” or “xx-mode”.

• To switch to a major mode, just Alt+x major_mode_command_name

A proper major mode is usually automatically turned on when you open a file. [see Emacs Init: Set Default Major Mode]

What is fundamental-mode

fundamental-mode is the most basic major mode.

If you want to turn off major mode, switch to fundamental-mode.

Find the Name of Current Major-Mode

The current major mode's name is stored in a variable major-mode

major-mode

A Buffer Local Variable . Value is Symbol of current buffer's major mode. [see Emacs: Show Variable Value]

Major Mode's Display Name

Current major mode's display name shows in the mode line: