The anatomy of an Emacs frame

The frame encompasses what is commonly referred to as a window in most desktop environments, which you are probably familiar with. The Emacs frame is the floating, interactive space for everything in Emacs, including the menu bar, toolbar, buffer window, mode line, and echo area.

Emacs takes commands based on text input or key commands; most Emacs users prefer to issue commands to the system this way. But, by default, you have the menu bar (which can be disabled in your configuration). The menu bar lets you issue commands via graphical menus.

Like many contemporary software applications, Emacs includes a rich, graphical toolbar with icons meant to represent the functions they perform.

If you want to emulate better the look and feel of other graphical text editors you are familiar with, you may consider keeping the toolbar and menu bar configured as is; if not, you can see how to turn them off when we get to the section on configuring your interface.

Here’s where the fun begins. The Emacs window is the main playable area, the canvas upon which you will design, organize, and compose the work you do in Emacs. You’ll find it just below the toolbar (if your toolbar is enabled). The window also contains your buffer space.

The Emacs mode line displays important information about your current buffer. As the name suggests, it will give you information about your major or minor modes. It can also be configured to provide you with other information that may help you in your daily workflow.

The echo area, also known as the mini buffer, “echoes” text to you for various purposes. For example, if you run a function, or save a file, or get an error, the echo area will display text back to you about what’s happening in Emacs. You can think of it as a status buffer. But, like everything else in Emacs, it’s much more than that, and can display both small bits of text, or large lists of information.