Re: Emacs's --geometry argument vs default-frame-alist

[Jan Djärv]

Stefan Monnier skrev:
> The interaction between the --geometry argument and the default-frame-alist
> setting has recently changed.
>
> It is rather inconvenient for me now:
>
> I typically start my Emacs as follows:
>
>    emacs --geometry 256x1+0-0
>
> and in my .emacs I do something like:
>
>    (setq initial-frame-alist '((minibuffer . only)))
>    (setq default-frame-alist
>          '((minibuffer . nil) (height . 40) (width . 80) (user-size . t)))
>
> This used to result in the exact behavior I want: Emacs starts as a single-line
> minibuffer-only frame, and other frames have the normal size.
>
> But now, my default-frame-alist I set in .emacs gets overwritten by the
> "256x1" geometry argument, so subsequent frames also have this weird 256x1
> shape :-(
>
> What was the reason for the change?

The reason was this:

C.9 Options for Window Size and Position
========================================

Here is a list of the command-line options for specifying size and
position of the initial Emacs frame:

`-g WIDTHxHEIGHT[{+-}XOFFSET{+-}YOFFSET]]'
`--geometry=WIDTHxHEIGHT[{+-}XOFFSET{+-}YOFFSET]]'
     Specify the size WIDTH and HEIGHT (measured in character columns
     and lines), and positions XOFFSET and YOFFSET (measured in
     pixels).  The WIDTH and HEIGHT parameters apply to all frames,
     whereas XOFFSET and YOFFSET only to the initial frame.

"The WIDTH and HEIGHT parameters apply to all frames" was not true before the 
change.  See thread at 
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-pretest-bug/2006-10/msg00328.html

So the behaviour you see now does conform to the manual.  You can always put 
width and height in the initial-frame-alist instead of giving -g on the 
command line.

But there is something else going on here.  If I run with your settings above 
in my .emacs (and only those lines), I first get a 256x1 minibuffer and 
nothing else.  But frames created after that are 80x40.  Is that how it should be?

        Jan D.


        Jan D.