Info Catalog elisp: Parameter Access elisp: Frame Parameters elisp: Window Frame Parameters

elisp: Initial Parameters

 
 28.4.2 Initial Frame Parameters
 -------------------------------
 
 You can specify the parameters for the initial startup frame by setting
 ‘initial-frame-alist’ in your init file (Init File).
 
  -- User Option: initial-frame-alist
      This variable’s value is an alist of parameter values used when
      creating the initial frame.  You can set this variable to specify
      the appearance of the initial frame without altering subsequent
      frames.  Each element has the form:
 
           (PARAMETER . VALUE)
 
      Emacs creates the initial frame before it reads your init file.
      After reading that file, Emacs checks ‘initial-frame-alist’, and
      applies the parameter settings in the altered value to the already
      created initial frame.
 
      If these settings affect the frame geometry and appearance, you’ll
      see the frame appear with the wrong ones and then change to the
      specified ones.  If that bothers you, you can specify the same
      geometry and appearance with X resources; those do take effect
      before the frame is created.  X Resources (emacs)X
      Resources.
 
      X resource settings typically apply to all frames.  If you want to
      specify some X resources solely for the sake of the initial frame,
      and you don’t want them to apply to subsequent frames, here’s how
      to achieve this.  Specify parameters in ‘default-frame-alist’ to
      override the X resources for subsequent frames; then, to prevent
      these from affecting the initial frame, specify the same parameters
      in ‘initial-frame-alist’ with values that match the X resources.
 
    If these parameters include ‘(minibuffer . nil)’, that indicates that
 the initial frame should have no minibuffer.  In this case, Emacs
 creates a separate “minibuffer-only frame” as well.
 
  -- User Option: minibuffer-frame-alist
      This variable’s value is an alist of parameter values used when
      creating an initial minibuffer-only frame (i.e., the
      minibuffer-only frame that Emacs creates if ‘initial-frame-alist’
      specifies a frame with no minibuffer).
 
  -- User Option: default-frame-alist
      This is an alist specifying default values of frame parameters for
      all Emacs frames—the first frame, and subsequent frames.  When
      using the X Window System, you can get the same results by means of
      X resources in many cases.
 
      Setting this variable does not affect existing frames.
      Furthermore, functions that display a buffer in a separate frame
      may override the default parameters by supplying their own
      parameters.
 
    If you invoke Emacs with command-line options that specify frame
 appearance, those options take effect by adding elements to either
 ‘initial-frame-alist’ or ‘default-frame-alist’.  Options which affect
 just the initial frame, such as ‘--geometry’ and ‘--maximized’, add to
 ‘initial-frame-alist’; the others add to ‘default-frame-alist’.  
 Command Line Arguments for Emacs Invocation (emacs)Emacs Invocation.
 

Info Catalog elisp: Parameter Access elisp: Frame Parameters elisp: Window Frame Parameters