Org Mode Manual
This manual is for Org version 8.2.9.
Copyright © 2004–2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being “A GNU Manual,” and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License.”
(a) The FSF’s Back-Cover Text is: “You have the freedom to copy and modify this GNU manual.”
Introduction | Getting started |
Document Structure | A tree works like your brain |
Tables | Pure magic for quick formatting |
Hyperlinks | Notes in context |
TODO Items | Every tree branch can be a TODO item |
Tags | Tagging headlines and matching sets of tags |
Properties and Columns | Storing information about an entry |
Dates and Times | Making items useful for planning |
Capture - Refile - Archive | The ins and outs for projects |
Agenda Views | Collecting information into views |
Markup | Prepare text for rich export |
Exporting | Sharing and publishing notes |
Publishing | Create a web site of linked Org files |
Working With Source Code | Export, evaluate, and tangle code blocks |
Miscellaneous | All the rest which did not fit elsewhere |
Hacking | How to hack your way around |
MobileOrg | Viewing and capture on a mobile device |
History and Acknowledgments | How Org came into being |
GNU Free Documentation License | The license for this documentation. |
Main Index | An index of Org’s concepts and features |
Key Index | Key bindings and where they are described |
Command and Function Index | Command names and some internal functions |
Variable Index | Variables mentioned in the manual |
Detailed Node Listing
Introduction | |
---|---|
Summary | Brief summary of what Org does |
Installation | Installing Org |
Activation | How to activate Org for certain buffers |
Feedback | Bug reports, ideas, patches etc. |
Conventions | Typesetting conventions in the manual |
Document structure | |
Outlines | Org is based on Outline mode |
Headlines | How to typeset Org tree headlines |
Visibility cycling | Show and hide, much simplified |
Motion | Jumping to other headlines |
Structure editing | Changing sequence and level of headlines |
Sparse trees | Matches embedded in context |
Plain lists | Additional structure within an entry |
Drawers | Tucking stuff away |
Blocks | Folding blocks |
Footnotes | How footnotes are defined in Org’s syntax |
Orgstruct mode | Structure editing outside Org |
Org syntax | Formal description of Org’s syntax |
Visibility cycling | |
Global and local cycling | Cycling through various visibility states |
Initial visibility | Setting the initial visibility state |
Catching invisible edits | Preventing mistakes when editing invisible parts |
Global and local cycling | |
Initial visibility | Setting the initial visibility state |
Catching invisible edits | Preventing mistakes when editing invisible parts |
Tables | |
Built-in table editor | Simple tables |
Column width and alignment | Overrule the automatic settings |
Column groups | Grouping to trigger vertical lines |
Orgtbl mode | The table editor as minor mode |
The spreadsheet | The table editor has spreadsheet capabilities |
Org-Plot | Plotting from org tables |
The spreadsheet | |
References | How to refer to another field or range |
Formula syntax for Calc | Using Calc to compute stuff |
Formula syntax for Lisp | Writing formulas in Emacs Lisp |
Durations and time values | How to compute durations and time values |
Field and range formulas | Formula for specific (ranges of) fields |
Column formulas | Formulas valid for an entire column |
Lookup functions | Lookup functions for searching tables |
Editing and debugging formulas | Fixing formulas |
Updating the table | Recomputing all dependent fields |
Advanced features | Field and column names, parameters and automatic recalc |
Hyperlinks | |
Link format | How links in Org are formatted |
Internal links | Links to other places in the current file |
External links | URL-like links to the world |
Handling links | Creating, inserting and following |
Using links outside Org | Linking from my C source code? |
Link abbreviations | Shortcuts for writing complex links |
Search options | Linking to a specific location |
Custom searches | When the default search is not enough |
Internal links | |
Radio targets | Make targets trigger links in plain text |
TODO items | |
TODO basics | Marking and displaying TODO entries |
TODO extensions | Workflow and assignments |
Progress logging | Dates and notes for progress |
Priorities | Some things are more important than others |
Breaking down tasks | Splitting a task into manageable pieces |
Checkboxes | Tick-off lists |
Extended use of TODO keywords | |
Workflow states | From TODO to DONE in steps |
TODO types | I do this, Fred does the rest |
Multiple sets in one file | Mixing it all, and still finding your way |
Fast access to TODO states | Single letter selection of a state |
Per-file keywords | Different files, different requirements |
Faces for TODO keywords | Highlighting states |
TODO dependencies | When one task needs to wait for others |
Progress logging | |
Closing items | When was this entry marked DONE? |
Tracking TODO state changes | When did the status change? |
Tracking your habits | How consistent have you been? |
Tags | |
Tag inheritance | Tags use the tree structure of the outline |
Setting tags | How to assign tags to a headline |
Tag groups | Use one tag to search for several tags |
Tag searches | Searching for combinations of tags |
Properties and columns | |
Property syntax | How properties are spelled out |
Special properties | Access to other Org mode features |
Property searches | Matching property values |
Property inheritance | Passing values down the tree |
Column view | Tabular viewing and editing |
Property API | Properties for Lisp programmers |
Column view | |
Defining columns | The COLUMNS format property |
Using column view | How to create and use column view |
Capturing column view | A dynamic block for column view |
Defining columns | |
Scope of column definitions | Where defined, where valid? |
Column attributes | Appearance and content of a column |
Dates and times | |
Timestamps | Assigning a time to a tree entry |
Creating timestamps | Commands which insert timestamps |
Deadlines and scheduling | Planning your work |
Clocking work time | Tracking how long you spend on a task |
Effort estimates | Planning work effort in advance |
Relative timer | Notes with a running timer |
Countdown timer | Starting a countdown timer for a task |
Creating timestamps | |
The date/time prompt | How Org mode helps you entering date and time |
Custom time format | Making dates look different |
Deadlines and scheduling | |
Inserting deadline/schedule | Planning items |
Repeated tasks | Items that show up again and again |
Clocking work time | |
Clocking commands | Starting and stopping a clock |
The clock table | Detailed reports |
Resolving idle time | Resolving time when you’ve been idle |
Capture - Refile - Archive | |
Capture | Capturing new stuff |
Attachments | Add files to tasks |
RSS Feeds | Getting input from RSS feeds |
Protocols | External (e.g., Browser) access to Emacs and Org |
Refile and copy | Moving/copying a tree from one place to another |
Archiving | What to do with finished projects |
Capture | |
Setting up capture | Where notes will be stored |
Using capture | Commands to invoke and terminate capture |
Capture templates | Define the outline of different note types |
Capture templates | |
Template elements | What is needed for a complete template entry |
Template expansion | Filling in information about time and context |
Templates in contexts | Only show a template in a specific context |
Archiving | |
Moving subtrees | Moving a tree to an archive file |
Internal archiving | Switch off a tree but keep it in the file |
Agenda views | |
Agenda files | Files being searched for agenda information |
Agenda dispatcher | Keyboard access to agenda views |
Built-in agenda views | What is available out of the box? |
Presentation and sorting | How agenda items are prepared for display |
Agenda commands | Remote editing of Org trees |
Custom agenda views | Defining special searches and views |
Exporting Agenda Views | Writing a view to a file |
Agenda column view | Using column view for collected entries |
The built-in agenda views | |
Weekly/daily agenda | The calendar page with current tasks |
Global TODO list | All unfinished action items |
Matching tags and properties | Structured information with fine-tuned search |
Timeline | Time-sorted view for single file |
Search view | Find entries by searching for text |
Stuck projects | Find projects you need to review |
Presentation and sorting | |
Categories | Not all tasks are equal |
Time-of-day specifications | How the agenda knows the time |
Sorting agenda items | The order of things |
Filtering/limiting agenda items | Dynamically narrow the agenda |
Custom agenda views | |
Storing searches | Type once, use often |
Block agenda | All the stuff you need in a single buffer |
Setting Options | Changing the rules |
Markup for rich export | |
Structural markup elements | The basic structure as seen by the exporter |
Images and tables | Images, tables and caption mechanism |
Literal examples | Source code examples with special formatting |
Include files | Include additional files into a document |
Index entries | Making an index |
Macro replacement | Use macros to create templates |
Embedded LaTeX | LaTeX can be freely used inside Org documents |
Special blocks | Containers targeted at export back-ends |
Structural markup elements | |
Document title | Where the title is taken from |
Headings and sections | The document structure as seen by the exporter |
Table of contents | The if and where of the table of contents |
Lists | Lists |
Paragraphs | Paragraphs |
Footnote markup | Footnotes |
Emphasis and monospace | Bold, italic, etc. |
Horizontal rules | Make a line |
Comment lines | What will *not* be exported |
Embedded LaTeX | |
Special symbols | Greek letters and other symbols |
Subscripts and superscripts | Simple syntax for raising/lowering text |
LaTeX fragments | Complex formulas made easy |
Previewing LaTeX fragments | What will this snippet look like? |
CDLaTeX mode | Speed up entering of formulas |
Exporting | |
The Export Dispatcher | The main exporter interface |
Export back-ends | Built-in export formats |
Export settings | Generic export settings |
ASCII/Latin-1/UTF-8 export | Exporting to flat files with encoding |
Beamer export | Exporting as a Beamer presentation |
HTML export | Exporting to HTML |
LaTeX and PDF export | Exporting to LaTeX, and processing to PDF |
Markdown export | Exporting to Markdown |
OpenDocument Text export | Exporting to OpenDocument Text |
Org export | Exporting to Org |
Texinfo export | Exporting to Texinfo |
iCalendar export | Exporting to iCalendar |
Other built-in back-ends | Exporting to a man page |
Export in foreign buffers | Author tables and lists in Org syntax |
Advanced configuration | Fine-tuning the export output |
HTML export | |
HTML Export commands | How to invoke HTML export |
HTML doctypes | Org can export to various (X)HTML flavors |
HTML preamble and postamble | How to insert a preamble and a postamble |
Quoting HTML tags | Using direct HTML in Org mode |
Links in HTML export | How links will be interpreted and formatted |
Tables in HTML export | How to modify the formatting of tables |
Images in HTML export | How to insert figures into HTML output |
Math formatting in HTML export | Beautiful math also on the web |
Text areas in HTML export | An alternative way to show an example |
CSS support | Changing the appearance of the output |
JavaScript support | Info and Folding in a web browser |
LaTeX and PDF export | |
LaTeX export commands | How to export to LaTeX and PDF |
Header and sectioning | Setting up the export file structure |
Quoting LaTeX code | Incorporating literal LaTeX code |
LaTeX specific attributes | Controlling LaTeX output |
OpenDocument Text export | |
Pre-requisites for ODT export | What packages ODT exporter relies on |
ODT export commands | How to invoke ODT export |
Extending ODT export | How to produce ‘doc’, ‘pdf’ files |
Applying custom styles | How to apply custom styles to the output |
Links in ODT export | How links will be interpreted and formatted |
Tables in ODT export | How Tables are exported |
Images in ODT export | How to insert images |
Math formatting in ODT export | How LaTeX fragments are formatted |
Labels and captions in ODT export | How captions are rendered |
Literal examples in ODT export | How source and example blocks are formatted |
Advanced topics in ODT export | Read this if you are a power user |
Math formatting in ODT export | |
Working with LaTeX math snippets | How to embed LaTeX math fragments |
Working with MathML or OpenDocument formula files | How to embed equations in native format |
Advanced topics in ODT export | |
Configuring a document converter | How to register a document converter |
Working with OpenDocument style files | Explore the internals |
Creating one-off styles | How to produce custom highlighting etc |
Customizing tables in ODT export | How to define and use Table templates |
Validating OpenDocument XML | How to debug corrupt OpenDocument files |
Texinfo export | |
Texinfo export commands | How to invoke Texinfo export |
Document preamble | File header, title and copyright page |
Headings and sectioning structure | Building document structure |
Indices | Creating indices |
Quoting Texinfo code | Incorporating literal Texinfo code |
Texinfo specific attributes | Controlling Texinfo output |
An example | |
Publishing | |
Configuration | Defining projects |
Uploading files | How to get files up on the server |
Sample configuration | Example projects |
Triggering publication | Publication commands |
Configuration | |
Project alist | The central configuration variable |
Sources and destinations | From here to there |
Selecting files | What files are part of the project? |
Publishing action | Setting the function doing the publishing |
Publishing options | Tweaking HTML/LaTeX export |
Publishing links | Which links keep working after publishing? |
Sitemap | Generating a list of all pages |
Generating an index | An index that reaches across pages |
Sample configuration | |
Simple example | One-component publishing |
Complex example | A multi-component publishing example |
Working with source code | |
Structure of code blocks | Code block syntax described |
Editing source code | Language major-mode editing |
Exporting code blocks | Export contents and/or results |
Extracting source code | Create pure source code files |
Evaluating code blocks | Place results of evaluation in the Org mode buffer |
Library of Babel | Use and contribute to a library of useful code blocks |
Languages | List of supported code block languages |
Header arguments | Configure code block functionality |
Results of evaluation | How evaluation results are handled |
Noweb reference syntax | Literate programming in Org mode |
Key bindings and useful functions | Work quickly with code blocks |
Batch execution | Call functions from the command line |
Header arguments | |
Using header arguments | Different ways to set header arguments |
Specific header arguments | List of header arguments |
Using header arguments | |
System-wide header arguments | Set global default values |
Language-specific header arguments | Set default values by language |
Header arguments in Org mode properties | Set default values for a buffer or heading |
Language-specific header arguments in Org mode properties | Set language-specific default values for a buffer or heading |
Code block specific header arguments | The most common way to set values |
Header arguments in function calls | The most specific level |
Specific header arguments | |
var | Pass arguments to code blocks |
results | Specify the type of results and how they will be collected and handled |
file | Specify a path for file output |
file-desc | Specify a description for file results |
dir | Specify the default (possibly remote) directory for code block execution |
exports | Export code and/or results |
tangle | Toggle tangling and specify file name |
mkdirp | Toggle creation of parent directories of target files during tangling |
comments | Toggle insertion of comments in tangled code files |
padline | Control insertion of padding lines in tangled code files |
no-expand | Turn off variable assignment and noweb expansion during tangling |
session | Preserve the state of code evaluation |
noweb | Toggle expansion of noweb references |
noweb-ref | Specify block’s noweb reference resolution target |
noweb-sep | String used to separate noweb references |
cache | Avoid re-evaluating unchanged code blocks |
sep | Delimiter for writing tabular results outside Org |
hlines | Handle horizontal lines in tables |
colnames | Handle column names in tables |
rownames | Handle row names in tables |
shebang | Make tangled files executable |
tangle-mode | Set permission of tangled files |
eval | Limit evaluation of specific code blocks |
wrap | Mark source block evaluation results |
post | Post processing of code block results |
prologue | Text to prepend to code block body |
epilogue | Text to append to code block body |
Miscellaneous | |
Completion | M-TAB knows what you need |
Easy Templates | Quick insertion of structural elements |
Speed keys | Electric commands at the beginning of a headline |
Code evaluation security | Org mode files evaluate inline code |
Customization | Adapting Org to your taste |
In-buffer settings | Overview of the #+KEYWORDS |
The very busy C-c C-c key | When in doubt, press C-c C-c |
Clean view | Getting rid of leading stars in the outline |
TTY keys | Using Org on a tty |
Interaction | Other Emacs packages |
org-crypt | Encrypting Org files |
Interaction with other packages | |
Cooperation | Packages Org cooperates with |
Conflicts | Packages that lead to conflicts |
Hacking | |
Hooks | How to reach into Org’s internals |
Add-on packages | Available extensions |
Adding hyperlink types | New custom link types |
Adding export back-ends | How to write new export back-ends |
Context-sensitive commands | How to add functionality to such commands |
Tables in arbitrary syntax | Orgtbl for LaTeX and other programs |
Dynamic blocks | Automatically filled blocks |
Special agenda views | Customized views |
Speeding up your agendas | Tips on how to speed up your agendas |
Extracting agenda information | Post-processing of agenda information |
Using the property API | Writing programs that use entry properties |
Using the mapping API | Mapping over all or selected entries |
Tables and lists in arbitrary syntax | |
Radio tables | Sending and receiving radio tables |
A LaTeX example | Step by step, almost a tutorial |
Translator functions | Copy and modify |
Radio lists | Sending and receiving lists |
MobileOrg | |
Setting up the staging area | Where to interact with the mobile device |
Pushing to MobileOrg | Uploading Org files and agendas |
Pulling from MobileOrg | Integrating captured and flagged items |
Next: Document Structure, Previous: Top, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
1 Introduction
• Summary: | Brief summary of what Org does | |
• Installation: | Installing Org | |
• Activation: | How to activate Org for certain buffers | |
• Feedback: | Bug reports, ideas, patches etc. | |
• Conventions: | Typesetting conventions in the manual |
Next: Installation, Previous: Introduction, Up: Introduction [Contents][Index]
1.1 Summary
Org is a mode for keeping notes, maintaining TODO lists, and doing project planning with a fast and effective plain-text system.
Org develops organizational tasks around NOTES files that contain lists or information about projects as plain text. Org is implemented on top of Outline mode, which makes it possible to keep the content of large files well structured. Visibility cycling and structure editing help to work with the tree. Tables are easily created with a built-in table editor. Org supports TODO items, deadlines, timestamps, and scheduling. It dynamically compiles entries into an agenda that utilizes and smoothly integrates much of the Emacs calendar and diary. Plain text URL-like links connect to websites, emails, Usenet messages, BBDB entries, and any files related to the projects. For printing and sharing notes, an Org file can be exported as a structured ASCII file, as HTML, or (TODO and agenda items only) as an iCalendar file. It can also serve as a publishing tool for a set of linked web pages.
As a project planning environment, Org works by adding metadata to outline nodes. Based on this data, specific entries can be extracted in queries and create dynamic agenda views.
Org mode contains the Org Babel environment which allows you to work with embedded source code blocks in a file, to facilitate code evaluation, documentation, and literate programming techniques.
Org’s automatic, context-sensitive table editor with spreadsheet capabilities can be integrated into any major mode by activating the minor Orgtbl mode. Using a translation step, it can be used to maintain tables in arbitrary file types, for example in LaTeX. The structure editing and list creation capabilities can be used outside Org with the minor Orgstruct mode.
Org keeps simple things simple. When first fired up, it should feel like a straightforward, easy to use outliner. Complexity is not imposed, but a large amount of functionality is available when you need it. Org is a toolbox and can be used in different ways and for different ends, for example:
• an outline extension with visibility cycling and structure editing • an ASCII system and table editor for taking structured notes • a TODO list editor • a full agenda and planner with deadlines and work scheduling • an environment in which to implement David Allen’s GTD system • a simple hypertext system, with HTML and LaTeX export • a publishing tool to create a set of interlinked web pages • an environment for literate programming
There is a website for Org which provides links to the newest version of Org, as well as additional information, frequently asked questions (FAQ), links to tutorials, etc. This page is located at http://orgmode.org.
The version 7.3 of this manual is available as a paperback book from Network Theory Ltd.
Next: Activation, Previous: Summary, Up: Introduction [Contents][Index]
1.2 Installation
Org is part of recent distributions of GNU Emacs, so you normally don’t need to install it. If, for one reason or another, you want to install Org on top of this pre-packaged version, there are three ways to do it:
- By using Emacs package system.
- By downloading Org as an archive.
- By using Org’s git repository.
We strongly recommend to stick to a single installation method.
Using Emacs packaging system
Recent Emacs distributions include a packaging system which lets you install Elisp libraries. You can install Org with M-x package-install RET org.
Important: you need to do this in a session where no .org
file has
been visited, i.e. where no Org built-in function have been loaded.
Otherwise autoload Org functions will mess up the installation.
Then, to make sure your Org configuration is taken into account, initialize
the package system with (package-initialize)
in your .emacs
before setting any Org option. If you want to use Org’s package repository,
check out the Org ELPA page.
Downloading Org as an archive
You can download Org latest release from Org’s website. In this case, make sure you set the load-path correctly in your .emacs:
(add-to-list 'load-path "~/path/to/orgdir/lisp")
The downloaded archive contains contributed libraries that are not included in Emacs. If you want to use them, add the contrib directory to your load-path:
(add-to-list 'load-path "~/path/to/orgdir/contrib/lisp" t)
Optionally, you can compile the files and/or install them in your system.
Run make help
to list compilation and installation options.
Using Org’s git repository
You can clone Org’s repository and install Org like this:
$ cd ~/src/ $ git clone git://orgmode.org/org-mode.git $ make autoloads
Note that in this case, make autoloads
is mandatory: it defines Org’s
version in org-version.el and Org’s autoloads in
org-loaddefs.el.
Remember to add the correct load-path as described in the method above.
You can also compile with make
, generate the documentation with
make doc
, create a local configuration with make config
and
install Org with make install
. Please run make help
to get
the list of compilation/installation options.
For more detailed explanations on Org’s build system, please check the Org Build System page on Worg.
Next: Feedback, Previous: Installation, Up: Introduction [Contents][Index]
1.3 Activation
Since Emacs 22.2, files with the .org extension use Org mode by default. If you are using an earlier version of Emacs, add this line to your .emacs file:
(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("\\.org\\'" . org-mode))
Org mode buffers need font-lock to be turned on: this is the default in Emacs1.
There are compatibility issues between Org mode and some other Elisp packages, please take the time to check the list (see Conflicts).
The four Org commands org-store-link
, org-capture
,
org-agenda
, and org-iswitchb
should be accessible through
global keys (i.e., anywhere in Emacs, not just in Org buffers). Here are
suggested bindings for these keys, please modify the keys to your own
liking.
(global-set-key "\C-cl" 'org-store-link) (global-set-key "\C-cc" 'org-capture) (global-set-key "\C-ca" 'org-agenda) (global-set-key "\C-cb" 'org-iswitchb)
With this setup, all files with extension ‘.org’ will be put into Org mode. As an alternative, make the first line of a file look like this:
MY PROJECTS -*- mode: org; -*-
which will select Org mode for this buffer no matter what
the file’s name is. See also the variable
org-insert-mode-line-in-empty-file
.
Many commands in Org work on the region if the region is active. To make
use of this, you need to have transient-mark-mode
(zmacs-regions
in XEmacs) turned on. In Emacs 23 this is the default,
in Emacs 22 you need to do this yourself with
(transient-mark-mode 1)
If you do not like transient-mark-mode
, you can create an
active region by using the mouse to select a region, or pressing
C-SPC twice before moving the cursor.
Next: Conventions, Previous: Activation, Up: Introduction [Contents][Index]
1.4 Feedback
If you find problems with Org, or if you have questions, remarks, or ideas about it, please mail to the Org mailing list emacs-orgmode@gnu.org. If you are not a member of the mailing list, your mail will be passed to the list after a moderator has approved it2.
For bug reports, please first try to reproduce the bug with the latest version of Org available—if you are running an outdated version, it is quite possible that the bug has been fixed already. If the bug persists, prepare a report and provide as much information as possible, including the version information of Emacs (M-x emacs-version RET) and Org (M-x org-version RET), as well as the Org related setup in .emacs. The easiest way to do this is to use the command
M-x org-submit-bug-report RET
which will put all this information into an Emacs mail buffer so that you only need to add your description. If you re not sending the Email from within Emacs, please copy and paste the content into your Email program.
Sometimes you might face a problem due to an error in your Emacs or Org mode setup. Before reporting a bug, it is very helpful to start Emacs with minimal customizations and reproduce the problem. Doing so often helps you determine if the problem is with your customization or with Org mode itself. You can start a typical minimal session with a command like the example below.
$ emacs -Q -l /path/to/minimal-org.el
However if you are using Org mode as distributed with Emacs, a minimal setup
is not necessary. In that case it is sufficient to start Emacs as
emacs -Q
. The minimal-org.el
setup file can have contents as
shown below.
;;; Minimal setup to load latest `org-mode' ;; activate debugging (setq debug-on-error t debug-on-signal nil debug-on-quit nil) ;; add latest org-mode to load path (add-to-list 'load-path (expand-file-name "/path/to/org-mode/lisp")) (add-to-list 'load-path (expand-file-name "/path/to/org-mode/contrib/lisp" t))
If an error occurs, a backtrace can be very useful (see below on how to create one). Often a small example file helps, along with clear information about:
- What exactly did you do?
- What did you expect to happen?
- What happened instead?
Thank you for helping to improve this program.
How to create a useful backtrace
If working with Org produces an error with a message you don’t understand, you may have hit a bug. The best way to report this is by providing, in addition to what was mentioned above, a backtrace. This is information from the built-in debugger about where and how the error occurred. Here is how to produce a useful backtrace:
- Reload uncompiled versions of all Org mode Lisp files. The backtrace
contains much more information if it is produced with uncompiled code.
To do this, use
C-u M-x org-reload RET
or select
Org -> Refresh/Reload -> Reload Org uncompiled
from the menu. - Go to the
Options
menu and selectEnter Debugger on Error
(XEmacs has this option in theTroubleshooting
sub-menu). - Do whatever you have to do to hit the error. Don’t forget to document the steps you take.
- When you hit the error, a *Backtrace* buffer will appear on the screen. Save this buffer to a file (for example using C-x C-w) and attach it to your bug report.
Previous: Feedback, Up: Introduction [Contents][Index]
1.5 Typesetting conventions used in this manual
TODO keywords, tags, properties, etc.
Org mainly uses three types of keywords: TODO keywords, tags and property names. In this manual we use the following conventions:
TODO
WAITING
TODO keywords are written with all capitals, even if they are user-defined.
boss
ARCHIVE
User-defined tags are written in lowercase; built-in tags with special meaning are written with all capitals.
Release
PRIORITY
User-defined properties are capitalized; built-in properties with special meaning are written with all capitals.
Moreover, Org uses option keywords (like #+TITLE
to set the title)
and environment keywords (like #+BEGIN_HTML
to start a HTML
environment). They are written in uppercase in the manual to enhance its
readability, but you can use lowercase in your Org files3.
Keybindings and commands
The manual suggests two global keybindings: C-c a for org-agenda
and C-c c for org-capture
. These are only suggestions, but the
rest of the manual assumes that you are using these keybindings.
Also, the manual lists both the keys and the corresponding commands for
accessing a functionality. Org mode often uses the same key for different
functions, depending on context. The command that is bound to such keys has
a generic name, like org-metaright
. In the manual we will, wherever
possible, give the function that is internally called by the generic command.
For example, in the chapter on document structure, M-right will
be listed to call org-do-demote
, while in the chapter on tables, it
will be listed to call org-table-move-column-right
. If you prefer,
you can compile the manual without the command names by unsetting the flag
cmdnames
in org.texi.
Next: Tables, Previous: Introduction, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
2 Document structure
Org is based on Outline mode and provides flexible commands to edit the structure of the document.
• Outlines: | Org is based on Outline mode | |
• Headlines: | How to typeset Org tree headlines | |
• Visibility cycling: | Show and hide, much simplified | |
• Motion: | Jumping to other headlines | |
• Structure editing: | Changing sequence and level of headlines | |
• Sparse trees: | Matches embedded in context | |
• Plain lists: | Additional structure within an entry | |
• Drawers: | Tucking stuff away | |
• Blocks: | Folding blocks | |
• Footnotes: | How footnotes are defined in Org’s syntax | |
• Orgstruct mode: | Structure editing outside Org | |
• Org syntax: | Formal description of Org’s syntax |
Next: Headlines, Previous: Document Structure, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.1 Outlines
Org is implemented on top of Outline mode. Outlines allow a
document to be organized in a hierarchical structure, which (at least
for me) is the best representation of notes and thoughts. An overview
of this structure is achieved by folding (hiding) large parts of the
document to show only the general document structure and the parts
currently being worked on. Org greatly simplifies the use of
outlines by compressing the entire show/hide functionality into a single
command, org-cycle
, which is bound to the TAB key.
Next: Visibility cycling, Previous: Outlines, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.2 Headlines
Headlines define the structure of an outline tree. The headlines in Org start with one or more stars, on the left margin4 5. For example:
* Top level headline ** Second level *** 3rd level some text *** 3rd level more text * Another top level headline
Some people find the many stars too noisy and would prefer an outline that has whitespace followed by a single star as headline starters. Clean view, describes a setup to realize this.
An empty line after the end of a subtree is considered part of it and
will be hidden when the subtree is folded. However, if you leave at
least two empty lines, one empty line will remain visible after folding
the subtree, in order to structure the collapsed view. See the
variable org-cycle-separator-lines
to modify this behavior.
Next: Motion, Previous: Headlines, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.3 Visibility cycling
• Global and local cycling: | Cycling through various visibility states | |
• Initial visibility: | Setting the initial visibility state | |
• Catching invisible edits: | Preventing mistakes when editing invisible parts |
Next: Initial visibility, Previous: Visibility cycling, Up: Visibility cycling [Contents][Index]
2.3.1 Global and local cycling
Outlines make it possible to hide parts of the text in the buffer. Org uses just two commands, bound to TAB and S-TAB to change the visibility in the buffer.
- TAB (
org-cycle
) Subtree cycling: Rotate current subtree among the states
,-> FOLDED -> CHILDREN -> SUBTREE --. '-----------------------------------'
The cursor must be on a headline for this to work6. When the cursor is at the beginning of the buffer and the first line is not a headline, then TAB actually runs global cycling (see below)7. Also when called with a prefix argument (C-u TAB), global cycling is invoked.
- S-TAB (
org-global-cycle
) - C-u TAB
Global cycling: Rotate the entire buffer among the states
,-> OVERVIEW -> CONTENTS -> SHOW ALL --. '--------------------------------------'
When S-TAB is called with a numeric prefix argument N, the CONTENTS view up to headlines of level N will be shown. Note that inside tables, S-TAB jumps to the previous field.
- C-u C-u TAB (
org-set-startup-visibility
) Switch back to the startup visibility of the buffer (see Initial visibility).
- C-u C-u C-u TAB (
show-all
) - C-c C-r (
org-reveal
) Reveal context around point, showing the current entry, the following heading and the hierarchy above. Useful for working near a location that has been exposed by a sparse tree command (see Sparse trees) or an agenda command (see Agenda commands). With a prefix argument show, on each level, all sibling headings. With a double prefix argument, also show the entire subtree of the parent.
- C-c C-k (
show-branches
) Expose all the headings of the subtree, CONTENT view for just one subtree.
- C-c TAB (
show-children
) Expose all direct children of the subtree. With a numeric prefix argument N, expose all children down to level N.
- C-c C-x b (
org-tree-to-indirect-buffer
) Show the current subtree in an indirect buffer8. With a numeric prefix argument N, go up to level N and then take that tree. If N is negative then go up that many levels. With a C-u prefix, do not remove the previously used indirect buffer.
- C-c C-x v (
org-copy-visible
) Copy the visible text in the region into the kill ring.
• Initial visibility: | Setting the initial visibility state | |
• Catching invisible edits: | Preventing mistakes when editing invisible parts |
Next: Catching invisible edits, Previous: Global and local cycling, Up: Visibility cycling [Contents][Index]
2.3.2 Initial visibility
When Emacs first visits an Org file, the global state is set to OVERVIEW,
i.e., only the top level headlines are visible9. This can be configured through the variable
org-startup-folded
, or on a per-file basis by adding one of the
following lines anywhere in the buffer:
#+STARTUP: overview #+STARTUP: content #+STARTUP: showall #+STARTUP: showeverything
The startup visibility options are ignored when the file is open for the
first time during the agenda generation: if you want the agenda to honor
the startup visibility, set org-agenda-inhibit-startup
to nil
.
Furthermore, any entries with a ‘VISIBILITY’ property (see Properties and Columns) will get their visibility adapted accordingly. Allowed values
for this property are folded
, children
, content
, and
all
.
- C-u C-u TAB (
org-set-startup-visibility
) Switch back to the startup visibility of the buffer, i.e., whatever is requested by startup options and ‘VISIBILITY’ properties in individual entries.
Previous: Initial visibility, Up: Visibility cycling [Contents][Index]
2.3.3 Catching invisible edits
Sometimes you may inadvertently edit an invisible part of the buffer and be
confused on what has been edited and how to undo the mistake. Setting
org-catch-invisible-edits
to non-nil
will help prevent this. See the
docstring of this option on how Org should catch invisible edits and process
them.
Next: Structure editing, Previous: Visibility cycling, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.4 Motion
The following commands jump to other headlines in the buffer.
- C-c C-n (
outline-next-visible-heading
) - C-c C-p (
outline-previous-visible-heading
) - C-c C-f (
org-forward-same-level
) - C-c C-b (
org-backward-same-level
) - C-c C-u (
outline-up-heading
) - C-c C-j (
org-goto
) Jump to a different place without changing the current outline visibility. Shows the document structure in a temporary buffer, where you can use the following keys to find your destination:
TAB Cycle visibility. down / up Next/previous visible headline. RET Select this location. / Do a Sparse-tree search The following keys work if you turn off
org-goto-auto-isearch
n / p Next/previous visible headline. f / b Next/previous headline same level. u One level up. 0-9 Digit argument. q QuitSee also the option
org-goto-interface
.
Next: Sparse trees, Previous: Motion, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.5 Structure editing
- M-RET (
org-insert-heading
) -
Insert a new heading/item with the same level than the one at point. If the cursor is in a plain list item, a new item is created (see Plain lists). To prevent this behavior in lists, call the command with a prefix argument. When this command is used in the middle of a line, the line is split and the rest of the line becomes the new item or headline10. If the command is used at the beginning of a headline, the new headline is created before the current line. If the command is used at the end of a folded subtree (i.e., behind the ellipses at the end of a headline), then a headline will be inserted after the end of the subtree. Calling this command with C-u C-u will unconditionally respect the headline’s content and create a new item at the end of the parent subtree.
- C-RET (
org-insert-heading-respect-content
) Just like M-RET, except when adding a new heading below the current heading, the new heading is placed after the body instead of before it. This command works from anywhere in the entry.
- M-S-RET (
org-insert-todo-heading
) -
Insert new TODO entry with same level as current heading. See also the variable
org-treat-insert-todo-heading-as-state-change
. - C-S-RET (
org-insert-todo-heading-respect-content
) Insert new TODO entry with same level as current heading. Like C-RET, the new headline will be inserted after the current subtree.
- TAB (
org-cycle
) In a new entry with no text yet, the first TAB demotes the entry to become a child of the previous one. The next TAB makes it a parent, and so on, all the way to top level. Yet another TAB, and you are back to the initial level.
- M-left (
org-do-promote
) - M-right (
org-do-demote
) - M-S-left (
org-promote-subtree
) - M-S-right (
org-demote-subtree
) - M-S-up (
org-move-subtree-up
) - M-S-down (
org-move-subtree-down
) - M-h (
org-mark-element
) Mark the element at point. Hitting repeatedly will mark subsequent elements of the one just marked. E.g., hitting M-h on a paragraph will mark it, hitting M-h immediately again will mark the next one.
- C-c @ (
org-mark-subtree
) Mark the subtree at point. Hitting repeatedly will mark subsequent subtrees of the same level than the marked subtree.
- C-c C-x C-w (
org-cut-subtree
) Kill subtree, i.e., remove it from buffer but save in kill ring. With a numeric prefix argument N, kill N sequential subtrees.
- C-c C-x M-w (
org-copy-subtree
) Copy subtree to kill ring. With a numeric prefix argument N, copy the N sequential subtrees.
- C-c C-x C-y (
org-paste-subtree
) Yank subtree from kill ring. This does modify the level of the subtree to make sure the tree fits in nicely at the yank position. The yank level can also be specified with a numeric prefix argument, or by yanking after a headline marker like ‘****’.
- C-y (
org-yank
) -
Depending on the options
org-yank-adjusted-subtrees
andorg-yank-folded-subtrees
, Org’s internalyank
command will paste subtrees folded and in a clever way, using the same command as C-c C-x C-y. With the default settings, no level adjustment will take place, but the yanked tree will be folded unless doing so would swallow text previously visible. Any prefix argument to this command will force a normalyank
to be executed, with the prefix passed along. A good way to force a normal yank is C-u C-y. If you useyank-pop
after a yank, it will yank previous kill items plainly, without adjustment and folding. - C-c C-x c (
org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift
) Clone a subtree by making a number of sibling copies of it. You will be prompted for the number of copies to make, and you can also specify if any timestamps in the entry should be shifted. This can be useful, for example, to create a number of tasks related to a series of lectures to prepare. For more details, see the docstring of the command
org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift
.- C-c C-w (
org-refile
) Refile entry or region to a different location. See Refile and copy.
- C-c ^ (
org-sort
) Sort same-level entries. When there is an active region, all entries in the region will be sorted. Otherwise the children of the current headline are sorted. The command prompts for the sorting method, which can be alphabetically, numerically, by time (first timestamp with active preferred, creation time, scheduled time, deadline time), by priority, by TODO keyword (in the sequence the keywords have been defined in the setup) or by the value of a property. Reverse sorting is possible as well. You can also supply your own function to extract the sorting key. With a C-u prefix, sorting will be case-sensitive.
- C-x n s (
org-narrow-to-subtree
) - C-x n b (
org-narrow-to-block
) - C-x n w (
widen
) - C-c * (
org-toggle-heading
) Turn a normal line or plain list item into a headline (so that it becomes a subheading at its location). Also turn a headline into a normal line by removing the stars. If there is an active region, turn all lines in the region into headlines. If the first line in the region was an item, turn only the item lines into headlines. Finally, if the first line is a headline, remove the stars from all headlines in the region.
When there is an active region (Transient Mark mode), promotion and demotion work on all headlines in the region. To select a region of headlines, it is best to place both point and mark at the beginning of a line, mark at the beginning of the first headline, and point at the line just after the last headline to change. Note that when the cursor is inside a table (see Tables), the Meta-Cursor keys have different functionality.
Next: Plain lists, Previous: Structure editing, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.6 Sparse trees
An important feature of Org mode is the ability to construct sparse trees for selected information in an outline tree, so that the entire document is folded as much as possible, but the selected information is made visible along with the headline structure above it11. Just try it out and you will see immediately how it works.
Org mode contains several commands creating such trees, all these commands can be accessed through a dispatcher:
- C-c / (
org-sparse-tree
) This prompts for an extra key to select a sparse-tree creating command.
- C-c / r (
org-occur
) -
Prompts for a regexp and shows a sparse tree with all matches. If the match is in a headline, the headline is made visible. If the match is in the body of an entry, headline and body are made visible. In order to provide minimal context, also the full hierarchy of headlines above the match is shown, as well as the headline following the match. Each match is also highlighted; the highlights disappear when the buffer is changed by an editing command12, or by pressing C-c C-c. When called with a C-u prefix argument, previous highlights are kept, so several calls to this command can be stacked.
- M-g n or M-g M-n (
next-error
) - M-g p or M-g M-p (
previous-error
) Jump to the previous sparse tree match in this buffer.
For frequently used sparse trees of specific search strings, you can
use the option org-agenda-custom-commands
to define fast
keyboard access to specific sparse trees. These commands will then be
accessible through the agenda dispatcher (see Agenda dispatcher).
For example:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("f" occur-tree "FIXME")))
will define the key C-c a f as a shortcut for creating a sparse tree matching the string ‘FIXME’.
The other sparse tree commands select headings based on TODO keywords, tags, or properties and will be discussed later in this manual.
To print a sparse tree, you can use the Emacs command
ps-print-buffer-with-faces
which does not print invisible parts
of the document 13.
Or you can use C-c C-e C-v to export only the visible part of
the document and print the resulting file.
Next: Drawers, Previous: Sparse trees, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.7 Plain lists
Within an entry of the outline tree, hand-formatted lists can provide additional structure. They also provide a way to create lists of checkboxes (see Checkboxes). Org supports editing such lists, and every exporter (see Exporting) can parse and format them.
Org knows ordered lists, unordered lists, and description lists.
- Unordered list items start with ‘-’, ‘+’, or ‘*’14 as bullets.
-
Ordered list items start with a numeral followed by either a period or
a right parenthesis15, such as ‘1.’ or
‘1)’16. If you want a
list to start with a different value (e.g., 20), start the text of the item
with
[@20]
17. Those constructs can be used in any item of the list in order to enforce a particular numbering. - Description list items are unordered list items, and contain the separator ‘ :: ’ to distinguish the description term from the description.
Items belonging to the same list must have the same indentation on the first line. In particular, if an ordered list reaches number ‘10.’, then the 2–digit numbers must be written left-aligned with the other numbers in the list. An item ends before the next line that is less or equally indented than its bullet/number.
A list ends whenever every item has ended, which means before any line less or equally indented than items at top level. It also ends before two blank lines18. In that case, all items are closed. Here is an example:
** Lord of the Rings My favorite scenes are (in this order) 1. The attack of the Rohirrim 2. Eowyn's fight with the witch king + this was already my favorite scene in the book + I really like Miranda Otto. 3. Peter Jackson being shot by Legolas - on DVD only He makes a really funny face when it happens. But in the end, no individual scenes matter but the film as a whole. Important actors in this film are: - Elijah Wood :: He plays Frodo - Sean Austin :: He plays Sam, Frodo's friend. I still remember him very well from his role as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies.
Org supports these lists by tuning filling and wrapping commands to deal with
them correctly19, and by exporting them
properly (see Exporting). Since indentation is what governs the
structure of these lists, many structural constructs like #+BEGIN_...
blocks can be indented to signal that they belong to a particular item.
If you find that using a different bullet for a sub-list (than that used for
the current list-level) improves readability, customize the variable
org-list-demote-modify-bullet
. To get a greater difference of
indentation between items and theirs sub-items, customize
org-list-indent-offset
.
The following commands act on items when the cursor is in the first line of
an item (the line with the bullet or number). Some of them imply the
application of automatic rules to keep list structure intact. If some of
these actions get in your way, configure org-list-automatic-rules
to disable them individually.
- TAB (
org-cycle
) -
Items can be folded just like headline levels. Normally this works only if the cursor is on a plain list item. For more details, see the variable
org-cycle-include-plain-lists
. If this variable is set tointegrate
, plain list items will be treated like low-level headlines. The level of an item is then given by the indentation of the bullet/number. Items are always subordinate to real headlines, however; the hierarchies remain completely separated. In a new item with no text yet, the first TAB demotes the item to become a child of the previous one. Subsequent TABs move the item to meaningful levels in the list and eventually get it back to its initial position. - M-RET (
org-insert-heading
) -
Insert new item at current level. With a prefix argument, force a new heading (see Structure editing). If this command is used in the middle of an item, that item is split in two, and the second part becomes the new item20. If this command is executed before item’s body, the new item is created before the current one.
- M-S-RET
Insert a new item with a checkbox (see Checkboxes).
- S-up
- S-down
-
Jump to the previous/next item in the current list21, but only if
org-support-shift-select
is off. If not, you can still use paragraph jumping commands like C-up and C-down to quite similar effect. - M-up
- M-down
Move the item including subitems up/down22 (swap with previous/next item of same indentation). If the list is ordered, renumbering is automatic.
- M-left
- M-right
Decrease/increase the indentation of an item, leaving children alone.
- M-S-left
- M-S-right
Decrease/increase the indentation of the item, including subitems. Initially, the item tree is selected based on current indentation. When these commands are executed several times in direct succession, the initially selected region is used, even if the new indentation would imply a different hierarchy. To use the new hierarchy, break the command chain with a cursor motion or so.
As a special case, using this command on the very first item of a list will move the whole list. This behavior can be disabled by configuring
org-list-automatic-rules
. The global indentation of a list has no influence on the text after the list.- C-c C-c
If there is a checkbox (see Checkboxes) in the item line, toggle the state of the checkbox. In any case, verify bullets and indentation consistency in the whole list.
- C-c -
Cycle the entire list level through the different itemize/enumerate bullets (‘-’, ‘+’, ‘*’, ‘1.’, ‘1)’) or a subset of them, depending on
org-plain-list-ordered-item-terminator
, the type of list, and its indentation. With a numeric prefix argument N, select the Nth bullet from this list. If there is an active region when calling this, selected text will be changed into an item. With a prefix argument, all lines will be converted to list items. If the first line already was a list item, any item marker will be removed from the list. Finally, even without an active region, a normal line will be converted into a list item.- C-c *
Turn a plain list item into a headline (so that it becomes a subheading at its location). See Structure editing, for a detailed explanation.
- C-c C-*
Turn the whole plain list into a subtree of the current heading. Checkboxes (see Checkboxes) will become TODO (resp. DONE) keywords when unchecked (resp. checked).
- S-left/right
-
This command also cycles bullet styles when the cursor in on the bullet or anywhere in an item line, details depending on
org-support-shift-select
. - C-c ^
Sort the plain list. You will be prompted for the sorting method: numerically, alphabetically, by time, by checked status for check lists, or by a custom function.
Next: Blocks, Previous: Plain lists, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.8 Drawers
Sometimes you want to keep information associated with an entry, but you
normally don’t want to see it. For this, Org mode has drawers.
Drawers need to be configured with the option org-drawers
23. Drawers look like this:
** This is a headline Still outside the drawer :DRAWERNAME: This is inside the drawer. :END: After the drawer.
You can interactively insert drawers at point by calling
org-insert-drawer
, which is bound to C-c C-x d. With an active
region, this command will put the region inside the drawer. With a prefix
argument, this command calls org-insert-property-drawer
and add a
property drawer right below the current headline. Completion over drawer
keywords is also possible using M-TAB.
Visibility cycling (see Visibility cycling) on the headline will hide and
show the entry, but keep the drawer collapsed to a single line. In order to
look inside the drawer, you need to move the cursor to the drawer line and
press TAB there. Org mode uses the PROPERTIES
drawer for
storing properties (see Properties and Columns), and you can also arrange
for state change notes (see Tracking TODO state changes) and clock times
(see Clocking work time) to be stored in a drawer LOGBOOK
. If you
want to store a quick note in the LOGBOOK drawer, in a similar way to state changes, use
You can select the name of the drawers which should be exported with
org-export-with-drawers
. In that case, drawer contents will appear in
export output. Property drawers are not affected by this variable and are
never exported.
Next: Footnotes, Previous: Drawers, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.9 Blocks
Org mode uses begin...end blocks for various purposes from including source
code examples (see Literal examples) to capturing time logging
information (see Clocking work time). These blocks can be folded and
unfolded by pressing TAB in the begin line. You can also get all blocks
folded at startup by configuring the option org-hide-block-startup
or on a per-file basis by using
#+STARTUP: hideblocks #+STARTUP: nohideblocks
Next: Orgstruct mode, Previous: Blocks, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.10 Footnotes
Org mode supports the creation of footnotes. In contrast to the footnote.el package, Org mode’s footnotes are designed for work on a larger document, not only for one-off documents like emails.
A footnote is started by a footnote marker in square brackets in column 0, no indentation allowed. It ends at the next footnote definition, headline, or after two consecutive empty lines. The footnote reference is simply the marker in square brackets, inside text. For example:
The Org homepage[fn:1] now looks a lot better than it used to. ... [fn:1] The link is: http://orgmode.org
Org mode extends the number-based syntax to named footnotes and optional inline definition. Using plain numbers as markers (as footnote.el does) is supported for backward compatibility, but not encouraged because of possible conflicts with LaTeX snippets (see Embedded LaTeX). Here are the valid references:
[1]
A plain numeric footnote marker. Compatible with footnote.el, but not recommended because something like ‘[1]’ could easily be part of a code snippet.
[fn:name]
A named footnote reference, where
name
is a unique label word, or, for simplicity of automatic creation, a number.[fn:: This is the inline definition of this footnote]
A LaTeX-like anonymous footnote where the definition is given directly at the reference point.
[fn:name: a definition]
An inline definition of a footnote, which also specifies a name for the note. Since Org allows multiple references to the same note, you can then use
[fn:name]
to create additional references.
Footnote labels can be created automatically, or you can create names yourself.
This is handled by the variable org-footnote-auto-label
and its
corresponding #+STARTUP
keywords. See the docstring of that variable
for details.
The following command handles footnotes:
- C-c C-x f
The footnote action command.
When the cursor is on a footnote reference, jump to the definition. When it is at a definition, jump to the (first) reference.
Otherwise, create a new footnote. Depending on the option
org-footnote-define-inline
24, the definition will be placed right into the text as part of the reference, or separately into the location determined by the optionorg-footnote-section
.When this command is called with a prefix argument, a menu of additional options is offered:
s Sort the footnote definitions by reference sequence. During editing, Org makes no effort to sort footnote definitions into a particular sequence. If you want them sorted, use this command, which will also move entries according to
org-footnote-section
. Automatic sorting after each insertion/deletion can be configured using the optionorg-footnote-auto-adjust
. r Renumber the simplefn:N
footnotes. Automatic renumbering after each insertion/deletion can be configured using the optionorg-footnote-auto-adjust
. S Short for firstr
, thens
action. n Normalize the footnotes by collecting all definitions (including inline definitions) into a special section, and then numbering them in sequence. The references will then also be numbers. This is meant to be the final step before finishing a document (e.g., sending off an email). d Delete the footnote at point, and all definitions of and references to it.Depending on the variable
org-footnote-auto-adjust
25, renumbering and sorting footnotes can be automatic after each insertion or deletion.- C-c C-c
If the cursor is on a footnote reference, jump to the definition. If it is a the definition, jump back to the reference. When called at a footnote location with a prefix argument, offer the same menu as C-c C-x f.
- C-c C-o or mouse-1/2
Footnote labels are also links to the corresponding definition/reference, and you can use the usual commands to follow these links.
Next: Org syntax, Previous: Footnotes, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.11 The Orgstruct minor mode
If you like the intuitive way the Org mode structure editing and list
formatting works, you might want to use these commands in other modes like
Text mode or Mail mode as well. The minor mode orgstruct-mode
makes
this possible. Toggle the mode with M-x orgstruct-mode RET, or
turn it on by default, for example in Message mode, with one of:
(add-hook 'message-mode-hook 'turn-on-orgstruct) (add-hook 'message-mode-hook 'turn-on-orgstruct++)
When this mode is active and the cursor is on a line that looks to Org like a headline or the first line of a list item, most structure editing commands will work, even if the same keys normally have different functionality in the major mode you are using. If the cursor is not in one of those special lines, Orgstruct mode lurks silently in the shadows.
When you use orgstruct++-mode
, Org will also export indentation and
autofill settings into that mode, and detect item context after the first
line of an item.
You can also use Org structure editing to fold and unfold headlines in
any file, provided you defined orgstruct-heading-prefix-regexp
:
the regular expression must match the local prefix to use before Org’s
headlines. For example, if you set this variable to ";; "
in Emacs
Lisp files, you will be able to fold and unfold headlines in Emacs Lisp
commented lines. Some commands like org-demote
are disabled when the
prefix is set, but folding/unfolding will work correctly.
Previous: Orgstruct mode, Up: Document Structure [Contents][Index]
2.12 Org syntax
A reference document providing a formal description of Org’s syntax is
available as a draft on
Worg, written and maintained by Nicolas Goaziou. It defines Org’s core
internal concepts such as headlines
, sections
, affiliated
keywords
, (greater) elements
and objects
. Each part of an Org
file falls into one of the categories above.
To explore the abstract structure of an Org buffer, run this in a buffer:
M-: (org-element-parse-buffer) RET
It will output a list containing the buffer’s content represented as an abstract structure. The export engine relies on the information stored in this list. Most interactive commands (e.g., for structure editing) also rely on the syntactic meaning of the surrounding context.
Next: Hyperlinks, Previous: Document Structure, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
3 Tables
Org comes with a fast and intuitive table editor. Spreadsheet-like calculations are supported using the Emacs calc package (see Calc in Gnu Emacs Calculator Manual).
• Built-in table editor: | Simple tables | |
• Column width and alignment: | Overrule the automatic settings | |
• Column groups: | Grouping to trigger vertical lines | |
• Orgtbl mode: | The table editor as minor mode | |
• The spreadsheet: | The table editor has spreadsheet capabilities | |
• Org-Plot: | Plotting from org tables |
Next: Column width and alignment, Previous: Tables, Up: Tables [Contents][Index]
3.1 The built-in table editor
Org makes it easy to format tables in plain ASCII. Any line with ‘|’ as the first non-whitespace character is considered part of a table. ‘|’ is also the column separator26. A table might look like this:
| Name | Phone | Age | |-------+-------+-----| | Peter | 1234 | 17 | | Anna | 4321 | 25 |
A table is re-aligned automatically each time you press TAB or RET or C-c C-c inside the table. TAB also moves to the next field (RET to the next row) and creates new table rows at the end of the table or before horizontal lines. The indentation of the table is set by the first line. Any line starting with ‘|-’ is considered as a horizontal separator line and will be expanded on the next re-align to span the whole table width. So, to create the above table, you would only type
|Name|Phone|Age| |-
and then press TAB to align the table and start filling in
fields. Even faster would be to type |Name|Phone|Age
followed by
C-c RET.
When typing text into a field, Org treats DEL,
Backspace, and all character keys in a special way, so that
inserting and deleting avoids shifting other fields. Also, when
typing immediately after the cursor was moved into a new field
with TAB, S-TAB or RET, the
field is automatically made blank. If this behavior is too
unpredictable for you, configure the options
org-enable-table-editor
and org-table-auto-blank-field
.
- Creation and conversion
- C-c | (
org-table-create-or-convert-from-region
) Convert the active region to table. If every line contains at least one TAB character, the function assumes that the material is tab separated. If every line contains a comma, comma-separated values (CSV) are assumed. If not, lines are split at whitespace into fields. You can use a prefix argument to force a specific separator: C-u forces CSV, C-u C-u forces TAB, and a numeric argument N indicates that at least N consecutive spaces, or alternatively a TAB will be the separator.
If there is no active region, this command creates an empty Org table. But it is easier just to start typing, like |Name|Phone|Age RET |- TAB.- Re-aligning and field motion
- C-c C-c (
org-table-align
) - <TAB> (
org-table-next-field
) Re-align the table, move to the next field. Creates a new row if necessary.
- S-TAB (
org-table-previous-field
) - RET (
org-table-next-row
) Re-align the table and move down to next row. Creates a new row if necessary. At the beginning or end of a line, RET still does NEWLINE, so it can be used to split a table.
- M-a (
org-table-beginning-of-field
) Move to beginning of the current table field, or on to the previous field.
- M-e (
org-table-end-of-field
) Move to end of the current table field, or on to the next field.
- Column and row editing
- M-left (
org-table-move-column-left
) - M-right (
org-table-move-column-right
) - M-S-left (
org-table-delete-column
) - M-S-right (
org-table-insert-column
) - M-up (
org-table-move-row-up
) - M-down (
org-table-move-row-down
) - M-S-up (
org-table-kill-row
) - M-S-down (
org-table-insert-row
) Insert a new row above the current row. With a prefix argument, the line is created below the current one.
- C-c - (
org-table-insert-hline
) Insert a horizontal line below current row. With a prefix argument, the line is created above the current line.
- C-c RET (
org-table-hline-and-move
) Insert a horizontal line below current row, and move the cursor into the row below that line.
- C-c ^ (
org-table-sort-lines
) Sort the table lines in the region. The position of point indicates the column to be used for sorting, and the range of lines is the range between the nearest horizontal separator lines, or the entire table. If point is before the first column, you will be prompted for the sorting column. If there is an active region, the mark specifies the first line and the sorting column, while point should be in the last line to be included into the sorting. The command prompts for the sorting type (alphabetically, numerically, or by time). When called with a prefix argument, alphabetic sorting will be case-sensitive.
- Regions
- C-c C-x M-w (
org-table-copy-region
) Copy a rectangular region from a table to a special clipboard. Point and mark determine edge fields of the rectangle. If there is no active region, copy just the current field. The process ignores horizontal separator lines.
- C-c C-x C-w (
org-table-cut-region
) Copy a rectangular region from a table to a special clipboard, and blank all fields in the rectangle. So this is the “cut” operation.
- C-c C-x C-y (
org-table-paste-rectangle
) Paste a rectangular region into a table. The upper left corner ends up in the current field. All involved fields will be overwritten. If the rectangle does not fit into the present table, the table is enlarged as needed. The process ignores horizontal separator lines.
- M-RET (
org-table-wrap-region
) Split the current field at the cursor position and move the rest to the line below. If there is an active region, and both point and mark are in the same column, the text in the column is wrapped to minimum width for the given number of lines. A numeric prefix argument may be used to change the number of desired lines. If there is no region, but you specify a prefix argument, the current field is made blank, and the content is appended to the field above.
- Calculations
- C-c + (
org-table-sum
) Sum the numbers in the current column, or in the rectangle defined by the active region. The result is shown in the echo area and can be inserted with C-y.
- S-RET (
org-table-copy-down
) -
When current field is empty, copy from first non-empty field above. When not empty, copy current field down to next row and move cursor along with it. Depending on the option
org-table-copy-increment
, integer field values will be incremented during copy. Integers that are too large will not be incremented. Also, a0
prefix argument temporarily disables the increment. This key is also used by shift-selection and related modes (see Conflicts). - Miscellaneous
- C-c ` (
org-table-edit-field
) Edit the current field in a separate window. This is useful for fields that are not fully visible (see Column width and alignment). When called with a C-u prefix, just make the full field visible, so that it can be edited in place. When called with two C-u prefixes, make the editor window follow the cursor through the table and always show the current field. The follow mode exits automatically when the cursor leaves the table, or when you repeat this command with C-u C-u C-c `.
- M-x org-table-import RET
Import a file as a table. The table should be TAB or whitespace separated. Use, for example, to import a spreadsheet table or data from a database, because these programs generally can write TAB-separated text files. This command works by inserting the file into the buffer and then converting the region to a table. Any prefix argument is passed on to the converter, which uses it to determine the separator.
- C-c | (
org-table-create-or-convert-from-region
) Tables can also be imported by pasting tabular text into the Org buffer, selecting the pasted text with C-x C-x and then using the C-c | command (see above under Creation and conversion).
- M-x org-table-export RET
-
Export the table, by default as a TAB-separated file. Use for data exchange with, for example, spreadsheet or database programs. The format used to export the file can be configured in the option
org-table-export-default-format
. You may also use propertiesTABLE_EXPORT_FILE
andTABLE_EXPORT_FORMAT
to specify the file name and the format for table export in a subtree. Org supports quite general formats for exported tables. The exporter format is the same as the format used by Orgtbl radio tables, see Translator functions, for a detailed description.
If you don’t like the automatic table editor because it gets in your way on lines which you would like to start with ‘|’, you can turn it off with
(setq org-enable-table-editor nil)
Then the only table command that still works is C-c C-c to do a manual re-align.
Next: Column groups, Previous: Built-in table editor, Up: Tables [Contents][Index]
3.2 Column width and alignment
The width of columns is automatically determined by the table editor. And also the alignment of a column is determined automatically from the fraction of number-like versus non-number fields in the column.
Sometimes a single field or a few fields need to carry more text, leading to inconveniently wide columns. Or maybe you want to make a table with several columns having a fixed width, regardless of content. To set27 the width of a column, one field anywhere in the column may contain just the string ‘<N>’ where ‘N’ is an integer specifying the width of the column in characters. The next re-align will then set the width of this column to this value.
|---+------------------------------| |---+--------| | | | | | <6> | | 1 | one | | 1 | one | | 2 | two | ----\ | 2 | two | | 3 | This is a long chunk of text | ----/ | 3 | This=> | | 4 | four | | 4 | four | |---+------------------------------| |---+--------|
Fields that are wider become clipped and end in the string ‘=>’. Note that the full text is still in the buffer but is hidden. To see the full text, hold the mouse over the field—a tool-tip window will show the full content. To edit such a field, use the command C-c ` (that is C-c followed by the backquote). This will open a new window with the full field. Edit it and finish with C-c C-c.
When visiting a file containing a table with narrowed columns, the
necessary character hiding has not yet happened, and the table needs to
be aligned before it looks nice. Setting the option
org-startup-align-all-tables
will realign all tables in a file
upon visiting, but also slow down startup. You can also set this option
on a per-file basis with:
#+STARTUP: align #+STARTUP: noalign
If you would like to overrule the automatic alignment of number-rich columns to the right and of string-rich column to the left, you can use ‘<r>’, ‘<c>’28 or ‘<l>’ in a similar fashion. You may also combine alignment and field width like this: ‘<r10>’.
Lines which only contain these formatting cookies will be removed automatically when exporting the document.
Next: Orgtbl mode, Previous: Column width and alignment, Up: Tables [Contents][Index]
3.3 Column groups
When Org exports tables, it does so by default without vertical lines because that is visually more satisfying in general. Occasionally however, vertical lines can be useful to structure a table into groups of columns, much like horizontal lines can do for groups of rows. In order to specify column groups, you can use a special row where the first field contains only ‘/’. The further fields can either contain ‘<’ to indicate that this column should start a group, ‘>’ to indicate the end of a column, or ‘<>’ (no space between ‘<’ and ‘>’) to make a column a group of its own. Boundaries between column groups will upon export be marked with vertical lines. Here is an example:
| N | N^2 | N^3 | N^4 | sqrt(n) | sqrt[4](N) | |---+-----+-----+-----+---------+------------| | / | < | | > | < | > | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 1.4142 | 1.1892 | | 3 | 9 | 27 | 81 | 1.7321 | 1.3161 | |---+-----+-----+-----+---------+------------| #+TBLFM: $2=$1^2::$3=$1^3::$4=$1^4::$5=sqrt($1)::$6=sqrt(sqrt(($1)))
It is also sufficient to just insert the column group starters after every vertical line you would like to have:
| N | N^2 | N^3 | N^4 | sqrt(n) | sqrt[4](N) | |----+-----+-----+-----+---------+------------| | / | < | | | < | |
Next: The spreadsheet, Previous: Column groups, Up: Tables [Contents][Index]
3.4 The Orgtbl minor mode
If you like the intuitive way the Org table editor works, you might also want to use it in other modes like Text mode or Mail mode. The minor mode Orgtbl mode makes this possible. You can always toggle the mode with M-x orgtbl-mode RET. To turn it on by default, for example in Message mode, use
(add-hook 'message-mode-hook 'turn-on-orgtbl)
Furthermore, with some special setup, it is possible to maintain tables in arbitrary syntax with Orgtbl mode. For example, it is possible to construct LaTeX tables with the underlying ease and power of Orgtbl mode, including spreadsheet capabilities. For details, see Tables in arbitrary syntax.
Next: Org-Plot, Previous: Orgtbl mode, Up: Tables [Contents][Index]
3.5 The spreadsheet
The table editor makes use of the Emacs calc package to implement spreadsheet-like capabilities. It can also evaluate Emacs Lisp forms to derive fields from other fields. While fully featured, Org’s implementation is not identical to other spreadsheets. For example, Org knows the concept of a column formula that will be applied to all non-header fields in a column without having to copy the formula to each relevant field. There is also a formula debugger, and a formula editor with features for highlighting fields in the table corresponding to the references at the point in the formula, moving these references by arrow keys
• References: | How to refer to another field or range | |
• Formula syntax for Calc: | Using Calc to compute stuff | |
• Formula syntax for Lisp: | Writing formulas in Emacs Lisp | |
• Durations and time values: | How to compute durations and time values | |
• Field and range formulas: | Formula for specific (ranges of) fields | |
• Column formulas: | Formulas valid for an entire column | |
• Lookup functions: | Lookup functions for searching tables | |
• Editing and debugging formulas: | Fixing formulas | |
• Updating the table: | Recomputing all dependent fields | |
• Advanced features: | Field and column names, parameters and automatic recalc |
Next: Formula syntax for Calc, Previous: The spreadsheet, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.1 References
To compute fields in the table from other fields, formulas must reference other fields or ranges. In Org, fields can be referenced by name, by absolute coordinates, and by relative coordinates. To find out what the coordinates of a field are, press C-c ? in that field, or press C-c } to toggle the display of a grid.
Field references
Formulas can reference the value of another field in two ways. Like in
any other spreadsheet, you may reference fields with a letter/number
combination like B3
, meaning the 2nd field in the 3rd row.
However, Org prefers29 to use another, more general
representation that looks like this:
@row$column
Column specifications can be absolute like $1
,
$2
,...$N
, or relative to the current column (i.e., the
column of the field which is being computed) like $+1
or $-2
.
$<
and $>
are immutable references to the first and last
column, respectively, and you can use $>>>
to indicate the third
column from the right.
The row specification only counts data lines and ignores horizontal separator
lines (hlines). Like with columns, you can use absolute row numbers
@1
, @2
,...@N
, and row numbers relative to the
current row like @+3
or @-1
. @<
and @>
are
immutable references the first and last30 row in the table, respectively. You may also
specify the row relative to one of the hlines: @I
refers to the first
hline, @II
to the second, etc. @-I
refers to the first such
line above the current line, @+I
to the first such line below the
current line. You can also write @III+2
which is the second data line
after the third hline in the table.
@0
and $0
refer to the current row and column, respectively,
i.e., to the row/column for the field being computed. Also, if you omit
either the column or the row part of the reference, the current row/column is
implied.
Org’s references with unsigned numbers are fixed references in the sense that if you use the same reference in the formula for two different fields, the same field will be referenced each time. Org’s references with signed numbers are floating references because the same reference operator can reference different fields depending on the field being calculated by the formula.
Here are a few examples:
@2$3 2nd row, 3rd column (same asC2
) $5 column 5 in the current row (same asE&
) @2 current column, row 2 @-1$-3 the field one row up, three columns to the left @-I$2 field just under hline above current row, column 2 @>$5 field in the last row, in column 5
Range references
You may reference a rectangular range of fields by specifying two field
references connected by two dots ‘..’. If both fields are in the
current row, you may simply use ‘$2..$7’, but if at least one field
is in a different row, you need to use the general @row$column
format at least for the first field (i.e the reference must start with
‘@’ in order to be interpreted correctly). Examples:
$1..$3 first three fields in the current row $P..$Q range, using column names (see under Advanced) $<<<..$>> start in third column, continue to the one but last @2$1..@4$3 6 fields between these two fields (same asA2..C4
) @-1$-2..@-1 3 fields in the row above, starting from 2 columns on the left @I..II between first and second hline, short for@I..@II
Range references return a vector of values that can be fed into Calc vector functions. Empty fields in ranges are normally suppressed, so that the vector contains only the non-empty fields. For other options with the mode switches ‘E’, ‘N’ and examples see Formula syntax for Calc.
Field coordinates in formulas
For Calc formulas and Lisp formulas @#
and $#
can be used to
get the row or column number of the field where the formula result goes.
The traditional Lisp formula equivalents are org-table-current-dline
and org-table-current-column
. Examples:
if(@# % 2, $#, string("")) column number on odd lines only $3 = remote(FOO, @@#$2) copy column 2 from table FOO into column 3 of the current table
For the second example, table FOO must have at least as many rows as the current table. Note that this is inefficient31 for large number of rows.
Named references
‘$name’ is interpreted as the name of a column, parameter or
constant. Constants are defined globally through the option
org-table-formula-constants
, and locally (for the file) through a
line like
#+CONSTANTS: c=299792458. pi=3.14 eps=2.4e-6
Also properties (see Properties and Columns) can be used as constants in table formulas: for a property ‘:Xyz:’ use the name ‘$PROP_Xyz’, and the property will be searched in the current outline entry and in the hierarchy above it. If you have the constants.el package, it will also be used to resolve constants, including natural constants like ‘$h’ for Planck’s constant, and units like ‘$km’ for kilometers32. Column names and parameters can be specified in special table lines. These are described below, see Advanced features. All names must start with a letter, and further consist of letters and numbers.
Remote references
You may also reference constants, fields and ranges from a different table, either in the current file or even in a different file. The syntax is
remote(NAME-OR-ID,REF)
where NAME can be the name of a table in the current file as set by a
#+NAME: Name
line before the table. It can also be the ID of an
entry, even in a different file, and the reference then refers to the first
table in that entry. REF is an absolute field or range reference as
described above for example @3$3
or $somename
, valid in the
referenced table.
Next: Formula syntax for Lisp, Previous: References, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.2 Formula syntax for Calc
A formula can be any algebraic expression understood by the Emacs Calc
package. Note that calc has the non-standard convention that ‘/’
has lower precedence than ‘*’, so that ‘a/b*c’ is interpreted as
‘a/(b*c)’. Before evaluation by calc-eval
(see Calling Calc from Your Lisp Programs in GNU Emacs Calc Manual), variable substitution takes place according to the
rules described above.
The range vectors can be directly fed into the Calc vector functions
like ‘vmean’ and ‘vsum’.
A formula can contain an optional mode string after a semicolon. This
string consists of flags to influence Calc and other modes during
execution. By default, Org uses the standard Calc modes (precision
12, angular units degrees, fraction and symbolic modes off). The display
format, however, has been changed to (float 8)
to keep tables
compact. The default settings can be configured using the option
org-calc-default-modes
.
List of modes:
p20
Set the internal Calc calculation precision to 20 digits.
n3
,s3
,e2
,f4
Normal, scientific, engineering or fixed format of the result of Calc passed back to Org. Calc formatting is unlimited in precision as long as the Calc calculation precision is greater.
D
,R
Degree and radian angle modes of Calc.
F
,S
Fraction and symbolic modes of Calc.
T
,t
Duration computations in Calc or Lisp, see Durations and time values.
E
If and how to consider empty fields. Without ‘E’ empty fields in range references are suppressed so that the Calc vector or Lisp list contains only the non-empty fields. With ‘E’ the empty fields are kept. For empty fields in ranges or empty field references the value ‘nan’ (not a number) is used in Calc formulas and the empty string is used for Lisp formulas. Add ‘N’ to use 0 instead for both formula types. For the value of a field the mode ‘N’ has higher precedence than ‘E’.
N
Interpret all fields as numbers, use 0 for non-numbers. See the next section to see how this is essential for computations with Lisp formulas. In Calc formulas it is used only occasionally because there number strings are already interpreted as numbers without ‘N’.
L
Literal, for Lisp formulas only. See the next section.
Unless you use large integer numbers or high-precision-calculation and -display for floating point numbers you may alternatively provide a ‘printf’ format specifier to reformat the Calc result after it has been passed back to Org instead of letting Calc already do the formatting33. A few examples:
$1+$2 Sum of first and second field $1+$2;%.2f Same, format result to two decimals exp($2)+exp($1) Math functions can be used $0;%.1f Reformat current cell to 1 decimal ($3-32)*5/9 Degrees F -> C conversion $c/$1/$cm Hz -> cm conversion, using constants.el tan($1);Dp3s1 Compute in degrees, precision 3, display SCI 1 sin($1);Dp3%.1e Same, but use printf specifier for display taylor($3,x=7,2) Taylor series of $3, at x=7, second degree
Calc also contains a complete set of logical operations, (see Logical Operations in GNU Emacs Calc Manual). For example
if($1 < 20, teen, string(""))
"teen" if age $1 is less than 20, else the Org table result field is set to empty with the empty string.
if("$1" == "nan" || "$2" == "nan", string(""), $1 + $2); E f-1
Sum of the first two columns. When at least one of the input fields is empty the Org table result field is set to empty. ‘E’ is required to not convert empty fields to 0. ‘f-1’ is an optional Calc format string similar to ‘%.1f’ but leaves empty results empty.
if(typeof(vmean($1..$7)) == 12, string(""), vmean($1..$7); E
Mean value of a range unless there is any empty field. Every field in the range that is empty is replaced by ‘nan’ which lets ‘vmean’ result in ‘nan’. Then ‘typeof == 12’ detects the ‘nan’ from ‘vmean’ and the Org table result field is set to empty. Use this when the sample set is expected to never have missing values.
if("$1..$7" == "[]", string(""), vmean($1..$7))
Mean value of a range with empty fields skipped. Every field in the range that is empty is skipped. When all fields in the range are empty the mean value is not defined and the Org table result field is set to empty. Use this when the sample set can have a variable size.
vmean($1..$7); EN
To complete the example before: Mean value of a range with empty fields counting as samples with value 0. Use this only when incomplete sample sets should be padded with 0 to the full size.
You can add your own Calc functions defined in Emacs Lisp with defmath
and use them in formula syntax for Calc.
Next: Durations and time values, Previous: Formula syntax for Calc, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.3 Emacs Lisp forms as formulas
It is also possible to write a formula in Emacs Lisp. This can be useful for string manipulation and control structures, if Calc’s functionality is not enough.
If a formula starts with a single-quote followed by an opening parenthesis, then it is evaluated as a Lisp form. The evaluation should return either a string or a number. Just as with calc formulas, you can specify modes and a printf format after a semicolon.
With Emacs Lisp forms, you need to be conscious about the way field
references are interpolated into the form. By default, a reference will be
interpolated as a Lisp string (in double-quotes) containing the field. If
you provide the ‘N’ mode switch, all referenced elements will be numbers
(non-number fields will be zero) and interpolated as Lisp numbers, without
quotes. If you provide the ‘L’ flag, all fields will be interpolated
literally, without quotes. I.e., if you want a reference to be interpreted
as a string by the Lisp form, enclose the reference operator itself in
double-quotes, like "$3"
. Ranges are inserted as space-separated
fields, so you can embed them in list or vector syntax.
Here are a few examples—note how the ‘N’ mode is used when we do computations in Lisp:
'(concat (substring $1 1 2) (substring $1 0 1) (substring $1 2))
Swap the first two characters of the content of column 1.
'(+ $1 $2);N
Add columns 1 and 2, equivalent to Calc’s
$1+$2
.'(apply '+ '($1..$4));N
Compute the sum of columns 1 to 4, like Calc’s
vsum($1..$4)
.
Next: Field and range formulas, Previous: Formula syntax for Lisp, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.4 Durations and time values
If you want to compute time values use the T
flag, either in Calc
formulas or Elisp formulas:
| Task 1 | Task 2 | Total | |---------+----------+----------| | 2:12 | 1:47 | 03:59:00 | | 3:02:20 | -2:07:00 | 0.92 | #+TBLFM: @2$3=$1+$2;T::@3$3=$1+$2;t
Input duration values must be of the form [HH:MM[:SS]
, where seconds
are optional. With the T
flag, computed durations will be displayed
as HH:MM:SS
(see the first formula above). With the t
flag,
computed durations will be displayed according to the value of the option
org-table-duration-custom-format
, which defaults to 'hours
and
will display the result as a fraction of hours (see the second formula in the
example above).
Negative duration values can be manipulated as well, and integers will be considered as seconds in addition and subtraction.
Next: Column formulas, Previous: Durations and time values, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.5 Field and range formulas
To assign a formula to a particular field, type it directly into the field, preceded by ‘:=’, for example ‘:=vsum(@II..III)’. When you press TAB or RET or C-c C-c with the cursor still in the field, the formula will be stored as the formula for this field, evaluated, and the current field will be replaced with the result.
Formulas are stored in a special line starting with ‘#+TBLFM:’ directly
below the table. If you type the equation in the 4th field of the 3rd data
line in the table, the formula will look like ‘@3$4=$1+$2’. When
inserting/deleting/swapping column and rows with the appropriate commands,
absolute references (but not relative ones) in stored formulas are
modified in order to still reference the same field. To avoid this from
happening, in particular in range references, anchor ranges at the table
borders (using @<
, @>
, $<
, $>
), or at hlines
using the @I
notation. Automatic adaptation of field references does
of course not happen if you edit the table structure with normal editing
commands—then you must fix the equations yourself.
Instead of typing an equation into the field, you may also use the following command
- C-u C-c = (
org-table-eval-formula
) Install a new formula for the current field. The command prompts for a formula with default taken from the ‘#+TBLFM:’ line, applies it to the current field, and stores it.
The left-hand side of a formula can also be a special expression in order to
assign the formula to a number of different fields. There is no keyboard
shortcut to enter such range formulas. To add them, use the formula editor
(see Editing and debugging formulas) or edit the #+TBLFM:
line
directly.
$2=
Column formula, valid for the entire column. This is so common that Org treats these formulas in a special way, see Column formulas.
@3=
Row formula, applies to all fields in the specified row.
@>=
means the last row.@1$2..@4$3=
Range formula, applies to all fields in the given rectangular range. This can also be used to assign a formula to some but not all fields in a row.
$name=
Named field, see Advanced features.
Next: Lookup functions, Previous: Field and range formulas, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.6 Column formulas
When you assign a formula to a simple column reference like $3=
, the
same formula will be used in all fields of that column, with the following
very convenient exceptions: (i) If the table contains horizontal separator
hlines with rows above and below, everything before the first such hline is
considered part of the table header and will not be modified by column
formulas. Therefore a header is mandatory when you use column formulas and
want to add hlines to group rows, like for example to separate a total row at
the bottom from the summand rows above. (ii) Fields that already get a value
from a field/range formula will be left alone by column formulas. These
conditions make column formulas very easy to use.
To assign a formula to a column, type it directly into any field in the
column, preceded by an equal sign, like ‘=$1+$2’. When you press
TAB or RET or C-c C-c with the cursor still in the field,
the formula will be stored as the formula for the current column, evaluated
and the current field replaced with the result. If the field contains only
‘=’, the previously stored formula for this column is used. For each
column, Org will only remember the most recently used formula. In the
‘#+TBLFM:’ line, column formulas will look like ‘$4=$1+$2’. The
left-hand side of a column formula can not be the name of column, it must be
the numeric column reference or $>
.
Instead of typing an equation into the field, you may also use the following command:
- C-c = (
org-table-eval-formula
) Install a new formula for the current column and replace current field with the result of the formula. The command prompts for a formula, with default taken from the ‘#+TBLFM’ line, applies it to the current field and stores it. With a numeric prefix argument(e.g., C-5 C-c =) the command will apply it to that many consecutive fields in the current column.
Next: Editing and debugging formulas, Previous: Column formulas, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.7 Lookup functions
Org has three predefined Emacs Lisp functions for lookups in tables.
(org-lookup-first VAL S-LIST R-LIST &optional PREDICATE)
-
Searches for the first element
S
in listS-LIST
for which(PREDICATE VAL S)
is
t
; returns the value from the corresponding position in listR-LIST
. The defaultPREDICATE
isequal
. Note that the parametersVAL
andS
are passed toPREDICATE
in the same order as the corresponding parameters are in the call toorg-lookup-first
, whereVAL
precedesS-LIST
. IfR-LIST
isnil
, the matching elementS
ofS-LIST
is returned. (org-lookup-last VAL S-LIST R-LIST &optional PREDICATE)
-
Similar to
org-lookup-first
above, but searches for the last element for whichPREDICATE
ist
. (org-lookup-all VAL S-LIST R-LIST &optional PREDICATE)
-
Similar to
org-lookup-first
, but searches for all elements for whichPREDICATE
ist
, and returns all corresponding values. This function can not be used by itself in a formula, because it returns a list of values. However, powerful lookups can be built when this function is combined with other Emacs Lisp functions.
If the ranges used in these functions contain empty fields, the E
mode
for the formula should usually be specified: otherwise empty fields will not be
included in S-LIST
and/or R-LIST
which can, for example, result
in an incorrect mapping from an element of S-LIST
to the corresponding
element of R-LIST
.
These three functions can be used to implement associative arrays, count matching cells, rank results, group data etc. For practical examples see this tutorial on Worg.
Next: Updating the table, Previous: Lookup functions, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.8 Editing and debugging formulas
You can edit individual formulas in the minibuffer or directly in the field.
Org can also prepare a special buffer with all active formulas of a table.
When offering a formula for editing, Org converts references to the standard
format (like B3
or D&
) if possible. If you prefer to only work
with the internal format (like @3$2
or $4
), configure the
option org-table-use-standard-references
.
- C-c = or C-u C-c = (
org-table-eval-formula
) Edit the formula associated with the current column/field in the minibuffer. See Column formulas, and Field and range formulas.
- C-u C-u C-c = (
org-table-eval-formula
) Re-insert the active formula (either a field formula, or a column formula) into the current field, so that you can edit it directly in the field. The advantage over editing in the minibuffer is that you can use the command C-c ?.
- C-c ? (
org-table-field-info
) While editing a formula in a table field, highlight the field(s) referenced by the reference at the cursor position in the formula.
- C-c }
Toggle the display of row and column numbers for a table, using overlays (
org-table-toggle-coordinate-overlays
). These are updated each time the table is aligned; you can force it with C-c C-c.- C-c {
Toggle the formula debugger on and off (
org-table-toggle-formula-debugger
). See below.- C-c ' (
org-table-edit-formulas
) Edit all formulas for the current table in a special buffer, where the formulas will be displayed one per line. If the current field has an active formula, the cursor in the formula editor will mark it. While inside the special buffer, Org will automatically highlight any field or range reference at the cursor position. You may edit, remove and add formulas, and use the following commands:
- C-c C-c or C-x C-s (
org-table-fedit-finish
) Exit the formula editor and store the modified formulas. With C-u prefix, also apply the new formulas to the entire table.
- C-c C-q (
org-table-fedit-abort
) - C-c C-r (
org-table-fedit-toggle-ref-type
) Toggle all references in the formula editor between standard (like
B3
) and internal (like@3$2
).- TAB (
org-table-fedit-lisp-indent
) Pretty-print or indent Lisp formula at point. When in a line containing a Lisp formula, format the formula according to Emacs Lisp rules. Another TAB collapses the formula back again. In the open formula, TAB re-indents just like in Emacs Lisp mode.
- M-TAB (
lisp-complete-symbol
) - S-up/down/left/right
Shift the reference at point. For example, if the reference is
B3
and you press S-right, it will becomeC3
. This also works for relative references and for hline references.- M-S-up (
org-table-fedit-line-up
) - M-S-down (
org-table-fedit-line-down
) Move the test line for column formulas in the Org buffer up and down.
- M-up (
org-table-fedit-scroll-down
) - M-down (
org-table-fedit-scroll-up
) - C-c }
Turn the coordinate grid in the table on and off.
Making a table field blank does not remove the formula associated with the field, because that is stored in a different line (the ‘#+TBLFM’ line)—during the next recalculation the field will be filled again. To remove a formula from a field, you have to give an empty reply when prompted for the formula, or to edit the ‘#+TBLFM’ line.
You may edit the ‘#+TBLFM’ directly and re-apply the changed equations with C-c C-c in that line or with the normal recalculation commands in the table.
Using multiple #+TBLFM lines
You may apply the formula temporarily. This is useful when you switch the formula. Place multiple ‘#+TBLFM’ lines right after the table, and then press C-c C-c on the formula to apply. Here is an example:
| x | y | |---+---| | 1 | | | 2 | | #+TBLFM: $2=$1*1 #+TBLFM: $2=$1*2
Pressing C-c C-c in the line of ‘#+TBLFM: $2=$1*2’ yields:
| x | y | |---+---| | 1 | 2 | | 2 | 4 | #+TBLFM: $2=$1*1 #+TBLFM: $2=$1*2
Note: If you recalculate this table (with C-u C-c *, for example), you will get the following result of applying only the first ‘#+TBLFM’ line.
| x | y | |---+---| | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 2 | #+TBLFM: $2=$1*1 #+TBLFM: $2=$1*2
Debugging formulas
When the evaluation of a formula leads to an error, the field content
becomes the string ‘#ERROR’. If you would like see what is going
on during variable substitution and calculation in order to find a bug,
turn on formula debugging in the Tbl
menu and repeat the
calculation, for example by pressing C-u C-u C-c = RET in a
field. Detailed information will be displayed.
Next: Advanced features, Previous: Editing and debugging formulas, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.9 Updating the table
Recalculation of a table is normally not automatic, but needs to be triggered by a command. See Advanced features, for a way to make recalculation at least semi-automatic.
In order to recalculate a line of a table or the entire table, use the following commands:
- C-c * (
org-table-recalculate
) Recalculate the current row by first applying the stored column formulas from left to right, and all field/range formulas in the current row.
- C-u C-c *
- C-u C-c C-c
Recompute the entire table, line by line. Any lines before the first hline are left alone, assuming that these are part of the table header.
- C-u C-u C-c * or C-u C-u C-c C-c (
org-table-iterate
) Iterate the table by recomputing it until no further changes occur. This may be necessary if some computed fields use the value of other fields that are computed later in the calculation sequence.
- M-x org-table-recalculate-buffer-tables RET
-
Recompute all tables in the current buffer.
- M-x org-table-iterate-buffer-tables RET
-
Iterate all tables in the current buffer, in order to converge table-to-table dependencies.
Previous: Updating the table, Up: The spreadsheet [Contents][Index]
3.5.10 Advanced features
If you want the recalculation of fields to happen automatically, or if you want to be able to assign names34 to fields and columns, you need to reserve the first column of the table for special marking characters.
- C-# (
org-table-rotate-recalc-marks
) Rotate the calculation mark in first column through the states ‘ ’, ‘#’, ‘*’, ‘!’, ‘$’. When there is an active region, change all marks in the region.
Here is an example of a table that collects exam results of students and makes use of these features:
|---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------| | | Student | Prob 1 | Prob 2 | Prob 3 | Total | Note | |---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------| | ! | | P1 | P2 | P3 | Tot | | | # | Maximum | 10 | 15 | 25 | 50 | 10.0 | | ^ | | m1 | m2 | m3 | mt | | |---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------| | # | Peter | 10 | 8 | 23 | 41 | 8.2 | | # | Sam | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 1.8 | |---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------| | | Average | | | | 25.0 | | | ^ | | | | | at | | | $ | max=50 | | | | | | |---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------| #+TBLFM: $6=vsum($P1..$P3)::$7=10*$Tot/$max;%.1f::$at=vmean(@-II..@-I);%.1f
Important: please note that for these special tables, recalculating the table with C-u C-c * will only affect rows that are marked ‘#’ or ‘*’, and fields that have a formula assigned to the field itself. The column formulas are not applied in rows with empty first field.
The marking characters have the following meaning:
- ‘!’
The fields in this line define names for the columns, so that you may refer to a column as ‘$Tot’ instead of ‘$6’.
- ‘^’
This row defines names for the fields above the row. With such a definition, any formula in the table may use ‘$m1’ to refer to the value ‘10’. Also, if you assign a formula to a names field, it will be stored as ‘$name=...’.
- ‘_’
Similar to ‘^’, but defines names for the fields in the row below.
- ‘$’
Fields in this row can define parameters for formulas. For example, if a field in a ‘$’ row contains ‘max=50’, then formulas in this table can refer to the value 50 using ‘$max’. Parameters work exactly like constants, only that they can be defined on a per-table basis.
- ‘#’
Fields in this row are automatically recalculated when pressing TAB or RET or S-TAB in this row. Also, this row is selected for a global recalculation with C-u C-c *. Unmarked lines will be left alone by this command.
- ‘*’
Selects this line for global recalculation with C-u C-c *, but not for automatic recalculation. Use this when automatic recalculation slows down editing too much.
- ‘ ’
Unmarked lines are exempt from recalculation with C-u C-c *. All lines that should be recalculated should be marked with ‘#’ or ‘*’.
- ‘/’
Do not export this line. Useful for lines that contain the narrowing ‘<N>’ markers or column group markers.
Finally, just to whet your appetite for what can be done with the
fantastic calc.el package, here is a table that computes the Taylor
series of degree n
at location x
for a couple of
functions.
|---+-------------+---+-----+--------------------------------------| | | Func | n | x | Result | |---+-------------+---+-----+--------------------------------------| | # | exp(x) | 1 | x | 1 + x | | # | exp(x) | 2 | x | 1 + x + x^2 / 2 | | # | exp(x) | 3 | x | 1 + x + x^2 / 2 + x^3 / 6 | | # | x^2+sqrt(x) | 2 | x=0 | x*(0.5 / 0) + x^2 (2 - 0.25 / 0) / 2 | | # | x^2+sqrt(x) | 2 | x=1 | 2 + 2.5 x - 2.5 + 0.875 (x - 1)^2 | | * | tan(x) | 3 | x | 0.0175 x + 1.77e-6 x^3 | |---+-------------+---+-----+--------------------------------------| #+TBLFM: $5=taylor($2,$4,$3);n3
Previous: The spreadsheet, Up: Tables [Contents][Index]
3.6 Org-Plot
Org-Plot can produce 2D and 3D graphs of information stored in org tables
using Gnuplot http://www.gnuplot.info/ and gnuplot-mode
http://xafs.org/BruceRavel/GnuplotMode. To see this in action, ensure
that you have both Gnuplot and Gnuplot mode installed on your system, then
call org-plot/gnuplot
on the following table.
#+PLOT: title:"Citas" ind:1 deps:(3) type:2d with:histograms set:"yrange [0:]" | Sede | Max cites | H-index | |-----------+-----------+---------| | Chile | 257.72 | 21.39 | | Leeds | 165.77 | 19.68 | | Sao Paolo | 71.00 | 11.50 | | Stockholm | 134.19 | 14.33 | | Morelia | 257.56 | 17.67 |
Notice that Org Plot is smart enough to apply the table’s headers as labels.
Further control over the labels, type, content, and appearance of plots can
be exercised through the #+PLOT:
lines preceding a table. See below
for a complete list of Org-plot options. For more information and examples
see the Org-plot tutorial at
http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-plot.html.
Plot Options
set
Specify any
gnuplot
option to be set when graphing.title
Specify the title of the plot.
ind
Specify which column of the table to use as the
x
axis.deps
Specify the columns to graph as a Lisp style list, surrounded by parentheses and separated by spaces for example
dep:(3 4)
to graph the third and fourth columns (defaults to graphing all other columns aside from theind
column).type
Specify whether the plot will be
2d
,3d
, orgrid
.with
Specify a
with
option to be inserted for every col being plotted (e.g.,lines
,points
,boxes
,impulses
, etc...). Defaults tolines
.file
If you want to plot to a file, specify
"path/to/desired/output-file"
.labels
List of labels to be used for the
deps
(defaults to the column headers if they exist).line
Specify an entire line to be inserted in the Gnuplot script.
map
When plotting
3d
orgrid
types, set this tot
to graph a flat mapping rather than a3d
slope.timefmt
Specify format of Org mode timestamps as they will be parsed by Gnuplot. Defaults to ‘%Y-%m-%d-%H:%M:%S’.
script
If you want total control, you can specify a script file (place the file name between double-quotes) which will be used to plot. Before plotting, every instance of
$datafile
in the specified script will be replaced with the path to the generated data file. Note: even if you set this option, you may still want to specify the plot type, as that can impact the content of the data file.
Next: TODO Items, Previous: Tables, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
4 Hyperlinks
Like HTML, Org provides links inside a file, external links to other files, Usenet articles, emails, and much more.
• Link format: | How links in Org are formatted | |
• Internal links: | Links to other places in the current file | |
• External links: | URL-like links to the world | |
• Handling links: | Creating, inserting and following | |
• Using links outside Org: | Linking from my C source code? | |
• Link abbreviations: | Shortcuts for writing complex links | |
• Search options: | Linking to a specific location | |
• Custom searches: | When the default search is not enough |
Next: Internal links, Previous: Hyperlinks, Up: Hyperlinks [Contents][Index]
4.1 Link format
Org will recognize plain URL-like links and activate them as clickable links. The general link format, however, looks like this:
[[link][description]] or alternatively [[link]]
Once a link in the buffer is complete (all brackets present), Org
will change the display so that ‘description’ is displayed instead
of ‘[[link][description]]’ and ‘link’ is displayed instead of
‘[[link]]’. Links will be highlighted in the face org-link
,
which by default is an underlined face. You can directly edit the
visible part of a link. Note that this can be either the ‘link’
part (if there is no description) or the ‘description’ part. To
edit also the invisible ‘link’ part, use C-c C-l with the
cursor on the link.
If you place the cursor at the beginning or just behind the end of the
displayed text and press BACKSPACE, you will remove the
(invisible) bracket at that location. This makes the link incomplete
and the internals are again displayed as plain text. Inserting the
missing bracket hides the link internals again. To show the
internal structure of all links, use the menu entry
Org->Hyperlinks->Literal links
.
Next: External links, Previous: Link format, Up: Hyperlinks [Contents][Index]
4.2 Internal links
If the link does not look like a URL, it is considered to be internal in the
current file. The most important case is a link like
‘[[#my-custom-id]]’ which will link to the entry with the
CUSTOM_ID
property ‘my-custom-id’. You are responsible yourself
to make sure these custom IDs are unique in a file.
Links such as ‘[[My Target]]’ or ‘[[My Target][Find my target]]’ lead to a text search in the current file.
The link can be followed with C-c C-o when the cursor is on the link, or with a mouse click (see Handling links). Links to custom IDs will point to the corresponding headline. The preferred match for a text link is a dedicated target: the same string in double angular brackets, like ‘<<My Target>>’.
If no dedicated target exists, the link will then try to match the exact name
of an element within the buffer. Naming is done with the #+NAME
keyword, which has to be put the line before the element it refers to, as in
the following example
#+NAME: My Target | a | table | |----+------------| | of | four cells |
If none of the above succeeds, Org will search for a headline that is exactly the link text but may also include a TODO keyword and tags35.
During export, internal links will be used to mark objects and assign them a number. Marked objects will then be referenced by links pointing to them. In particular, links without a description will appear as the number assigned to the marked object36. In the following excerpt from an Org buffer
- one item - <<target>>another item Here we refer to item [[target]].
The last sentence will appear as ‘Here we refer to item 2’ when exported.
In non-Org files, the search will look for the words in the link text. In the above example the search would be for ‘my target’.
Following a link pushes a mark onto Org’s own mark ring. You can return to the previous position with C-c &. Using this command several times in direct succession goes back to positions recorded earlier.
• Radio targets: | Make targets trigger links in plain text |
Previous: Internal links, Up: Internal links [Contents][Index]
4.2.1 Radio targets
Org can automatically turn any occurrences of certain target names in normal text into a link. So without explicitly creating a link, the text connects to the target radioing its position. Radio targets are enclosed by triple angular brackets. For example, a target ‘<<<My Target>>>’ causes each occurrence of ‘my target’ in normal text to become activated as a link. The Org file is scanned automatically for radio targets only when the file is first loaded into Emacs. To update the target list during editing, press C-c C-c with the cursor on or at a target.
Next: Handling links, Previous: Internal links, Up: Hyperlinks [Contents][Index]
4.3 External links
Org supports links to files, websites, Usenet and email messages, BBDB database entries and links to both IRC conversations and their logs. External links are URL-like locators. They start with a short identifying string followed by a colon. There can be no space after the colon. The following list shows examples for each link type.
http://www.astro.uva.nl/~dominik on the web doi:10.1000/182 DOI for an electronic resource file:/home/dominik/images/jupiter.jpg file, absolute path /home/dominik/images/jupiter.jpg same as above file:papers/last.pdf file, relative path ./papers/last.pdf same as above file:/myself@some.where:papers/last.pdf file, path on remote machine /myself@some.where:papers/last.pdf same as above file:sometextfile::NNN file, jump to line number file:projects.org another Org file file:projects.org::some words text search in Org file(37) file:projects.org::*task title heading search in Org file file+sys:/path/to/file open via OS, like double-click file+emacs:/path/to/file force opening by Emacs docview:papers/last.pdf::NNN open in doc-view mode at page id:B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9 Link to heading by ID news:comp.emacs Usenet link mailto:adent@galaxy.net Mail link mhe:folder MH-E folder link mhe:folder#id MH-E message link rmail:folder RMAIL folder link rmail:folder#id RMAIL message link gnus:group Gnus group link gnus:group#id Gnus article link bbdb:R.*Stallman BBDB link (with regexp) irc:/irc.com/#emacs/bob IRC link info:org#External links Info node link shell:ls *.org A shell command elisp:org-agenda Interactive Elisp command elisp:(find-file-other-frame "Elisp.org") Elisp form to evaluate
On top of these built-in link types, some are available through the
contrib/
directory (see Installation). For example, these links
to VM or Wanderlust messages are available when you load the corresponding
libraries from the contrib/
directory:
vm:folder VM folder link vm:folder#id VM message link vm://myself@some.where.org/folder#id VM on remote machine vm-imap:account:folder VM IMAP folder link vm-imap:account:folder#id VM IMAP message link wl:folder WANDERLUST folder link wl:folder#id WANDERLUST message link
For customizing Org to add new link types Adding hyperlink types.
A link should be enclosed in double brackets and may contain a descriptive text to be displayed instead of the URL (see Link format), for example:
[[http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/][GNU Emacs]]
If the description is a file name or URL that points to an image, HTML export (see HTML export) will inline the image as a clickable button. If there is no description at all and the link points to an image, that image will be inlined into the exported HTML file.
Org also finds external links in the normal text and activates them as links. If spaces must be part of the link (for example in ‘bbdb:Richard Stallman’), or if you need to remove ambiguities about the end of the link, enclose them in square brackets.
Next: Using links outside Org, Previous: External links, Up: Hyperlinks [Contents][Index]
4.4 Handling links
Org provides methods to create a link in the correct syntax, to insert it into an Org file, and to follow the link.
- C-c l (
org-store-link
) -
Store a link to the current location. This is a global command (you must create the key binding yourself) which can be used in any buffer to create a link. The link will be stored for later insertion into an Org buffer (see below). What kind of link will be created depends on the current buffer:
Org mode buffers
For Org files, if there is a ‘<<target>>’ at the cursor, the link points to the target. Otherwise it points to the current headline, which will also be the description38.If the headline has a
CUSTOM_ID
property, a link to this custom ID will be stored. In addition or alternatively (depending on the value oforg-id-link-to-org-use-id
), a globally uniqueID
property will be created and/or used to construct a link39. So using this command in Org buffers will potentially create two links: a human-readable from the custom ID, and one that is globally unique and works even if the entry is moved from file to file. Later, when inserting the link, you need to decide which one to use.Email/News clients: VM, Rmail, Wanderlust, MH-E, Gnus
Pretty much all Emacs mail clients are supported. The link will point to the current article, or, in some GNUS buffers, to the group. The description is constructed from the author and the subject.Web browsers: W3 and W3M
Here the link will be the current URL, with the page title as description.Contacts: BBDB
Links created in a BBDB buffer will point to the current entry.Chat: IRC
For IRC links, if you set the optionorg-irc-link-to-logs
tot
, a ‘file:/’ style link to the relevant point in the logs for the current conversation is created. Otherwise an ‘irc:/’ style link to the user/channel/server under the point will be stored.Other files
For any other files, the link will point to the file, with a search string (see Search options) pointing to the contents of the current line. If there is an active region, the selected words will form the basis of the search string. If the automatically created link is not working correctly or accurately enough, you can write custom functions to select the search string and to do the search for particular file types—see Custom searches. The key binding C-c l is only a suggestion—see Installation.Agenda view
When the cursor is in an agenda view, the created link points to the entry referenced by the current line. - C-c C-l (
org-insert-link
) -
Insert a link40. This prompts for a link to be inserted into the buffer. You can just type a link, using text for an internal link, or one of the link type prefixes mentioned in the examples above. The link will be inserted into the buffer41, along with a descriptive text. If some text was selected when this command is called, the selected text becomes the default description.
Inserting stored links
All links stored during the current session are part of the history for this prompt, so you can access them with up and down (or M-p/n).Completion support
Completion with TAB will help you to insert valid link prefixes like ‘http:’ or ‘ftp:’, including the prefixes defined through link abbreviations (see Link abbreviations). If you press RET after inserting only the prefix, Org will offer specific completion support for some link types42 For example, if you type file RET, file name completion (alternative access: C-u C-c C-l, see below) will be offered, and after bbdb RET you can complete contact names. - C-u C-c C-l
-
When C-c C-l is called with a C-u prefix argument, a link to a file will be inserted and you may use file name completion to select the name of the file. The path to the file is inserted relative to the directory of the current Org file, if the linked file is in the current directory or in a sub-directory of it, or if the path is written relative to the current directory using ‘../’. Otherwise an absolute path is used, if possible with ‘~/’ for your home directory. You can force an absolute path with two C-u prefixes.
- C-c C-l (with cursor on existing link)
When the cursor is on an existing link, C-c C-l allows you to edit the link and description parts of the link.
- C-c C-o (
org-open-at-point
) -
Open link at point. This will launch a web browser for URLs (using
browse-url-at-point
), run VM/MH-E/Wanderlust/Rmail/Gnus/BBDB for the corresponding links, and execute the command in a shell link. When the cursor is on an internal link, this command runs the corresponding search. When the cursor is on a TAG list in a headline, it creates the corresponding TAGS view. If the cursor is on a timestamp, it compiles the agenda for that date. Furthermore, it will visit text and remote files in ‘file:’ links with Emacs and select a suitable application for local non-text files. Classification of files is based on file extension only. See optionorg-file-apps
. If you want to override the default application and visit the file with Emacs, use a C-u prefix. If you want to avoid opening in Emacs, use a C-u C-u prefix.
If the cursor is on a headline, but not on a link, offer all links in the headline and entry text. If you want to setup the frame configuration for following links, customizeorg-link-frame-setup
. - RET
-
When
org-return-follows-link
is set, RET will also follow the link at point. - mouse-2
- mouse-1
On links, mouse-2 will open the link just as C-c C-o would. Under Emacs 22 and later, mouse-1 will also follow a link.
- mouse-3
-
Like mouse-2, but force file links to be opened with Emacs, and internal links to be displayed in another window43.
- C-c C-x C-v (
org-toggle-inline-images
) -
Toggle the inline display of linked images. Normally this will only inline images that have no description part in the link, i.e., images that will also be inlined during export. When called with a prefix argument, also display images that do have a link description. You can ask for inline images to be displayed at startup by configuring the variable
org-startup-with-inline-images
44. - C-c % (
org-mark-ring-push
) -
Push the current position onto the mark ring, to be able to return easily. Commands following an internal link do this automatically.
- C-c & (
org-mark-ring-goto
) -
Jump back to a recorded position. A position is recorded by the commands following internal links, and by C-c %. Using this command several times in direct succession moves through a ring of previously recorded positions.
- C-c C-x C-n (
org-next-link
) - C-c C-x C-p (
org-previous-link
) -
Move forward/backward to the next link in the buffer. At the limit of the buffer, the search fails once, and then wraps around. The key bindings for this are really too long; you might want to bind this also to C-n and C-p
(add-hook 'org-load-hook (lambda () (define-key org-mode-map "\C-n" 'org-next-link) (define-key org-mode-map "\C-p" 'org-previous-link)))
Next: Link abbreviations, Previous: Handling links, Up: Hyperlinks [Contents][Index]
4.5 Using links outside Org
You can insert and follow links that have Org syntax not only in Org, but in any Emacs buffer. For this, you should create two global commands, like this (please select suitable global keys yourself):
(global-set-key "\C-c L" 'org-insert-link-global) (global-set-key "\C-c o" 'org-open-at-point-global)
Next: Search options, Previous: Using links outside Org, Up: Hyperlinks [Contents][Index]
4.6 Link abbreviations
Long URLs can be cumbersome to type, and often many similar links are needed in a document. For this you can use link abbreviations. An abbreviated link looks like this
[[linkword:tag][description]]
where the tag is optional.
The linkword must be a word, starting with a letter, followed by
letters, numbers, ‘-’, and ‘_’. Abbreviations are resolved
according to the information in the variable org-link-abbrev-alist
that relates the linkwords to replacement text. Here is an example:
(setq org-link-abbrev-alist '(("bugzilla" . "http://10.1.2.9/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=") ("url-to-ja" . "http://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=en&tl=ja&u=%h") ("google" . "http://www.google.com/search?q=") ("gmap" . "http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%s") ("omap" . "http://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=%s&polygon=1") ("ads" . "http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?author=%s&db_key=AST")))
If the replacement text contains the string ‘%s’, it will be replaced with the tag. Using ‘%h’ instead of ‘%s’ will url-encode the tag (see the example above, where we need to encode the URL parameter.) Using ‘%(my-function)’ will pass the tag to a custom function, and replace it by the resulting string.
If the replacement text don’t contain any specifier, it will simply be appended to the string in order to create the link.
Instead of a string, you may also specify a function that will be called with the tag as the only argument to create the link.
With the above setting, you could link to a specific bug with
[[bugzilla:129]]
, search the web for ‘OrgMode’ with
[[google:OrgMode]]
, show the map location of the Free Software
Foundation [[gmap:51 Franklin Street, Boston]]
or of Carsten office
[[omap:Science Park 904, Amsterdam, The Netherlands]]
and find out
what the Org author is doing besides Emacs hacking with
[[ads:Dominik,C]]
.
If you need special abbreviations just for a single Org buffer, you can define them in the file with
#+LINK: bugzilla http://10.1.2.9/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id= #+LINK: google http://www.google.com/search?q=%s
In-buffer completion (see Completion) can be used after ‘[’ to
complete link abbreviations. You may also define a function
org-PREFIX-complete-link
that implements special (e.g., completion)
support for inserting such a link with C-c C-l. Such a function should
not accept any arguments, and return the full link with prefix.
Next: Custom searches, Previous: Link abbreviations, Up: Hyperlinks [Contents][Index]
4.7 Search options in file links
File links can contain additional information to make Emacs jump to a particular location in the file when following a link. This can be a line number or a search option after a double45 colon. For example, when the command C-c l creates a link (see Handling links) to a file, it encodes the words in the current line as a search string that can be used to find this line back later when following the link with C-c C-o.
Here is the syntax of the different ways to attach a search to a file link, together with an explanation:
[[file:~/code/main.c::255]] [[file:~/xx.org::My Target]] [[file:~/xx.org::*My Target]] [[file:~/xx.org::#my-custom-id]] [[file:~/xx.org::/regexp/]]
255
Jump to line 255.
My Target
Search for a link target ‘<<My Target>>’, or do a text search for ‘my target’, similar to the search in internal links, see Internal links. In HTML export (see HTML export), such a file link will become an HTML reference to the corresponding named anchor in the linked file.
*My Target
In an Org file, restrict search to headlines.
#my-custom-id
Link to a heading with a
CUSTOM_ID
property/regexp/
Do a regular expression search for
regexp
. This uses the Emacs commandoccur
to list all matches in a separate window. If the target file is in Org mode,org-occur
is used to create a sparse tree with the matches.
As a degenerate case, a file link with an empty file name can be used
to search the current file. For example, [[file:::find me]]
does
a search for ‘find me’ in the current file, just as
‘[[find me]]’ would.
Previous: Search options, Up: Hyperlinks [Contents][Index]
4.8 Custom Searches
The default mechanism for creating search strings and for doing the actual search related to a file link may not work correctly in all cases. For example, BibTeX database files have many entries like ‘year="1993"’ which would not result in good search strings, because the only unique identification for a BibTeX entry is the citation key.
If you come across such a problem, you can write custom functions to set
the right search string for a particular file type, and to do the search
for the string in the file. Using add-hook
, these functions need
to be added to the hook variables
org-create-file-search-functions
and
org-execute-file-search-functions
. See the docstring for these
variables for more information. Org actually uses this mechanism
for BibTeX database files, and you can use the corresponding code as
an implementation example. See the file org-bibtex.el.
Next: Tags, Previous: Hyperlinks, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
5 TODO items
Org mode does not maintain TODO lists as separate documents46. Instead, TODO items are an integral part of the notes file, because TODO items usually come up while taking notes! With Org mode, simply mark any entry in a tree as being a TODO item. In this way, information is not duplicated, and the entire context from which the TODO item emerged is always present.
Of course, this technique for managing TODO items scatters them throughout your notes file. Org mode compensates for this by providing methods to give you an overview of all the things that you have to do.
• TODO basics: | Marking and displaying TODO entries | |
• TODO extensions: | Workflow and assignments | |
• Progress logging: | Dates and notes for progress | |
• Priorities: | Some things are more important than others | |
• Breaking down tasks: | Splitting a task into manageable pieces | |
• Checkboxes: | Tick-off lists |
Next: TODO extensions, Previous: TODO Items, Up: TODO Items [Contents][Index]
5.1 Basic TODO functionality
Any headline becomes a TODO item when it starts with the word ‘TODO’, for example:
*** TODO Write letter to Sam Fortune
The most important commands to work with TODO entries are:
- C-c C-t (
org-todo
) -
Rotate the TODO state of the current item among
,-> (unmarked) -> TODO -> DONE --. '--------------------------------'
If TODO keywords have fast access keys (see Fast access to TODO states), you will be prompted for a TODO keyword through the fast selection interface; this is the default behavior when
org-use-fast-todo-selection
is non-nil
.The same rotation can also be done “remotely” from the timeline and agenda buffers with the t command key (see Agenda commands).
- C-u C-c C-t
When TODO keywords have no selection keys, select a specific keyword using completion; otherwise force cycling through TODO states with no prompt. When
org-use-fast-todo-selection
is set toprefix
, use the fast selection interface.- S-right / S-left
-
Select the following/preceding TODO state, similar to cycling. Useful mostly if more than two TODO states are possible (see TODO extensions). See also Conflicts, for a discussion of the interaction with
shift-selection-mode
. See also the variableorg-treat-S-cursor-todo-selection-as-state-change
. - C-c / t (
org-show-todo-tree
) -
View TODO items in a sparse tree (see Sparse trees). Folds the entire buffer, but shows all TODO items (with not-DONE state) and the headings hierarchy above them. With a prefix argument (or by using C-c / T), search for a specific TODO. You will be prompted for the keyword, and you can also give a list of keywords like
KWD1|KWD2|...
to list entries that match any one of these keywords. With a numeric prefix argument N, show the tree for the Nth keyword in the optionorg-todo-keywords
. With two prefix arguments, find all TODO states, both un-done and done. - C-c a t (
org-todo-list
) Show the global TODO list. Collects the TODO items (with not-DONE states) from all agenda files (see Agenda Views) into a single buffer. The new buffer will be in
agenda-mode
, which provides commands to examine and manipulate the TODO entries from the new buffer (see Agenda commands). See Global TODO list, for more information.- S-M-RET (
org-insert-todo-heading
) Insert a new TODO entry below the current one.
Changing a TODO state can also trigger tag changes. See the docstring of the
option org-todo-state-tags-triggers
for details.
Next: Progress logging, Previous: TODO basics, Up: TODO Items [Contents][Index]
5.2 Extended use of TODO keywords
By default, marked TODO entries have one of only two states: TODO and
DONE. Org mode allows you to classify TODO items in more complex ways
with TODO keywords (stored in org-todo-keywords
). With
special setup, the TODO keyword system can work differently in different
files.
Note that tags are another way to classify headlines in general and TODO items in particular (see Tags).
• Workflow states: | From TODO to DONE in steps | |
• TODO types: | I do this, Fred does the rest | |
• Multiple sets in one file: | Mixing it all, and still finding your way | |
• Fast access to TODO states: | Single letter selection of a state | |
• Per-file keywords: | Different files, different requirements | |
• Faces for TODO keywords: | Highlighting states | |
• TODO dependencies: | When one task needs to wait for others |
Next: TODO types, Previous: TODO extensions, Up: TODO extensions [Contents][Index]
5.2.1 TODO keywords as workflow states
You can use TODO keywords to indicate different sequential states in the process of working on an item, for example47:
(setq org-todo-keywords '((sequence "TODO" "FEEDBACK" "VERIFY" "|" "DONE" "DELEGATED")))
The vertical bar separates the TODO keywords (states that need action) from the DONE states (which need no further action). If you don’t provide the separator bar, the last state is used as the DONE state. With this setup, the command C-c C-t will cycle an entry from TODO to FEEDBACK, then to VERIFY, and finally to DONE and DELEGATED. You may also use a numeric prefix argument to quickly select a specific state. For example C-3 C-c C-t will change the state immediately to VERIFY. Or you can use S-left to go backward through the sequence. If you define many keywords, you can use in-buffer completion (see Completion) or even a special one-key selection scheme (see Fast access to TODO states) to insert these words into the buffer. Changing a TODO state can be logged with a timestamp, see Tracking TODO state changes, for more information.
Next: Multiple sets in one file, Previous: Workflow states, Up: TODO extensions [Contents][Index]
5.2.2 TODO keywords as types
The second possibility is to use TODO keywords to indicate different types of action items. For example, you might want to indicate that items are for “work” or “home”. Or, when you work with several people on a single project, you might want to assign action items directly to persons, by using their names as TODO keywords. This would be set up like this:
(setq org-todo-keywords '((type "Fred" "Sara" "Lucy" "|" "DONE")))
In this case, different keywords do not indicate a sequence, but rather different types. So the normal work flow would be to assign a task to a person, and later to mark it DONE. Org mode supports this style by adapting the workings of the command C-c C-t48. When used several times in succession, it will still cycle through all names, in order to first select the right type for a task. But when you return to the item after some time and execute C-c C-t again, it will switch from any name directly to DONE. Use prefix arguments or completion to quickly select a specific name. You can also review the items of a specific TODO type in a sparse tree by using a numeric prefix to C-c / t. For example, to see all things Lucy has to do, you would use C-3 C-c / t. To collect Lucy’s items from all agenda files into a single buffer, you would use the numeric prefix argument as well when creating the global TODO list: C-3 C-c a t.
Next: Fast access to TODO states, Previous: TODO types, Up: TODO extensions [Contents][Index]
5.2.3 Multiple keyword sets in one file
Sometimes you may want to use different sets of TODO keywords in
parallel. For example, you may want to have the basic
TODO
/DONE
, but also a workflow for bug fixing, and a
separate state indicating that an item has been canceled (so it is not
DONE, but also does not require action). Your setup would then look
like this:
(setq org-todo-keywords '((sequence "TODO" "|" "DONE") (sequence "REPORT" "BUG" "KNOWNCAUSE" "|" "FIXED") (sequence "|" "CANCELED")))
The keywords should all be different, this helps Org mode to keep track
of which subsequence should be used for a given entry. In this setup,
C-c C-t only operates within a subsequence, so it switches from
DONE
to (nothing) to TODO
, and from FIXED
to
(nothing) to REPORT
. Therefore you need a mechanism to initially
select the correct sequence. Besides the obvious ways like typing a
keyword or using completion, you may also apply the following commands:
- C-u C-u C-c C-t
- C-S-right
- C-S-left
These keys jump from one TODO subset to the next. In the above example, C-u C-u C-c C-t or C-S-right would jump from
TODO
orDONE
toREPORT
, and any of the words in the second row toCANCELED
. Note that the C-S- key binding conflict withshift-selection-mode
(see Conflicts).- S-right
- S-left
S-<left> and S-<right> and walk through all keywords from all sets, so for example S-<right> would switch from
DONE
toREPORT
in the example above. See also Conflicts, for a discussion of the interaction withshift-selection-mode
.
Next: Per-file keywords, Previous: Multiple sets in one file, Up: TODO extensions [Contents][Index]
5.2.4 Fast access to TODO states
If you would like to quickly change an entry to an arbitrary TODO state instead of cycling through the states, you can set up keys for single-letter access to the states. This is done by adding the selection character after each keyword, in parentheses49. For example:
(setq org-todo-keywords '((sequence "TODO(t)" "|" "DONE(d)") (sequence "REPORT(r)" "BUG(b)" "KNOWNCAUSE(k)" "|" "FIXED(f)") (sequence "|" "CANCELED(c)")))
If you then press C-c C-t followed by the selection key, the entry will be switched to this state. SPC can be used to remove any TODO keyword from an entry.50
Next: Faces for TODO keywords, Previous: Fast access to TODO states, Up: TODO extensions [Contents][Index]
5.2.5 Setting up keywords for individual files
It can be very useful to use different aspects of the TODO mechanism in different files. For file-local settings, you need to add special lines to the file which set the keywords and interpretation for that file only. For example, to set one of the two examples discussed above, you need one of the following lines, starting in column zero anywhere in the file:
#+TODO: TODO FEEDBACK VERIFY | DONE CANCELED
(you may also write #+SEQ_TODO
to be explicit about the
interpretation, but it means the same as #+TODO
), or
#+TYP_TODO: Fred Sara Lucy Mike | DONE
A setup for using several sets in parallel would be:
#+TODO: TODO | DONE #+TODO: REPORT BUG KNOWNCAUSE | FIXED #+TODO: | CANCELED
To make sure you are using the correct keyword, type ‘#+’ into the buffer and then use M-TAB completion.
Remember that the keywords after the vertical bar (or the last keyword if no bar is there) must always mean that the item is DONE (although you may use a different word). After changing one of these lines, use C-c C-c with the cursor still in the line to make the changes known to Org mode51.
Next: TODO dependencies, Previous: Per-file keywords, Up: TODO extensions [Contents][Index]
5.2.6 Faces for TODO keywords
Org mode highlights TODO keywords with special faces: org-todo
for keywords indicating that an item still has to be acted upon, and
org-done
for keywords indicating that an item is finished. If
you are using more than 2 different states, you might want to use
special faces for some of them. This can be done using the option
org-todo-keyword-faces
. For example:
(setq org-todo-keyword-faces '(("TODO" . org-warning) ("STARTED" . "yellow") ("CANCELED" . (:foreground "blue" :weight bold))))
While using a list with face properties as shown for CANCELED should
work, this does not always seem to be the case. If necessary, define a
special face and use that. A string is interpreted as a color. The option
org-faces-easy-properties
determines if that color is interpreted as a
foreground or a background color.
Previous: Faces for TODO keywords, Up: TODO extensions [Contents][Index]
5.2.7 TODO dependencies
The structure of Org files (hierarchy and lists) makes it easy to define TODO
dependencies. Usually, a parent TODO task should not be marked DONE until
all subtasks (defined as children tasks) are marked as DONE. And sometimes
there is a logical sequence to a number of (sub)tasks, so that one task
cannot be acted upon before all siblings above it are done. If you customize
the option org-enforce-todo-dependencies
, Org will block entries
from changing state to DONE while they have children that are not DONE.
Furthermore, if an entry has a property ORDERED
, each of its children
will be blocked until all earlier siblings are marked DONE. Here is an
example:
* TODO Blocked until (two) is done ** DONE one ** TODO two * Parent :PROPERTIES: :ORDERED: t :END: ** TODO a ** TODO b, needs to wait for (a) ** TODO c, needs to wait for (a) and (b)
- C-c C-x o (
org-toggle-ordered-property
) -
Toggle the
ORDERED
property of the current entry. A property is used for this behavior because this should be local to the current entry, not inherited like a tag. However, if you would like to track the value of this property with a tag for better visibility, customize the optionorg-track-ordered-property-with-tag
. - C-u C-u C-u C-c C-t
Change TODO state, circumventing any state blocking.
If you set the option org-agenda-dim-blocked-tasks
, TODO entries
that cannot be closed because of such dependencies will be shown in a dimmed
font or even made invisible in agenda views (see Agenda Views).
You can also block changes of TODO states by looking at checkboxes
(see Checkboxes). If you set the option
org-enforce-todo-checkbox-dependencies
, an entry that has unchecked
checkboxes will be blocked from switching to DONE.
If you need more complex dependency structures, for example dependencies between entries in different trees or files, check out the contributed module org-depend.el.
Next: Priorities, Previous: TODO extensions, Up: TODO Items [Contents][Index]
5.3 Progress logging
Org mode can automatically record a timestamp and possibly a note when you mark a TODO item as DONE, or even each time you change the state of a TODO item. This system is highly configurable; settings can be on a per-keyword basis and can be localized to a file or even a subtree. For information on how to clock working time for a task, see Clocking work time.
• Closing items: | When was this entry marked DONE? | |
• Tracking TODO state changes: | When did the status change? | |
• Tracking your habits: | How consistent have you been? |
Next: Tracking TODO state changes, Previous: Progress logging, Up: Progress logging [Contents][Index]
5.3.1 Closing items
The most basic logging is to keep track of when a certain TODO item was finished. This is achieved with52
(setq org-log-done 'time)
Then each time you turn an entry from a TODO (not-done) state into any of the
DONE states, a line ‘CLOSED: [timestamp]’ will be inserted just after
the headline. If you turn the entry back into a TODO item through further
state cycling, that line will be removed again. If you turn the entry back
to a non-TODO state (by pressing C-c C-t SPC for example), that line
will also be removed, unless you set org-closed-keep-when-no-todo
to
non-nil
. If you want to record a note along with the timestamp,
use53
(setq org-log-done 'note)
You will then be prompted for a note, and that note will be stored below the entry with a ‘Closing Note’ heading.
In the timeline (see Timeline) and in the agenda (see Weekly/daily agenda), you can then use the l key to display the TODO items with a ‘CLOSED’ timestamp on each day, giving you an overview of what has been done.
Next: Tracking your habits, Previous: Closing items, Up: Progress logging [Contents][Index]
5.3.2 Tracking TODO state changes
When TODO keywords are used as workflow states (see Workflow states), you
might want to keep track of when a state change occurred and maybe take a
note about this change. You can either record just a timestamp, or a
time-stamped note for a change. These records will be inserted after the
headline as an itemized list, newest first54. When taking a lot of notes, you might
want to get the notes out of the way into a drawer (see Drawers).
Customize org-log-into-drawer
to get this behavior—the recommended
drawer for this is called LOGBOOK
55. You can also
overrule the setting of this variable for a subtree by setting a
LOG_INTO_DRAWER
property.
Since it is normally too much to record a note for every state, Org mode expects configuration on a per-keyword basis for this. This is achieved by adding special markers ‘!’ (for a timestamp) or ‘@’ (for a note with timestamp) in parentheses after each keyword. For example, with the setting
(setq org-todo-keywords '((sequence "TODO(t)" "WAIT(w@/!)" "|" "DONE(d!)" "CANCELED(c@)")))
To record a timestamp without a note for TODO keywords configured with ‘@’, just type C-c C-c to enter a blank note when prompted.
You not only define global TODO keywords and fast access keys, but also request that a time is recorded when the entry is set to DONE56, and that a note is recorded when switching to WAIT or CANCELED. The setting for WAIT is even more special: the ‘!’ after the slash means that in addition to the note taken when entering the state, a timestamp should be recorded when leaving the WAIT state, if and only if the target state does not configure logging for entering it. So it has no effect when switching from WAIT to DONE, because DONE is configured to record a timestamp only. But when switching from WAIT back to TODO, the ‘/!’ in the WAIT setting now triggers a timestamp even though TODO has no logging configured.
You can use the exact same syntax for setting logging preferences local to a buffer:
#+TODO: TODO(t) WAIT(w@/!) | DONE(d!) CANCELED(c@)
In order to define logging settings that are local to a subtree or a
single item, define a LOGGING property in this entry. Any non-empty
LOGGING property resets all logging settings to nil
. You may then turn
on logging for this specific tree using STARTUP keywords like
lognotedone
or logrepeat
, as well as adding state specific
settings like TODO(!)
. For example
* TODO Log each state with only a time :PROPERTIES: :LOGGING: TODO(!) WAIT(!) DONE(!) CANCELED(!) :END: * TODO Only log when switching to WAIT, and when repeating :PROPERTIES: :LOGGING: WAIT(@) logrepeat :END: * TODO No logging at all :PROPERTIES: :LOGGING: nil :END:
Previous: Tracking TODO state changes, Up: Progress logging [Contents][Index]
5.3.3 Tracking your habits
Org has the ability to track the consistency of a special category of TODOs, called “habits”. A habit has the following properties:
- You have enabled the
habits
module by customizingorg-modules
. - The habit is a TODO item, with a TODO keyword representing an open state.
- The property
STYLE
is set to the valuehabit
. - The TODO has a scheduled date, usually with a
.+
style repeat interval. A++
style may be appropriate for habits with time constraints, e.g., must be done on weekends, or a+
style for an unusual habit that can have a backlog, e.g., weekly reports. - The TODO may also have minimum and maximum ranges specified by using the syntax ‘.+2d/3d’, which says that you want to do the task at least every three days, but at most every two days.
- You must also have state logging for the
DONE
state enabled (see Tracking TODO state changes), in order for historical data to be represented in the consistency graph. If it is not enabled it is not an error, but the consistency graphs will be largely meaningless.
To give you an idea of what the above rules look like in action, here’s an actual habit with some history:
** TODO Shave SCHEDULED: <2009-10-17 Sat .+2d/4d> - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-10-15 Thu] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-10-12 Mon] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-10-10 Sat] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-10-04 Sun] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-10-02 Fri] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-09-29 Tue] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-09-25 Fri] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-09-19 Sat] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-09-16 Wed] - State "DONE" from "TODO" [2009-09-12 Sat] :PROPERTIES: :STYLE: habit :LAST_REPEAT: [2009-10-19 Mon 00:36] :END:
What this habit says is: I want to shave at most every 2 days (given by the
SCHEDULED
date and repeat interval) and at least every 4 days. If
today is the 15th, then the habit first appears in the agenda on Oct 17,
after the minimum of 2 days has elapsed, and will appear overdue on Oct 19,
after four days have elapsed.
What’s really useful about habits is that they are displayed along with a consistency graph, to show how consistent you’ve been at getting that task done in the past. This graph shows every day that the task was done over the past three weeks, with colors for each day. The colors used are:
Blue
If the task wasn’t to be done yet on that day.
Green
If the task could have been done on that day.
Yellow
If the task was going to be overdue the next day.
Red
If the task was overdue on that day.
In addition to coloring each day, the day is also marked with an asterisk if the task was actually done that day, and an exclamation mark to show where the current day falls in the graph.
There are several configuration variables that can be used to change the way habits are displayed in the agenda.
org-habit-graph-column
The buffer column at which the consistency graph should be drawn. This will overwrite any text in that column, so it is a good idea to keep your habits’ titles brief and to the point.
org-habit-preceding-days
The amount of history, in days before today, to appear in consistency graphs.
org-habit-following-days
The number of days after today that will appear in consistency graphs.
org-habit-show-habits-only-for-today
If non-
nil
, only show habits in today’s agenda view. This is set to true by default.
Lastly, pressing K in the agenda buffer will cause habits to temporarily be disabled and they won’t appear at all. Press K again to bring them back. They are also subject to tag filtering, if you have habits which should only be done in certain contexts, for example.
Next: Breaking down tasks, Previous: Progress logging, Up: TODO Items [Contents][Index]
5.4 Priorities
If you use Org mode extensively, you may end up with enough TODO items that it starts to make sense to prioritize them. Prioritizing can be done by placing a priority cookie into the headline of a TODO item, like this
*** TODO [#A] Write letter to Sam Fortune
By default, Org mode supports three priorities: ‘A’, ‘B’, and
‘C’. ‘A’ is the highest priority. An entry without a cookie is
treated just like priority ‘B’. Priorities make a difference only for
sorting in the agenda (see Weekly/daily agenda); outside the agenda, they
have no inherent meaning to Org mode. The cookies can be highlighted with
special faces by customizing org-priority-faces
.
Priorities can be attached to any outline node; they do not need to be TODO items.
- C-c ,
-
Set the priority of the current headline (
org-priority
). The command prompts for a priority character ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’. When you press SPC instead, the priority cookie is removed from the headline. The priorities can also be changed “remotely” from the timeline and agenda buffer with the , command (see Agenda commands). - S-up (
org-priority-up
) - S-down (
org-priority-down
) -
Increase/decrease priority of current headline57. Note that these keys are also used to modify timestamps (see Creating timestamps). See also Conflicts, for a discussion of the interaction with
shift-selection-mode
.
You can change the range of allowed priorities by setting the options
org-highest-priority
, org-lowest-priority
, and
org-default-priority
. For an individual buffer, you may set
these values (highest, lowest, default) like this (please make sure that
the highest priority is earlier in the alphabet than the lowest
priority):
#+PRIORITIES: A C B
Next: Checkboxes, Previous: Priorities, Up: TODO Items [Contents][Index]
5.5 Breaking tasks down into subtasks
It is often advisable to break down large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks. You can do this by creating an outline tree below a TODO item, with detailed subtasks on the tree58. To keep the overview over the fraction of subtasks that are already completed, insert either ‘[/]’ or ‘[%]’ anywhere in the headline. These cookies will be updated each time the TODO status of a child changes, or when pressing C-c C-c on the cookie. For example:
* Organize Party [33%] ** TODO Call people [1/2] *** TODO Peter *** DONE Sarah ** TODO Buy food ** DONE Talk to neighbor
If a heading has both checkboxes and TODO children below it, the meaning of
the statistics cookie become ambiguous. Set the property
COOKIE_DATA
to either ‘checkbox’ or ‘todo’ to resolve
this issue.
If you would like to have the statistics cookie count any TODO entries in the
subtree (not just direct children), configure
org-hierarchical-todo-statistics
. To do this for a single subtree,
include the word ‘recursive’ into the value of the COOKIE_DATA
property.
* Parent capturing statistics [2/20] :PROPERTIES: :COOKIE_DATA: todo recursive :END:
If you would like a TODO entry to automatically change to DONE when all children are done, you can use the following setup:
(defun org-summary-todo (n-done n-not-done) "Switch entry to DONE when all subentries are done, to TODO otherwise." (let (org-log-done org-log-states) ; turn off logging (org-todo (if (= n-not-done 0) "DONE" "TODO")))) (add-hook 'org-after-todo-statistics-hook 'org-summary-todo)
Another possibility is the use of checkboxes to identify (a hierarchy of) a large number of subtasks (see Checkboxes).
Previous: Breaking down tasks, Up: TODO Items [Contents][Index]
5.6 Checkboxes
Every item in a plain list59 (see Plain lists) can be made into a checkbox by starting it with the string ‘[ ]’. This feature is similar to TODO items (see TODO Items), but is more lightweight. Checkboxes are not included in the global TODO list, so they are often great to split a task into a number of simple steps. Or you can use them in a shopping list. To toggle a checkbox, use C-c C-c, or use the mouse (thanks to Piotr Zielinski’s org-mouse.el).
Here is an example of a checkbox list.
* TODO Organize party [2/4] - [-] call people [1/3] - [ ] Peter - [X] Sarah - [ ] Sam - [X] order food - [ ] think about what music to play - [X] talk to the neighbors
Checkboxes work hierarchically, so if a checkbox item has children that are checkboxes, toggling one of the children checkboxes will make the parent checkbox reflect if none, some, or all of the children are checked.
The ‘[2/4]’ and ‘[1/3]’ in the first and second line are cookies
indicating how many checkboxes present in this entry have been checked off,
and the total number of checkboxes present. This can give you an idea on how
many checkboxes remain, even without opening a folded entry. The cookies can
be placed into a headline or into (the first line of) a plain list item.
Each cookie covers checkboxes of direct children structurally below the
headline/item on which the cookie appears60. You have to insert the cookie yourself by typing either
‘[/]’ or ‘[%]’. With ‘[/]’ you get an ‘n out of m’
result, as in the examples above. With ‘[%]’ you get information about
the percentage of checkboxes checked (in the above example, this would be
‘[50%]’ and ‘[33%]’, respectively). In a headline, a cookie can
count either checkboxes below the heading or TODO states of children, and it
will display whatever was changed last. Set the property COOKIE_DATA
to either ‘checkbox’ or ‘todo’ to resolve this issue.
If the current outline node has an ORDERED
property, checkboxes must
be checked off in sequence, and an error will be thrown if you try to check
off a box while there are unchecked boxes above it.
The following commands work with checkboxes:
- C-c C-c (
org-toggle-checkbox
) Toggle checkbox status or (with prefix arg) checkbox presence at point. With a single prefix argument, add an empty checkbox or remove the current one61. With a double prefix argument, set it to ‘[-]’, which is considered to be an intermediate state.
- C-c C-x C-b (
org-toggle-checkbox
) Toggle checkbox status or (with prefix arg) checkbox presence at point. With double prefix argument, set it to ‘[-]’, which is considered to be an intermediate state.
- - If there is an active region, toggle the first checkbox in the region and set all remaining boxes to the same status as the first. With a prefix arg, add or remove the checkbox for all items in the region.
- - If the cursor is in a headline, toggle checkboxes in the region between this headline and the next (so not the entire subtree).
- - If there is no active region, just toggle the checkbox at point.
- M-S-RET (
org-insert-todo-heading
) Insert a new item with a checkbox. This works only if the cursor is already in a plain list item (see Plain lists).
- C-c C-x o (
org-toggle-ordered-property
) -
Toggle the
ORDERED
property of the entry, to toggle if checkboxes must be checked off in sequence. A property is used for this behavior because this should be local to the current entry, not inherited like a tag. However, if you would like to track the value of this property with a tag for better visibility, customizeorg-track-ordered-property-with-tag
. - C-c # (
org-update-statistics-cookies
) Update the statistics cookie in the current outline entry. When called with a C-u prefix, update the entire file. Checkbox statistic cookies are updated automatically if you toggle checkboxes with C-c C-c and make new ones with M-S-RET. TODO statistics cookies update when changing TODO states. If you delete boxes/entries or add/change them by hand, use this command to get things back into sync.
Next: Properties and Columns, Previous: TODO Items, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
6 Tags
An excellent way to implement labels and contexts for cross-correlating information is to assign tags to headlines. Org mode has extensive support for tags.
Every headline can contain a list of tags; they occur at the end of the
headline. Tags are normal words containing letters, numbers, ‘_’, and
‘@’. Tags must be preceded and followed by a single colon, e.g.,
‘:work:’. Several tags can be specified, as in ‘:work:urgent:’.
Tags will by default be in bold face with the same color as the headline.
You may specify special faces for specific tags using the option
org-tag-faces
, in much the same way as you can for TODO keywords
(see Faces for TODO keywords).
• Tag inheritance: | Tags use the tree structure of the outline | |
• Setting tags: | How to assign tags to a headline | |
• Tag groups: | Use one tag to search for several tags | |
• Tag searches: | Searching for combinations of tags |
Next: Setting tags, Previous: Tags, Up: Tags [Contents][Index]
6.1 Tag inheritance
Tags make use of the hierarchical structure of outline trees. If a heading has a certain tag, all subheadings will inherit the tag as well. For example, in the list
* Meeting with the French group :work: ** Summary by Frank :boss:notes: *** TODO Prepare slides for him :action:
the final heading will have the tags ‘:work:’, ‘:boss:’, ‘:notes:’, and ‘:action:’ even though the final heading is not explicitly marked with those tags. You can also set tags that all entries in a file should inherit just as if these tags were defined in a hypothetical level zero that surrounds the entire file. Use a line like this62:
#+FILETAGS: :Peter:Boss:Secret:
To limit tag inheritance to specific tags, use org-tags-exclude-from-inheritance
.
To turn it off entirely, use org-use-tag-inheritance
.
When a headline matches during a tags search while tag inheritance is turned
on, all the sublevels in the same tree will (for a simple match form) match
as well63. The list
of matches may then become very long. If you only want to see the first tags
match in a subtree, configure org-tags-match-list-sublevels
(not
recommended).
Tag inheritance is relevant when the agenda search tries to match a tag,
either in the tags
or tags-todo
agenda types. In other agenda
types, org-use-tag-inheritance
has no effect. Still, you may want to
have your tags correctly set in the agenda, so that tag filtering works fine,
with inherited tags. Set org-agenda-use-tag-inheritance
to control
this: the default value includes all agenda types, but setting this to nil
can really speed up agenda generation.
Next: Tag groups, Previous: Tag inheritance, Up: Tags [Contents][Index]
6.2 Setting tags
Tags can simply be typed into the buffer at the end of a headline. After a colon, M-TAB offers completion on tags. There is also a special command for inserting tags:
- C-c C-q (
org-set-tags-command
) -
Enter new tags for the current headline. Org mode will either offer completion or a special single-key interface for setting tags, see below. After pressing RET, the tags will be inserted and aligned to
org-tags-column
. When called with a C-u prefix, all tags in the current buffer will be aligned to that column, just to make things look nice. TAGS are automatically realigned after promotion, demotion, and TODO state changes (see TODO basics). - C-c C-c (
org-set-tags-command
) When the cursor is in a headline, this does the same as C-c C-q.
Org supports tag insertion based on a list of tags. By
default this list is constructed dynamically, containing all tags
currently used in the buffer. You may also globally specify a hard list
of tags with the variable org-tag-alist
. Finally you can set
the default tags for a given file with lines like
#+TAGS: @work @home @tennisclub #+TAGS: laptop car pc sailboat
If you have globally defined your preferred set of tags using the
variable org-tag-alist
, but would like to use a dynamic tag list
in a specific file, add an empty TAGS option line to that file:
#+TAGS:
If you have a preferred set of tags that you would like to use in every file,
in addition to those defined on a per-file basis by TAGS option lines, then
you may specify a list of tags with the variable
org-tag-persistent-alist
. You may turn this off on a per-file basis
by adding a STARTUP option line to that file:
#+STARTUP: noptag
By default Org mode uses the standard minibuffer completion facilities for
entering tags. However, it also implements another, quicker, tag selection
method called fast tag selection. This allows you to select and
deselect tags with just a single key press. For this to work well you should
assign unique letters to most of your commonly used tags. You can do this
globally by configuring the variable org-tag-alist
in your
.emacs file. For example, you may find the need to tag many items in
different files with ‘:@home:’. In this case you can set something
like:
(setq org-tag-alist '(("@work" . ?w) ("@home" . ?h) ("laptop" . ?l)))
If the tag is only relevant to the file you are working on, then you can instead set the TAGS option line as:
#+TAGS: @work(w) @home(h) @tennisclub(t) laptop(l) pc(p)
The tags interface will show the available tags in a splash window. If you want to start a new line after a specific tag, insert ‘\n’ into the tag list
#+TAGS: @work(w) @home(h) @tennisclub(t) \n laptop(l) pc(p)
or write them in two lines:
#+TAGS: @work(w) @home(h) @tennisclub(t) #+TAGS: laptop(l) pc(p)
You can also group together tags that are mutually exclusive by using braces, as in:
#+TAGS: { @work(w) @home(h) @tennisclub(t) } laptop(l) pc(p)
you indicate that at most one of ‘@work’, ‘@home’, and ‘@tennisclub’ should be selected. Multiple such groups are allowed.
Don’t forget to press C-c C-c with the cursor in one of these lines to activate any changes.
To set these mutually exclusive groups in the variable org-tag-alist
,
you must use the dummy tags :startgroup
and :endgroup
instead
of the braces. Similarly, you can use :newline
to indicate a line
break. The previous example would be set globally by the following
configuration:
(setq org-tag-alist '((:startgroup . nil) ("@work" . ?w) ("@home" . ?h) ("@tennisclub" . ?t) (:endgroup . nil) ("laptop" . ?l) ("pc" . ?p)))
If at least one tag has a selection key then pressing C-c C-c will automatically present you with a special interface, listing inherited tags, the tags of the current headline, and a list of all valid tags with corresponding keys64. In this interface, you can use the following keys:
- a-z...
Pressing keys assigned to tags will add or remove them from the list of tags in the current line. Selecting a tag in a group of mutually exclusive tags will turn off any other tags from that group.
- TAB
Enter a tag in the minibuffer, even if the tag is not in the predefined list. You will be able to complete on all tags present in the buffer. You can also add several tags: just separate them with a comma.
- SPC
- RET
Accept the modified set.
- C-g
Abort without installing changes.
- q
If q is not assigned to a tag, it aborts like C-g.
- !
Turn off groups of mutually exclusive tags. Use this to (as an exception) assign several tags from such a group.
- C-c
Toggle auto-exit after the next change (see below). If you are using expert mode, the first C-c will display the selection window.
This method lets you assign tags to a headline with very few keys. With the above setup, you could clear the current tags and set ‘@home’, ‘laptop’ and ‘pc’ tags with just the following keys: C-c C-c SPC h l p RET. Switching from ‘@home’ to ‘@work’ would be done with C-c C-c w RET or alternatively with C-c C-c C-c w. Adding the non-predefined tag ‘Sarah’ could be done with C-c C-c TAB S a r a h RET RET.
If you find that most of the time you need only a single key press to
modify your list of tags, set org-fast-tag-selection-single-key
.
Then you no longer have to press RET to exit fast tag selection—it
will immediately exit after the first change. If you then occasionally
need more keys, press C-c to turn off auto-exit for the current tag
selection process (in effect: start selection with C-c C-c C-c
instead of C-c C-c). If you set the variable to the value
expert
, the special window is not even shown for single-key tag
selection, it comes up only when you press an extra C-c.
Next: Tag searches, Previous: Setting tags, Up: Tags [Contents][Index]
6.3 Tag groups
In a set of mutually exclusive tags, the first tag can be defined as a group tag. When you search for a group tag, it will return matches for all members in the group. In an agenda view, filtering by a group tag will display headlines tagged with at least one of the members of the group. This makes tag searches and filters even more flexible.
You can set group tags by inserting a colon between the group tag and other tags—beware that all whitespaces are mandatory so that Org can parse this line correctly:
#+TAGS: { @read : @read_book @read_ebook }
In this example, ‘@read’ is a group tag for a set of three tags: ‘@read’, ‘@read_book’ and ‘@read_ebook’.
You can also use the :grouptags
keyword directly when setting
org-tag-alist
:
(setq org-tag-alist '((:startgroup . nil) ("@read" . nil) (:grouptags . nil) ("@read_book" . nil) ("@read_ebook" . nil) (:endgroup . nil)))
You cannot nest group tags or use a group tag as a tag in another group.
If you want to ignore group tags temporarily, toggle group tags support
with org-toggle-tags-groups
, bound to C-c C-x q. If you
want to disable tag groups completely, set org-group-tags
to nil
.
Previous: Tag groups, Up: Tags [Contents][Index]
6.4 Tag searches
Once a system of tags has been set up, it can be used to collect related information into special lists.
- C-c / m or C-c \ (
org-match-sparse-tree
) Create a sparse tree with all headlines matching a tags/property/TODO search. With a C-u prefix argument, ignore headlines that are not a TODO line. See Matching tags and properties.
- C-c a m (
org-tags-view
) Create a global list of tag matches from all agenda files. See Matching tags and properties.
- C-c a M (
org-tags-view
) -
Create a global list of tag matches from all agenda files, but check only TODO items and force checking subitems (see the option
org-tags-match-list-sublevels
).
These commands all prompt for a match string which allows basic Boolean logic like ‘+boss+urgent-project1’, to find entries with tags ‘boss’ and ‘urgent’, but not ‘project1’, or ‘Kathy|Sally’ to find entries which are tagged, like ‘Kathy’ or ‘Sally’. The full syntax of the search string is rich and allows also matching against TODO keywords, entry levels and properties. For a complete description with many examples, see Matching tags and properties.
Next: Dates and Times, Previous: Tags, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
7 Properties and columns
A property is a key-value pair associated with an entry. Properties can be set so they are associated with a single entry, with every entry in a tree, or with every entry in an Org mode file.
There are two main applications for properties in Org mode. First,
properties are like tags, but with a value. Imagine maintaining a file where
you document bugs and plan releases for a piece of software. Instead of
using tags like :release_1:
, :release_2:
, you can use a
property, say :Release:
, that in different subtrees has different
values, such as 1.0
or 2.0
. Second, you can use properties to
implement (very basic) database capabilities in an Org buffer. Imagine
keeping track of your music CDs, where properties could be things such as the
album, artist, date of release, number of tracks, and so on.
Properties can be conveniently edited and viewed in column view (see Column view).
• Property syntax: | How properties are spelled out | |
• Special properties: | Access to other Org mode features | |
• Property searches: | Matching property values | |
• Property inheritance: | Passing values down the tree | |
• Column view: | Tabular viewing and editing | |
• Property API: | Properties for Lisp programmers |
Next: Special properties, Previous: Properties and Columns, Up: Properties and Columns [Contents][Index]
7.1 Property syntax
Properties are key-value pairs. When they are associated with a single entry
or with a tree they need to be inserted into a special
drawer (see Drawers) with the name PROPERTIES
. Each property
is specified on a single line, with the key (surrounded by colons)
first, and the value after it. Here is an example:
* CD collection ** Classic *** Goldberg Variations :PROPERTIES: :Title: Goldberg Variations :Composer: J.S. Bach :Artist: Glen Gould :Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon :NDisks: 1 :END:
Depending on the value of org-use-property-inheritance
, a property set
this way will either be associated with a single entry, or the sub-tree
defined by the entry, see Property inheritance.
You may define the allowed values for a particular property ‘:Xyz:’ by setting a property ‘:Xyz_ALL:’. This special property is inherited, so if you set it in a level 1 entry, it will apply to the entire tree. When allowed values are defined, setting the corresponding property becomes easier and is less prone to typing errors. For the example with the CD collection, we can predefine publishers and the number of disks in a box like this:
* CD collection :PROPERTIES: :NDisks_ALL: 1 2 3 4 :Publisher_ALL: "Deutsche Grammophon" Philips EMI :END:
If you want to set properties that can be inherited by any entry in a file, use a line like
#+PROPERTY: NDisks_ALL 1 2 3 4
Contrary to properties set from a special drawer, you have to refresh the buffer with C-c C-c to activate this changes.
If you want to add to the value of an existing property, append a +
to
the property name. The following results in the property var
having
the value “foo=1 bar=2”.
#+PROPERTY: var foo=1 #+PROPERTY: var+ bar=2
It is also possible to add to the values of inherited properties. The
following results in the genres
property having the value “Classic
Baroque” under the Goldberg Variations
subtree.
* CD collection ** Classic :PROPERTIES: :GENRES: Classic :END: *** Goldberg Variations :PROPERTIES: :Title: Goldberg Variations :Composer: J.S. Bach :Artist: Glen Gould :Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon :NDisks: 1 :GENRES+: Baroque :END:
Note that a property can only have one entry per Drawer.
Property values set with the global variable
org-global-properties
can be inherited by all entries in all
Org files.
The following commands help to work with properties:
- M-TAB (
pcomplete
) After an initial colon in a line, complete property keys. All keys used in the current file will be offered as possible completions.
- C-c C-x p (
org-set-property
) Set a property. This prompts for a property name and a value. If necessary, the property drawer is created as well.
- C-u M-x org-insert-drawer RET
-
Insert a property drawer into the current entry. The drawer will be inserted early in the entry, but after the lines with planning information like deadlines.
- C-c C-c (
org-property-action
) With the cursor in a property drawer, this executes property commands.
- C-c C-c s (
org-set-property
) Set a property in the current entry. Both the property and the value can be inserted using completion.
- S-right (
org-property-next-allowed-value
) - S-left (
org-property-previous-allowed-value
) Switch property at point to the next/previous allowed value.
- C-c C-c d (
org-delete-property
) - C-c C-c D (
org-delete-property-globally
) Globally remove a property, from all entries in the current file.
- C-c C-c c (
org-compute-property-at-point
) Compute the property at point, using the operator and scope from the nearest column format definition.
Next: Property searches, Previous: Property syntax, Up: Properties and Columns [Contents][Index]
7.2 Special properties
Special properties provide an alternative access method to Org mode features,
like the TODO state or the priority of an entry, discussed in the previous
chapters. This interface exists so that you can include these states in a
column view (see Column view), or to use them in queries. The following
property names are special and (except for :CATEGORY:
) should not be
used as keys in the properties drawer:
ID A globally unique ID used for synchronization during iCalendar or MobileOrg export. TODO The TODO keyword of the entry. TAGS The tags defined directly in the headline. ALLTAGS All tags, including inherited ones. CATEGORY The category of an entry. PRIORITY The priority of the entry, a string with a single letter. DEADLINE The deadline time string, without the angular brackets. SCHEDULED The scheduling timestamp, without the angular brackets. CLOSED When was this entry closed? TIMESTAMP The first keyword-less timestamp in the entry. TIMESTAMP_IA The first inactive timestamp in the entry. CLOCKSUM The sum of CLOCK intervals in the subtree.org-clock-sum
must be run first to compute the values in the current buffer. CLOCKSUM_T The sum of CLOCK intervals in the subtree for today.org-clock-sum-today
must be run first to compute the values in the current buffer. BLOCKED "t" if task is currently blocked by children or siblings ITEM The headline of the entry. FILE The filename the entry is located in.
Next: Property inheritance, Previous: Special properties, Up: Properties and Columns [Contents][Index]
7.3 Property searches
To create sparse trees and special lists with selection based on properties, the same commands are used as for tag searches (see Tag searches).
- C-c / m or C-c \ (
org-match-sparse-tree
) Create a sparse tree with all matching entries. With a C-u prefix argument, ignore headlines that are not a TODO line.
- C-c a m (
org-tags-view
) Create a global list of tag/property matches from all agenda files. See Matching tags and properties.
- C-c a M (
org-tags-view
) -
Create a global list of tag matches from all agenda files, but check only TODO items and force checking of subitems (see the option
org-tags-match-list-sublevels
).
The syntax for the search string is described in Matching tags and properties.
There is also a special command for creating sparse trees based on a single property:
- C-c / p
Create a sparse tree based on the value of a property. This first prompts for the name of a property, and then for a value. A sparse tree is created with all entries that define this property with the given value. If you enclose the value in curly braces, it is interpreted as a regular expression and matched against the property values.
Next: Column view, Previous: Property searches, Up: Properties and Columns [Contents][Index]
7.4 Property Inheritance
The outline structure of Org mode documents lends itself to an
inheritance model of properties: if the parent in a tree has a certain
property, the children can inherit this property. Org mode does not
turn this on by default, because it can slow down property searches
significantly and is often not needed. However, if you find inheritance
useful, you can turn it on by setting the variable
org-use-property-inheritance
. It may be set to t
to make
all properties inherited from the parent, to a list of properties
that should be inherited, or to a regular expression that matches
inherited properties. If a property has the value nil
, this is
interpreted as an explicit undefine of the property, so that inheritance
search will stop at this value and return nil
.
Org mode has a few properties for which inheritance is hard-coded, at least for the special applications for which they are used:
COLUMNS
The
:COLUMNS:
property defines the format of column view (see Column view). It is inherited in the sense that the level where a:COLUMNS:
property is defined is used as the starting point for a column view table, independently of the location in the subtree from where columns view is turned on.CATEGORY
-
For agenda view, a category set through a
:CATEGORY:
property applies to the entire subtree. ARCHIVE
-
For archiving, the
:ARCHIVE:
property may define the archive location for the entire subtree (see Moving subtrees). LOGGING
-
The LOGGING property may define logging settings for an entry or a subtree (see Tracking TODO state changes).
Next: Property API, Previous: Property inheritance, Up: Properties and Columns [Contents][Index]
7.5 Column view
A great way to view and edit properties in an outline tree is column view. In column view, each outline node is turned into a table row. Columns in this table provide access to properties of the entries. Org mode implements columns by overlaying a tabular structure over the headline of each item. While the headlines have been turned into a table row, you can still change the visibility of the outline tree. For example, you get a compact table by switching to CONTENTS view (S-TAB S-TAB, or simply c while column view is active), but you can still open, read, and edit the entry below each headline. Or, you can switch to column view after executing a sparse tree command and in this way get a table only for the selected items. Column view also works in agenda buffers (see Agenda Views) where queries have collected selected items, possibly from a number of files.
• Defining columns: | The COLUMNS format property | |
• Using column view: | How to create and use column view | |
• Capturing column view: | A dynamic block for column view |
Next: Using column view, Previous: Column view, Up: Column view [Contents][Index]
7.5.1 Defining columns
Setting up a column view first requires defining the columns. This is done by defining a column format line.
• Scope of column definitions: | Where defined, where valid? | |
• Column attributes: | Appearance and content of a column |
Next: Column attributes, Previous: Defining columns, Up: Defining columns [Contents][Index]
7.5.1.1 Scope of column definitions
To define a column format for an entire file, use a line like
#+COLUMNS: %25ITEM %TAGS %PRIORITY %TODO
To specify a format that only applies to a specific tree, add a
:COLUMNS:
property to the top node of that tree, for example:
** Top node for columns view :PROPERTIES: :COLUMNS: %25ITEM %TAGS %PRIORITY %TODO :END:
If a :COLUMNS:
property is present in an entry, it defines columns
for the entry itself, and for the entire subtree below it. Since the
column definition is part of the hierarchical structure of the document,
you can define columns on level 1 that are general enough for all
sublevels, and more specific columns further down, when you edit a
deeper part of the tree.
Previous: Scope of column definitions, Up: Defining columns [Contents][Index]
7.5.1.2 Column attributes
A column definition sets the attributes of a column. The general definition looks like this:
%[width]property[(title)][{summary-type}]
Except for the percent sign and the property name, all items are optional. The individual parts have the following meaning:
width An integer specifying the width of the column in characters. If omitted, the width will be determined automatically. property The property that should be edited in this column. Special properties representing meta data are allowed here as well (see Special properties) title The header text for the column. If omitted, the property name is used. {summary-type} The summary type. If specified, the column values for parent nodes are computed from the children. Supported summary types are: {+} Sum numbers in this column. {+;%.1f} Like ‘+’, but format result with ‘%.1f’. {$} Currency, short for ‘+;%.2f’. {:} Sum times, HH:MM, plain numbers are hours. {X} Checkbox status, ‘[X]’ if all children are ‘[X]’. {X/} Checkbox status, ‘[n/m]’. {X%} Checkbox status, ‘[n%]’. {min} Smallest number in column. {max} Largest number. {mean} Arithmetic mean of numbers. {:min} Smallest time value in column. {:max} Largest time value. {:mean} Arithmetic mean of time values. {@min} Minimum age (in days/hours/mins/seconds). {@max} Maximum age (in days/hours/mins/seconds). {@mean} Arithmetic mean of ages (in days/hours/mins/seconds). {est+} Add low-high estimates.
Be aware that you can only have one summary type for any property you include. Subsequent columns referencing the same property will all display the same summary information.
The est+
summary type requires further explanation. It is used for
combining estimates, expressed as low-high ranges. For example, instead
of estimating a particular task will take 5 days, you might estimate it as
5–6 days if you’re fairly confident you know how much work is required, or
1–10 days if you don’t really know what needs to be done. Both ranges
average at 5.5 days, but the first represents a more predictable delivery.
When combining a set of such estimates, simply adding the lows and highs
produces an unrealistically wide result. Instead, est+
adds the
statistical mean and variance of the sub-tasks, generating a final estimate
from the sum. For example, suppose you had ten tasks, each of which was
estimated at 0.5 to 2 days of work. Straight addition produces an estimate
of 5 to 20 days, representing what to expect if everything goes either
extremely well or extremely poorly. In contrast, est+
estimates the
full job more realistically, at 10–15 days.
Numbers are right-aligned when a format specifier with an explicit width like
%5d
or %5.1f
is used.
Here is an example for a complete columns definition, along with allowed values.
:COLUMNS: %25ITEM %9Approved(Approved?){X} %Owner %11Status \(65) %10Time_Estimate{:} %CLOCKSUM %CLOCKSUM_T :Owner_ALL: Tammy Mark Karl Lisa Don :Status_ALL: "In progress" "Not started yet" "Finished" "" :Approved_ALL: "[ ]" "[X]"
The first column, ‘%25ITEM’, means the first 25 characters of the item itself, i.e., of the headline. You probably always should start the column definition with the ‘ITEM’ specifier. The other specifiers create columns ‘Owner’ with a list of names as allowed values, for ‘Status’ with four different possible values, and for a checkbox field ‘Approved’. When no width is given after the ‘%’ character, the column will be exactly as wide as it needs to be in order to fully display all values. The ‘Approved’ column does have a modified title (‘Approved?’, with a question mark). Summaries will be created for the ‘Time_Estimate’ column by adding time duration expressions like HH:MM, and for the ‘Approved’ column, by providing an ‘[X]’ status if all children have been checked. The ‘CLOCKSUM’ and ‘CLOCKSUM_T’ columns are special, they lists the sums of CLOCK intervals in the subtree, either for all clocks or just for today.
Next: Capturing column view, Previous: Defining columns, Up: Column view [Contents][Index]
7.5.2 Using column view
- Turning column view on and off
- C-c C-x C-c (
org-columns
) -
Turn on column view. If the cursor is before the first headline in the file, column view is turned on for the entire file, using the
#+COLUMNS
definition. If the cursor is somewhere inside the outline, this command searches the hierarchy, up from point, for a:COLUMNS:
property that defines a format. When one is found, the column view table is established for the tree starting at the entry that contains the:COLUMNS:
property. If no such property is found, the format is taken from the#+COLUMNS
line or from the variableorg-columns-default-format
, and column view is established for the current entry and its subtree. - r (
org-columns-redo
) Recreate the column view, to include recent changes made in the buffer.
- g (
org-columns-redo
) - q (
org-columns-quit
) Exit column view.
- Editing values
- left right up down
- S-left/right
Switch to the next/previous allowed value of the field. For this, you have to have specified allowed values for a property.
- 1..9,0
Directly select the Nth allowed value, 0 selects the 10th value.
- n (
org-columns-next-allowed-value
) - p (
org-columns-previous-allowed-value
) - e (
org-columns-edit-value
) Edit the property at point. For the special properties, this will invoke the same interface that you normally use to change that property. For example, when editing a TAGS property, the tag completion or fast selection interface will pop up.
- C-c C-c (
org-columns-set-tags-or-toggle
) - v (
org-columns-show-value
) View the full value of this property. This is useful if the width of the column is smaller than that of the value.
- a (
org-columns-edit-allowed
) Edit the list of allowed values for this property. If the list is found in the hierarchy, the modified values is stored there. If no list is found, the new value is stored in the first entry that is part of the current column view.
- Modifying the table structure
- < (
org-columns-narrow
) - > (
org-columns-widen
) - S-M-right (
org-columns-new
) - S-M-left (
org-columns-delete
) Delete the current column.
Previous: Using column view, Up: Column view [Contents][Index]
7.5.3 Capturing column view
Since column view is just an overlay over a buffer, it cannot be
exported or printed directly. If you want to capture a column view, use
a columnview
dynamic block (see Dynamic blocks). The frame
of this block looks like this:
* The column view #+BEGIN: columnview :hlines 1 :id "label" #+END:
This dynamic block has the following parameters:
:id
This is the most important parameter. Column view is a feature that is often localized to a certain (sub)tree, and the capture block might be at a different location in the file. To identify the tree whose view to capture, you can use 4 values:
local use the tree in which the capture block is located global make a global view, including all headings in the file "file:path-to-file" run column view at the top of this file "ID" call column view in the tree that has an
:ID:
property with the value label. You can use M-x org-id-copy RET to create a globally unique ID for the current entry and copy it to the kill-ring.:hlines
When
t
, insert an hline after every line. When a number N, insert an hline before each headline with level<= N
.:vlines
When set to
t
, force column groups to get vertical lines.:maxlevel
When set to a number, don’t capture entries below this level.
:skip-empty-rows
When set to
t
, skip rows where the only non-empty specifier of the column view isITEM
.
The following commands insert or update the dynamic block:
- C-c C-x i (
org-insert-columns-dblock
) Insert a dynamic block capturing a column view. You will be prompted for the scope or ID of the view.
- C-c C-c or C-c C-x C-u (
org-dblock-update
) Update dynamic block at point. The cursor needs to be in the
#+BEGIN
line of the dynamic block.- C-u C-c C-x C-u (
org-update-all-dblocks
) Update all dynamic blocks (see Dynamic blocks). This is useful if you have several clock table blocks, column-capturing blocks or other dynamic blocks in a buffer.
You can add formulas to the column view table and you may add plotting
instructions in front of the table—these will survive an update of the
block. If there is a #+TBLFM:
after the table, the table will
actually be recalculated automatically after an update.
An alternative way to capture and process property values into a table is provided by Eric Schulte’s org-collector.el which is a contributed package66. It provides a general API to collect properties from entries in a certain scope, and arbitrary Lisp expressions to process these values before inserting them into a table or a dynamic block.
Previous: Column view, Up: Properties and Columns [Contents][Index]
7.6 The Property API
There is a full API for accessing and changing properties. This API can be used by Emacs Lisp programs to work with properties and to implement features based on them. For more information see Using the property API.
Next: Capture - Refile - Archive, Previous: Properties and Columns, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
8 Dates and times
To assist project planning, TODO items can be labeled with a date and/or a time. The specially formatted string carrying the date and time information is called a timestamp in Org mode. This may be a little confusing because timestamp is often used as indicating when something was created or last changed. However, in Org mode this term is used in a much wider sense.
• Timestamps: | Assigning a time to a tree entry | |
• Creating timestamps: | Commands which insert timestamps | |
• Deadlines and scheduling: | Planning your work | |
• Clocking work time: | Tracking how long you spend on a task | |
• Effort estimates: | Planning work effort in advance | |
• Relative timer: | Notes with a running timer | |
• Countdown timer: | Starting a countdown timer for a task |
Next: Creating timestamps, Previous: Dates and Times, Up: Dates and Times [Contents][Index]
8.1 Timestamps, deadlines, and scheduling
A timestamp is a specification of a date (possibly with a time or a range of times) in a special format, either ‘<2003-09-16 Tue>’67 or ‘<2003-09-16 Tue 09:39>’ or ‘<2003-09-16 Tue 12:00-12:30>’68. A timestamp can appear anywhere in the headline or body of an Org tree entry. Its presence causes entries to be shown on specific dates in the agenda (see Weekly/daily agenda). We distinguish:
- Plain timestamp; Event; Appointment
-
A simple timestamp just assigns a date/time to an item. This is just like writing down an appointment or event in a paper agenda. In the timeline and agenda displays, the headline of an entry associated with a plain timestamp will be shown exactly on that date.
* Meet Peter at the movies <2006-11-01 Wed 19:15> * Discussion on climate change <2006-11-02 Thu 20:00-22:00>
- Timestamp with repeater interval
-
A timestamp may contain a repeater interval, indicating that it applies not only on the given date, but again and again after a certain interval of N days (d), weeks (w), months (m), or years (y). The following will show up in the agenda every Wednesday:
* Pick up Sam at school <2007-05-16 Wed 12:30 +1w>
- Diary-style sexp entries
For more complex date specifications, Org mode supports using the special sexp diary entries implemented in the Emacs calendar/diary package69. For example with optional time
* 22:00-23:00 The nerd meeting on every 2nd Thursday of the month <%%(diary-float t 4 2)>
- Time/Date range
-
Two timestamps connected by ‘--’ denote a range. The headline will be shown on the first and last day of the range, and on any dates that are displayed and fall in the range. Here is an example:
** Meeting in Amsterdam <2004-08-23 Mon>--<2004-08-26 Thu>
- Inactive timestamp
-
Just like a plain timestamp, but with square brackets instead of angular ones. These timestamps are inactive in the sense that they do not trigger an entry to show up in the agenda.
* Gillian comes late for the fifth time [2006-11-01 Wed]
Next: Deadlines and scheduling, Previous: Timestamps, Up: Dates and Times [Contents][Index]
8.2 Creating timestamps
For Org mode to recognize timestamps, they need to be in the specific format. All commands listed below produce timestamps in the correct format.
- C-c . (
org-time-stamp
) Prompt for a date and insert a corresponding timestamp. When the cursor is at an existing timestamp in the buffer, the command is used to modify this timestamp instead of inserting a new one. When this command is used twice in succession, a time range is inserted.
- C-c ! (
org-time-stamp-inactive
) Like C-c ., but insert an inactive timestamp that will not cause an agenda entry.
- C-u C-c .
- C-u C-c !
-
Like C-c . and C-c !, but use the alternative format which contains date and time. The default time can be rounded to multiples of 5 minutes, see the option
org-time-stamp-rounding-minutes
. - C-c C-c
Normalize timestamp, insert/fix day name if missing or wrong.
- C-c < (
org-date-from-calendar
) Insert a timestamp corresponding to the cursor date in the Calendar.
- C-c > (
org-goto-calendar
) Access the Emacs calendar for the current date. If there is a timestamp in the current line, go to the corresponding date instead.
- C-c C-o (
org-open-at-point
) Access the agenda for the date given by the timestamp or -range at point (see Weekly/daily agenda).
- S-left (
org-timestamp-down-day
) - S-right (
org-timestamp-up-day
) Change date at cursor by one day. These key bindings conflict with shift-selection and related modes (see Conflicts).
- S-up (
org-timestamp-up
) - S-down (
org-timestamp-down-down
) Change the item under the cursor in a timestamp. The cursor can be on a year, month, day, hour or minute. When the timestamp contains a time range like ‘15:30-16:30’, modifying the first time will also shift the second, shifting the time block with constant length. To change the length, modify the second time. Note that if the cursor is in a headline and not at a timestamp, these same keys modify the priority of an item. (see Priorities). The key bindings also conflict with shift-selection and related modes (see Conflicts).
- C-c C-y (
org-evaluate-time-range
) -
Evaluate a time range by computing the difference between start and end. With a prefix argument, insert result after the time range (in a table: into the following column).
• The date/time prompt: | How Org mode helps you entering date and time | |
• Custom time format: | Making dates look different |
Next: Custom time format, Previous: Creating timestamps, Up: Creating timestamps [Contents][Index]
8.2.1 The date/time prompt
When Org mode prompts for a date/time, the default is shown in default date/time format, and the prompt therefore seems to ask for a specific format. But it will in fact accept date/time information in a variety of formats. Generally, the information should start at the beginning of the string. Org mode will find whatever information is in there and derive anything you have not specified from the default date and time. The default is usually the current date and time, but when modifying an existing timestamp, or when entering the second stamp of a range, it is taken from the stamp in the buffer. When filling in information, Org mode assumes that most of the time you will want to enter a date in the future: if you omit the month/year and the given day/month is before today, it will assume that you mean a future date70. If the date has been automatically shifted into the future, the time prompt will show this with ‘(=>F).’
For example, let’s assume that today is June 13, 2006. Here is how various inputs will be interpreted, the items filled in by Org mode are in bold.
3-2-5 ⇒ 2003-02-05 2/5/3 ⇒ 2003-02-05 14 ⇒ 2006-06-14 12 ⇒ 2006-07-12 2/5 ⇒ 2007-02-05 Fri ⇒ nearest Friday after the default date sep 15 ⇒ 2006-09-15 feb 15 ⇒ 2007-02-15 sep 12 9 ⇒ 2009-09-12 12:45 ⇒ 2006-06-13 12:45 22 sept 0:34 ⇒ 2006-09-22 0:34 w4 ⇒ ISO week for of the current year 2006 2012 w4 fri ⇒ Friday of ISO week 4 in 2012 2012-w04-5 ⇒ Same as above
Furthermore you can specify a relative date by giving, as the first thing in the input: a plus/minus sign, a number and a letter ([hdwmy]) to indicate change in hours, days, weeks, months, or years. With a single plus or minus, the date is always relative to today. With a double plus or minus, it is relative to the default date. If instead of a single letter, you use the abbreviation of day name, the date will be the Nth such day, e.g.:
+0 ⇒ today . ⇒ today +4d ⇒ four days from today +4 ⇒ same as above +2w ⇒ two weeks from today ++5 ⇒ five days from default date +2tue ⇒ second Tuesday from now -wed ⇒ last Wednesday
The function understands English month and weekday abbreviations. If
you want to use unabbreviated names and/or other languages, configure
the variables parse-time-months
and parse-time-weekdays
.
Not all dates can be represented in a given Emacs implementation. By default
Org mode forces dates into the compatibility range 1970–2037 which works on
all Emacs implementations. If you want to use dates outside of this range,
read the docstring of the variable
org-read-date-force-compatible-dates
.
You can specify a time range by giving start and end times or by giving a start time and a duration (in HH:MM format). Use one or two dash(es) as the separator in the former case and use ’+’ as the separator in the latter case, e.g.:
11am-1:15pm ⇒ 11:00-13:15 11am--1:15pm ⇒ same as above 11am+2:15 ⇒ same as above
Parallel to the minibuffer prompt, a calendar is popped up71. When you exit the date prompt, either by clicking on a date in the calendar, or by pressing RET, the date selected in the calendar will be combined with the information entered at the prompt. You can control the calendar fully from the minibuffer:
RET Choose date at cursor in calendar. mouse-1 Select date by clicking on it. S-right/left One day forward/backward. S-down/up One week forward/backward. M-S-right/left One month forward/backward. > / < Scroll calendar forward/backward by one month. M-v / C-v Scroll calendar forward/backward by 3 months.
The actions of the date/time prompt may seem complex, but I assure you they will grow on you, and you will start getting annoyed by pretty much any other way of entering a date/time out there. To help you understand what is going on, the current interpretation of your input will be displayed live in the minibuffer72.
Previous: The date/time prompt, Up: Creating timestamps [Contents][Index]
8.2.2 Custom time format
Org mode uses the standard ISO notation for dates and times as it is
defined in ISO 8601. If you cannot get used to this and require another
representation of date and time to keep you happy, you can get it by
customizing the options org-display-custom-times
and
org-time-stamp-custom-formats
.
- C-c C-x C-t (
org-toggle-time-stamp-overlays
) Toggle the display of custom formats for dates and times.
Org mode needs the default format for scanning, so the custom date/time format does not replace the default format—instead it is put over the default format using text properties. This has the following consequences:
- You cannot place the cursor onto a timestamp anymore, only before or after.
- The S-up/down keys can no longer be used to adjust each component of a timestamp. If the cursor is at the beginning of the stamp, S-up/down will change the stamp by one day, just like S-left/right. At the end of the stamp, the time will be changed by one minute.
- If the timestamp contains a range of clock times or a repeater, these will not be overlaid, but remain in the buffer as they were.
- When you delete a timestamp character-by-character, it will only disappear from the buffer after all (invisible) characters belonging to the ISO timestamp have been removed.
- If the custom timestamp format is longer than the default and you are using dates in tables, table alignment will be messed up. If the custom format is shorter, things do work as expected.
Next: Clocking work time, Previous: Creating timestamps, Up: Dates and Times [Contents][Index]
8.3 Deadlines and scheduling
A timestamp may be preceded by special keywords to facilitate planning:
- DEADLINE
-
Meaning: the task (most likely a TODO item, though not necessarily) is supposed to be finished on that date.
On the deadline date, the task will be listed in the agenda. In addition, the agenda for today will carry a warning about the approaching or missed deadline, starting
org-deadline-warning-days
before the due date, and continuing until the entry is marked DONE. An example:*** TODO write article about the Earth for the Guide DEADLINE: <2004-02-29 Sun> The editor in charge is [[bbdb:Ford Prefect]]
You can specify a different lead time for warnings for a specific deadlines using the following syntax. Here is an example with a warning period of 5 days
DEADLINE: <2004-02-29 Sun -5d>
. This warning is deactivated if the task get scheduled and you setorg-agenda-skip-deadline-prewarning-if-scheduled
tot
. - SCHEDULED
-
Meaning: you are planning to start working on that task on the given date.
The headline will be listed under the given date73. In addition, a reminder that the scheduled date has passed will be present in the compilation for today, until the entry is marked DONE, i.e., the task will automatically be forwarded until completed.
*** TODO Call Trillian for a date on New Years Eve. SCHEDULED: <2004-12-25 Sat>
If you want to delay the display of this task in the agenda, use
SCHEDULED: <2004-12-25 Sat -2d>
: the task is still scheduled on the 25th but will appear two days later. In case the task contains a repeater, the delay is considered to affect all occurrences; if you want the delay to only affect the first scheduled occurrence of the task, use--2d
instead. Seeorg-scheduled-delay-days
andorg-agenda-skip-scheduled-delay-if-deadline
for details on how to control this globally or per agenda.Important: Scheduling an item in Org mode should not be understood in the same way that we understand scheduling a meeting. Setting a date for a meeting is just a simple appointment, you should mark this entry with a simple plain timestamp, to get this item shown on the date where it applies. This is a frequent misunderstanding by Org users. In Org mode, scheduling means setting a date when you want to start working on an action item.
You may use timestamps with repeaters in scheduling and deadline
entries. Org mode will issue early and late warnings based on the
assumption that the timestamp represents the nearest instance of
the repeater. However, the use of diary sexp entries like
<%%(diary-float t 42)>
in scheduling and deadline timestamps is limited. Org mode does not
know enough about the internals of each sexp function to issue early and
late warnings. However, it will show the item on each day where the
sexp entry matches.
• Inserting deadline/schedule: | Planning items | |
• Repeated tasks: | Items that show up again and again |
Next: Repeated tasks, Previous: Deadlines and scheduling, Up: Deadlines and scheduling [Contents][Index]
8.3.1 Inserting deadlines or schedules
The following commands allow you to quickly insert74 a deadline or to schedule an item:
- C-c C-d (
org-deadline
) Insert ‘DEADLINE’ keyword along with a stamp. The insertion will happen in the line directly following the headline. Any CLOSED timestamp will be removed. When called with a prefix arg, an existing deadline will be removed from the entry. Depending on the variable
org-log-redeadline
75, a note will be taken when changing an existing deadline.- C-c C-s (
org-schedule
) Insert ‘SCHEDULED’ keyword along with a stamp. The insertion will happen in the line directly following the headline. Any CLOSED timestamp will be removed. When called with a prefix argument, remove the scheduling date from the entry. Depending on the variable
org-log-reschedule
76, a note will be taken when changing an existing scheduling time.- C-c C-x C-k (
org-mark-entry-for-agenda-action
) -
Mark the current entry for agenda action. After you have marked the entry like this, you can open the agenda or the calendar to find an appropriate date. With the cursor on the selected date, press k s or k d to schedule the marked item.
- C-c / d (
org-check-deadlines
) -
Create a sparse tree with all deadlines that are either past-due, or which will become due within
org-deadline-warning-days
. With C-u prefix, show all deadlines in the file. With a numeric prefix, check that many days. For example, C-1 C-c / d shows all deadlines due tomorrow. - C-c / b (
org-check-before-date
) Sparse tree for deadlines and scheduled items before a given date.
- C-c / a (
org-check-after-date
) Sparse tree for deadlines and scheduled items after a given date.
Note that org-schedule
and org-deadline
supports
setting the date by indicating a relative time: e.g., +1d will set
the date to the next day after today, and –1w will set the date
to the previous week before any current timestamp.
Previous: Inserting deadline/schedule, Up: Deadlines and scheduling [Contents][Index]
8.3.2 Repeated tasks
Some tasks need to be repeated again and again. Org mode helps to organize such tasks using a so-called repeater in a DEADLINE, SCHEDULED, or plain timestamp. In the following example
** TODO Pay the rent DEADLINE: <2005-10-01 Sat +1m>
the +1m
is a repeater; the intended interpretation is that the task
has a deadline on <2005-10-01> and repeats itself every (one) month starting
from that time. You can use yearly, monthly, weekly, daily and hourly repeat
cookies by using the y/w/m/d/h
letters. If you need both a repeater
and a special warning period in a deadline entry, the repeater should come
first and the warning period last: DEADLINE: <2005-10-01 Sat +1m -3d>
.
Deadlines and scheduled items produce entries in the agenda when they are over-due, so it is important to be able to mark such an entry as completed once you have done so. When you mark a DEADLINE or a SCHEDULE with the TODO keyword DONE, it will no longer produce entries in the agenda. The problem with this is, however, that then also the next instance of the repeated entry will not be active. Org mode deals with this in the following way: When you try to mark such an entry DONE (using C-c C-t), it will shift the base date of the repeating timestamp by the repeater interval, and immediately set the entry state back to TODO77. In the example above, setting the state to DONE would actually switch the date like this:
** TODO Pay the rent DEADLINE: <2005-11-01 Tue +1m>
A timestamp78 will be added under the deadline, to keep a record that you actually acted on the previous instance of this deadline.
As a consequence of shifting the base date, this entry will no longer be visible in the agenda when checking past dates, but all future instances will be visible.
With the ‘+1m’ cookie, the date shift will always be exactly one month. So if you have not paid the rent for three months, marking this entry DONE will still keep it as an overdue deadline. Depending on the task, this may not be the best way to handle it. For example, if you forgot to call your father for 3 weeks, it does not make sense to call him 3 times in a single day to make up for it. Finally, there are tasks like changing batteries which should always repeat a certain time after the last time you did it. For these tasks, Org mode has special repeaters ‘++’ and ‘.+’. For example:
** TODO Call Father DEADLINE: <2008-02-10 Sun ++1w> Marking this DONE will shift the date by at least one week, but also by as many weeks as it takes to get this date into the future. However, it stays on a Sunday, even if you called and marked it done on Saturday. ** TODO Check the batteries in the smoke detectors DEADLINE: <2005-11-01 Tue .+1m> Marking this DONE will shift the date to one month after today.
You may have both scheduling and deadline information for a specific task.
If the repeater is set for the scheduling information only, you probably want
the repeater to be ignored after the deadline. If so, set the variable
org-agenda-skip-scheduled-if-deadline-is-shown
to
repeated-after-deadline
. If you want both scheduling and deadline
information to repeat after the same interval, set the same repeater for both
timestamps.
An alternative to using a repeater is to create a number of copies of a task subtree, with dates shifted in each copy. The command C-c C-x c was created for this purpose, it is described in Structure editing.
Next: Effort estimates, Previous: Deadlines and scheduling, Up: Dates and Times [Contents][Index]
8.4 Clocking work time
Org mode allows you to clock the time you spend on specific tasks in a project. When you start working on an item, you can start the clock. When you stop working on that task, or when you mark the task done, the clock is stopped and the corresponding time interval is recorded. It also computes the total time spent on each subtree79 of a project. And it remembers a history or tasks recently clocked, to that you can jump quickly between a number of tasks absorbing your time.
To save the clock history across Emacs sessions, use
(setq org-clock-persist 'history) (org-clock-persistence-insinuate)
When you clock into a new task after resuming Emacs, the incomplete clock80 will be found (see Resolving idle time) and you will be prompted about what to do with it.
• Clocking commands: | Starting and stopping a clock | |
• The clock table: | Detailed reports | |
• Resolving idle time: | Resolving time when you’ve been idle |
Next: The clock table, Previous: Clocking work time, Up: Clocking work time [Contents][Index]
8.4.1 Clocking commands
- C-c C-x C-i (
org-clock-in
) -
Start the clock on the current item (clock-in). This inserts the CLOCK keyword together with a timestamp. If this is not the first clocking of this item, the multiple CLOCK lines will be wrapped into a
:LOGBOOK:
drawer (see also the variableorg-clock-into-drawer
). You can also overrule the setting of this variable for a subtree by setting aCLOCK_INTO_DRAWER
orLOG_INTO_DRAWER
property. When called with a C-u prefix argument, select the task from a list of recently clocked tasks. With two C-u C-u prefixes, clock into the task at point and mark it as the default task; the default task will then always be available with letter d when selecting a clocking task. With three C-u C-u C-u prefixes, force continuous clocking by starting the clock when the last clock stopped.
While the clock is running, the current clocking time is shown in the mode line, along with the title of the task. The clock time shown will be all time ever clocked for this task and its children. If the task has an effort estimate (see Effort estimates), the mode line displays the current clocking time against it81 If the task is a repeating one (see Repeated tasks), only the time since the last reset of the task 82 will be shown. More control over what time is shown can be exercised with theCLOCK_MODELINE_TOTAL
property. It may have the valuescurrent
to show only the current clocking instance,today
to show all time clocked on this tasks today (see also the variableorg-extend-today-until
),all
to include all time, orauto
which is the default83.
Clicking with mouse-1 onto the mode line entry will pop up a menu with clocking options. - C-c C-x C-o (
org-clock-out
) -
Stop the clock (clock-out). This inserts another timestamp at the same location where the clock was last started. It also directly computes the resulting time in inserts it after the time range as ‘=> HH:MM’. See the variable
org-log-note-clock-out
for the possibility to record an additional note together with the clock-out timestamp84. - C-c C-x C-x (
org-clock-in-last
) -
Reclock the last clocked task. With one C-u prefix argument, select the task from the clock history. With two C-u prefixes, force continuous clocking by starting the clock when the last clock stopped.
- C-c C-x C-e (
org-clock-modify-effort-estimate
) - C-c C-c or C-c C-y (
org-evaluate-time-range
) Recompute the time interval after changing one of the timestamps. This is only necessary if you edit the timestamps directly. If you change them with S-cursor keys, the update is automatic.
- C-S-up/down (
org-clock-timestamps-up/down
) On
CLOCK
log lines, increase/decrease both timestamps so that the clock duration keeps the same.- S-M-up/down (
org-timestamp-up/down
) On
CLOCK
log lines, increase/decrease the timestamp at point and the one of the previous (or the next clock) timestamp by the same duration. For example, if you hit S-M-up to increase a clocked-out timestamp by five minutes, then the clocked-in timestamp of the next clock will be increased by five minutes.- C-c C-t (
org-todo
) Changing the TODO state of an item to DONE automatically stops the clock if it is running in this same item.
- C-c C-x C-q (
org-clock-cancel
) Cancel the current clock. This is useful if a clock was started by mistake, or if you ended up working on something else.
- C-c C-x C-j (
org-clock-goto
) Jump to the headline of the currently clocked in task. With a C-u prefix arg, select the target task from a list of recently clocked tasks.
- C-c C-x C-d (
org-clock-display
) -
Display time summaries for each subtree in the current buffer. This puts overlays at the end of each headline, showing the total time recorded under that heading, including the time of any subheadings. You can use visibility cycling to study the tree, but the overlays disappear when you change the buffer (see variable
org-remove-highlights-with-change
) or press C-c C-c.
The l key may be used in the timeline (see Timeline) and in the agenda (see Weekly/daily agenda) to show which tasks have been worked on or closed during a day.
Important: note that both org-clock-out
and
org-clock-in-last
can have a global keybinding and will not
modify the window disposition.
Next: Resolving idle time, Previous: Clocking commands, Up: Clocking work time [Contents][Index]
8.4.2 The clock table
Org mode can produce quite complex reports based on the time clocking information. Such a report is called a clock table, because it is formatted as one or several Org tables.
- C-c C-x C-r (
org-clock-report
) Insert a dynamic block (see Dynamic blocks) containing a clock report as an Org mode table into the current file. When the cursor is at an existing clock table, just update it. When called with a prefix argument, jump to the first clock report in the current document and update it. The clock table always includes also trees with
:ARCHIVE:
tag.- C-c C-c or C-c C-x C-u (
org-dblock-update
) Update dynamic block at point. The cursor needs to be in the
#+BEGIN
line of the dynamic block.- C-u C-c C-x C-u
Update all dynamic blocks (see Dynamic blocks). This is useful if you have several clock table blocks in a buffer.
- S-left
- S-right (
org-clocktable-try-shift
) Shift the current
:block
interval and update the table. The cursor needs to be in the#+BEGIN: clocktable
line for this command. If:block
istoday
, it will be shifted totoday-1
etc.
Here is an example of the frame for a clock table as it is inserted into the buffer with the C-c C-x C-r command:
#+BEGIN: clocktable :maxlevel 2 :emphasize nil :scope file #+END: clocktable
The ‘BEGIN’ line and specify a number of options to define the scope,
structure, and formatting of the report. Defaults for all these options can
be configured in the variable org-clocktable-defaults
.
First there are options that determine which clock entries are to be selected:
:maxlevel Maximum level depth to which times are listed in the table. Clocks at deeper levels will be summed into the upper level. :scope The scope to consider. This can be any of the following: nil the current buffer or narrowed region file the full current buffer subtree the subtree where the clocktable is located treeN the surrounding level N tree, for exampletree3
tree the surrounding level 1 tree agenda all agenda files ("file"..) scan these files file-with-archives current file and its archives agenda-with-archives all agenda files, including archives :block The time block to consider. This block is specified either absolute, or relative to the current time and may be any of these formats: 2007-12-31 New year eve 2007 2007-12 December 2007 2007-W50 ISO-week 50 in 2007 2007-Q2 2nd quarter in 2007 2007 the year 2007 today, yesterday, today-N a relative day thisweek, lastweek, thisweek-N a relative week thismonth, lastmonth, thismonth-N a relative month thisyear, lastyear, thisyear-N a relative year Use S-left/right keys to shift the time interval. :tstart A time string specifying when to start considering times. Relative times like"<-2w>"
can also be used. See Matching tags and properties for relative time syntax. :tend A time string specifying when to stop considering times. Relative times like"<now>"
can also be used. See Matching tags and properties for relative time syntax. :wstart The starting day of the week. The default is 1 for monday. :mstart The starting day of the month. The default 1 is for the first day of the month. :stepweek
orday
, to split the table into chunks. To use this,:block
or:tstart
,:tend
are needed. :stepskip0 Do not show steps that have zero time. :fileskip0 Do not show table sections from files which did not contribute. :tags A tags match to select entries that should contribute. See Matching tags and properties for the match syntax.
Then there are options which determine the formatting of the table. There
options are interpreted by the function org-clocktable-write-default
,
but you can specify your own function using the :formatter
parameter.
:emphasize Whent
, emphasize level one and level two items. :lang Language(85) to use for descriptive cells like "Task". :link Link the item headlines in the table to their origins. :narrow An integer to limit the width of the headline column in the org table. If you write it like ‘50!’, then the headline will also be shortened in export. :indent Indent each headline field according to its level. :tcolumns Number of columns to be used for times. If this is smaller than:maxlevel
, lower levels will be lumped into one column. :level Should a level number column be included? :compact Abbreviation for:level nil :indent t :narrow 40! :tcolumns 1
All are overwritten except if there is an explicit:narrow
:timestamp A timestamp for the entry, when available. Look for SCHEDULED, DEADLINE, TIMESTAMP and TIMESTAMP_IA, in this order. :properties List of properties that should be shown in the table. Each property will get its own column. :inherit-props When this flag ist
, the values for:properties
will be inherited. :formula Content of a#+TBLFM
line to be added and evaluated. As a special case, ‘:formula %’ adds a column with % time. If you do not specify a formula here, any existing formula below the clock table will survive updates and be evaluated. :formatter A function to format clock data and insert it into the buffer.
To get a clock summary of the current level 1 tree, for the current day, you could write
#+BEGIN: clocktable :maxlevel 2 :block today :scope tree1 :link t #+END: clocktable
and to use a specific time range you could write86
#+BEGIN: clocktable :tstart "<2006-08-10 Thu 10:00>" :tend "<2006-08-10 Thu 12:00>" #+END: clocktable
A range starting a week ago and ending right now could be written as
#+BEGIN: clocktable :tstart "<-1w>" :tend "<now>" #+END: clocktable
A summary of the current subtree with % times would be
#+BEGIN: clocktable :scope subtree :link t :formula % #+END: clocktable
A horizontally compact representation of everything clocked during last week would be
#+BEGIN: clocktable :scope agenda :block lastweek :compact t #+END: clocktable
Previous: The clock table, Up: Clocking work time [Contents][Index]
8.4.3 Resolving idle time and continuous clocking
Resolving idle time
If you clock in on a work item, and then walk away from your computer—perhaps to take a phone call—you often need to “resolve” the time you were away by either subtracting it from the current clock, or applying it to another one.
By customizing the variable org-clock-idle-time
to some integer, such
as 10 or 15, Emacs can alert you when you get back to your computer after
being idle for that many minutes87, and ask what you want to do with the idle time.
There will be a question waiting for you when you get back, indicating how
much idle time has passed (constantly updated with the current amount), as
well as a set of choices to correct the discrepancy:
- k
To keep some or all of the minutes and stay clocked in, press k. Org will ask how many of the minutes to keep. Press RET to keep them all, effectively changing nothing, or enter a number to keep that many minutes.
- K
If you use the shift key and press K, it will keep however many minutes you request and then immediately clock out of that task. If you keep all of the minutes, this is the same as just clocking out of the current task.
- s
To keep none of the minutes, use s to subtract all the away time from the clock, and then check back in from the moment you returned.
- S
To keep none of the minutes and just clock out at the start of the away time, use the shift key and press S. Remember that using shift will always leave you clocked out, no matter which option you choose.
- C
To cancel the clock altogether, use C. Note that if instead of canceling you subtract the away time, and the resulting clock amount is less than a minute, the clock will still be canceled rather than clutter up the log with an empty entry.
What if you subtracted those away minutes from the current clock, and now want to apply them to a new clock? Simply clock in to any task immediately after the subtraction. Org will notice that you have subtracted time “on the books”, so to speak, and will ask if you want to apply those minutes to the next task you clock in on.
There is one other instance when this clock resolution magic occurs. Say you were clocked in and hacking away, and suddenly your cat chased a mouse who scared a hamster that crashed into your UPS’s power button! You suddenly lose all your buffers, but thanks to auto-save you still have your recent Org mode changes, including your last clock in.
If you restart Emacs and clock into any task, Org will notice that you have a dangling clock which was never clocked out from your last session. Using that clock’s starting time as the beginning of the unaccounted-for period, Org will ask how you want to resolve that time. The logic and behavior is identical to dealing with away time due to idleness; it is just happening due to a recovery event rather than a set amount of idle time.
You can also check all the files visited by your Org agenda for dangling clocks at any time using M-x org-resolve-clocks RET (or C-c C-x C-z).
Continuous clocking
You may want to start clocking from the time when you clocked out the
previous task. To enable this systematically, set org-clock-continuously
to t
. Each time you clock in, Org retrieves the clock-out time of the
last clocked entry for this session, and start the new clock from there.
If you only want this from time to time, use three universal prefix arguments
with org-clock-in
and two C-u C-u with org-clock-in-last
.
Next: Relative timer, Previous: Clocking work time, Up: Dates and Times [Contents][Index]
8.5 Effort estimates
If you want to plan your work in a very detailed way, or if you need to produce offers with quotations of the estimated work effort, you may want to assign effort estimates to entries. If you are also clocking your work, you may later want to compare the planned effort with the actual working time, a great way to improve planning estimates. Effort estimates are stored in a special property ‘Effort’88. You can set the effort for an entry with the following commands:
- C-c C-x e (
org-set-effort
) Set the effort estimate for the current entry. With a numeric prefix argument, set it to the Nth allowed value (see below). This command is also accessible from the agenda with the e key.
- C-c C-x C-e (
org-clock-modify-effort-estimate
) Modify the effort estimate of the item currently being clocked.
Clearly the best way to work with effort estimates is through column view
(see Column view). You should start by setting up discrete values for
effort estimates, and a COLUMNS
format that displays these values
together with clock sums (if you want to clock your time). For a specific
buffer you can use
#+PROPERTY: Effort_ALL 0 0:10 0:30 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 #+COLUMNS: %40ITEM(Task) %17Effort(Estimated Effort){:} %CLOCKSUM
or, even better, you can set up these values globally by customizing the
variables org-global-properties
and org-columns-default-format
.
In particular if you want to use this setup also in the agenda, a global
setup may be advised.
The way to assign estimates to individual items is then to switch to column mode, and to use S-right and S-left to change the value. The values you enter will immediately be summed up in the hierarchy. In the column next to it, any clocked time will be displayed.
If you switch to column view in the daily/weekly agenda, the effort column
will summarize the estimated work effort for each day89, and you can use this to find space in your schedule. To get
an overview of the entire part of the day that is committed, you can set the
option org-agenda-columns-add-appointments-to-effort-sum
. The
appointments on a day that take place over a specified time interval will
then also be added to the load estimate of the day.
Effort estimates can be used in secondary agenda filtering that is triggered with the / key in the agenda (see Agenda commands). If you have these estimates defined consistently, two or three key presses will narrow down the list to stuff that fits into an available time slot.
Next: Countdown timer, Previous: Effort estimates, Up: Dates and Times [Contents][Index]
8.6 Taking notes with a relative timer
When taking notes during, for example, a meeting or a video viewing, it can be useful to have access to times relative to a starting time. Org provides such a relative timer and make it easy to create timed notes.
- C-c C-x . (
org-timer
) Insert a relative time into the buffer. The first time you use this, the timer will be started. When called with a prefix argument, the timer is restarted.
- C-c C-x - (
org-timer-item
) Insert a description list item with the current relative time. With a prefix argument, first reset the timer to 0.
- M-RET (
org-insert-heading
) Once the timer list is started, you can also use M-RET to insert new timer items.
- C-c C-x ,
Pause the timer, or continue it if it is already paused (
org-timer-pause-or-continue
).- C-u C-c C-x ,
Stop the timer. After this, you can only start a new timer, not continue the old one. This command also removes the timer from the mode line.
- C-c C-x 0 (
org-timer-start
) Reset the timer without inserting anything into the buffer. By default, the timer is reset to 0. When called with a C-u prefix, reset the timer to specific starting offset. The user is prompted for the offset, with a default taken from a timer string at point, if any, So this can be used to restart taking notes after a break in the process. When called with a double prefix argument C-u C-u, change all timer strings in the active region by a certain amount. This can be used to fix timer strings if the timer was not started at exactly the right moment.
Previous: Relative timer, Up: Dates and Times [Contents][Index]
8.7 Countdown timer
Calling org-timer-set-timer
from an Org mode buffer runs a countdown
timer. Use ; from agenda buffers, C-c C-x ; everywhere else.
org-timer-set-timer
prompts the user for a duration and displays a
countdown timer in the modeline. org-timer-default-timer
sets the
default countdown value. Giving a prefix numeric argument overrides this
default value.
Next: Agenda Views, Previous: Dates and Times, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
9 Capture - Refile - Archive
An important part of any organization system is the ability to quickly capture new ideas and tasks, and to associate reference material with them. Org does this using a process called capture. It also can store files related to a task (attachments) in a special directory. Once in the system, tasks and projects need to be moved around. Moving completed project trees to an archive file keeps the system compact and fast.
• Capture: | Capturing new stuff | |
• Attachments: | Add files to tasks | |
• RSS Feeds: | Getting input from RSS feeds | |
• Protocols: | External (e.g., Browser) access to Emacs and Org | |
• Refile and copy: | Moving/copying a tree from one place to another | |
• Archiving: | What to do with finished projects |
Next: Attachments, Previous: Capture - Refile - Archive, Up: Capture - Refile - Archive [Contents][Index]
9.1 Capture
Capture lets you quickly store notes with little interruption of your work flow. Org’s method for capturing new items is heavily inspired by John Wiegley excellent remember.el package. Up to version 6.36, Org used a special setup for remember.el, then replaced it with org-remember.el. As of version 8.0, org-remember.el has been completely replaced by org-capture.el.
If your configuration depends on org-remember.el, you need to update
it and use the setup described below. To convert your
org-remember-templates
, run the command
M-x org-capture-import-remember-templates RET
and then customize the new variable with M-x customize-variable org-capture-templates, check the result, and save the customization.
• Setting up capture: | Where notes will be stored | |
• Using capture: | Commands to invoke and terminate capture | |
• Capture templates: | Define the outline of different note types |
Next: Using capture, Previous: Capture, Up: Capture [Contents][Index]
9.1.1 Setting up capture
The following customization sets a default target file for notes, and defines a global key90 for capturing new material.
(setq org-default-notes-file (concat org-directory "/notes.org")) (define-key global-map "\C-cc" 'org-capture)
Next: Capture templates, Previous: Setting up capture, Up: Capture [Contents][Index]
9.1.2 Using capture
- C-c c (
org-capture
) Call the command
org-capture
. Note that this keybinding is global and not active by default: you need to install it. If you have templates defined see Capture templates, it will offer these templates for selection or use a new Org outline node as the default template. It will insert the template into the target file and switch to an indirect buffer narrowed to this new node. You may then insert the information you want.- C-c C-c (
org-capture-finalize
) Once you have finished entering information into the capture buffer, C-c C-c will return you to the window configuration before the capture process, so that you can resume your work without further distraction. When called with a prefix arg, finalize and then jump to the captured item.
- C-c C-w (
org-capture-refile
) Finalize the capture process by refiling (see Refile and copy) the note to a different place. Please realize that this is a normal refiling command that will be executed—so the cursor position at the moment you run this command is important. If you have inserted a tree with a parent and children, first move the cursor back to the parent. Any prefix argument given to this command will be passed on to the
org-refile
command.- C-c C-k (
org-capture-kill
) Abort the capture process and return to the previous state.
You can also call org-capture
in a special way from the agenda, using
the k c key combination. With this access, any timestamps inserted by
the selected capture template will default to the cursor date in the agenda,
rather than to the current date.
To find the locations of the last stored capture, use org-capture
with
prefix commands:
- C-u C-c c
Visit the target location of a capture template. You get to select the template in the usual way.
- C-u C-u C-c c
Visit the last stored capture item in its buffer.
You can also jump to the bookmark org-capture-last-stored
, which will
automatically be created unless you set org-capture-bookmark
to
nil
.
To insert the capture at point in an Org buffer, call org-capture
with
a C-0
prefix argument.
Previous: Using capture, Up: Capture [Contents][Index]
9.1.3 Capture templates
You can use templates for different types of capture items, and for different target locations. The easiest way to create such templates is through the customize interface.
Before we give the formal description of template definitions, let’s look at an example. Say you would like to use one template to create general TODO entries, and you want to put these entries under the heading ‘Tasks’ in your file ~/org/gtd.org. Also, a date tree in the file journal.org should capture journal entries. A possible configuration would look like:
(setq org-capture-templates '(("t" "Todo" entry (file+headline "~/org/gtd.org" "Tasks") "* TODO %?\n %i\n %a") ("j" "Journal" entry (file+datetree "~/org/journal.org") "* %?\nEntered on %U\n %i\n %a")))
If you then press C-c c t, Org will prepare the template for you like this:
* TODO [[file:link to where you initiated capture]]
During expansion of the template, %a
has been replaced by a link to
the location from where you called the capture command. This can be
extremely useful for deriving tasks from emails, for example. You fill in
the task definition, press C-c C-c and Org returns you to the same
place where you started the capture process.
To define special keys to capture to a particular template without going through the interactive template selection, you can create your key binding like this:
(define-key global-map "\C-cx" (lambda () (interactive) (org-capture nil "x")))
• Template elements: | What is needed for a complete template entry | |
• Template expansion: | Filling in information about time and context | |
• Templates in contexts: | Only show a template in a specific context |
Next: Template expansion, Previous: Capture templates, Up: Capture templates [Contents][Index]
9.1.3.1 Template elements
Now lets look at the elements of a template definition. Each entry in
org-capture-templates
is a list with the following items:
- keys
The keys that will select the template, as a string, characters only, for example
"a"
for a template to be selected with a single key, or"bt"
for selection with two keys. When using several keys, keys using the same prefix key must be sequential in the list and preceded by a 2-element entry explaining the prefix key, for example("b" "Templates for marking stuff to buy")
If you do not define a template for the C key, this key will be used to open the customize buffer for this complex variable.
- description
A short string describing the template, which will be shown during selection.
- type
The type of entry, a symbol. Valid values are:
entry
An Org mode node, with a headline. Will be filed as the child of the target entry or as a top-level entry. The target file should be an Org mode file.
item
A plain list item, placed in the first plain list at the target location. Again the target file should be an Org file.
checkitem
A checkbox item. This only differs from the plain list item by the default template.
table-line
a new line in the first table at the target location. Where exactly the line will be inserted depends on the properties
:prepend
and:table-line-pos
(see below).plain
Text to be inserted as it is.
- target
-
Specification of where the captured item should be placed. In Org mode files, targets usually define a node. Entries will become children of this node. Other types will be added to the table or list in the body of this node. Most target specifications contain a file name. If that file name is the empty string, it defaults to
org-default-notes-file
. A file can also be given as a variable, function, or Emacs Lisp form.Valid values are:
(file "path/to/file")
Text will be placed at the beginning or end of that file.
(id "id of existing org entry")
Filing as child of this entry, or in the body of the entry.
(file+headline "path/to/file" "node headline")
Fast configuration if the target heading is unique in the file.
(file+olp "path/to/file" "Level 1 heading" "Level 2" ...)
For non-unique headings, the full path is safer.
(file+regexp "path/to/file" "regexp to find location")
Use a regular expression to position the cursor.
(file+datetree "path/to/file")
Will create a heading in a date tree for today’s date91.
(file+datetree+prompt "path/to/file")
Will create a heading in a date tree, but will prompt for the date.
(file+function "path/to/file" function-finding-location)
A function to find the right location in the file.
(clock)
File to the entry that is currently being clocked.
(function function-finding-location)
Most general way, write your own function to find both file and location.
- template
The template for creating the capture item. If you leave this empty, an appropriate default template will be used. Otherwise this is a string with escape codes, which will be replaced depending on time and context of the capture call. The string with escapes may be loaded from a template file, using the special syntax
(file "path/to/template")
. See below for more details.- properties
The rest of the entry is a property list of additional options. Recognized properties are:
:prepend
Normally new captured information will be appended at the target location (last child, last table line, last list item...). Setting this property will change that.
:immediate-finish
When set, do not offer to edit the information, just file it away immediately. This makes sense if the template only needs information that can be added automatically.
:empty-lines
Set this to the number of lines to insert before and after the new item. Default 0, only common other value is 1.
:clock-in
Start the clock in this item.
:clock-keep
Keep the clock running when filing the captured entry.
:clock-resume
If starting the capture interrupted a clock, restart that clock when finished with the capture. Note that
:clock-keep
has precedence over:clock-resume
. When setting both tot
, the current clock will run and the previous one will not be resumed.:unnarrowed
Do not narrow the target buffer, simply show the full buffer. Default is to narrow it so that you only see the new material.
:table-line-pos
Specification of the location in the table where the new line should be inserted. It should be a string like
"II-3"
meaning that the new line should become the third line before the second horizontal separator line.:kill-buffer
If the target file was not yet visited when capture was invoked, kill the buffer again after capture is completed.
Next: Templates in contexts, Previous: Template elements, Up: Capture templates [Contents][Index]
9.1.3.2 Template expansion
In the template itself, special %-escapes92 allow dynamic insertion of content. The templates are expanded in the order given here:
%[file] Insert the contents of the file given by file. %(sexp) Evaluate Elisp sexp and replace with the result. For convenience, %:keyword (see below) placeholders within the expression will be expanded prior to this. The sexp must return a string. %<...> The result of format-time-string on the ... format specification. %t Timestamp, date only. %T Timestamp, with date and time. %u, %U Like the above, but inactive timestamps. %i Initial content, the region when capture is called while the region is active. The entire text will be indented like%i
itself. %a Annotation, normally the link created withorg-store-link
. %A Like%a
, but prompt for the description part. %l Like %a, but only insert the literal link. %c Current kill ring head. %x Content of the X clipboard. %k Title of the currently clocked task. %K Link to the currently clocked task. %n User name (taken fromuser-full-name
). %f File visited by current buffer when org-capture was called. %F Full path of the file or directory visited by current buffer. %:keyword Specific information for certain link types, see below. %^g Prompt for tags, with completion on tags in target file. %^G Prompt for tags, with completion all tags in all agenda files. %^t Like%t
, but prompt for date. Similarly%^T
,%^u
,%^U
. You may define a prompt like%^{Birthday}t
. %^C Interactive selection of which kill or clip to use. %^L Like%^C
, but insert as link. %^{prop}p Prompt the user for a value for property prop. %^{prompt} prompt the user for a string and replace this sequence with it. You may specify a default value and a completion table with %^{prompt|default|completion2|completion3...}. The arrow keys access a prompt-specific history. %\n Insert the text entered at the nth %^{prompt}, wheren
is a number, starting from 1. %? After completing the template, position cursor here.
For specific link types, the following keywords will be defined93:
Link type | Available keywords ---------------------------------+---------------------------------------------- bbdb | %:name %:company irc | %:server %:port %:nick vm, vm-imap, wl, mh, mew, rmail | %:type %:subject %:message-id | %:from %:fromname %:fromaddress | %:to %:toname %:toaddress | %:date (message date header field) | %:date-timestamp (date as active timestamp) | %:date-timestamp-inactive (date as inactive timestamp) | %:fromto (either "to NAME" or "from NAME")(94) gnus | %:group, for messages also all email fields w3, w3m | %:url info | %:file %:node calendar | %:date
To place the cursor after template expansion use:
%? After completing the template, position cursor here.
Previous: Template expansion, Up: Capture templates [Contents][Index]
9.1.3.3 Templates in contexts
To control whether a capture template should be accessible from a specific
context, you can customize org-capture-templates-contexts
. Let’s say
for example that you have a capture template "p"
for storing Gnus
emails containing patches. Then you would configure this option like this:
(setq org-capture-templates-contexts '(("p" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
You can also tell that the command key "p"
should refer to another
template. In that case, add this command key like this:
(setq org-capture-templates-contexts '(("p" "q" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
See the docstring of the variable for more information.
Next: RSS Feeds, Previous: Capture, Up: Capture - Refile - Archive [Contents][Index]
9.2 Attachments
It is often useful to associate reference material with an outline node/task.
Small chunks of plain text can simply be stored in the subtree of a project.
Hyperlinks (see Hyperlinks) can establish associations with
files that live elsewhere on your computer or in the cloud, like emails or
source code files belonging to a project. Another method is attachments,
which are files located in a directory belonging to an outline node. Org
uses directories named by the unique ID of each entry. These directories are
located in the data directory which lives in the same directory where
your Org file lives95. If you initialize this directory with
git init
, Org will automatically commit changes when it sees them.
The attachment system has been contributed to Org by John Wiegley.
In cases where it seems better to do so, you can also attach a directory of your choice to an entry. You can also make children inherit the attachment directory from a parent, so that an entire subtree uses the same attached directory.
The following commands deal with attachments:
- C-c C-a (
org-attach
) The dispatcher for commands related to the attachment system. After these keys, a list of commands is displayed and you must press an additional key to select a command:
- a (
org-attach-attach
) -
Select a file and move it into the task’s attachment directory. The file will be copied, moved, or linked, depending on
org-attach-method
. Note that hard links are not supported on all systems. - c/m/l
Attach a file using the copy/move/link method. Note that hard links are not supported on all systems.
- n (
org-attach-new
) Create a new attachment as an Emacs buffer.
- z (
org-attach-sync
) Synchronize the current task with its attachment directory, in case you added attachments yourself.
- o (
org-attach-open
) -
Open current task’s attachment. If there is more than one, prompt for a file name first. Opening will follow the rules set by
org-file-apps
. For more details, see the information on following hyperlinks (see Handling links). - O (
org-attach-open-in-emacs
) Also open the attachment, but force opening the file in Emacs.
- f (
org-attach-reveal
) Open the current task’s attachment directory.
- F (
org-attach-reveal-in-emacs
) Also open the directory, but force using
dired
in Emacs.- d (
org-attach-delete-one
) Select and delete a single attachment.
- D (
org-attach-delete-all
) Delete all of a task’s attachments. A safer way is to open the directory in
dired
and delete from there.- s (
org-attach-set-directory
) -
Set a specific directory as the entry’s attachment directory. This works by putting the directory path into the
ATTACH_DIR
property. - i (
org-attach-set-inherit
) -
Set the
ATTACH_DIR_INHERIT
property, so that children will use the same directory for attachments as the parent does.
Next: Protocols, Previous: Attachments, Up: Capture - Refile - Archive [Contents][Index]
9.3 RSS feeds
Org can add and change entries based on information found in RSS feeds and
Atom feeds. You could use this to make a task out of each new podcast in a
podcast feed. Or you could use a phone-based note-creating service on the
web to import tasks into Org. To access feeds, configure the variable
org-feed-alist
. The docstring of this variable has detailed
information. Here is just an example:
(setq org-feed-alist '(("Slashdot" "http://rss.slashdot.org/Slashdot/slashdot" "~/txt/org/feeds.org" "Slashdot Entries")))
will configure that new items from the feed provided by
rss.slashdot.org
will result in new entries in the file
~/org/feeds.org under the heading ‘Slashdot Entries’, whenever
the following command is used:
- C-c C-x g (
org-feed-update-all
) - C-c C-x g
Collect items from the feeds configured in
org-feed-alist
and act upon them.- C-c C-x G (
org-feed-goto-inbox
) Prompt for a feed name and go to the inbox configured for this feed.
Under the same headline, Org will create a drawer ‘FEEDSTATUS’ in which it will store information about the status of items in the feed, to avoid adding the same item several times. You should add ‘FEEDSTATUS’ to the list of drawers in that file:
#+DRAWERS: LOGBOOK PROPERTIES FEEDSTATUS
For more information, including how to read atom feeds, see
org-feed.el and the docstring of org-feed-alist
.
Next: Refile and copy, Previous: RSS Feeds, Up: Capture - Refile - Archive [Contents][Index]
9.4 Protocols for external access
You can set up Org for handling protocol calls from outside applications that are passed to Emacs through the emacsserver. For example, you can configure bookmarks in your web browser to send a link to the current page to Org and create a note from it using capture (see Capture). Or you could create a bookmark that will tell Emacs to open the local source file of a remote website you are looking at with the browser. See http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-protocol.php for detailed documentation and setup instructions.
Next: Archiving, Previous: Protocols, Up: Capture - Refile - Archive [Contents][Index]
9.5 Refile and copy
When reviewing the captured data, you may want to refile or to copy some of the entries into a different list, for example into a project. Cutting, finding the right location, and then pasting the note is cumbersome. To simplify this process, you can use the following special command:
- C-c M-w (
org-copy
) -
Copying works like refiling, except that the original note is not deleted.
- C-c C-w (
org-refile
) -
Refile the entry or region at point. This command offers possible locations for refiling the entry and lets you select one with completion. The item (or all items in the region) is filed below the target heading as a subitem. Depending on
org-reverse-note-order
, it will be either the first or last subitem.
By default, all level 1 headlines in the current buffer are considered to be targets, but you can have more complex definitions across a number of files. See the variableorg-refile-targets
for details. If you would like to select a location via a file-path-like completion along the outline path, see the variablesorg-refile-use-outline-path
andorg-outline-path-complete-in-steps
. If you would like to be able to create new nodes as new parents for refiling on the fly, check the variableorg-refile-allow-creating-parent-nodes
. When the variableorg-log-refile
96 is set, a timestamp or a note will be recorded when an entry has been refiled. - C-u C-c C-w
- C-u C-u C-c C-w (
org-refile-goto-last-stored
) Jump to the location where
org-refile
last moved a tree to.- C-2 C-c C-w
Refile as the child of the item currently being clocked.
- C-3 C-c C-w
Refile and keep the entry in place. Also see
org-refile-keep
to make this the default behavior, and beware that this may result in duplicatedID
properties.- C-0 C-c C-w or C-u C-u C-u C-c C-w (
org-refile-cache-clear
) Clear the target cache. Caching of refile targets can be turned on by setting
org-refile-use-cache
. To make the command see new possible targets, you have to clear the cache with this command.
Previous: Refile and copy, Up: Capture - Refile - Archive [Contents][Index]
9.6 Archiving
When a project represented by a (sub)tree is finished, you may want to move the tree out of the way and to stop it from contributing to the agenda. Archiving is important to keep your working files compact and global searches like the construction of agenda views fast.
- C-c C-x C-a (
org-archive-subtree-default
) -
Archive the current entry using the command specified in the variable
org-archive-default-command
.
• Moving subtrees: | Moving a tree to an archive file | |
• Internal archiving: | Switch off a tree but keep it in the file |
Next: Internal archiving, Previous: Archiving, Up: Archiving [Contents][Index]
9.6.1 Moving a tree to the archive file
The most common archiving action is to move a project tree to another file, the archive file.
- C-c C-x C-s or short C-c $ (
org-archive-subtree
) -
Archive the subtree starting at the cursor position to the location given by
org-archive-location
. - C-u C-c C-x C-s
Check if any direct children of the current headline could be moved to the archive. To do this, each subtree is checked for open TODO entries. If none are found, the command offers to move it to the archive location. If the cursor is not on a headline when this command is invoked, the level 1 trees will be checked.
The default archive location is a file in the same directory as the
current file, with the name derived by appending _archive to the
current file name. You can also choose what heading to file archived
items under, with the possibility to add them to a datetree in a file.
For information and examples on how to specify the file and the heading,
see the documentation string of the variable
org-archive-location
.
There is also an in-buffer option for setting this variable, for example97:
#+ARCHIVE: %s_done::
If you would like to have a special ARCHIVE location for a single entry
or a (sub)tree, give the entry an :ARCHIVE:
property with the
location as the value (see Properties and Columns).
When a subtree is moved, it receives a number of special properties that
record context information like the file from where the entry came, its
outline path the archiving time etc. Configure the variable
org-archive-save-context-info
to adjust the amount of information
added.
Previous: Moving subtrees, Up: Archiving [Contents][Index]
9.6.2 Internal archiving
If you want to just switch off (for agenda views) certain subtrees without
moving them to a different file, you can use the ARCHIVE tag
.
A headline that is marked with the ARCHIVE tag (see Tags) stays at its location in the outline tree, but behaves in the following way:
- -
It does not open when you attempt to do so with a visibility cycling
command (see Visibility cycling). You can force cycling archived
subtrees with C-TAB, or by setting the option
org-cycle-open-archived-trees
. Also normal outline commands likeshow-all
will open archived subtrees. - -
During sparse tree construction (see Sparse trees), matches in
archived subtrees are not exposed, unless you configure the option
org-sparse-tree-open-archived-trees
. - -
During agenda view construction (see Agenda Views), the content of
archived trees is ignored unless you configure the option
org-agenda-skip-archived-trees
, in which case these trees will always be included. In the agenda you can press v a to get archives temporarily included. - -
Archived trees are not exported (see Exporting), only the headline
is. Configure the details using the variable
org-export-with-archived-trees
. - -
Archived trees are excluded from column view unless the variable
org-columns-skip-archived-trees
is configured tonil
.
The following commands help manage the ARCHIVE tag:
- C-c C-x a (
org-toggle-archive-tag
) Toggle the ARCHIVE tag for the current headline. When the tag is set, the headline changes to a shadowed face, and the subtree below it is hidden.
- C-u C-c C-x a
Check if any direct children of the current headline should be archived. To do this, each subtree is checked for open TODO entries. If none are found, the command offers to set the ARCHIVE tag for the child. If the cursor is not on a headline when this command is invoked, the level 1 trees will be checked.
- C-TAB (
org-force-cycle-archived
) - C-c C-x A (
org-archive-to-archive-sibling
) Move the current entry to the Archive Sibling. This is a sibling of the entry with the heading ‘Archive’ and the tag ‘ARCHIVE’. The entry becomes a child of that sibling and in this way retains a lot of its original context, including inherited tags and approximate position in the outline.
Next: Markup, Previous: Capture - Refile - Archive, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
10 Agenda views
Due to the way Org works, TODO items, time-stamped items, and tagged headlines can be scattered throughout a file or even a number of files. To get an overview of open action items, or of events that are important for a particular date, this information must be collected, sorted and displayed in an organized way.
Org can select items based on various criteria and display them in a separate buffer. Seven different view types are provided:
- an agenda that is like a calendar and shows information for specific dates,
- a TODO list that covers all unfinished action items,
- a match view, showings headlines based on the tags, properties, and TODO state associated with them,
- a timeline view that shows all events in a single Org file, in time-sorted view,
- a text search view that shows all entries from multiple files that contain specified keywords,
- a stuck projects view showing projects that currently don’t move along, and
- custom views that are special searches and combinations of different views.
The extracted information is displayed in a special agenda buffer. This buffer is read-only, but provides commands to visit the corresponding locations in the original Org files, and even to edit these files remotely.
Two variables control how the agenda buffer is displayed and whether the
window configuration is restored when the agenda exits:
org-agenda-window-setup
and
org-agenda-restore-windows-after-quit
.
• Agenda files: | Files being searched for agenda information | |
• Agenda dispatcher: | Keyboard access to agenda views | |
• Built-in agenda views: | What is available out of the box? | |
• Presentation and sorting: | How agenda items are prepared for display | |
• Agenda commands: | Remote editing of Org trees | |
• Custom agenda views: | Defining special searches and views | |
• Exporting Agenda Views: | Writing a view to a file | |
• Agenda column view: | Using column view for collected entries |
Next: Agenda dispatcher, Previous: Agenda Views, Up: Agenda Views [Contents][Index]
10.1 Agenda files
The information to be shown is normally collected from all agenda
files, the files listed in the variable
org-agenda-files
98. If a directory is part of this list,
all files with the extension .org in this directory will be part
of the list.
Thus, even if you only work with a single Org file, that file should
be put into the list99. You can customize org-agenda-files
, but
the easiest way to maintain it is through the following commands
- C-c [ (
org-agenda-file-to-front
) Add current file to the list of agenda files. The file is added to the front of the list. If it was already in the list, it is moved to the front. With a prefix argument, file is added/moved to the end.
- C-c ] (
org-remove-file
) - C-' (
org-cycle-agenda-files
) - C-,
Cycle through agenda file list, visiting one file after the other.
- M-x org-iswitchb RET
Command to use an
iswitchb
-like interface to switch to and between Org buffers.
The Org menu contains the current list of files and can be used to visit any of them.
If you would like to focus the agenda temporarily on a file not in this list, or on just one file in the list, or even on only a subtree in a file, then this can be done in different ways. For a single agenda command, you may press < once or several times in the dispatcher (see Agenda dispatcher). To restrict the agenda scope for an extended period, use the following commands:
- C-c C-x < (
org-agenda-set-restriction-lock
) Permanently restrict the agenda to the current subtree. When with a prefix argument, or with the cursor before the first headline in a file, the agenda scope is set to the entire file. This restriction remains in effect until removed with C-c C-x >, or by typing either < or > in the agenda dispatcher. If there is a window displaying an agenda view, the new restriction takes effect immediately.
- C-c C-x > (
org-agenda-remove-restriction-lock
) Remove the permanent restriction created by C-c C-x <.
When working with speedbar.el, you can use the following commands in the Speedbar frame:
- < in the speedbar frame (
org-speedbar-set-agenda-restriction
) Permanently restrict the agenda to the item—either an Org file or a subtree in such a file—at the cursor in the Speedbar frame. If there is a window displaying an agenda view, the new restriction takes effect immediately.
- > in the speedbar frame (
org-agenda-remove-restriction-lock
) Lift the restriction.
Next: Built-in agenda views, Previous: Agenda files, Up: Agenda Views [Contents][Index]
10.2 The agenda dispatcher
The views are created through a dispatcher, which should be bound to a global key—for example C-c a (see Activation). In the following we will assume that C-c a is indeed how the dispatcher is accessed and list keyboard access to commands accordingly. After pressing C-c a, an additional letter is required to execute a command. The dispatcher offers the following default commands:
- a
Create the calendar-like agenda (see Weekly/daily agenda).
- t / T
Create a list of all TODO items (see Global TODO list).
- m / M
Create a list of headlines matching a TAGS expression (see Matching tags and properties).
- L
Create the timeline view for the current buffer (see Timeline).
- s
Create a list of entries selected by a boolean expression of keywords and/or regular expressions that must or must not occur in the entry.
- /
-
Search for a regular expression in all agenda files and additionally in the files listed in
org-agenda-text-search-extra-files
. This uses the Emacs commandmulti-occur
. A prefix argument can be used to specify the number of context lines for each match, default is 1. - # / !
Create a list of stuck projects (see Stuck projects).
- <
Restrict an agenda command to the current buffer100. After pressing <, you still need to press the character selecting the command.
- < <
If there is an active region, restrict the following agenda command to the region. Otherwise, restrict it to the current subtree101. After pressing < <, you still need to press the character selecting the command.
- *
-
Toggle sticky agenda views. By default, Org maintains only a single agenda buffer and rebuilds it each time you change the view, to make sure everything is always up to date. If you switch between views often and the build time bothers you, you can turn on sticky agenda buffers (make this the default by customizing the variable
org-agenda-sticky
). With sticky agendas, the dispatcher only switches to the selected view, you need to update it by hand with r or g. You can toggle sticky agenda view any time withorg-toggle-sticky-agenda
.
You can also define custom commands that will be accessible through the dispatcher, just like the default commands. This includes the possibility to create extended agenda buffers that contain several blocks together, for example the weekly agenda, the global TODO list and a number of special tags matches. See Custom agenda views.
Next: Presentation and sorting, Previous: Agenda dispatcher, Up: Agenda Views [Contents][Index]
10.3 The built-in agenda views
In this section we describe the built-in views.
• Weekly/daily agenda: | The calendar page with current tasks | |
• Global TODO list: | All unfinished action items | |
• Matching tags and properties: | Structured information with fine-tuned search | |
• Timeline: | Time-sorted view for single file | |
• Search view: | Find entries by searching for text | |
• Stuck projects: | Find projects you need to review |
Next: Global TODO list, Previous: Built-in agenda views, Up: Built-in agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.3.1 The weekly/daily agenda
The purpose of the weekly/daily agenda is to act like a page of a paper agenda, showing all the tasks for the current week or day.
- C-c a a (
org-agenda-list
) Compile an agenda for the current week from a list of Org files. The agenda shows the entries for each day. With a numeric prefix102 (like C-u 2 1 C-c a a) you may set the number of days to be displayed.
The default number of days displayed in the agenda is set by the variable
org-agenda-span
(or the obsolete org-agenda-ndays
). This
variable can be set to any number of days you want to see by default in the
agenda, or to a span name, such as day
, week
, month
or
year
. For weekly agendas, the default is to start on the previous
monday (see org-agenda-start-on-weekday
). You can also set the start
date using a date shift: (setq org-agenda-start-day "+10d")
will
start the agenda ten days from today in the future.
Remote editing from the agenda buffer means, for example, that you can change the dates of deadlines and appointments from the agenda buffer. The commands available in the Agenda buffer are listed in Agenda commands.
Calendar/Diary integration
Emacs contains the calendar and diary by Edward M. Reingold. The calendar displays a three-month calendar with holidays from different countries and cultures. The diary allows you to keep track of anniversaries, lunar phases, sunrise/set, recurrent appointments (weekly, monthly) and more. In this way, it is quite complementary to Org. It can be very useful to combine output from Org with the diary.
In order to include entries from the Emacs diary into Org mode’s agenda, you only need to customize the variable
(setq org-agenda-include-diary t)
After that, everything will happen automatically. All diary entries including holidays, anniversaries, etc., will be included in the agenda buffer created by Org mode. SPC, TAB, and RET can be used from the agenda buffer to jump to the diary file in order to edit existing diary entries. The i command to insert new entries for the current date works in the agenda buffer, as well as the commands S, M, and C to display Sunrise/Sunset times, show lunar phases and to convert to other calendars, respectively. c can be used to switch back and forth between calendar and agenda.
If you are using the diary only for sexp entries and holidays, it is faster to not use the above setting, but instead to copy or even move the entries into an Org file. Org mode evaluates diary-style sexp entries, and does it faster because there is no overhead for first creating the diary display. Note that the sexp entries must start at the left margin, no whitespace is allowed before them. For example, the following segment of an Org file will be processed and entries will be made in the agenda:
* Birthdays and similar stuff #+CATEGORY: Holiday %%(org-calendar-holiday) ; special function for holiday names #+CATEGORY: Ann %%(org-anniversary 1956 5 14)(103) Arthur Dent is %d years old %%(org-anniversary 1869 10 2) Mahatma Gandhi would be %d years old
Anniversaries from BBDB
If you are using the Big Brothers Database to store your contacts, you will very likely prefer to store anniversaries in BBDB rather than in a separate Org or diary file. Org supports this and will show BBDB anniversaries as part of the agenda. All you need to do is to add the following to one of your agenda files:
* Anniversaries :PROPERTIES: :CATEGORY: Anniv :END: %%(org-bbdb-anniversaries)
You can then go ahead and define anniversaries for a BBDB record. Basically,
you need to press C-o anniversary RET with the cursor in a BBDB
record and then add the date in the format YYYY-MM-DD
or MM-DD
,
followed by a space and the class of the anniversary (‘birthday’ or
‘wedding’, or a format string). If you omit the class, it will default to
‘birthday’. Here are a few examples, the header for the file
org-bbdb.el contains more detailed information.
1973-06-22 06-22 1955-08-02 wedding 2008-04-14 %s released version 6.01 of org mode, %d years ago
After a change to BBDB, or for the first agenda display during an Emacs session, the agenda display will suffer a short delay as Org updates its hash with anniversaries. However, from then on things will be very fast—much faster in fact than a long list of ‘%%(diary-anniversary)’ entries in an Org or Diary file.
Appointment reminders
Org can interact with Emacs appointments notification facility. To add the
appointments of your agenda files, use the command org-agenda-to-appt
.
This command lets you filter through the list of your appointments and add
only those belonging to a specific category or matching a regular expression.
It also reads a APPT_WARNTIME
property which will then override the
value of appt-message-warning-time
for this appointment. See the
docstring for details.
Next: Matching tags and properties, Previous: Weekly/daily agenda, Up: Built-in agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.3.2 The global TODO list
The global TODO list contains all unfinished TODO items formatted and collected into a single place.
- C-c a t (
org-todo-list
) Show the global TODO list. This collects the TODO items from all agenda files (see Agenda Views) into a single buffer. By default, this lists items with a state the is not a DONE state. The buffer is in
agenda-mode
, so there are commands to examine and manipulate the TODO entries directly from that buffer (see Agenda commands).- C-c a T (
org-todo-list
) -
Like the above, but allows selection of a specific TODO keyword. You can also do this by specifying a prefix argument to C-c a t. You are prompted for a keyword, and you may also specify several keywords by separating them with ‘|’ as the boolean OR operator. With a numeric prefix, the Nth keyword in
org-todo-keywords
is selected. The r key in the agenda buffer regenerates it, and you can give a prefix argument to this command to change the selected TODO keyword, for example 3 r. If you often need a search for a specific keyword, define a custom command for it (see Agenda dispatcher).
Matching specific TODO keywords can also be done as part of a tags search (see Tag searches).
Remote editing of TODO items means that you can change the state of a TODO entry with a single key press. The commands available in the TODO list are described in Agenda commands.
Normally the global TODO list simply shows all headlines with TODO keywords. This list can become very long. There are two ways to keep it more compact:
- -
Some people view a TODO item that has been scheduled for execution or
have a deadline (see Timestamps) as no longer open.
Configure the variables
org-agenda-todo-ignore-scheduled
,org-agenda-todo-ignore-deadlines
,org-agenda-todo-ignore-timestamp
and/ororg-agenda-todo-ignore-with-date
to exclude such items from the global TODO list. - -
TODO items may have sublevels to break up the task into subtasks. In
such cases it may be enough to list only the highest level TODO headline
and omit the sublevels from the global list. Configure the variable
org-agenda-todo-list-sublevels
to get this behavior.
Next: Timeline, Previous: Global TODO list, Up: Built-in agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.3.3 Matching tags and properties
If headlines in the agenda files are marked with tags (see Tags), or have properties (see Properties and Columns), you can select headlines based on this metadata and collect them into an agenda buffer. The match syntax described here also applies when creating sparse trees with C-c / m.
- C-c a m (
org-tags-view
) Produce a list of all headlines that match a given set of tags. The command prompts for a selection criterion, which is a boolean logic expression with tags, like ‘+work+urgent-withboss’ or ‘work|home’ (see Tags). If you often need a specific search, define a custom command for it (see Agenda dispatcher).
- C-c a M (
org-tags-view
) -
Like C-c a m, but only select headlines that are also TODO items in a not-DONE state and force checking subitems (see variable
org-tags-match-list-sublevels
). To exclude scheduled/deadline items, see the variableorg-agenda-tags-todo-honor-ignore-options
. Matching specific TODO keywords together with a tags match is also possible, see Tag searches.
The commands available in the tags list are described in Agenda commands.
Match syntax
A search string can use Boolean operators ‘&’ for AND
and
‘|’ for OR
. ‘&’ binds more strongly than ‘|’.
Parentheses are not implemented. Each element in the search is either a
tag, a regular expression matching tags, or an expression like
PROPERTY OPERATOR VALUE
with a comparison operator, accessing a
property value. Each element may be preceded by ‘-’, to select
against it, and ‘+’ is syntactic sugar for positive selection. The
AND
operator ‘&’ is optional when ‘+’ or ‘-’ is
present. Here are some examples, using only tags.
- ‘work’
Select headlines tagged ‘:work:’.
- ‘work&boss’
Select headlines tagged ‘:work:’ and ‘:boss:’.
- ‘+work-boss’
Select headlines tagged ‘:work:’, but discard those also tagged ‘:boss:’.
- ‘work|laptop’
Selects lines tagged ‘:work:’ or ‘:laptop:’.
- ‘work|laptop+night’
Like before, but require the ‘:laptop:’ lines to be tagged also ‘:night:’.
Instead of a tag, you may also specify a regular expression enclosed in curly braces. For example, ‘work+{^boss.*}’ matches headlines that contain the tag ‘:work:’ and any tag starting with ‘boss’.
Group tags (see Tag groups) are expanded as regular expressions. E.g., if ‘:work:’ is a group tag for the group ‘:work:lab:conf:’, then searching for ‘work’ will search for ‘{\(?:work\|lab\|conf\)}’ and searching for ‘-work’ will search for all headlines but those with one of the tag in the group (i.e., ‘-{\(?:work\|lab\|conf\)}’).
You may also test for properties (see Properties and Columns) at the same
time as matching tags. The properties may be real properties, or special
properties that represent other metadata (see Special properties). For
example, the “property” TODO
represents the TODO keyword of the
entry and the “property” PRIORITY
represents the PRIORITY keyword of
the entry. The ITEM special property cannot currently be used in tags/property
searches104.
Except the see Special properties, one other “property” can also be
used. LEVEL
represents the level of an entry. So a search
‘+LEVEL=3+boss-TODO="DONE"’ lists all level three headlines that have
the tag ‘boss’ and are not marked with the TODO keyword DONE.
In buffers with org-odd-levels-only
set, ‘LEVEL’ does not count
the number of stars, but ‘LEVEL=2’ will correspond to 3 stars etc.
Here are more examples:
- ‘work+TODO="WAITING"’
Select ‘:work:’-tagged TODO lines with the specific TODO keyword ‘WAITING’.
- ‘work+TODO="WAITING"|home+TODO="WAITING"’
Waiting tasks both at work and at home.
When matching properties, a number of different operators can be used to test the value of a property. Here is a complex example:
+work-boss+PRIORITY="A"+Coffee="unlimited"+Effort<2 \ +With={Sarah\|Denny}+SCHEDULED>="<2008-10-11>"
The type of comparison will depend on how the comparison value is written:
- - If the comparison value is a plain number, a numerical comparison is done, and the allowed operators are ‘<’, ‘=’, ‘>’, ‘<=’, ‘>=’, and ‘<>’.
- - If the comparison value is enclosed in double-quotes, a string comparison is done, and the same operators are allowed.
- - If the comparison value is enclosed in double-quotes and angular
brackets (like ‘DEADLINE<="<2008-12-24 18:30>"’), both values are
assumed to be date/time specifications in the standard Org way, and the
comparison will be done accordingly. Special values that will be recognized
are
"<now>"
for now (including time), and"<today>"
, and"<tomorrow>"
for these days at 0:00 hours, i.e., without a time specification. Also strings like"<+5d>"
or"<-2m>"
with unitsd
,w
,m
, andy
for day, week, month, and year, respectively, can be used. - - If the comparison value is enclosed in curly braces, a regexp match is performed, with ‘=’ meaning that the regexp matches the property value, and ‘<>’ meaning that it does not match.
So the search string in the example finds entries tagged ‘:work:’ but not ‘:boss:’, which also have a priority value ‘A’, a ‘:Coffee:’ property with the value ‘unlimited’, an ‘Effort’ property that is numerically smaller than 2, a ‘:With:’ property that is matched by the regular expression ‘Sarah\|Denny’, and that are scheduled on or after October 11, 2008.
Accessing TODO, LEVEL, and CATEGORY during a search is fast. Accessing any other properties will slow down the search. However, once you have paid the price by accessing one property, testing additional properties is cheap again.
You can configure Org mode to use property inheritance during a search, but beware that this can slow down searches considerably. See Property inheritance, for details.
For backward compatibility, and also for typing speed, there is also a different way to test TODO states in a search. For this, terminate the tags/property part of the search string (which may include several terms connected with ‘|’) with a ‘/’ and then specify a Boolean expression just for TODO keywords. The syntax is then similar to that for tags, but should be applied with care: for example, a positive selection on several TODO keywords cannot meaningfully be combined with boolean AND. However, negative selection combined with AND can be meaningful. To make sure that only lines are checked that actually have any TODO keyword (resulting in a speed-up), use C-c a M, or equivalently start the TODO part after the slash with ‘!’. Using C-c a M or ‘/!’ will not match TODO keywords in a DONE state. Examples:
- ‘work/WAITING’
Same as ‘work+TODO="WAITING"’
- ‘work/!-WAITING-NEXT’
Select ‘:work:’-tagged TODO lines that are neither ‘WAITING’ nor ‘NEXT’
- ‘work/!+WAITING|+NEXT’
Select ‘:work:’-tagged TODO lines that are either ‘WAITING’ or ‘NEXT’.
Next: Search view, Previous: Matching tags and properties, Up: Built-in agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.3.4 Timeline for a single file
The timeline summarizes all time-stamped items from a single Org mode file in a time-sorted view. The main purpose of this command is to give an overview over events in a project.
- C-c a L (
org-timeline
) Show a time-sorted view of the Org file, with all time-stamped items. When called with a C-u prefix, all unfinished TODO entries (scheduled or not) are also listed under the current date.
The commands available in the timeline buffer are listed in Agenda commands.
Next: Stuck projects, Previous: Timeline, Up: Built-in agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.3.5 Search view
This agenda view is a general text search facility for Org mode entries. It is particularly useful to find notes.
- C-c a s (
org-search-view
) This is a special search that lets you select entries by matching a substring or specific words using a boolean logic.
For example, the search string ‘computer equipment’ will find entries
that contain ‘computer equipment’ as a substring. If the two words are
separated by more space or a line break, the search will still match.
Search view can also search for specific keywords in the entry, using Boolean
logic. The search string ‘+computer +wifi -ethernet -{8\.11[bg]}’
will search for note entries that contain the keywords computer
and wifi
, but not the keyword ethernet
, and which are also
not matched by the regular expression 8\.11[bg]
, meaning to
exclude both 8.11b and 8.11g. The first ‘+’ is necessary to turn on
word search, other ‘+’ characters are optional. For more details, see
the docstring of the command org-search-view
.
Note that in addition to the agenda files, this command will also search
the files listed in org-agenda-text-search-extra-files
.
Previous: Search view, Up: Built-in agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.3.6 Stuck projects
If you are following a system like David Allen’s GTD to organize your work, one of the “duties” you have is a regular review to make sure that all projects move along. A stuck project is a project that has no defined next actions, so it will never show up in the TODO lists Org mode produces. During the review, you need to identify such projects and define next actions for them.
- C-c a # (
org-agenda-list-stuck-projects
) - C-c a !
-
Customize the variable
org-stuck-projects
to define what a stuck project is and how to find it.
You almost certainly will have to configure this view before it will work for you. The built-in default assumes that all your projects are level-2 headlines, and that a project is not stuck if it has at least one entry marked with a TODO keyword TODO or NEXT or NEXTACTION.
Let’s assume that you, in your own way of using Org mode, identify projects with a tag PROJECT, and that you use a TODO keyword MAYBE to indicate a project that should not be considered yet. Let’s further assume that the TODO keyword DONE marks finished projects, and that NEXT and TODO indicate next actions. The tag @SHOP indicates shopping and is a next action even without the NEXT tag. Finally, if the project contains the special word IGNORE anywhere, it should not be listed either. In this case you would start by identifying eligible projects with a tags/todo match105 ‘+PROJECT/-MAYBE-DONE’, and then check for TODO, NEXT, @SHOP, and IGNORE in the subtree to identify projects that are not stuck. The correct customization for this is
(setq org-stuck-projects '("+PROJECT/-MAYBE-DONE" ("NEXT" "TODO") ("@SHOP") "\\<IGNORE\\>"))
Note that if a project is identified as non-stuck, the subtree of this entry will still be searched for stuck projects.
Next: Agenda commands, Previous: Built-in agenda views, Up: Agenda Views [Contents][Index]
10.4 Presentation and sorting
Before displaying items in an agenda view, Org mode visually prepares the
items and sorts them. Each item occupies a single line. The line starts
with a prefix that contains the category (see Categories)
of the item and other important information. You can customize in which
column tags will be displayed through org-agenda-tags-column
. You can
also customize the prefix using the option org-agenda-prefix-format
.
This prefix is followed by a cleaned-up version of the outline headline
associated with the item.
• Categories: | Not all tasks are equal | |
• Time-of-day specifications: | How the agenda knows the time | |
• Sorting agenda items: | The order of things | |
• Filtering/limiting agenda items: | Dynamically narrow the agenda |
Next: Time-of-day specifications, Previous: Presentation and sorting, Up: Presentation and sorting [Contents][Index]
10.4.1 Categories
The category is a broad label assigned to each agenda item. By default, the category is simply derived from the file name, but you can also specify it with a special line in the buffer, like this106:
#+CATEGORY: Thesis
If you would like to have a special CATEGORY for a single entry or a
(sub)tree, give the entry a :CATEGORY:
property with the
special category you want to apply as the value.
The display in the agenda buffer looks best if the category is not longer than 10 characters.
You can set up icons for category by customizing the
org-agenda-category-icon-alist
variable.
Next: Sorting agenda items, Previous: Categories, Up: Presentation and sorting [Contents][Index]
10.4.2 Time-of-day specifications
Org mode checks each agenda item for a time-of-day specification. The time can be part of the timestamp that triggered inclusion into the agenda, for example as in ‘<2005-05-10 Tue 19:00>’. Time ranges can be specified with two timestamps, like ‘<2005-05-10 Tue 20:30>--<2005-05-10 Tue 22:15>’.
In the headline of the entry itself, a time(range) may also appear as plain text (like ‘12:45’ or a ‘8:30-1pm’). If the agenda integrates the Emacs diary (see Weekly/daily agenda), time specifications in diary entries are recognized as well.
For agenda display, Org mode extracts the time and displays it in a standard 24 hour format as part of the prefix. The example times in the previous paragraphs would end up in the agenda like this:
8:30-13:00 Arthur Dent lies in front of the bulldozer 12:45...... Ford Prefect arrives and takes Arthur to the pub 19:00...... The Vogon reads his poem 20:30-22:15 Marvin escorts the Hitchhikers to the bridge
If the agenda is in single-day mode, or for the display of today, the timed entries are embedded in a time grid, like
8:00...... ------------------ 8:30-13:00 Arthur Dent lies in front of the bulldozer 10:00...... ------------------ 12:00...... ------------------ 12:45...... Ford Prefect arrives and takes Arthur to the pub 14:00...... ------------------ 16:00...... ------------------ 18:00...... ------------------ 19:00...... The Vogon reads his poem 20:00...... ------------------ 20:30-22:15 Marvin escorts the Hitchhikers to the bridge
The time grid can be turned on and off with the variable
org-agenda-use-time-grid
, and can be configured with
org-agenda-time-grid
.
Next: Filtering/limiting agenda items, Previous: Time-of-day specifications, Up: Presentation and sorting [Contents][Index]
10.4.3 Sorting agenda items
Before being inserted into a view, the items are sorted. How this is done depends on the type of view.
-
For the daily/weekly agenda, the items for each day are sorted. The
default order is to first collect all items containing an explicit
time-of-day specification. These entries will be shown at the beginning
of the list, as a schedule for the day. After that, items remain
grouped in categories, in the sequence given by
org-agenda-files
. Within each category, items are sorted by priority (see Priorities), which is composed of the base priority (2000 for priority ‘A’, 1000 for ‘B’, and 0 for ‘C’), plus additional increments for overdue scheduled or deadline items. - For the TODO list, items remain in the order of categories, but within each category, sorting takes place according to priority (see Priorities). The priority used for sorting derives from the priority cookie, with additions depending on how close an item is to its due or scheduled date.
- For tags matches, items are not sorted at all, but just appear in the sequence in which they are found in the agenda files.
Sorting can be customized using the variable
org-agenda-sorting-strategy
, and may also include criteria based on
the estimated effort of an entry (see Effort estimates).
Previous: Sorting agenda items, Up: Presentation and sorting [Contents][Index]
10.4.4 Filtering/limiting agenda items
Agenda built-in or customized commands are statically defined. Agenda filters and limits provide two ways of dynamically narrowing down the list of agenda entries: fitlers and limits. Filters only act on the display of the items, while limits take effect before the list of agenda entries is built. Filter are more often used interactively, while limits are mostly useful when defined as local variables within custom agenda commands.
Filtering in the agenda
- / (
org-agenda-filter-by-tag
) -
Filter the agenda view with respect to a tag and/or effort estimates. The difference between this and a custom agenda command is that filtering is very fast, so that you can switch quickly between different filters without having to recreate the agenda.107
You will be prompted for a tag selection letter; SPC will mean any tag at all. Pressing TAB at that prompt will offer use completion to select a tag (including any tags that do not have a selection character). The command then hides all entries that do not contain or inherit this tag. When called with prefix arg, remove the entries that do have the tag. A second / at the prompt will turn off the filter and unhide any hidden entries. If the first key you press is either + or -, the previous filter will be narrowed by requiring or forbidding the selected additional tag. Instead of pressing + or - after /, you can also immediately use the \ command.
In order to filter for effort estimates, you should set up allowed efforts globally, for example
(setq org-global-properties '(("Effort_ALL". "0 0:10 0:30 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00")))
You can then filter for an effort by first typing an operator, one of <, >, and =, and then the one-digit index of an effort estimate in your array of allowed values, where 0 means the 10th value. The filter will then restrict to entries with effort smaller-or-equal, equal, or larger-or-equal than the selected value. If the digits 0–9 are not used as fast access keys to tags, you can also simply press the index digit directly without an operator. In this case, < will be assumed. For application of the operator, entries without a defined effort will be treated according to the value of
org-sort-agenda-noeffort-is-high
. To filter for tasks without effort definition, press ? as the operator.Org also supports automatic, context-aware tag filtering. If the variable
org-agenda-auto-exclude-function
is set to a user-defined function, that function can decide which tags should be excluded from the agenda automatically. Once this is set, the / command then accepts RET as a sub-option key and runs the auto exclusion logic. For example, let’s say you use aNet
tag to identify tasks which need network access, anErrand
tag for errands in town, and aCall
tag for making phone calls. You could auto-exclude these tags based on the availability of the Internet, and outside of business hours, with something like this:(defun org-my-auto-exclude-function (tag) (and (cond ((string= tag "Net") (/= 0 (call-process "/sbin/ping" nil nil nil "-c1" "-q" "-t1" "mail.gnu.org"))) ((or (string= tag "Errand") (string= tag "Call")) (let ((hour (nth 2 (decode-time)))) (or (< hour 8) (> hour 21))))) (concat "-" tag))) (setq org-agenda-auto-exclude-function 'org-my-auto-exclude-function)
- \ (
org-agenda-filter-by-tag-refine
) Narrow the current agenda filter by an additional condition. When called with prefix arg, remove the entries that do have the tag, or that do match the effort criterion. You can achieve the same effect by pressing + or - as the first key after the / command.
- [ ] { }
- in search view
add new search words ([ and ]) or new regular expressions ({ and }) to the query string. The opening bracket/brace will add a positive search term prefixed by ‘+’, indicating that this search term must occur/match in the entry. The closing bracket/brace will add a negative search term which must not occur/match in the entry for it to be selected.
- < (
org-agenda-filter-by-category
) -
Filter the current agenda view with respect to the category of the item at point. Pressing
<
another time will remove this filter. You can add a filter preset through the optionorg-agenda-category-filter-preset
(see below.) - ^ (
org-agenda-filter-by-top-headline
) Filter the current agenda view and only display the siblings and the parent headline of the one at point.
- = (
org-agenda-filter-by-regexp
) -
Filter the agenda view by a regular expression: only show agenda entries matching the regular expression the user entered. When called with a prefix argument, it will filter out entries matching the regexp. With two universal prefix arguments, it will remove all the regexp filters, which can be accumulated. You can add a filter preset through the option
org-agenda-category-filter-preset
(see below.) - | (
org-agenda-filter-remove-all
) Remove all filters in the current agenda view.
Setting limits for the agenda
Here is a list of options that you can set, either globally, or locally in your custom agenda viewssee Custom agenda views.
- org-agenda-max-entries
Limit the number of entries.
- org-agenda-max-effort
Limit the duration of accumulated efforts (as minutes).
- org-agenda-max-todos
Limit the number of entries with TODO keywords.
- org-agenda-max-tags
Limit the number of tagged entries.
When set to a positive integer, each option will exclude entries from other
categories: for example, (setq org-agenda-max-effort 100)
will limit
the agenda to 100 minutes of effort and exclude any entry that as no effort
property. If you want to include entries with no effort property, use a
negative value for org-agenda-max-effort
.
One useful setup is to use org-agenda-max-entries
locally in a custom
command. For example, this custom command will display the next five entries
with a NEXT
TODO keyword.
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("n" todo "NEXT" ((org-agenda-max-entries 5)))))
Once you mark one of these five entry as DONE
, rebuilding the agenda
will again the next five entries again, including the first entry that was
excluded so far.
You can also dynamically set temporary limits108:
Next: Custom agenda views, Previous: Presentation and sorting, Up: Agenda Views [Contents][Index]
10.5 Commands in the agenda buffer
Entries in the agenda buffer are linked back to the Org file or diary file where they originate. You are not allowed to edit the agenda buffer itself, but commands are provided to show and jump to the original entry location, and to edit the Org files “remotely” from the agenda buffer. In this way, all information is stored only once, removing the risk that your agenda and note files may diverge.
Some commands can be executed with mouse clicks on agenda lines. For the other commands, the cursor needs to be in the desired line.
- Motion
- n (
org-agenda-next-line
) - p (
org-agenda-previous-line
) Previous line (same as up and C-p).
- View/Go to Org file
- SPC or mouse-3 (
org-agenda-show-and-scroll-up
) Display the original location of the item in another window. With prefix arg, make sure that the entire entry is made visible in the outline, not only the heading.
- L (
org-agenda-recenter
) - TAB or mouse-2 (
org-agenda-goto
) - RET (
org-agenda-switch-to
) Go to the original location of the item and delete other windows.
- F (
org-agenda-follow-mode
) -
Toggle Follow mode. In Follow mode, as you move the cursor through the agenda buffer, the other window always shows the corresponding location in the Org file. The initial setting for this mode in new agenda buffers can be set with the variable
org-agenda-start-with-follow-mode
. - C-c C-x b (
org-agenda-tree-to-indirect-buffer
) Display the entire subtree of the current item in an indirect buffer. With a numeric prefix argument N, go up to level N and then take that tree. If N is negative, go up that many levels. With a C-u prefix, do not remove the previously used indirect buffer.
- C-c C-o (
org-agenda-open-link
) Follow a link in the entry. This will offer a selection of any links in the text belonging to the referenced Org node. If there is only one link, it will be followed without a selection prompt.
- Change display
- A
Interactively select another agenda view and append it to the current view.
- o
- v d or short d (
org-agenda-day-view
) - v w or short w (
org-agenda-week-view
) - v t (
org-agenda-fortnight-view
) - v m (
org-agenda-month-view
) - v y (
org-agenda-year-view
) - v SPC (
org-agenda-reset-view
) -
Switch to day/week/month/year view. When switching to day or week view, this setting becomes the default for subsequent agenda refreshes. Since month and year views are slow to create, they do not become the default. A numeric prefix argument may be used to jump directly to a specific day of the year, ISO week, month, or year, respectively. For example, 32 d jumps to February 1st, 9 w to ISO week number 9. When setting day, week, or month view, a year may be encoded in the prefix argument as well. For example, 200712 w will jump to week 12 in 2007. If such a year specification has only one or two digits, it will be mapped to the interval 1938–2037. v SPC will reset to what is set in
org-agenda-span
. - f (
org-agenda-later
) Go forward in time to display the following
org-agenda-current-span
days. For example, if the display covers a week, switch to the following week. With prefix arg, go forward that many timesorg-agenda-current-span
days.- b (
org-agenda-earlier
) - . (
org-agenda-goto-today
) - j (
org-agenda-goto-date
) - J (
org-agenda-clock-goto
) - D (
org-agenda-toggle-diary
) Toggle the inclusion of diary entries. See Weekly/daily agenda.
- v l or short l (
org-agenda-log-mode
) -
Toggle Logbook mode. In Logbook mode, entries that were marked DONE while logging was on (variable
org-log-done
) are shown in the agenda, as are entries that have been clocked on that day. You can configure the entry types that should be included in log mode using the variableorg-agenda-log-mode-items
. When called with a C-u prefix, show all possible logbook entries, including state changes. When called with two prefix arguments C-u C-u, show only logging information, nothing else. v L is equivalent to C-u v l. - v [ or short [ (
org-agenda-manipulate-query-add
) Include inactive timestamps into the current view. Only for weekly/daily agenda and timeline views.
- v a (
org-agenda-archives-mode
) - v A (
org-agenda-archives-mode 'files
) Toggle Archives mode. In Archives mode, trees that are marked
ARCHIVED
are also scanned when producing the agenda. When you use the capital A, even all archive files are included. To exit archives mode, press v a again.- v R or short R (
org-agenda-clockreport-mode
) -
Toggle Clockreport mode. In Clockreport mode, the daily/weekly agenda will always show a table with the clocked times for the time span and file scope covered by the current agenda view. The initial setting for this mode in new agenda buffers can be set with the variable
org-agenda-start-with-clockreport-mode
. By using a prefix argument when toggling this mode (i.e., C-u R), the clock table will not show contributions from entries that are hidden by agenda filtering109. See also the variableorg-clock-report-include-clocking-task
. - v c
-
Show overlapping clock entries, clocking gaps, and other clocking problems in the current agenda range. You can then visit clocking lines and fix them manually. See the variable
org-agenda-clock-consistency-checks
for information on how to customize the definition of what constituted a clocking problem. To return to normal agenda display, press l to exit Logbook mode. - v E or short E (
org-agenda-entry-text-mode
) -
Toggle entry text mode. In entry text mode, a number of lines from the Org outline node referenced by an agenda line will be displayed below the line. The maximum number of lines is given by the variable
org-agenda-entry-text-maxlines
. Calling this command with a numeric prefix argument will temporarily modify that number to the prefix value. - G (
org-agenda-toggle-time-grid
) -
Toggle the time grid on and off. See also the variables
org-agenda-use-time-grid
andorg-agenda-time-grid
. - r (
org-agenda-redo
) Recreate the agenda buffer, for example to reflect the changes after modification of the timestamps of items with S-left and S-right. When the buffer is the global TODO list, a prefix argument is interpreted to create a selective list for a specific TODO keyword.
- g (
org-agenda-redo
) - C-x C-s or short s (
org-save-all-org-buffers
) Save all Org buffers in the current Emacs session, and also the locations of IDs.
- C-c C-x C-c (
org-agenda-columns
) -
Invoke column view (see Column view) in the agenda buffer. The column view format is taken from the entry at point, or (if there is no entry at point), from the first entry in the agenda view. So whatever the format for that entry would be in the original buffer (taken from a property, from a
#+COLUMNS
line, or from the default variableorg-columns-default-format
), will be used in the agenda. - C-c C-x > (
org-agenda-remove-restriction-lock
) Remove the restriction lock on the agenda, if it is currently restricted to a file or subtree (see Agenda files).
- Secondary filtering and query editing
-
For a detailed description of these commands, see see Filtering/limiting agenda items.
- / (
org-agenda-filter-by-tag
) -
Filter the agenda view with respect to a tag and/or effort estimates.
- \ (
org-agenda-filter-by-tag-refine
) Narrow the current agenda filter by an additional condition.
- < (
org-agenda-filter-by-category
) -
Filter the current agenda view with respect to the category of the item at point. Pressing
<
another time will remove this filter. - ^ (
org-agenda-filter-by-top-headline
) Filter the current agenda view and only display the siblings and the parent headline of the one at point.
- = (
org-agenda-filter-by-regexp
) -
Filter the agenda view by a regular expression: only show agenda entries matching the regular expression the user entered. When called with a prefix argument, it will filter out entries matching the regexp. With two universal prefix arguments, it will remove all the regexp filters, which can be accumulated. You can add a filter preset through the option
org-agenda-category-filter-preset
(see below.) - | (
org-agenda-filter-remove-all
) Remove all filters in the current agenda view.
- Remote editing
- 0--9
- C-_ (
org-agenda-undo
) Undo a change due to a remote editing command. The change is undone both in the agenda buffer and in the remote buffer.
- t (
org-agenda-todo
) Change the TODO state of the item, both in the agenda and in the original org file.
- C-S-right (
org-agenda-todo-nextset
) - C-S-left (
org-agenda-todo-previousset
) - C-k (
org-agenda-kill
) -
Delete the current agenda item along with the entire subtree belonging to it in the original Org file. If the text to be deleted remotely is longer than one line, the kill needs to be confirmed by the user. See variable
org-agenda-confirm-kill
. - C-c C-w (
org-agenda-refile
) - C-c C-x C-a or short a (
org-agenda-archive-default-with-confirmation
) -
Archive the subtree corresponding to the entry at point using the default archiving command set in
org-archive-default-command
. When using thea
key, confirmation will be required. - C-c C-x a (
org-agenda-toggle-archive-tag
) - C-c C-x A (
org-agenda-archive-to-archive-sibling
) Move the subtree corresponding to the current entry to its archive sibling.
- C-c C-x C-s or short $ (
org-agenda-archive
) Archive the subtree corresponding to the current headline. This means the entry will be moved to the configured archive location, most likely a different file.
- T (
org-agenda-show-tags
) -
Show all tags associated with the current item. This is useful if you have turned off
org-agenda-show-inherited-tags
, but still want to see all tags of a headline occasionally. - : (
org-agenda-set-tags
) Set tags for the current headline. If there is an active region in the agenda, change a tag for all headings in the region.
- ,
Set the priority for the current item (
org-agenda-priority
). Org mode prompts for the priority character. If you reply with SPC, the priority cookie is removed from the entry.- P (
org-agenda-show-priority
) - + or S-up (
org-agenda-priority-up
) Increase the priority of the current item. The priority is changed in the original buffer, but the agenda is not resorted. Use the r key for this.
- - or S-down (
org-agenda-priority-down
) - z or C-c C-z (
org-agenda-add-note
) -
Add a note to the entry. This note will be recorded, and then filed to the same location where state change notes are put. Depending on
org-log-into-drawer
, this may be inside a drawer. - C-c C-a (
org-attach
) - C-c C-s (
org-agenda-schedule
) Schedule this item. With prefix arg remove the scheduling timestamp
- C-c C-d (
org-agenda-deadline
) Set a deadline for this item. With prefix arg remove the deadline.
- S-right (
org-agenda-do-date-later
) Change the timestamp associated with the current line by one day into the future. If the date is in the past, the first call to this command will move it to today.
With a numeric prefix argument, change it by that many days. For example, 3 6 5 S-right will change it by a year. With a C-u prefix, change the time by one hour. If you immediately repeat the command, it will continue to change hours even without the prefix arg. With a double C-u C-u prefix, do the same for changing minutes.
The stamp is changed in the original Org file, but the change is not directly reflected in the agenda buffer. Use r or g to update the buffer.- S-left (
org-agenda-do-date-earlier
) Change the timestamp associated with the current line by one day into the past.
- > (
org-agenda-date-prompt
) Change the timestamp associated with the current line. The key > has been chosen, because it is the same as S-. on my keyboard.
- I (
org-agenda-clock-in
) Start the clock on the current item. If a clock is running already, it is stopped first.
- O (
org-agenda-clock-out
) - X (
org-agenda-clock-cancel
) - J (
org-agenda-clock-goto
) - k (
org-agenda-capture
) Like
org-capture
, but use the date at point as the default date for the capture template. Seeorg-capture-use-agenda-date
to make this the default behavior oforg-capture
.- Dragging agenda lines forward/backward
- M-<up> (
org-agenda-drag-line-backward
) Drag the line at point backward one line110. With a numeric prefix argument, drag backward by that many lines.
- M-<down> (
org-agenda-drag-line-forward
) Drag the line at point forward one line. With a numeric prefix argument, drag forward by that many lines.
- Bulk remote editing selected entries
- m (
org-agenda-bulk-mark
) Mark the entry at point for bulk action. With numeric prefix argument, mark that many successive entries.
- * (
org-agenda-bulk-mark-all
) - u (
org-agenda-bulk-unmark
) - U (
org-agenda-bulk-remove-all-marks
) - M-m (
org-agenda-bulk-toggle
) - M-* (
org-agenda-bulk-toggle-all
) - % (
org-agenda-bulk-mark-regexp
) - B (
org-agenda-bulk-action
) Bulk action: act on all marked entries in the agenda. This will prompt for another key to select the action to be applied. The prefix arg to B will be passed through to the s and d commands, to bulk-remove these special timestamps. By default, marks are removed after the bulk. If you want them to persist, set
org-agenda-bulk-persistent-marks
tot
or hit p at the prompt.- *
Toggle persistent marks.
- $
Archive all selected entries.
- A
Archive entries by moving them to their respective archive siblings.
- t
Change TODO state. This prompts for a single TODO keyword and changes the state of all selected entries, bypassing blocking and suppressing logging notes (but not timestamps).
- +
Add a tag to all selected entries.
- -
Remove a tag from all selected entries.
- s
Schedule all items to a new date. To shift existing schedule dates by a fixed number of days, use something starting with double plus at the prompt, for example ‘++8d’ or ‘++2w’.
- d
Set deadline to a specific date.
- r
Prompt for a single refile target and move all entries. The entries will no longer be in the agenda; refresh (g) to bring them back.
- S
Reschedule randomly into the coming N days. N will be prompted for. With prefix arg (C-u B S), scatter only across weekdays.
- f
Apply a function111 to marked entries. For example, the function below sets the CATEGORY property of the entries to web.
(defun set-category () (interactive "P") (let* ((marker (or (org-get-at-bol 'org-hd-marker) (org-agenda-error))) (buffer (marker-buffer marker))) (with-current-buffer buffer (save-excursion (save-restriction (widen) (goto-char marker) (org-back-to-heading t) (org-set-property "CATEGORY" "web"))))))
- Calendar commands
- c (
org-agenda-goto-calendar
) Open the Emacs calendar and move to the date at the agenda cursor.
- c (
org-calendar-goto-agenda
) When in the calendar, compute and show the Org mode agenda for the date at the cursor.
- i (
org-agenda-diary-entry
) -
Insert a new entry into the diary, using the date at the cursor and (for block entries) the date at the mark. This will add to the Emacs diary file112, in a way similar to the i command in the calendar. The diary file will pop up in another window, where you can add the entry.
If you configure
org-agenda-diary-file
to point to an Org mode file, Org will create entries (in Org mode syntax) in that file instead. Most entries will be stored in a date-based outline tree that will later make it easy to archive appointments from previous months/years. The tree will be built under an entry with aDATE_TREE
property, or else with years as top-level entries. Emacs will prompt you for the entry text—if you specify it, the entry will be created inorg-agenda-diary-file
without further interaction. If you directly press RET at the prompt without typing text, the target file will be shown in another window for you to finish the entry there. See also the k r command. - M (
org-agenda-phases-of-moon
) Show the phases of the moon for the three months around current date.
- S (
org-agenda-sunrise-sunset
) Show sunrise and sunset times. The geographical location must be set with calendar variables, see the documentation for the Emacs calendar.
- C (
org-agenda-convert-date
) Convert the date at cursor into many other cultural and historic calendars.
- H (
org-agenda-holidays
) Show holidays for three months around the cursor date.
- M-x org-icalendar-combine-agenda-files RET
Export a single iCalendar file containing entries from all agenda files. This is a globally available command, and also available in the agenda menu.
- Exporting to a file
- C-x C-w (
org-agenda-write
) -
Write the agenda view to a file. Depending on the extension of the selected file name, the view will be exported as HTML (.html or .htm), Postscript (.ps), PDF (.pdf), Org (.org) and plain text (any other extension). When exporting to Org, only the body of original headlines are exported, not subtrees or inherited tags. When called with a C-u prefix argument, immediately open the newly created file. Use the variable
org-agenda-exporter-settings
to set options for ps-print and for htmlize to be used during export. - Quit and Exit
- q (
org-agenda-quit
) - x (
org-agenda-exit
) Exit agenda, remove the agenda buffer and all buffers loaded by Emacs for the compilation of the agenda. Buffers created by the user to visit Org files will not be removed.
Next: Exporting Agenda Views, Previous: Agenda commands, Up: Agenda Views [Contents][Index]
10.6 Custom agenda views
Custom agenda commands serve two purposes: to store and quickly access frequently used TODO and tags searches, and to create special composite agenda buffers. Custom agenda commands will be accessible through the dispatcher (see Agenda dispatcher), just like the default commands.
• Storing searches: | Type once, use often | |
• Block agenda: | All the stuff you need in a single buffer | |
• Setting Options: | Changing the rules |
Next: Block agenda, Previous: Custom agenda views, Up: Custom agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.6.1 Storing searches
The first application of custom searches is the definition of keyboard shortcuts for frequently used searches, either creating an agenda buffer, or a sparse tree (the latter covering of course only the current buffer).
Custom commands are configured in the variable
org-agenda-custom-commands
. You can customize this variable, for
example by pressing C-c a C. You can also directly set it with Emacs
Lisp in .emacs. The following example contains all valid agenda
views:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("x" agenda) ("y" agenda*) ("w" todo "WAITING") ("W" todo-tree "WAITING") ("u" tags "+boss-urgent") ("v" tags-todo "+boss-urgent") ("U" tags-tree "+boss-urgent") ("f" occur-tree "\\<FIXME\\>") ("h" . "HOME+Name tags searches") ; description for "h" prefix ("hl" tags "+home+Lisa") ("hp" tags "+home+Peter") ("hk" tags "+home+Kim")))
The initial string in each entry defines the keys you have to press after the dispatcher command C-c a in order to access the command. Usually this will be just a single character, but if you have many similar commands, you can also define two-letter combinations where the first character is the same in several combinations and serves as a prefix key113. The second parameter is the search type, followed by the string or regular expression to be used for the matching. The example above will therefore define:
- C-c a x
as a global search for agenda entries planned114 this week/day.
- C-c a y
as a global search for agenda entries planned this week/day, but only those with an hour specification like
[h]h:mm
—think of them as appointments.- C-c a w
as a global search for TODO entries with ‘WAITING’ as the TODO keyword
- C-c a W
as the same search, but only in the current buffer and displaying the results as a sparse tree
- C-c a u
as a global tags search for headlines marked ‘:boss:’ but not ‘:urgent:’
- C-c a v
as the same search as C-c a u, but limiting the search to headlines that are also TODO items
- C-c a U
as the same search as C-c a u, but only in the current buffer and displaying the result as a sparse tree
- C-c a f
to create a sparse tree (again: current buffer only) with all entries containing the word ‘FIXME’
- C-c a h
as a prefix command for a HOME tags search where you have to press an additional key (l, p or k) to select a name (Lisa, Peter, or Kim) as additional tag to match.
Note that the *-tree
agenda views need to be called from an
Org buffer as they operate on the current buffer only.
Next: Setting Options, Previous: Storing searches, Up: Custom agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.6.2 Block agenda
Another possibility is the construction of agenda views that comprise
the results of several commands, each of which creates a block in
the agenda buffer. The available commands include agenda
for the
daily or weekly agenda (as created with C-c a a), alltodo
for the global TODO list (as constructed with C-c a t), and the
matching commands discussed above: todo
, tags
, and
tags-todo
. Here are two examples:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("h" "Agenda and Home-related tasks" ((agenda "") (tags-todo "home") (tags "garden"))) ("o" "Agenda and Office-related tasks" ((agenda "") (tags-todo "work") (tags "office")))))
This will define C-c a h to create a multi-block view for stuff you need to attend to at home. The resulting agenda buffer will contain your agenda for the current week, all TODO items that carry the tag ‘home’, and also all lines tagged with ‘garden’. Finally the command C-c a o provides a similar view for office tasks.
Previous: Block agenda, Up: Custom agenda views [Contents][Index]
10.6.3 Setting options for custom commands
Org mode contains a number of variables regulating agenda construction
and display. The global variables define the behavior for all agenda
commands, including the custom commands. However, if you want to change
some settings just for a single custom view, you can do so. Setting
options requires inserting a list of variable names and values at the
right spot in org-agenda-custom-commands
. For example:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("w" todo "WAITING" ((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-down)) (org-agenda-prefix-format " Mixed: "))) ("U" tags-tree "+boss-urgent" ((org-show-following-heading nil) (org-show-hierarchy-above nil))) ("N" search "" ((org-agenda-files '("~org/notes.org")) (org-agenda-text-search-extra-files nil)))))
Now the C-c a w command will sort the collected entries only by priority, and the prefix format is modified to just say ‘ Mixed: ’ instead of giving the category of the entry. The sparse tags tree of C-c a U will now turn out ultra-compact, because neither the headline hierarchy above the match, nor the headline following the match will be shown. The command C-c a N will do a text search limited to only a single file.
For command sets creating a block agenda,
org-agenda-custom-commands
has two separate spots for setting
options. You can add options that should be valid for just a single
command in the set, and options that should be valid for all commands in
the set. The former are just added to the command entry; the latter
must come after the list of command entries. Going back to the block
agenda example (see Block agenda), let’s change the sorting strategy
for the C-c a h commands to priority-down
, but let’s sort
the results for GARDEN tags query in the opposite order,
priority-up
. This would look like this:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("h" "Agenda and Home-related tasks" ((agenda) (tags-todo "home") (tags "garden" ((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-up))))) ((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-down)))) ("o" "Agenda and Office-related tasks" ((agenda) (tags-todo "work") (tags "office")))))
As you see, the values and parentheses setting is a little complex. When in doubt, use the customize interface to set this variable—it fully supports its structure. Just one caveat: when setting options in this interface, the values are just Lisp expressions. So if the value is a string, you need to add the double-quotes around the value yourself.
To control whether an agenda command should be accessible from a specific
context, you can customize org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts
. Let’s
say for example that you have an agenda commands "o"
displaying a view
that you only need when reading emails. Then you would configure this option
like this:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts '(("o" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
You can also tell that the command key "o"
should refer to another
command key "r"
. In that case, add this command key like this:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts '(("o" "r" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
See the docstring of the variable for more information.
Next: Agenda column view, Previous: Custom agenda views, Up: Agenda Views [Contents][Index]
10.7 Exporting Agenda Views
If you are away from your computer, it can be very useful to have a printed version of some agenda views to carry around. Org mode can export custom agenda views as plain text, HTML115, Postscript, PDF116, and iCalendar files. If you want to do this only occasionally, use the command
- C-x C-w (
org-agenda-write
) -
Write the agenda view to a file. Depending on the extension of the selected file name, the view will be exported as HTML (extension .html or .htm), Postscript (extension .ps), iCalendar (extension .ics), or plain text (any other extension). Use the variable
org-agenda-exporter-settings
to set options for ps-print and for htmlize to be used during export, for example(setq org-agenda-exporter-settings '((ps-number-of-columns 2) (ps-landscape-mode t) (org-agenda-add-entry-text-maxlines 5) (htmlize-output-type 'css)))
If you need to export certain agenda views frequently, you can associate any custom agenda command with a list of output file names 117. Here is an example that first defines custom commands for the agenda and the global TODO list, together with a number of files to which to export them. Then we define two block agenda commands and specify file names for them as well. File names can be relative to the current working directory, or absolute.
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("X" agenda "" nil ("agenda.html" "agenda.ps")) ("Y" alltodo "" nil ("todo.html" "todo.txt" "todo.ps")) ("h" "Agenda and Home-related tasks" ((agenda "") (tags-todo "home") (tags "garden")) nil ("~/views/home.html")) ("o" "Agenda and Office-related tasks" ((agenda) (tags-todo "work") (tags "office")) nil ("~/views/office.ps" "~/calendars/office.ics"))))
The extension of the file name determines the type of export. If it is
.html, Org mode will use the htmlize.el package to convert
the buffer to HTML and save it to this file name. If the extension is
.ps, ps-print-buffer-with-faces
is used to produce
Postscript output. If the extension is .ics, iCalendar export is
run export over all files that were used to construct the agenda, and
limit the export to entries listed in the agenda. Any other
extension produces a plain ASCII file.
The export files are not created when you use one of those commands interactively because this might use too much overhead. Instead, there is a special command to produce all specified files in one step:
- C-c a e (
org-store-agenda-views
) Export all agenda views that have export file names associated with them.
You can use the options section of the custom agenda commands to also set options for the export commands. For example:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("X" agenda "" ((ps-number-of-columns 2) (ps-landscape-mode t) (org-agenda-prefix-format " [ ] ") (org-agenda-with-colors nil) (org-agenda-remove-tags t)) ("theagenda.ps"))))
This command sets two options for the Postscript exporter, to make it
print in two columns in landscape format—the resulting page can be cut
in two and then used in a paper agenda. The remaining settings modify
the agenda prefix to omit category and scheduling information, and
instead include a checkbox to check off items. We also remove the tags
to make the lines compact, and we don’t want to use colors for the
black-and-white printer. Settings specified in
org-agenda-exporter-settings
will also apply, but the settings
in org-agenda-custom-commands
take precedence.
From the command line you may also use
emacs -eval (org-batch-store-agenda-views) -kill
or, if you need to modify some parameters118
emacs -eval '(org-batch-store-agenda-views \ org-agenda-span (quote month) \ org-agenda-start-day "2007-11-01" \ org-agenda-include-diary nil \ org-agenda-files (quote ("~/org/project.org")))' \ -kill
which will create the agenda views restricted to the file ~/org/project.org, without diary entries and with a 30-day extent.
You can also extract agenda information in a way that allows further processing by other programs. See Extracting agenda information, for more information.
Previous: Exporting Agenda Views, Up: Agenda Views [Contents][Index]
10.8 Using column view in the agenda
Column view (see Column view) is normally used to view and edit properties embedded in the hierarchical structure of an Org file. It can be quite useful to use column view also from the agenda, where entries are collected by certain criteria.
To understand how to use this properly, it is important to realize that the entries in the agenda are no longer in their proper outline environment. This causes the following issues:
-
Org needs to make a decision which
COLUMNS
format to use. Since the entries in the agenda are collected from different files, and different files may have differentCOLUMNS
formats, this is a non-trivial problem. Org first checks if the variableorg-agenda-overriding-columns-format
is currently set, and if so, takes the format from there. Otherwise it takes the format associated with the first item in the agenda, or, if that item does not have a specific format (defined in a property, or in its file), it usesorg-columns-default-format
. -
If any of the columns has a summary type defined (see Column attributes),
turning on column view in the agenda will visit all relevant agenda files and
make sure that the computations of this property are up to date. This is
also true for the special
CLOCKSUM
property. Org will then sum the values displayed in the agenda. In the daily/weekly agenda, the sums will cover a single day; in all other views they cover the entire block. It is vital to realize that the agenda may show the same entry twice (for example as scheduled and as a deadline), and it may show two entries from the same hierarchy (for example a parent and its child). In these cases, the summation in the agenda will lead to incorrect results because some values will count double. - When the column view in the agenda shows the
CLOCKSUM
, that is always the entire clocked time for this item. So even in the daily/weekly agenda, the clocksum listed in column view may originate from times outside the current view. This has the advantage that you can compare these values with a column listing the planned total effort for a task—one of the major applications for column view in the agenda. If you want information about clocked time in the displayed period use clock table mode (press R in the agenda). -
When the column view in the agenda shows the
CLOCKSUM_T
, that is always today’s clocked time for this item. So even in the weekly agenda, the clocksum listed in column view only originates from today. This lets you compare the time you spent on a task for today, with the time already spent (viaCLOCKSUM
) and with the planned total effort for it.
Next: Exporting, Previous: Agenda Views, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
11 Markup for rich export
When exporting Org mode documents, the exporter tries to reflect the structure of the document as accurately as possible in the back-end. Since export targets like HTML, LaTeX allow much richer formatting, Org mode has rules on how to prepare text for rich export. This section summarizes the markup rules used in an Org mode buffer.
• Structural markup elements: | The basic structure as seen by the exporter | |
• Images and tables: | Images, tables and caption mechanism | |
• Literal examples: | Source code examples with special formatting | |
• Include files: | Include additional files into a document | |
• Index entries: | Making an index | |
• Macro replacement: | Use macros to create templates | |
• Embedded LaTeX: | LaTeX can be freely used inside Org documents | |
• Special blocks: | Containers targeted at export back-ends |
Next: Images and tables, Previous: Markup, Up: Markup [Contents][Index]
11.1 Structural markup elements
• Document title: | Where the title is taken from | |
• Headings and sections: | The document structure as seen by the exporter | |
• Table of contents: | The if and where of the table of contents | |
• Lists: | Lists | |
• Paragraphs: | Paragraphs | |
• Footnote markup: | Footnotes | |
• Emphasis and monospace: | Bold, italic, etc. | |
• Horizontal rules: | Make a line | |
• Comment lines: | What will *not* be exported |
Next: Headings and sections, Previous: Structural markup elements, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Document title
Document title
The title of the exported document is taken from the special line
#+TITLE: This is the title of the document
If this line does not exist, the title will be the name of the file associated to buffer, without extension, or the buffer name.
If you are exporting only a subtree, its heading will become the title of the
document. If the subtree has a property EXPORT_TITLE
, that will take
precedence.
Next: Table of contents, Previous: Document title, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Headings and sections
Headings and sections
The outline structure of the document as described in Document Structure, forms the basis for defining sections of the exported document.
However, since the outline structure is also used for (for example) lists of
tasks, only the first three outline levels will be used as headings. Deeper
levels will become itemized lists. You can change the location of this
switch globally by setting the variable org-export-headline-levels
, or on a
per-file basis with a line
#+OPTIONS: H:4
Next: Lists, Previous: Headings and sections, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Table of contents
Table of contents
The table of contents is normally inserted directly before the first headline
of the file. The depth of the table is by default the same as the number of
headline levels, but you can choose a smaller number, or turn off the table
of contents entirely, by configuring the variable org-export-with-toc
,
or on a per-file basis with a line like
#+OPTIONS: toc:2 (only to two levels in TOC) #+OPTIONS: toc:nil (no default TOC at all)
If you would like to move the table of contents to a different location, you
should turn off the default table using org-export-with-toc
or
#+OPTIONS
and insert #+TOC: headlines N
at the desired
location(s).
#+OPTIONS: toc:nil (no default TOC) ... #+TOC: headlines 2 (insert TOC here, with two headline levels)
Multiple #+TOC: headline
lines are allowed. The same TOC
keyword can also generate a list of all tables (resp. all listings) with a
caption in the buffer.
#+TOC: listings (build a list of listings) #+TOC: tables (build a list of tables)
The headline’s title usually determines its corresponding entry in a table of
contents. However, it is possible to specify an alternative title by
setting ALT_TITLE
property accordingly. It will then be used when
building the table.
Next: Paragraphs, Previous: Table of contents, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Lists
Lists
Plain lists as described in Plain lists, are translated to the back-end’s syntax for such lists. Most back-ends support unordered, ordered, and description lists.
Next: Footnote markup, Previous: Lists, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Paragraphs
Paragraphs, line breaks, and quoting
Paragraphs are separated by at least one empty line. If you need to enforce a line break within a paragraph, use ‘\\’ at the end of a line.
To keep the line breaks in a region, but otherwise use normal formatting, you can use this construct, which can also be used to format poetry.
#+BEGIN_VERSE Great clouds overhead Tiny black birds rise and fall Snow covers Emacs -- AlexSchroeder #+END_VERSE
When quoting a passage from another document, it is customary to format this as a paragraph that is indented on both the left and the right margin. You can include quotations in Org mode documents like this:
#+BEGIN_QUOTE Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler -- Albert Einstein #+END_QUOTE
If you would like to center some text, do it like this:
#+BEGIN_CENTER Everything should be made as simple as possible, \\ but not any simpler #+END_CENTER
Next: Emphasis and monospace, Previous: Paragraphs, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Footnote markup
Footnote markup
Footnotes defined in the way described in Footnotes, will be exported by all back-ends. Org allows multiple references to the same note, and multiple footnotes side by side.
Next: Horizontal rules, Previous: Footnote markup, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Emphasis and monospace
Emphasis and monospace
You can make words *bold*, /italic/, _underlined_, =verbatim=
and ~code~
, and, if you must, ‘+strike-through+’. Text
in the code and verbatim string is not processed for Org mode specific
syntax, it is exported verbatim.
To turn off fontification for marked up text, you can set
org-fontify-emphasized-text
to nil
. To narrow down the list of
available markup syntax, you can customize org-emphasis-alist
. To fine
tune what characters are allowed before and after the markup characters, you
can tweak org-emphasis-regexp-components
. Beware that changing one of
the above variables will no take effect until you reload Org, for which you
may need to restart Emacs.
Next: Comment lines, Previous: Emphasis and monospace, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Horizontal rules
Horizontal rules
A line consisting of only dashes, and at least 5 of them, will be exported as a horizontal line.
Previous: Horizontal rules, Up: Structural markup elements [Contents][Index]
Comment lines
Comment lines
Lines starting with zero or more whitespace characters followed by one ‘#’ and a whitespace are treated as comments and will never be exported. Also entire subtrees starting with the word ‘COMMENT’ will never be exported. Finally, regions surrounded by ‘#+BEGIN_COMMENT’ ... ‘#+END_COMMENT’ will not be exported.
Next: Literal examples, Previous: Structural markup elements, Up: Markup [Contents][Index]
11.2 Images and Tables
Both the native Org mode tables (see Tables) and tables formatted with
the table.el package will be exported properly. For Org mode tables,
the lines before the first horizontal separator line will become table header
lines. You can use the following lines somewhere before the table to assign
a caption and a label for cross references, and in the text you can refer to
the object with [[tab:basic-data]]
(see Internal links):
#+CAPTION: This is the caption for the next table (or link) #+NAME: tab:basic-data | ... | ...| |-----|----|
Optionally, the caption can take the form:
#+CAPTION[Caption for list of tables]: Caption for table.
Some back-ends allow you to directly include images into the exported
document. Org does this, if a link to an image files does not have
a description part, for example [[./img/a.jpg]]
. If you wish to
define a caption for the image and maybe a label for internal cross
references, make sure that the link is on a line by itself and precede it
with #+CAPTION
and #+NAME
as follows:
#+CAPTION: This is the caption for the next figure link (or table) #+NAME: fig:SED-HR4049 [[./img/a.jpg]]
Such images can be displayed within the buffer. See the discussion of image links.
Even though images and tables are prominent examples of captioned structures, the same caption mechanism can apply to many others (e.g., LaTeX equations, source code blocks). Depending on the export back-end, those may or may not be handled.
Next: Include files, Previous: Images and tables, Up: Markup [Contents][Index]
11.3 Literal examples
You can include literal examples that should not be subjected to markup. Such examples will be typeset in monospace, so this is well suited for source code and similar examples.
#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE Some example from a text file. #+END_EXAMPLE
Note that such blocks may be indented in order to align nicely with indented text and in particular with plain list structure (see Plain lists). For simplicity when using small examples, you can also start the example lines with a colon followed by a space. There may also be additional whitespace before the colon:
Here is an example : Some example from a text file.
If the example is source code from a programming language, or any other text that can be marked up by font-lock in Emacs, you can ask for the example to look like the fontified Emacs buffer119. This is done with the ‘src’ block, where you also need to specify the name of the major mode that should be used to fontify the example120, see Easy Templates for shortcuts to easily insert code blocks.
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp (defun org-xor (a b) "Exclusive or." (if a (not b) b)) #+END_SRC
Both in example
and in src
snippets, you can add a -n
switch to the end of the BEGIN
line, to get the lines of the example
numbered. If you use a +n
switch, the numbering from the previous
numbered snippet will be continued in the current one. In literal examples,
Org will interpret strings like ‘(ref:name)’ as labels, and use them as
targets for special hyperlinks like [[(name)]]
(i.e., the reference name
enclosed in single parenthesis). In HTML, hovering the mouse over such a
link will remote-highlight the corresponding code line, which is kind of
cool.
You can also add a -r
switch which removes the labels from the
source code121. With the -n
switch, links to these references will be labeled by the line numbers from
the code listing, otherwise links will use the labels with no parentheses.
Here is an example:
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp -n -r (save-excursion (ref:sc) (goto-char (point-min))) (ref:jump) #+END_SRC In line [[(sc)]] we remember the current position. [[(jump)][Line (jump)]] jumps to point-min.
If the syntax for the label format conflicts with the language syntax, use a
-l
switch to change the format, for example ‘#+BEGIN_SRC pascal
-n -r -l "((%s))"’. See also the variable org-coderef-label-format
.
HTML export also allows examples to be published as text areas (see Text areas in HTML export).
Because the #+BEGIN_...
and #+END_...
patterns need to be added
so often, shortcuts are provided using the Easy Templates facility
(see Easy Templates).
- C-c '
Edit the source code example at point in its native mode. This works by switching to a temporary buffer with the source code. You need to exit by pressing C-c ' again122. The edited version will then replace the old version in the Org buffer. Fixed-width regions (where each line starts with a colon followed by a space) will be edited using
artist-mode
123 to allow creating ASCII drawings easily. Using this command in an empty line will create a new fixed-width region.- C-c l
Calling
org-store-link
while editing a source code example in a temporary buffer created with C-c ' will prompt for a label. Make sure that it is unique in the current buffer, and insert it with the proper formatting like ‘(ref:label)’ at the end of the current line. Then the label is stored as a link ‘(label)’, for retrieval with C-c C-l.
Next: Index entries, Previous: Literal examples, Up: Markup [Contents][Index]
11.4 Include files
During export, you can include the content of another file. For example, to include your .emacs file, you could use:
#+INCLUDE: "~/.emacs" src emacs-lisp
The optional second and third parameter are the markup (i.e., ‘example’ or ‘src’), and, if the markup is ‘src’, the language for formatting the contents. The markup is optional; if it is not given, the text will be assumed to be in Org mode format and will be processed normally.
Contents of the included file will belong to the same structure (headline,
item) containing the INCLUDE
keyword. In particular, headlines within
the file will become children of the current section. That behavior can be
changed by providing an additional keyword parameter, :minlevel
. In
that case, all headlines in the included file will be shifted so the one with
the lowest level reaches that specified level. For example, to make a file
become a sibling of the current top-level headline, use
#+INCLUDE: "~/my-book/chapter2.org" :minlevel 1
You can also include a portion of a file by specifying a lines range using
the :lines
parameter. The line at the upper end of the range will not
be included. The start and/or the end of the range may be omitted to use the
obvious defaults.
#+INCLUDE: "~/.emacs" :lines "5-10" Include lines 5 to 10, 10 excluded #+INCLUDE: "~/.emacs" :lines "-10" Include lines 1 to 10, 10 excluded #+INCLUDE: "~/.emacs" :lines "10-" Include lines from 10 to EOF
Next: Macro replacement, Previous: Include files, Up: Markup [Contents][Index]
11.5 Index entries
You can specify entries that will be used for generating an index during
publishing. This is done by lines starting with #+INDEX
. An entry
the contains an exclamation mark will create a sub item. See Generating an index for more information.
* Curriculum Vitae #+INDEX: CV #+INDEX: Application!CV
Next: Embedded LaTeX, Previous: Index entries, Up: Markup [Contents][Index]
11.6 Macro replacement
You can define text snippets with
#+MACRO: name replacement text $1, $2 are arguments
which can be referenced in
paragraphs, verse blocks, table cells and some keywords with
{{{name(arg1,arg2)}}}
124. In addition to defined macros,
{{{title}}}
, {{{author}}}
, etc., will reference
information set by the #+TITLE:
, #+AUTHOR:
, and similar lines.
Also, {{{time(FORMAT)}}}
and
{{{modification-time(FORMAT)}}}
refer to current date time
and to the modification time of the file being exported, respectively.
FORMAT should be a format string understood by
format-time-string
.
Macro expansion takes place during export.
Next: Special blocks, Previous: Macro replacement, Up: Markup [Contents][Index]
11.7 Embedded LaTeX
Plain ASCII is normally sufficient for almost all note taking. Exceptions include scientific notes, which often require mathematical symbols and the occasional formula. LaTeX125 is widely used to typeset scientific documents. Org mode supports embedding LaTeX code into its files, because many academics are used to writing and reading LaTeX source code, and because it can be readily processed to produce pretty output for a number of export back-ends.
• Special symbols: | Greek letters and other symbols | |
• Subscripts and superscripts: | Simple syntax for raising/lowering text | |
• LaTeX fragments: | Complex formulas made easy | |
• Previewing LaTeX fragments: | What will this snippet look like? | |
• CDLaTeX mode: | Speed up entering of formulas |
Next: Subscripts and superscripts, Previous: Embedded LaTeX, Up: Embedded LaTeX [Contents][Index]
11.7.1 Special symbols
You can use LaTeX-like syntax to insert special symbols like ‘\alpha’ to indicate the Greek letter, or ‘\to’ to indicate an arrow. Completion for these symbols is available, just type ‘\’ and maybe a few letters, and press M-TAB to see possible completions. Unlike LaTeX code, Org mode allows these symbols to be present without surrounding math delimiters, for example:
Angles are written as Greek letters \alpha, \beta and \gamma.
During export, these symbols will be transformed into the native format of
the exporter back-end. Strings like \alpha
will be exported as
α
in the HTML output, and as $\alpha$
in the LaTeX
output. Similarly, \nbsp
will become
in HTML and
~
in LaTeX. If you need such a symbol inside a word, terminate it
like this: ‘\Aacute{}stor’.
A large number of entities is provided, with names taken from both HTML and
LaTeX; see the variable org-entities
for the complete list.
‘\-’ is treated as a shy hyphen, and ‘--’, ‘---’, and
‘...’ are all converted into special commands creating hyphens of
different lengths or a compact set of dots.
If you would like to see entities displayed as UTF-8 characters, use the following command126:
- C-c C-x \
Toggle display of entities as UTF-8 characters. This does not change the buffer content which remains plain ASCII, but it overlays the UTF-8 character for display purposes only.
Next: LaTeX fragments, Previous: Special symbols, Up: Embedded LaTeX [Contents][Index]
11.7.2 Subscripts and superscripts
Just like in LaTeX, ‘^’ and ‘_’ are used to indicate super- and subscripts. Again, these can be used without embedding them in math-mode delimiters. To increase the readability of ASCII text, it is not necessary (but OK) to surround multi-character sub- and superscripts with curly braces. For example
The mass of the sun is M_sun = 1.989 x 10^30 kg. The radius of the sun is R_{sun} = 6.96 x 10^8 m.
If you write a text where the underscore is often used in a different
context, Org’s convention to always interpret these as subscripts can get in
your way. Configure the variable org-use-sub-superscripts
to change
this convention. For example, when setting this variable to {}
,
‘a_b’ will not be interpreted as a subscript, but ‘a_{b}’ will.
- C-c C-x \
In addition to showing entities as UTF-8 characters, this command will also format sub- and superscripts in a WYSIWYM way.
Next: Previewing LaTeX fragments, Previous: Subscripts and superscripts, Up: Embedded LaTeX [Contents][Index]
11.7.3 LaTeX fragments
Going beyond symbols and sub- and superscripts, a full formula language is needed. Org mode can contain LaTeX math fragments, and it supports ways to process these for several export back-ends. When exporting to LaTeX, the code is obviously left as it is. When exporting to HTML, Org invokes the MathJax library (see Math formatting in HTML export) to process and display the math127. Finally, it can also process the mathematical expressions into images128 that can be displayed in a browser.
LaTeX fragments don’t need any special marking at all. The following snippets will be identified as LaTeX source code:
- Environments of any kind129. The only requirement is that the
\begin
and\end
statements appear on a new line, at the beginning of the line or after whitespaces only. - Text within the usual LaTeX math delimiters. To avoid conflicts with currency specifications, single ‘$’ characters are only recognized as math delimiters if the enclosed text contains at most two line breaks, is directly attached to the ‘$’ characters with no whitespace in between, and if the closing ‘$’ is followed by whitespace, punctuation or a dash. For the other delimiters, there is no such restriction, so when in doubt, use ‘\(...\)’ as inline math delimiters.
For example:
\begin{equation} x=\sqrt{b} \end{equation} If $a^2=b$ and \( b=2 \), then the solution must be either $$ a=+\sqrt{2} $$ or \[ a=-\sqrt{2} \].
LaTeX processing can be configured with the variable
org-export-with-latex
. The default setting is t
which means
MathJax for HTML, and no processing for ASCII and LaTeX back-ends.
You can also set this variable on a per-file basis using one of these
lines:
#+OPTIONS: tex:t Do the right thing automatically (MathJax) #+OPTIONS: tex:nil Do not process LaTeX fragments at all #+OPTIONS: tex:verbatim Verbatim export, for jsMath or so
Next: CDLaTeX mode, Previous: LaTeX fragments, Up: Embedded LaTeX [Contents][Index]
11.7.4 Previewing LaTeX fragments
If you have dvipng or imagemagick installed130, LaTeX fragments can be processed to produce preview images of the typeset expressions:
- C-c C-x C-l
Produce a preview image of the LaTeX fragment at point and overlay it over the source code. If there is no fragment at point, process all fragments in the current entry (between two headlines). When called with a prefix argument, process the entire subtree. When called with two prefix arguments, or when the cursor is before the first headline, process the entire buffer.
- C-c C-c
Remove the overlay preview images.
You can customize the variable org-format-latex-options
to influence
some aspects of the preview. In particular, the :scale
(and for HTML
export, :html-scale
) property can be used to adjust the size of the
preview images.
You can turn on the previewing of all LaTeX fragments in a file with
#+STARTUP: latexpreview
To disable it, simply use
#+STARTUP: nolatexpreview
Previous: Previewing LaTeX fragments, Up: Embedded LaTeX [Contents][Index]
11.7.5 Using CDLaTeX to enter math
CDLaTeX mode is a minor mode that is normally used in combination with a
major LaTeX mode like AUCTeX in order to speed-up insertion of
environments and math templates. Inside Org mode, you can make use of
some of the features of CDLaTeX mode. You need to install
cdlatex.el and texmathp.el (the latter comes also with
AUCTeX) from http://www.astro.uva.nl/~dominik/Tools/cdlatex.
Don’t use CDLaTeX mode itself under Org mode, but use the light
version org-cdlatex-mode
that comes as part of Org mode. Turn it
on for the current buffer with M-x org-cdlatex-mode RET, or for all
Org files with
(add-hook 'org-mode-hook 'turn-on-org-cdlatex)
When this mode is enabled, the following features are present (for more details see the documentation of CDLaTeX mode):
- Environment templates can be inserted with C-c {.
-
The TAB key will do template expansion if the cursor is inside a
LaTeX fragment131. For example, TAB will
expand
fr
to\frac{}{}
and position the cursor correctly inside the first brace. Another TAB will get you into the second brace. Even outside fragments, TAB will expand environment abbreviations at the beginning of a line. For example, if you write ‘equ’ at the beginning of a line and press TAB, this abbreviation will be expanded to anequation
environment. To get a list of all abbreviations, type M-x cdlatex-command-help RET. -
Pressing _ and ^ inside a LaTeX fragment will insert these
characters together with a pair of braces. If you use TAB to move
out of the braces, and if the braces surround only a single character or
macro, they are removed again (depending on the variable
cdlatex-simplify-sub-super-scripts
). - Pressing the backquote ` followed by a character inserts math macros, also outside LaTeX fragments. If you wait more than 1.5 seconds after the backquote, a help window will pop up.
- Pressing the single-quote ' followed by another character modifies the symbol before point with an accent or a font. If you wait more than 1.5 seconds after the single-quote, a help window will pop up. Character modification will work only inside LaTeX fragments; outside the quote is normal.
Previous: Embedded LaTeX, Up: Markup [Contents][Index]
11.8 Special blocks
Org syntax includes pre-defined blocks (see Paragraphs and Literal examples). It is also possible to create blocks containing raw code targeted at a specific back-ends (e.g., ‘#+BEGIN_LATEX’).
Any other block is a special block.
For example, ‘#+BEGIN_ABSTRACT’ and ‘#+BEGIN_VIDEO’ are special blocks. The first one is useful when exporting to LaTeX, the second one when exporting to HTML5.
Each export back-end decides if they should be exported, and how. When the block is ignored, its contents are still exported, as if the opening and closing block lines were not there. For example, when exporting a ‘#+BEGIN_TEST’ block, HTML back-end wraps its contents within a ‘<div name="test">’ tag.
Refer to back-end specific documentation for more information.
Next: Publishing, Previous: Markup, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
12 Exporting
The Org mode export facilities can be used to export Org documents or parts
of Org documents to a variety of other formats. In addition, these
facilities can be used with orgtbl-mode
and/or orgstruct-mode
in foreign buffers so you can author tables and lists in Org syntax and
convert them in place to the target language.
ASCII export produces a readable and simple version of an Org file for printing and sharing notes. HTML export allows you to easily publish notes on the web, or to build full-fledged websites. LaTeX export lets you use Org mode and its structured editing functions to create arbitrarily complex LaTeX files for any kind of document. OpenDocument Text (ODT) export allows seamless collaboration across organizational boundaries. Markdown export lets you seamlessly collaborate with other developers. Finally, iCal export can extract entries with deadlines or appointments to produce a file in the iCalendar format.
• The Export Dispatcher: | The main exporter interface | |
• Export back-ends: | Built-in export formats | |
• Export settings: | Generic export settings | |
• ASCII/Latin-1/UTF-8 export: | Exporting to flat files with encoding | |
• Beamer export: | Exporting as a Beamer presentation | |
• HTML export: | Exporting to HTML | |
• LaTeX and PDF export: | Exporting to LaTeX, and processing to PDF | |
• Markdown export: | Exporting to Markdown | |
• OpenDocument Text export: | Exporting to OpenDocument Text | |
• Org export: | Exporting to Org | |
• Texinfo export: | Exporting to Texinfo | |
• iCalendar export: | Exporting to iCalendar | |
• Other built-in back-ends: | Exporting to a man page | |
• Export in foreign buffers: | Author tables and lists in Org syntax | |
• Advanced configuration: | Fine-tuning the export output |
Next: Export back-ends, Previous: Exporting, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.1 The Export Dispatcher
The main entry point for export related tasks is the dispatcher, a hierarchical menu from which it is possible to select an export format and toggle export options132 from which it is possible to select an export format and to toggle export options.
- C-c C-e (
org-export-dispatch
) -
Dispatch for export and publishing commands. When called with a C-u prefix argument, repeat the last export command on the current buffer while preserving toggled options. If the current buffer hasn’t changed and subtree export was activated, the command will affect that same subtree.
Normally the entire buffer is exported, but if there is an active region only that part of the buffer will be exported.
Several export options (see Export settings) can be toggled from the export dispatcher with the following key combinations:
- C-a
-
Toggle asynchronous export. Asynchronous export uses an external Emacs process that is configured with a specified initialization file.
While exporting asynchronously, the output is not displayed, but stored in a place called “the export stack”. This stack can be displayed by calling the dispatcher with a double C-u prefix argument, or with & key from the dispatcher menu.
To make this behavior the default, customize the variable
org-export-in-background
. - C-b
Toggle body-only export. Its effect depends on the back-end used. Typically, if the back-end has a header section (like
<head>...</head>
in the HTML back-end), a body-only export will not include this header.- C-s
-
Toggle subtree export. The top heading becomes the document title.
You can change the default state of this option by setting
org-export-initial-scope
. - C-v
Toggle visible-only export. Only export the text that is currently visible, i.e. not hidden by outline visibility in the buffer.
With the exception of asynchronous export, a successful export process writes
its output to the kill-ring. You can configure this behavior by altering the
option org-export-copy-to-kill-ring
.
Next: Export settings, Previous: The Export Dispatcher, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.2 Export back-ends
An export back-end is a library that translates Org syntax into a foreign format. An export format is not available until the proper back-end has been loaded.
By default, the following four back-ends are loaded: ascii
,
html
, icalendar
and latex
. It is possible to add more
(or remove some) by customizing org-export-backends
.
Built-in back-ends include:
- ascii (ASCII format)
- beamer (LaTeX Beamer format)
- html (HTML format)
- icalendar (iCalendar format)
- latex (LaTeX format)
- man (Man page format)
- md (Markdown format)
- odt (OpenDocument Text format)
- org (Org format)
- texinfo (Texinfo format)
Other back-ends might be found in the contrib/
directory
(see Installation).
Next: ASCII/Latin-1/UTF-8 export, Previous: Export back-ends, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.3 Export settings
Export options can be set: globally with variables; for an individual file by
making variables buffer-local with in-buffer settings (see In-buffer settings), by setting individual keywords, or by specifying them in a
compact form with the #+OPTIONS
keyword; or for a tree by setting
properties (see Properties and Columns). Options set at a specific level
override options set at a more general level.
In-buffer settings may appear anywhere in the file, either directly or
indirectly through a file included using ‘#+SETUPFILE: filename’ syntax.
Option keyword sets tailored to a particular back-end can be inserted from
the export dispatcher (see The Export Dispatcher) using the Insert
template
command by pressing #. To insert keywords individually,
a good way to make sure the keyword is correct is to type #+
and then
to use M-<TAB> for completion.
The export keywords available for every back-end, and their equivalent global variables, include:
- ‘AUTHOR’
-
The document author (
user-full-name
). - ‘CREATOR’
-
Entity responsible for output generation (
org-export-creator-string
). - ‘DATE’
-
A date or a time-stamp133.
- ‘DESCRIPTION’
The document description. Back-ends handle it as they see fit (e.g., for the XHTML meta tag), if at all. You can use several such keywords for long descriptions.
- ‘EMAIL’
-
The email address (
user-mail-address
). - ‘KEYWORDS’
The keywords defining the contents of the document. Back-ends handle it as they see fit (e.g., for the XHTML meta tag), if at all. You can use several such keywords if the list is long.
- ‘LANGUAGE’
-
The language used for translating some strings (
org-export-default-language
). E.g., ‘#+LANGUAGE: fr’ will tell Org to translate File (english) into Fichier (french) in the clocktable. - ‘SELECT_TAGS’
-
The tags that select a tree for export (
org-export-select-tags
). The default value is:export:
. Within a subtree tagged with:export:
, you can still exclude entries with:noexport:
(see below). When headlines are selectively exported with:export:
anywhere in a file, text before the first headline is ignored. - ‘EXCLUDE_TAGS’
The tags that exclude a tree from export (
org-export-exclude-tags
). The default value is:noexport:
. Entries with the:noexport:
tag will be unconditionally excluded from the export, even if they have an:export:
tag.- ‘TITLE’
The title to be shown (otherwise derived from buffer’s name). You can use several such keywords for long titles.
The #+OPTIONS
keyword is a compact134 form that
recognizes the following arguments:
':
-
Toggle smart quotes (
org-export-with-smart-quotes
). *:
Toggle emphasized text (
org-export-with-emphasize
).-:
-
Toggle conversion of special strings (
org-export-with-special-strings
). ::
-
Toggle fixed-width sections (
org-export-with-fixed-width
). <:
-
Toggle inclusion of any time/date active/inactive stamps (
org-export-with-timestamps
). :
-
Toggle line-break-preservation (
org-export-preserve-breaks
). ^:
-
Toggle TeX-like syntax for sub- and superscripts. If you write "^:{}", ‘a_{b}’ will be interpreted, but the simple ‘a_b’ will be left as it is (
org-export-with-sub-superscripts
). arch:
-
Configure export of archived trees. Can be set to
headline
to only process the headline, skipping its contents (org-export-with-archived-trees
). author:
-
Toggle inclusion of author name into exported file (
org-export-with-author
). c:
-
Toggle inclusion of CLOCK keywords (
org-export-with-clocks
). creator:
-
Configure inclusion of creator info into exported file. It may be set to
comment
(org-export-with-creator
). d:
-
Toggle inclusion of drawers, or list drawers to include (
org-export-with-drawers
). e:
-
Toggle inclusion of entities (
org-export-with-entities
). email:
-
Toggle inclusion of the author’s e-mail into exported file (
org-export-with-email
). f:
-
Toggle the inclusion of footnotes (
org-export-with-footnotes
). H:
-
Set the number of headline levels for export (
org-export-headline-levels
). Below that level, headlines are treated differently. In most back-ends, they become list items. inline:
-
Toggle inclusion of inlinetasks (
org-export-with-inlinetasks
). num:
-
Toggle section-numbers (
org-export-with-section-numbers
). It can also be set to a number ‘n’, so only headlines at that level or above will be numbered. p:
-
Toggle export of planning information (
org-export-with-planning
). “Planning information” is the line containing theSCHEDULED:
, theDEADLINE:
or theCLOSED:
cookies or a combination of them. pri:
-
Toggle inclusion of priority cookies (
org-export-with-priority
). stat:
-
Toggle inclusion of statistics cookies (
org-export-with-statistics-cookies
). tags:
-
Toggle inclusion of tags, may also be
not-in-toc
(org-export-with-tags
). tasks:
-
Toggle inclusion of tasks (TODO items), can be
nil
to remove all tasks,todo
to remove DONE tasks, or a list of keywords to keep (org-export-with-tasks
). tex:
-
Configure export of LaTeX fragments and environments. It may be set to
verbatim
(org-export-with-latex
). timestamp:
-
Toggle inclusion of the creation time into exported file (
org-export-time-stamp-file
). toc:
-
Toggle inclusion of the table of contents, or set the level limit (
org-export-with-toc
). todo:
-
Toggle inclusion of TODO keywords into exported text (
org-export-with-todo-keywords
). |:
-
Toggle inclusion of tables (
org-export-with-tables
).
When exporting only a subtree, each of the previous keywords135 can be overridden locally by special node properties. These begin with ‘EXPORT_’, followed by the name of the keyword they supplant. For example, ‘DATE’ and ‘OPTIONS’ keywords become, respectively, ‘EXPORT_DATE’ and ‘EXPORT_OPTIONS’ properties.
If org-export-allow-bind-keywords
is non-nil
, Emacs variables
can become buffer-local during export by using the BIND keyword. Its syntax
is ‘#+BIND: variable value’. This is particularly useful for in-buffer
settings that cannot be changed using specific keywords.
The name of the output file to be generated is taken from the file associated to the buffer, when possible, or asked to you otherwise. For subtree export, you can also set ‘EXPORT_FILE_NAME’ property. In all cases, only the base name of the file is retained, and a back-end specific extension is added.
Next: Beamer export, Previous: Export settings, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.4 ASCII/Latin-1/UTF-8 export
ASCII export produces a simple and very readable version of an Org mode file, containing only plain ASCII. Latin-1 and UTF-8 export augment the file with special characters and symbols available in these encodings.
Links are exported in a footnote-like style, with the descriptive part in the
text and the link in a note before the next heading. See the variable
org-ascii-links-to-notes
for details and other options.
ASCII export commands
- C-c C-e t a/l/u (
org-ascii-export-to-ascii
) Export as an ASCII file. For an Org file, myfile.org, the ASCII file will be myfile.txt. The file will be overwritten without warning. When the original file is myfile.txt, the resulting file becomes myfile.txt.txt in order to prevent data loss.
- C-c C-e t A/L/U (
org-ascii-export-as-ascii
) Export to a temporary buffer. Do not create a file.
Header and sectioning structure
In the exported version, the first three outline levels become headlines, defining a general document structure. Additional levels are exported as lists. The transition can also occur at a different level (see Export settings).
Quoting ASCII text
You can insert text that will only appear when using ASCII
back-end
with the following constructs:
Text @@ascii:and additional text@@ within a paragraph. #+ASCII: Some text #+BEGIN_ASCII All lines in this block will appear only when using this back-end. #+END_ASCII
ASCII specific attributes
ASCII
back-end only understands one attribute, :width
, which
specifies the length, in characters, of a given horizontal rule. It must be
specified using an ATTR_ASCII
line, directly preceding the rule.
#+ATTR_ASCII: :width 10 -----
Next: HTML export, Previous: ASCII/Latin-1/UTF-8 export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.5 Beamer export
The LaTeX class Beamer allows production of high quality presentations using LaTeX and pdf processing. Org mode has special support for turning an Org mode file or tree into a Beamer presentation.
Beamer export commands
- C-c C-e l b (
org-beamer-export-to-latex
) Export as a LaTeX file. For an Org file myfile.org, the LaTeX file will be myfile.tex. The file will be overwritten without warning.
- C-c C-e l B (
org-beamer-export-as-latex
) - C-c C-e l P (
org-beamer-export-to-pdf
) Export as LaTeX and then process to PDF.
- C-c C-e l O
Export as LaTeX and then process to PDF, then open the resulting PDF file.
Sectioning, Frames and Blocks
Any tree with not-too-deep level nesting should in principle be exportable as a Beamer presentation. Headlines fall into three categories: sectioning elements, frames and blocks.
- -
Headlines become frames when their level is equal to
org-beamer-frame-level
orH
value in anOPTIONS
line (see Export settings).Though, if a headline in the current tree has a
BEAMER_ENV
property set to either toframe
orfullframe
, its level overrides the variable. Afullframe
is a frame with an empty (ignored) title. - -
All frame’s children become
block
environments. Special block types can be enforced by setting headline’sBEAMER_ENV
property136 to an appropriate value (seeorg-beamer-environments-default
for supported values andorg-beamer-environments-extra
for adding more). - -
As a special case, if the
BEAMER_ENV
property is set to eitherappendix
,note
,noteNH
oragainframe
, the headline will become, respectively, an appendix, a note (within frame or between frame, depending on its level), a note with its title ignored or an\againframe
command. In the latter case, aBEAMER_REF
property is mandatory in order to refer to the frame being resumed, and contents are ignored.Also, a headline with an
ignoreheading
environment will have its contents only inserted in the output. This special value is useful to have data between frames, or to properly close acolumn
environment.
Headlines also support BEAMER_ACT
and BEAMER_OPT
properties.
The former is translated as an overlay/action specification, or a default
overlay specification when enclosed within square brackets. The latter
specifies options137 for the
current frame or block. The export back-end will automatically wrap
properties within angular or square brackets when appropriate.
Moreover, headlines handle the BEAMER_COL
property. Its value should
be a decimal number representing the width of the column as a fraction of the
total text width. If the headline has no specific environment, its title
will be ignored and its contents will fill the column created. Otherwise,
the block will fill the whole column and the title will be preserved. Two
contiguous headlines with a non-nil
BEAMER_COL
value share the same
columns
LaTeX environment. It will end before the next headline
without such a property. This environment is generated automatically.
Although, it can also be explicitly created, with a special columns
value for BEAMER_ENV
property (if it needs to be set up with some
specific options, for example).
Beamer specific syntax
Beamer back-end is an extension of LaTeX back-end. As such, all LaTeX specific syntax (e.g., ‘#+LATEX:’ or ‘#+ATTR_LATEX:’) is recognized. See LaTeX and PDF export for more information.
Beamer export introduces a number of keywords to insert code in the
document’s header. Four control appearance of the presentation:
#+BEAMER_THEME
, #+BEAMER_COLOR_THEME
,
#+BEAMER_FONT_THEME
, #+BEAMER_INNER_THEME
and
#+BEAMER_OUTER_THEME
. All of them accept optional arguments
within square brackets. The last one, #+BEAMER_HEADER
, is more
generic and allows you to append any line of code in the header.
#+BEAMER_THEME: Rochester [height=20pt] #+BEAMER_COLOR_THEME: spruce
Table of contents generated from toc:t
OPTION
keyword are
wrapped within a frame
environment. Those generated from a TOC
keyword (see Table of contents) are not. In that case, it is also
possible to specify options, enclosed within square brackets.
#+TOC: headlines [currentsection]
Beamer specific code can be inserted with the following constructs:
#+BEAMER: \pause #+BEGIN_BEAMER All lines in this block will appear only when using this back-end. #+END_BEAMER Text @@beamer:some code@@ within a paragraph.
In particular, this last example can be used to add overlay specifications to
objects whose type is among bold
, item
, link
,
radio-target
and target
, when the value is enclosed within
angular brackets and put at the beginning the object.
A *@@beamer:<2->@@useful* feature
Eventually, every plain list has support for :environment
,
:overlay
and :options
attributes through
ATTR_BEAMER
affiliated keyword. The first one allows the use
of a different environment, the second sets overlay specifications and
the last one inserts optional arguments in current list environment.
#+ATTR_BEAMER: :overlay +- - item 1 - item 2
Editing support
You can turn on a special minor mode org-beamer-mode
for faster
editing with:
#+STARTUP: beamer
- C-c C-b (
org-beamer-select-environment
) In
org-beamer-mode
, this key offers fast selection of a Beamer environment or theBEAMER_COL
property.
Also, a template for useful in-buffer settings or properties can be inserted into the buffer with M-x org-beamer-insert-options-template. Among other things, this will install a column view format which is very handy for editing special properties used by Beamer.
An example
Here is a simple example Org document that is intended for Beamer export.
#+TITLE: Example Presentation #+AUTHOR: Carsten Dominik #+OPTIONS: H:2 #+LATEX_CLASS: beamer #+LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS: [presentation] #+BEAMER_THEME: Madrid #+COLUMNS: %45ITEM %10BEAMER_ENV(Env) %10BEAMER_ACT(Act) %4BEAMER_COL(Col) %8BEAMER_OPT(Opt) * This is the first structural section ** Frame 1 *** Thanks to Eric Fraga :B_block:BMCOL: :PROPERTIES: :BEAMER_COL: 0.48 :BEAMER_ENV: block :END: for the first viable Beamer setup in Org *** Thanks to everyone else :B_block:BMCOL: :PROPERTIES: :BEAMER_COL: 0.48 :BEAMER_ACT: <2-> :BEAMER_ENV: block :END: for contributing to the discussion **** This will be formatted as a beamer note :B_note: :PROPERTIES: :BEAMER_env: note :END: ** Frame 2 (where we will not use columns) *** Request Please test this stuff!
Next: LaTeX and PDF export, Previous: Beamer export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.6 HTML export
Org mode contains an HTML (XHTML 1.0 strict) exporter with extensive HTML formatting, in ways similar to John Gruber’s markdown language, but with additional support for tables.
• HTML Export commands: | How to invoke HTML export | |
• HTML doctypes: | Org can export to various (X)HTML flavors | |
• HTML preamble and postamble: | How to insert a preamble and a postamble | |
• Quoting HTML tags: | Using direct HTML in Org mode | |
• Links in HTML export: | How links will be interpreted and formatted | |
• Tables in HTML export: | How to modify the formatting of tables | |
• Images in HTML export: | How to insert figures into HTML output | |
• Math formatting in HTML export: | Beautiful math also on the web | |
• Text areas in HTML export: | An alternative way to show an example | |
• CSS support: | Changing the appearance of the output | |
• JavaScript support: | Info and Folding in a web browser |
Next: HTML doctypes, Previous: HTML export, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.1 HTML export commands
- C-c C-e h h (
org-html-export-to-html
) Export as an HTML file. For an Org file myfile.org, the HTML file will be myfile.html. The file will be overwritten without warning. C-c C-e h o Export as an HTML file and immediately open it with a browser.
- C-c C-e h H (
org-html-export-as-html
) Export to a temporary buffer. Do not create a file.
Next: HTML preamble and postamble, Previous: HTML Export commands, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.2 HTML doctypes
Org can export to various (X)HTML flavors.
Setting the variable org-html-doctype
allows you to export to different
(X)HTML variants. The exported HTML will be adjusted according to the syntax
requirements of that variant. You can either set this variable to a doctype
string directly, in which case the exporter will try to adjust the syntax
automatically, or you can use a ready-made doctype. The ready-made options
are:
- “html4-strict”
- “html4-transitional”
- “html4-frameset”
- “xhtml-strict”
- “xhtml-transitional”
- “xhtml-frameset”
- “xhtml-11”
- “html5”
- “xhtml5”
See the variable org-html-doctype-alist
for details. The default is
“xhtml-strict”.
Fancy HTML5 export
HTML5 introduces several new element types. By default, Org will not make
use of these element types, but you can set org-html-html5-fancy
to
t
(or set html5-fancy
item in an OPTIONS
line), to
enable a few new block-level elements. These are created using arbitrary
#+BEGIN and #+END blocks. For instance:
#+BEGIN_ASIDE Lorem ipsum #+END_ASIDE
Will export to:
<aside> <p>Lorem ipsum</p> </aside>
While this:
#+ATTR_HTML: :controls controls :width 350 #+BEGIN_VIDEO #+HTML: <source src="movie.mp4" type="video/mp4"> #+HTML: <source src="movie.ogg" type="video/ogg"> Your browser does not support the video tag. #+END_VIDEO
Becomes:
<video controls="controls" width="350"> <source src="movie.mp4" type="video/mp4"> <source src="movie.ogg" type="video/ogg"> <p>Your browser does not support the video tag.</p> </video>
Special blocks that do not correspond to HTML5 elements (see
org-html-html5-elements
) will revert to the usual behavior, i.e.,
#+BEGIN_LEDERHOSEN
will still export to ‘<div class="lederhosen">’.
Headlines cannot appear within special blocks. To wrap a headline and its
contents in e.g., ‘<section>’ or ‘<article>’ tags, set the
HTML_CONTAINER
property on the headline itself.
Next: Quoting HTML tags, Previous: HTML doctypes, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.3 HTML preamble and postamble
The HTML exporter lets you define a preamble and a postamble.
The default value for org-html-preamble
is t
, which means
that the preamble is inserted depending on the relevant format string in
org-html-preamble-format
.
Setting org-html-preamble
to a string will override the default format
string. If you set it to a function, it will insert the output of the
function, which must be a string. Setting to nil
will not insert any
preamble.
The default value for org-html-postamble
is 'auto
, which means
that the HTML exporter will look for information about the author, the email,
the creator and the date, and build the postamble from these values. Setting
org-html-postamble
to t
will insert the postamble from the
relevant format string found in org-html-postamble-format
. Setting it
to nil
will not insert any postamble.
Next: Links in HTML export, Previous: HTML preamble and postamble, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.4 Quoting HTML tags
Plain ‘<’ and ‘>’ are always transformed to ‘<’ and ‘>’ in HTML export. If you want to include raw HTML code, which should only appear in HTML export, mark it with ‘@@html:’ as in ‘@@html:<b>@@bold text@@html:</b>@@’. For more extensive HTML that should be copied verbatim to the exported file use either
#+HTML: Literal HTML code for export
#+BEGIN_HTML All lines between these markers are exported literally #+END_HTML
Next: Tables in HTML export, Previous: Quoting HTML tags, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.5 Links in HTML export
Internal links (see Internal links) will continue to work in HTML. This includes automatic links created by radio targets (see Radio targets). Links to external files will still work if the target file is on the same relative path as the published Org file. Links to other .org files will be translated into HTML links under the assumption that an HTML version also exists of the linked file, at the same relative path. ‘id:’ links can then be used to jump to specific entries across files. For information related to linking files while publishing them to a publishing directory see Publishing links.
If you want to specify attributes for links, you can do so using a special
#+ATTR_HTML
line to define attributes that will be added to the
<a>
or <img>
tags. Here is an example that sets title
and style
attributes for a link:
#+ATTR_HTML: :title The Org mode homepage :style color:red; [[http://orgmode.org]]
Next: Images in HTML export, Previous: Links in HTML export, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.6 Tables
Org mode tables are exported to HTML using the table attributes defined in
org-html-table-default-attributes
. The default setting makes tables
without cell borders and frame. If you would like to change this for
individual tables, place something like the following before the table:
#+CAPTION: This is a table with lines around and between cells #+ATTR_HTML: :border 2 :rules all :frame border
You can also modify the default tags used for each row by setting
org-html-table-row-tags
. See the docstring for an example on
how to use this option.
Next: Math formatting in HTML export, Previous: Tables in HTML export, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.7 Images in HTML export
HTML export can inline images given as links in the Org file, and
it can make an image the clickable part of a link. By
default138, images are inlined if a link does
not have a description. So ‘[[file:myimg.jpg]]’ will be inlined,
while ‘[[file:myimg.jpg][the image]]’ will just produce a link
‘the image’ that points to the image. If the description part
itself is a file:
link or a http:
URL pointing to an
image, this image will be inlined and activated so that clicking on the
image will activate the link. For example, to include a thumbnail that
will link to a high resolution version of the image, you could use:
[[file:highres.jpg][file:thumb.jpg]]
If you need to add attributes to an inlined image, use a #+ATTR_HTML
.
In the example below we specify the alt
and title
attributes to
support text viewers and accessibility, and align it to the right.
#+CAPTION: A black cat stalking a spider #+ATTR_HTML: :alt cat/spider image :title Action! :align right [[./img/a.jpg]]
You could use http
addresses just as well.
Next: Text areas in HTML export, Previous: Images in HTML export, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.8 Math formatting in HTML export
LaTeX math snippets (see LaTeX fragments) can be displayed in two
different ways on HTML pages. The default is to use the
MathJax system which should work out of the
box with Org mode installation because http://orgmode.org serves
MathJax for Org mode users for small applications and for testing
purposes. If you plan to use this regularly or on pages with significant
page views, you should install139 MathJax on
your own server in order to limit the load of our server. To configure
MathJax, use the variable org-html-mathjax-options
or
insert something like the following into the buffer:
#+HTML_MATHJAX: align:"left" mathml:t path:"/MathJax/MathJax.js"
See the docstring of the variable
org-html-mathjax-options
for the meaning of the parameters in
this line.
If you prefer, you can also request that LaTeX fragments are processed into small images that will be inserted into the browser page. Before the availability of MathJax, this was the default method for Org files. This method requires that the dvipng program or imagemagick suite is available on your system. You can still get this processing with
#+OPTIONS: tex:dvipng
or:
#+OPTIONS: tex:imagemagick
Next: CSS support, Previous: Math formatting in HTML export, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.9 Text areas in HTML export
An alternative way to publish literal code examples in HTML is to use text
areas, where the example can even be edited before pasting it into an
application. It is triggered by :textarea
attribute at an
example
or src
block.
You may also use :height
and :width
attributes to specify the
height and width of the text area, which default to the number of lines in
the example, and 80, respectively. For example
#+ATTR_HTML: :textarea t :width 40 #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE (defun org-xor (a b) "Exclusive or." (if a (not b) b)) #+END_EXAMPLE
Next: JavaScript support, Previous: Text areas in HTML export, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.10 CSS support
You can modify the CSS style definitions for the exported file. The HTML exporter assigns the following special CSS classes140 to appropriate parts of the document—your style specifications may change these, in addition to any of the standard classes like for headlines, tables, etc.
p.author author information, including email p.date publishing date p.creator creator info, about org mode version .title document title .todo TODO keywords, all not-done states .done the DONE keywords, all states that count as done .WAITING each TODO keyword also uses a class named after itself .timestamp timestamp .timestamp-kwd keyword associated with a timestamp, like SCHEDULED .timestamp-wrapper span around keyword plus timestamp .tag tag in a headline ._HOME each tag uses itself as a class, "@" replaced by "_" .target target for links .linenr the line number in a code example .code-highlighted for highlighting referenced code lines div.outline-N div for outline level N (headline plus text)) div.outline-text-N extra div for text at outline level N .section-number-N section number in headlines, different for each level .figure-number label like "Figure 1:" .table-number label like "Table 1:" .listing-number label like "Listing 1:" div.figure how to format an inlined image pre.src formatted source code pre.example normal example p.verse verse paragraph div.footnotes footnote section headline p.footnote footnote definition paragraph, containing a footnote .footref a footnote reference number (always a <sup>) .footnum footnote number in footnote definition (always <sup>)
Each exported file contains a compact default style that defines these
classes in a basic way141. You may overwrite these settings, or
add to them by using the variables org-html-head
and
org-html-head-extra
. You can override the global values of these
variables for each file by using these keywords:
#+HTML_HEAD: <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style1.css" /> #+HTML_HEAD_EXTRA: <link rel="alternate stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style2.css" />
For longer style definitions, you can use several such lines. You could also
directly write a <style>
</style>
section in this way, without
referring to an external file.
In order to add styles to a subtree, use the :HTML_CONTAINER_CLASS:
property to assign a class to the tree. In order to specify CSS styles for a
particular headline, you can use the id specified in a :CUSTOM_ID:
property.
Previous: CSS support, Up: HTML export [Contents][Index]
12.6.11 JavaScript supported display of web pages
Sebastian Rose has written a JavaScript program especially designed to enhance the web viewing experience of HTML files created with Org. This program allows you to view large files in two different ways. The first one is an Info-like mode where each section is displayed separately and navigation can be done with the n and p keys (and some other keys as well, press ? for an overview of the available keys). The second view type is a folding view much like Org provides inside Emacs. The script is available at http://orgmode.org/org-info.js and you can find the documentation for it at http://orgmode.org/worg/code/org-info-js/. We host the script at our site, but if you use it a lot, you might not want to be dependent on http://orgmode.org and prefer to install a local copy on your own web server.
All it then takes to use this program is adding a single line to the Org file:
#+INFOJS_OPT: view:info toc:nil
If this line is found, the HTML header will automatically contain the code needed to invoke the script. Using the line above, you can set the following viewing options:
path: The path to the script. The default is to grab the script from http://orgmode.org/org-info.js, but you might want to have a local copy and use a path like ‘../scripts/org-info.js’. view: Initial view when the website is first shown. Possible values are: info Info-like interface with one section per page. overview Folding interface, initially showing only top-level. content Folding interface, starting with all headlines visible. showall Folding interface, all headlines and text visible. sdepth: Maximum headline level that will still become an independent section for info and folding modes. The default is taken fromorg-export-headline-levels
(= theH
switch in#+OPTIONS
). If this is smaller than inorg-export-headline-levels
, each info/folding section can still contain child headlines. toc: Should the table of contents initially be visible? Even whennil
, you can always get to the "toc" with i. tdepth: The depth of the table of contents. The defaults are taken from the variablesorg-export-headline-levels
andorg-export-with-toc
. ftoc: Does the CSS of the page specify a fixed position for the "toc"? If yes, the toc will never be displayed as a section. ltoc: Should there be short contents (children) in each section? Make thisabove
if the section should be above initial text. mouse: Headings are highlighted when the mouse is over them. Should be ‘underline’ (default) or a background color like ‘#cccccc’. buttons: Should view-toggle buttons be everywhere? Whennil
(the default), only one such button will be present.
You can choose default values for these options by customizing the variable
org-html-infojs-options
. If you always want to apply the script to your
pages, configure the variable org-html-use-infojs
.
Next: Markdown export, Previous: HTML export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.7 LaTeX and PDF export
LaTeX export can produce an arbitrarily complex LaTeX document of any
standard or custom document class. With further processing142,
which the LaTeX exporter is able to control, this back-end is able to
produce PDF output. Because the LaTeX exporter can be configured to use
the hyperref
package, the default setup produces fully-linked PDF
output.
As in LaTeX, blank lines are meaningful for this back-end: a paragraph will not be started if two contiguous syntactical elements are not separated by an empty line.
This back-end also offers enhanced support for footnotes. Thus, it handles nested footnotes, footnotes in tables and footnotes in a list item’s description.
• LaTeX export commands: | How to export to LaTeX and PDF | |
• Header and sectioning: | Setting up the export file structure | |
• Quoting LaTeX code: | Incorporating literal LaTeX code | |
• LaTeX specific attributes: | Controlling LaTeX output |
Next: Header and sectioning, Previous: LaTeX and PDF export, Up: LaTeX and PDF export [Contents][Index]
12.7.1 LaTeX export commands
- C-c C-e l l (
org-latex-export-to-latex
) Export as a LaTeX file. For an Org file myfile.org, the LaTeX file will be myfile.tex. The file will be overwritten without warning.
- C-c C-e l L (
org-latex-export-as-latex
) - C-c C-e l p (
org-latex-export-to-pdf
) Export as LaTeX and then process to PDF.
- C-c C-e l o
Export as LaTeX and then process to PDF, then open the resulting PDF file.
Next: Quoting LaTeX code, Previous: LaTeX export commands, Up: LaTeX and PDF export [Contents][Index]
12.7.2 Header and sectioning structure
By default, the first three outline levels become headlines, defining a
general document structure. Additional levels are exported as itemize
or enumerate
lists. The transition can also occur at a different
level (see Export settings).
By default, the LaTeX output uses the class article
.
You can change this globally by setting a different value for
org-latex-default-class
or locally by adding an option like
#+LATEX_CLASS: myclass
in your file, or with
a EXPORT_LATEX_CLASS
property that applies when exporting a region
containing only this (sub)tree. The class must be listed in
org-latex-classes
. This variable defines a header template for each
class143, and allows you to define the sectioning structure for each
class. You can also define your own classes there.
The LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS
keyword or EXPORT_LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS
property can specify the options for the \documentclass
macro. These
options have to be provided, as expected by LaTeX, within square brackets.
You can also use the LATEX_HEADER
and
LATEX_HEADER_EXTRA
144 keywords in order
to add lines to the header. See the docstring of org-latex-classes
for
more information.
An example is shown below.
#+LATEX_CLASS: article #+LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS: [a4paper] #+LATEX_HEADER: \usepackage{xyz} * Headline 1 some text
Next: LaTeX specific attributes, Previous: Header and sectioning, Up: LaTeX and PDF export [Contents][Index]
12.7.3 Quoting LaTeX code
Embedded LaTeX as described in Embedded LaTeX, will be correctly inserted into the LaTeX file. Furthermore, you can add special code that should only be present in LaTeX export with the following constructs:
Code within @@latex:some code@@ a paragraph. #+LATEX: Literal LaTeX code for export #+BEGIN_LATEX All lines between these markers are exported literally #+END_LATEX
Previous: Quoting LaTeX code, Up: LaTeX and PDF export [Contents][Index]
12.7.4 LaTeX specific attributes
LaTeX understands attributes specified in an ATTR_LATEX
line. They
affect tables, images, plain lists, special blocks and source blocks.
Tables in LaTeX export
For LaTeX export of a table, you can specify a label and a caption (see Images and tables). You can also use attributes to control table layout and contents. Valid LaTeX attributes include:
:mode
-
Nature of table’s contents. It can be set to
table
,math
,inline-math
orverbatim
. In particular, when inmath
orinline-math
mode, every cell is exported as-is, horizontal rules are ignored and the table will be wrapped in a math environment. Also, contiguous tables sharing the same math mode will be wrapped within the same environment. Default mode is determined inorg-latex-default-table-mode
. :environment
-
Environment used for the table. It can be set to any LaTeX table environment, like
tabularx
145,longtable
,array
,tabu
146,bmatrix
... It defaults toorg-latex-default-table-environment
value. :caption
#+CAPTION
keyword is the simplest way to set a caption for a table (see Images and tables). If you need more advanced commands for that task, you can use:caption
attribute instead. Its value should be raw LaTeX code. It has precedence over#+CAPTION
.:float
:placement
Float environment for the table. Possible values are
sidewaystable
,multicolumn
,t
andnil
. When unspecified, a table with a caption will have atable
environment. Moreover,:placement
attribute can specify the positioning of the float.:align
:font
:width
Set, respectively, the alignment string of the table, its font size and its width. They only apply on regular tables.
:spread
Boolean specific to the
tabu
andlongtabu
environments, and only takes effect when used in conjunction with the:width
attribute. When:spread
is non-nil
, the table will be spread or shrunk by the value of:width
.:booktabs
:center
:rmlines
-
They toggle, respectively,
booktabs
usage (assuming the package is properly loaded), table centering and removal of every horizontal rule but the first one (in a "table.el" table only). In particular,org-latex-tables-booktabs
(respectivelyorg-latex-tables-centered
) activates the first (respectively second) attribute globally. :math-prefix
:math-suffix
:math-arguments
A string that will be inserted, respectively, before the table within the math environment, after the table within the math environment, and between the macro name and the contents of the table. The
:math-arguments
attribute is used for matrix macros that require more than one argument (e.g.,qbordermatrix
).
Thus, attributes can be used in a wide array of situations, like writing a table that will span over multiple pages, or a matrix product:
#+ATTR_LATEX: :environment longtable :align l|lp{3cm}r|l | ..... | ..... | | ..... | ..... | #+ATTR_LATEX: :mode math :environment bmatrix :math-suffix \times | a | b | | c | d | #+ATTR_LATEX: :mode math :environment bmatrix | 1 | 2 | | 3 | 4 |
In the example below, LaTeX command
\bicaption{HeadingA}{HeadingB}
will set the caption.
#+ATTR_LATEX: :caption \bicaption{HeadingA}{HeadingB} | ..... | ..... | | ..... | ..... |
Images in LaTeX export
Images that are linked to without a description part in the link, like
‘[[file:img.jpg]]’ or ‘[[./img.jpg]]’ will be inserted into the PDF
output file resulting from LaTeX processing. Org will use an
\includegraphics
macro to insert the image147.
You can specify specify image width or height with, respectively,
:width
and :height
attributes. It is also possible to add any
other option with the :options
attribute, as shown in the following
example:
#+ATTR_LATEX: :width 5cm :options angle=90 [[./img/sed-hr4049.pdf]]
If you need a specific command for the caption, use :caption
attribute. It will override standard #+CAPTION
value, if any.
#+ATTR_LATEX: :caption \bicaption{HeadingA}{HeadingB} [[./img/sed-hr4049.pdf]]
If you have specified a caption as described in Images and tables, the
picture will be wrapped into a figure
environment and thus become
a floating element. You can also ask Org to export an image as a float
without specifying caption by setting the :float
attribute. You may
also set it to:
- -
t
: if you want to use the standard ‘figure’ environment. It is used by default if you provide a caption to the image. - -
multicolumn
: if you wish to include an image which spans multiple columns in a page. This will export the image wrapped in afigure*
environment. - -
wrap
: if you would like to let text flow around the image. It will make the figure occupy the left half of the page. - -
nil
: if you need to avoid any floating environment, even when a caption is provided.
To modify the placement option of any floating environment, set the
placement
attribute.
#+ATTR_LATEX: :float wrap :width 0.38\textwidth :placement {r}{0.4\textwidth} [[./img/hst.png]]
If the :comment-include
attribute is set to a non-nil
value,
the LaTeX \includegraphics
macro will be commented out.
Plain lists in LaTeX export
Plain lists accept two optional attributes: :environment
and
:options
. The first one allows the use of a non-standard environment
(e.g., ‘inparaenum’). The second one specifies additional arguments for
that environment.
#+ATTR_LATEX: :environment compactitem :options [$\circ$] - you need ``paralist'' package to reproduce this example.
Source blocks in LaTeX export
In addition to syntax defined in Literal examples, names and captions
(see Images and tables), source blocks also accept a :float
attribute. You may set it to:
- -
t
: if you want to make the source block a float. It is the default value when a caption is provided. - -
multicolumn
: if you wish to include a source block which spans multiple columns in a page. - -
nil
: if you need to avoid any floating environment, even when a caption is provided. It is useful for source code that may not fit in a single page.
#+ATTR_LATEX: :float nil #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp Code that may not fit in a single page. #+END_SRC
Special blocks in LaTeX export
In LaTeX back-end, special blocks become environments of the same name.
Value of :options
attribute will be appended as-is to that
environment’s opening string. For example:
#+BEGIN_ABSTRACT We demonstrate how to solve the Syracuse problem. #+END_ABSTRACT #+ATTR_LATEX: :options [Proof of important theorem] #+BEGIN_PROOF ... Therefore, any even number greater than 2 is the sum of two primes. #+END_PROOF
becomes
\begin{abstract} We demonstrate how to solve the Syracuse problem. \end{abstract} \begin{proof}[Proof of important theorem] ... Therefore, any even number greater than 2 is the sum of two primes. \end{proof}
If you need to insert a specific caption command, use :caption
attribute. It will override standard #+CAPTION
value, if any. For
example:
#+ATTR_LATEX: :caption \MyCaption{HeadingA} #+BEGIN_PROOF ... #+END_PROOF
Horizontal rules
Width and thickness of a given horizontal rule can be controlled with,
respectively, :width
and :thickness
attributes:
#+ATTR_LATEX: :width .6\textwidth :thickness 0.8pt -----
Next: OpenDocument Text export, Previous: LaTeX and PDF export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.8 Markdown export
md
export back-end generates Markdown syntax148 for an Org
mode buffer.
It is built over HTML back-end: any construct not supported by Markdown
syntax (e.g., tables) will be controlled and translated by html
back-end (see HTML export).
Markdown export commands
- C-c C-e m m (
org-md-export-to-markdown
) Export as a text file written in Markdown syntax. For an Org file, myfile.org, the resulting file will be myfile.md. The file will be overwritten without warning.
- C-c C-e m M (
org-md-export-as-markdown
) Export to a temporary buffer. Do not create a file.
- C-c C-e m o
Export as a text file with Markdown syntax, then open it.
Header and sectioning structure
Markdown export can generate both atx
and setext
types for
headlines, according to org-md-headline-style
. The former introduces
a hard limit of two levels, whereas the latter pushes it to six. Headlines
below that limit are exported as lists. You can also set a soft limit before
that one (see Export settings).
Next: Org export, Previous: Markdown export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.9 OpenDocument Text export
Org mode149 supports export to OpenDocument Text (ODT) format. Documents created by this exporter use the OpenDocument-v1.2 specification150 and are compatible with LibreOffice 3.4.
• Pre-requisites for ODT export: | What packages ODT exporter relies on | |
• ODT export commands: | How to invoke ODT export | |
• Extending ODT export: | How to produce ‘doc’, ‘pdf’ files | |
• Applying custom styles: | How to apply custom styles to the output | |
• Links in ODT export: | How links will be interpreted and formatted | |
• Tables in ODT export: | How Tables are exported | |
• Images in ODT export: | How to insert images | |
• Math formatting in ODT export: | How LaTeX fragments are formatted | |
• Labels and captions in ODT export: | How captions are rendered | |
• Literal examples in ODT export: | How source and example blocks are formatted | |
• Advanced topics in ODT export: | Read this if you are a power user |
Next: ODT export commands, Previous: OpenDocument Text export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.1 Pre-requisites for ODT export
The ODT exporter relies on the zip program to create the final output. Check the availability of this program before proceeding further.
Next: Extending ODT export, Previous: Pre-requisites for ODT export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.2 ODT export commands
Exporting to ODT
- C-c C-e o o (
org-odt-export-to-odt
) -
Export as OpenDocument Text file.
If
org-odt-preferred-output-format
is specified, automatically convert the exported file to that format. See Automatically exporting to other formats.For an Org file myfile.org, the ODT file will be myfile.odt. The file will be overwritten without warning. If there is an active region,151 only the region will be exported. If the selected region is a single tree,152 the tree head will become the document title. If the tree head entry has, or inherits, an
EXPORT_FILE_NAME
property, that name will be used for the export.C-c C-e o O Export as an OpenDocument Text file and open the resulting file.
If
org-odt-preferred-output-format
is specified, open the converted file instead. See Automatically exporting to other formats.
Next: Applying custom styles, Previous: ODT export commands, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.3 Extending ODT export
The ODT exporter can interface with a variety of document converters and supports popular converters out of the box. As a result, you can use it to export to formats like ‘doc’ or convert a document from one format (say ‘csv’) to another format (say ‘ods’ or ‘xls’).
If you have a working installation of LibreOffice, a document converter is
pre-configured for you and you can use it right away. If you would like to
use unoconv as your preferred converter, customize the variable
org-odt-convert-process
to point to unoconv
. You can
also use your own favorite converter or tweak the default settings of the
LibreOffice and ‘unoconv’ converters. See Configuring a document converter.
12.9.3.1 Automatically exporting to other formats
Very often, you will find yourself exporting to ODT format, only to
immediately save the exported document to other formats like ‘doc’,
‘docx’, ‘rtf’, ‘pdf’ etc. In such cases, you can specify your
preferred output format by customizing the variable
org-odt-preferred-output-format
. This way, the export commands
(see Exporting to ODT) can be extended to export to a
format that is of immediate interest to you.
12.9.3.2 Converting between document formats
There are many document converters in the wild which support conversion to and from various file formats, including, but not limited to the ODT format. LibreOffice converter, mentioned above, is one such converter. Once a converter is configured, you can interact with it using the following command.
- M-x org-odt-convert RET
Convert an existing document from one format to another. With a prefix argument, also open the newly produced file.
Next: Links in ODT export, Previous: Extending ODT export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.4 Applying custom styles
The ODT exporter ships with a set of OpenDocument styles (see Working with OpenDocument style files) that ensure a well-formatted output. These factory styles, however, may not cater to your specific tastes. To customize the output, you can either modify the above styles files directly, or generate the required styles using an application like LibreOffice. The latter method is suitable for expert and non-expert users alike, and is described here.
12.9.4.1 Applying custom styles: the easy way
- Create a sample example.org file with the below settings and export it
to ODT format.
#+OPTIONS: H:10 num:t
- Open the above example.odt using LibreOffice. Use the Stylist to locate the target styles—these typically have the ‘Org’ prefix—and modify those to your taste. Save the modified file either as an OpenDocument Text (.odt) or OpenDocument Template (.ott) file.
-
Customize the variable
org-odt-styles-file
and point it to the newly created file. For additional configuration options see Overriding factory styles.If you would like to choose a style on a per-file basis, you can use the
#+ODT_STYLES_FILE
option. A typical setting will look like#+ODT_STYLES_FILE: "/path/to/example.ott"
or
#+ODT_STYLES_FILE: ("/path/to/file.ott" ("styles.xml" "image/hdr.png"))
12.9.4.2 Using third-party styles and templates
You can use third-party styles and templates for customizing your output. This will produce the desired output only if the template provides all style names that the ‘ODT’ exporter relies on. Unless this condition is met, the output is going to be less than satisfactory. So it is highly recommended that you only work with templates that are directly derived from the factory settings.
Next: Tables in ODT export, Previous: Applying custom styles, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.5 Links in ODT export
ODT exporter creates native cross-references for internal links. It creates Internet-style links for all other links.
A link with no description and destined to a regular (un-itemized) outline heading is replaced with a cross-reference and section number of the heading.
A ‘\ref{label}’-style reference to an image, table etc. is replaced with a cross-reference and sequence number of the labeled entity. See Labels and captions in ODT export.
Next: Images in ODT export, Previous: Links in ODT export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.6 Tables in ODT export
Export of native Org mode tables (see Tables) and simple table.el tables is supported. However, export of complex table.el tables—tables that have column or row spans—is not supported. Such tables are stripped from the exported document.
By default, a table is exported with top and bottom frames and with rules separating row and column groups (see Column groups). Furthermore, all tables are typeset to occupy the same width. If the table specifies alignment and relative width for its columns (see Column width and alignment) then these are honored on export.153
You can control the width of the table by specifying :rel-width
property using an #+ATTR_ODT
line.
For example, consider the following table which makes use of all the rules mentioned above.
#+ATTR_ODT: :rel-width 50 | Area/Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Sum | |---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------| | / | < | | | < | | <l13> | <r5> | <r5> | <r5> | <r6> | | North America | 1 | 21 | 926 | 948 | | Middle East | 6 | 75 | 844 | 925 | | Asia Pacific | 9 | 27 | 790 | 826 | |---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------| | Sum | 16 | 123 | 2560 | 2699 |
On export, the table will occupy 50% of text area. The columns will be sized (roughly) in the ratio of 13:5:5:5:6. The first column will be left-aligned and rest of the columns will be right-aligned. There will be vertical rules after separating the header and last columns from other columns. There will be horizontal rules separating the header and last rows from other rows.
If you are not satisfied with the above formatting options, you can create
custom table styles and associate them with a table using the
#+ATTR_ODT
line. See Customizing tables in ODT export.
Next: Math formatting in ODT export, Previous: Tables in ODT export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.7 Images in ODT export
Embedding images
You can embed images within the exported document by providing a link to the desired image file with no link description. For example, to embed ‘img.png’ do either of the following:
[[file:img.png]]
[[./img.png]]
Embedding clickable images
You can create clickable images by providing a link whose description is a link to an image file. For example, to embed a image org-mode-unicorn.png which when clicked jumps to http://Orgmode.org website, do the following
[[http://orgmode.org][./org-mode-unicorn.png]]
Sizing and scaling of embedded images
You can control the size and scale of the embedded images using the
#+ATTR_ODT
attribute.
The exporter specifies the desired size of the image in the final document in
units of centimeters. In order to scale the embedded images, the exporter
queries for pixel dimensions of the images using one of a) ImageMagick’s
identify program or b) Emacs ‘create-image’ and ‘image-size’
APIs154. The pixel dimensions are subsequently
converted in to units of centimeters using
org-odt-pixels-per-inch
. The default value of this variable is
set to display-pixels-per-inch
. You can tweak this variable to
achieve the best results.
The examples below illustrate the various possibilities.
- Explicitly size the image
To embed img.png as a 10 cm x 10 cm image, do the following:
#+ATTR_ODT: :width 10 :height 10 [[./img.png]]
- Scale the image
To embed img.png at half its size, do the following:
#+ATTR_ODT: :scale 0.5 [[./img.png]]
- Scale the image to a specific width
To embed img.png with a width of 10 cm while retaining the original height:width ratio, do the following:
#+ATTR_ODT: :width 10 [[./img.png]]
- Scale the image to a specific height
To embed img.png with a height of 10 cm while retaining the original height:width ratio, do the following
#+ATTR_ODT: :height 10 [[./img.png]]
Anchoring of images
You can control the manner in which an image is anchored by setting the
:anchor
property of it’s #+ATTR_ODT
line. You can specify one
of the following three values for the :anchor
property:
‘"as-char"’, ‘"paragraph"’ and ‘"page"’.
To create an image that is anchored to a page, do the following:
#+ATTR_ODT: :anchor "page" [[./img.png]]
Next: Labels and captions in ODT export, Previous: Images in ODT export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.8 Math formatting in ODT export
The ODT exporter has special support for handling math.
• Working with LaTeX math snippets: | How to embed LaTeX math fragments | |
• Working with MathML or OpenDocument formula files: | How to embed equations in native format |
Next: Working with MathML or OpenDocument formula files, Previous: Math formatting in ODT export, Up: Math formatting in ODT export [Contents][Index]
12.9.8.1 Working with LaTeX math snippets
LaTeX math snippets (see LaTeX fragments) can be embedded in the ODT document in one of the following ways:
- MathML
This option is activated on a per-file basis with
#+OPTIONS: LaTeX:t
With this option, LaTeX fragments are first converted into MathML fragments using an external LaTeX-to-MathML converter program. The resulting MathML fragments are then embedded as an OpenDocument Formula in the exported document.
You can specify the LaTeX-to-MathML converter by customizing the variables
org-latex-to-mathml-convert-command
andorg-latex-to-mathml-jar-file
.If you prefer to use MathToWeb155 as your converter, you can configure the above variables as shown below.
(setq org-latex-to-mathml-convert-command "java -jar %j -unicode -force -df %o %I" org-latex-to-mathml-jar-file "/path/to/mathtoweb.jar")
You can use the following commands to quickly verify the reliability of the LaTeX-to-MathML converter.
- M-x org-odt-export-as-odf RET
Convert a LaTeX math snippet to an OpenDocument formula (.odf) file.
- M-x org-odt-export-as-odf-and-open RET
Convert a LaTeX math snippet to an OpenDocument formula (.odf) file and open the formula file with the system-registered application.
-
PNG images
This option is activated on a per-file basis with
#+OPTIONS: tex:dvipng
or:
#+OPTIONS: tex:imagemagick
With this option, LaTeX fragments are processed into PNG images and the resulting images are embedded in the exported document. This method requires that the dvipng program or imagemagick suite be available on your system.
Previous: Working with LaTeX math snippets, Up: Math formatting in ODT export [Contents][Index]
12.9.8.2 Working with MathML or OpenDocument formula files
For various reasons, you may find embedding LaTeX math snippets in an ODT document less than reliable. In that case, you can embed a math equation by linking to its MathML (.mml) source or its OpenDocument formula (.odf) file as shown below:
[[./equation.mml]]
or
[[./equation.odf]]
Next: Literal examples in ODT export, Previous: Math formatting in ODT export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.9 Labels and captions in ODT export
You can label and caption various category of objects—an inline image, a
table, a LaTeX fragment or a Math formula—using #+LABEL
and
#+CAPTION
lines. See Images and tables. ODT exporter enumerates
each labeled or captioned object of a given category separately. As a
result, each such object is assigned a sequence number based on order of it’s
appearance in the Org file.
In the exported document, a user-provided caption is augmented with the category and sequence number. Consider the following inline image in an Org file.
#+CAPTION: Bell curve #+LABEL: fig:SED-HR4049 [[./img/a.png]]
It could be rendered as shown below in the exported document.
Figure 2: Bell curve
You can modify the category component of the caption by customizing the
option org-odt-category-map-alist
. For example, to tag all embedded
images with the string ‘Illustration’ (instead of the default
‘Figure’) use the following setting:
(setq org-odt-category-map-alist (("__Figure__" "Illustration" "value" "Figure" org-odt--enumerable-image-p)))
With this, previous image will be captioned as below in the exported document.
Illustration 2: Bell curve
Next: Advanced topics in ODT export, Previous: Labels and captions in ODT export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.10 Literal examples in ODT export
Export of literal examples (see Literal examples) with full fontification
is supported. Internally, the exporter relies on htmlfontify.el to
generate all style definitions needed for a fancy listing.156 The auto-generated styles have ‘OrgSrc’
as prefix and inherit their color from the faces used by Emacs
font-lock
library for the source language.
If you prefer to use your own custom styles for fontification, you can do
so by customizing the option
org-odt-create-custom-styles-for-srcblocks
.
You can turn off fontification of literal examples by customizing the
option org-odt-fontify-srcblocks
.
Previous: Literal examples in ODT export, Up: OpenDocument Text export [Contents][Index]
12.9.11 Advanced topics in ODT export
If you rely heavily on ODT export, you may want to exploit the full set of features that the exporter offers. This section describes features that would be of interest to power users.
• Configuring a document converter: | How to register a document converter | |
• Working with OpenDocument style files: | Explore the internals | |
• Creating one-off styles: | How to produce custom highlighting etc | |
• Customizing tables in ODT export: | How to define and use Table templates | |
• Validating OpenDocument XML: | How to debug corrupt OpenDocument files |
Next: Working with OpenDocument style files, Previous: Advanced topics in ODT export, Up: Advanced topics in ODT export [Contents][Index]
12.9.11.1 Configuring a document converter
The ODT exporter can work with popular converters with little or no extra configuration from your side. See Extending ODT export. If you are using a converter that is not supported by default or if you would like to tweak the default converter settings, proceed as below.
- Register the converter
Name your converter and add it to the list of known converters by customizing the option
org-odt-convert-processes
. Also specify how the converter can be invoked via command-line to effect the conversion. - Configure its capabilities
Specify the set of formats the converter can handle by customizing the variable
org-odt-convert-capabilities
. Use the default value for this variable as a guide for configuring your converter. As suggested by the default setting, you can specify the full set of formats supported by the converter and not limit yourself to specifying formats that are related to just the OpenDocument Text format. - Choose the converter
Select the newly added converter as the preferred one by customizing the option
org-odt-convert-process
.
Next: Creating one-off styles, Previous: Configuring a document converter, Up: Advanced topics in ODT export [Contents][Index]
12.9.11.2 Working with OpenDocument style files
This section explores the internals of the ODT exporter and the means by which it produces styled documents. Read this section if you are interested in exploring the automatic and custom OpenDocument styles used by the exporter.
Factory styles
The ODT exporter relies on two files for generating its output.
These files are bundled with the distribution under the directory pointed to
by the variable org-odt-styles-dir
. The two files are:
- OrgOdtStyles.xml
This file contributes to the styles.xml file of the final ‘ODT’ document. This file gets modified for the following purposes:
- To control outline numbering based on user settings.
- To add styles generated by htmlfontify.el for fontification of code blocks.
- OrgOdtContentTemplate.xml
This file contributes to the content.xml file of the final ‘ODT’ document. The contents of the Org outline are inserted between the ‘<office:text>’…‘</office:text>’ elements of this file.
Apart from serving as a template file for the final content.xml, the file serves the following purposes:
- It contains automatic styles for formatting of tables which are referenced by the exporter.
- It contains ‘<text:sequence-decl>’…‘</text:sequence-decl>’ elements that control how various entities—tables, images, equations, etc.—are numbered.
Overriding factory styles
The following two variables control the location from which the ODT exporter picks up the custom styles and content template files. You can customize these variables to override the factory styles used by the exporter.
-
org-odt-styles-file
Use this variable to specify the styles.xml that will be used in the final output. You can specify one of the following values:
- A styles.xml file
Use this file instead of the default styles.xml
- A .odt or .ott file
Use the styles.xml contained in the specified OpenDocument Text or Template file
- A .odt or .ott file and a subset of files contained within them
Use the styles.xml contained in the specified OpenDocument Text or Template file. Additionally extract the specified member files and embed those within the final ‘ODT’ document.
Use this option if the styles.xml file references additional files like header and footer images.
-
nil
Use the default styles.xml
- A styles.xml file
-
org-odt-content-template-file
Use this variable to specify the blank content.xml that will be used in the final output.
Next: Customizing tables in ODT export, Previous: Working with OpenDocument style files, Up: Advanced topics in ODT export [Contents][Index]
12.9.11.3 Creating one-off styles
There are times when you would want one-off formatting in the exported document. You can achieve this by embedding raw OpenDocument XML in the Org file. The use of this feature is better illustrated with couple of examples.
- Embedding ODT tags as part of regular text
You can inline OpenDocument syntax by enclosing it within ‘@@odt:...@@’ markup. For example, to highlight a region of text do the following:
@@odt:<text:span text:style-name="Highlight">This is a highlighted text</text:span>@@. But this is a regular text.
Hint: To see the above example in action, edit your styles.xml (see Factory styles) and add a custom ‘Highlight’ style as shown below.
<style:style style:name="Highlight" style:family="text"> <style:text-properties fo:background-color="#ff0000"/> </style:style>
- Embedding a one-line OpenDocument XML
You can add a simple OpenDocument one-liner using the
#+ODT:
directive. For example, to force a page break do the following:#+ODT: <text:p text:style-name="PageBreak"/>
Hint: To see the above example in action, edit your styles.xml (see Factory styles) and add a custom ‘PageBreak’ style as shown below.
<style:style style:name="PageBreak" style:family="paragraph" style:parent-style-name="Text_20_body"> <style:paragraph-properties fo:break-before="page"/> </style:style>
- Embedding a block of OpenDocument XML
You can add a large block of OpenDocument XML using the
#+BEGIN_ODT
…#+END_ODT
construct.For example, to create a one-off paragraph that uses bold text, do the following:
#+BEGIN_ODT <text:p text:style-name="Text_20_body_20_bold"> This paragraph is specially formatted and uses bold text. </text:p> #+END_ODT
Next: Validating OpenDocument XML, Previous: Creating one-off styles, Up: Advanced topics in ODT export [Contents][Index]
12.9.11.4 Customizing tables in ODT export
You can override the default formatting of the table by specifying a custom
table style with the #+ATTR_ODT
line. For a discussion on default
formatting of tables see Tables in ODT export.
This feature closely mimics the way table templates are defined in the OpenDocument-v1.2 specification.157
Custom table styles: an illustration
To have a quick preview of this feature, install the below setting and export the table that follows:
(setq org-odt-table-styles (append org-odt-table-styles '(("TableWithHeaderRowAndColumn" "Custom" ((use-first-row-styles . t) (use-first-column-styles . t))) ("TableWithFirstRowandLastRow" "Custom" ((use-first-row-styles . t) (use-last-row-styles . t))))))
#+ATTR_ODT: :style "TableWithHeaderRowAndColumn" | Name | Phone | Age | | Peter | 1234 | 17 | | Anna | 4321 | 25 |
In the above example, you used a template named ‘Custom’ and installed two table styles with the names ‘TableWithHeaderRowAndColumn’ and ‘TableWithFirstRowandLastRow’. (Important: The OpenDocument styles needed for producing the above template have been pre-defined for you. These styles are available under the section marked ‘Custom Table Template’ in OrgOdtContentTemplate.xml (see Factory styles). If you need additional templates you have to define these styles yourselves.
Custom table styles: the nitty-gritty
To use this feature proceed as follows:
- Create a table template158
A table template is nothing but a set of ‘table-cell’ and ‘paragraph’ styles for each of the following table cell categories:
- - Body
- - First column
- - Last column
- - First row
- - Last row
- - Even row
- - Odd row
- - Even column
- - Odd Column
The names for the above styles must be chosen based on the name of the table template using a well-defined convention.
The naming convention is better illustrated with an example. For a table template with the name ‘Custom’, the needed style names are listed in the following table.
Table cell type table-cell
styleparagraph
styleBody ‘CustomTableCell’ ‘CustomTableParagraph’ First column ‘CustomFirstColumnTableCell’ ‘CustomFirstColumnTableParagraph’ Last column ‘CustomLastColumnTableCell’ ‘CustomLastColumnTableParagraph’ First row ‘CustomFirstRowTableCell’ ‘CustomFirstRowTableParagraph’ Last row ‘CustomLastRowTableCell’ ‘CustomLastRowTableParagraph’ Even row ‘CustomEvenRowTableCell’ ‘CustomEvenRowTableParagraph’ Odd row ‘CustomOddRowTableCell’ ‘CustomOddRowTableParagraph’ Even column ‘CustomEvenColumnTableCell’ ‘CustomEvenColumnTableParagraph’ Odd column ‘CustomOddColumnTableCell’ ‘CustomOddColumnTableParagraph’ To create a table template with the name ‘Custom’, define the above styles in the
<office:automatic-styles>
...</office:automatic-styles>
element of the content template file (see Factory styles). - Define a table style159
To define a table style, create an entry for the style in the variable
org-odt-table-styles
and specify the following:- - the name of the table template created in step (1)
- - the set of cell styles in that template that are to be activated
For example, the entry below defines two different table styles ‘TableWithHeaderRowAndColumn’ and ‘TableWithFirstRowandLastRow’ based on the same template ‘Custom’. The styles achieve their intended effect by selectively activating the individual cell styles in that template.
(setq org-odt-table-styles (append org-odt-table-styles '(("TableWithHeaderRowAndColumn" "Custom" ((use-first-row-styles . t) (use-first-column-styles . t))) ("TableWithFirstRowandLastRow" "Custom" ((use-first-row-styles . t) (use-last-row-styles . t))))))
- Associate a table with the table style
To do this, specify the table style created in step (2) as part of the
ATTR_ODT
line as shown below.#+ATTR_ODT: :style "TableWithHeaderRowAndColumn" | Name | Phone | Age | | Peter | 1234 | 17 | | Anna | 4321 | 25 |
Previous: Customizing tables in ODT export, Up: Advanced topics in ODT export [Contents][Index]
12.9.11.5 Validating OpenDocument XML
Occasionally, you will discover that the document created by the ODT exporter cannot be opened by your favorite application. One of the common reasons for this is that the .odt file is corrupt. In such cases, you may want to validate the document against the OpenDocument RELAX NG Compact Syntax (RNC) schema.
For de-compressing the .odt file160: See (emacs)File Archives. For general help with validation (and schema-sensitive editing) of XML files: See (nxml-mode)Introduction.
If you have ready access to OpenDocument .rnc files and the needed
schema-locating rules in a single folder, you can customize the variable
org-odt-schema-dir
to point to that directory. The ODT exporter
will take care of updating the rng-schema-locating-files
for you.
Next: Texinfo export, Previous: OpenDocument Text export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.10 Org export
org
export back-end creates a normalized version of the Org document
in current buffer. In particular, it evaluates Babel code (see Evaluating code blocks) and removes other back-ends specific contents.
Org export commands
- C-c C-e O o (
org-org-export-to-org
) Export as an Org document. For an Org file, myfile.org, the resulting file will be myfile.org.org. The file will be overwritten without warning.
- C-c C-e O O (
org-org-export-as-org
) Export to a temporary buffer. Do not create a file.
- C-c C-e O v
Export to an Org file, then open it.
Next: iCalendar export, Previous: Org export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.11 Texinfo export
‘texinfo’ export back-end generates Texinfo code and can compile it into an Info file.
• Texinfo export commands: | How to invoke Texinfo export | |
• Document preamble: | File header, title and copyright page | |
• Headings and sectioning structure: | Building document structure | |
• Indices: | Creating indices | |
• Quoting Texinfo code: | Incorporating literal Texinfo code | |
• Texinfo specific attributes: | Controlling Texinfo output | |
• An example: |
Next: Document preamble, Previous: Texinfo export, Up: Texinfo export [Contents][Index]
12.11.1 Texinfo export commands
- C-c C-e i t (
org-texinfo-export-to-texinfo
) Export as a Texinfo file. For an Org file, myfile.org, the resulting file will be myfile.texi. The file will be overwritten without warning.
- C-c C-e i i (
org-texinfo-export-to-info
) Export to Texinfo and then process to an Info file161.
Next: Headings and sectioning structure, Previous: Texinfo export commands, Up: Texinfo export [Contents][Index]
12.11.2 Document preamble
When processing a document, ‘texinfo’ back-end generates a minimal file header along with a title page, a copyright page, and a menu. You control the latter through the structure of the document (see Headings and sectioning structure). Various keywords allow to tweak the other parts. It is also possible to give directions to install the document in the ‘Top’ node.
File header
Upon creating the header of a Texinfo file, the back-end guesses a name for
the Info file to be compiled. This may not be a sensible choice, e.g., if
you want to produce the final document in a different directory. Specify an
alternate path with #+TEXINFO_FILENAME
keyword to override the default
destination.
Along with the output file name, the header contains information about the
language (see Export settings) and current encoding used162. Insert
a #+TEXINFO_HEADER
keyword for each additional command needed, e.g.,
@code{@synindex}.
If you happen to regularly install the same set of commands, it may be easier
to define your own class in org-texinfo-classes
, which see. Set
#+TEXINFO_CLASS
keyword accordingly in your document to activate it.
Title and copyright page
The default template includes a title page for hard copy output. The title
and author displayed on this page are extracted from, respectively,
#+TITLE
and #+AUTHOR
keywords (see Export settings). It is
also possible to print a different, more specific, title with
#+TEXINFO_PRINTED_TITLE
keyword, and add subtitles with
#+SUBTITLE
keyword. Both expect raw Texinfo code in their value.
Likewise, information brought by #+AUTHOR
may not be enough. You can
include other authors with several #+SUBAUTHOR
keywords. Values are
also expected to be written in Texinfo code.
#+AUTHOR: Jane Smith #+SUBAUTHOR: John Doe #+TEXINFO_PRINTED_TITLE: This Long Title@inlinefmt{tex,@*} Is Broken in @TeX{}
Copying material is defined in a dedicated headline with a non-nil
:COPYING:
property. The contents are inserted within
a @copying
command at the beginning of the document whereas the
heading itself does not appear in the structure of the document.
Copyright information is printed on the back of the title page.
* Copying :PROPERTIES: :COPYING: t :END: This is a short example of a complete Texinfo file, version 1.0. Copyright \copy 2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
The Top node
You may ultimately want to install your new Info file to your system. You
can write an appropriate entry in the top level directory specifying its
category and title with, respectively, #+TEXINFO_DIR_CATEGORY
and
#+TEXINFO_DIR_TITLE
. Optionally, you can add a short description
using #+TEXINFO_DIR_DESC
. The following example would write an entry
similar to Org’s in the ‘Top’ node.
#+TEXINFO_DIR_CATEGORY: Emacs #+TEXINFO_DIR_TITLE: Org Mode: (org) #+TEXINFO_DIR_DESC: Outline-based notes management and organizer
Next: Indices, Previous: Document preamble, Up: Texinfo export [Contents][Index]
12.11.3 Headings and sectioning structure
‘texinfo’ uses a pre-defined scheme, or class, to convert headlines into
Texinfo structuring commands. For example, a top level headline appears as
@chapter
if it should be numbered or as @unnumbered
otherwise. If you need to use a different set of commands, e.g., to start
with @part
instead of @chapter
, install a new class in
org-texinfo-classes
, then activate it with #+TEXINFO_CLASS
keyword. Export process defaults to org-texinfo-default-class
when
there is no such keyword in the document.
If a headline’s level has no associated structuring command, or is below a certain threshold see Export settings, that headline becomes a list in Texinfo output.
As an exception, a headline with a non-nil :APPENDIX:
property becomes
an appendix, independently on its level and the class used.
Each regular sectioning structure creates a menu entry, named after the
heading. You can provide a different, e.g., shorter, title in
:ALT_TITLE:
property (see Table of contents). Optionally, you can
specify a description for the item in :DESCRIPTION:
property. E.g.,
* Controlling Screen Display :PROPERTIES: :ALT_TITLE: Display :DESCRIPTION: Controlling Screen Display :END:
Next: Quoting Texinfo code, Previous: Headings and sectioning structure, Up: Texinfo export [Contents][Index]
12.11.4 Indices
Index entries are created using dedicated keywords. ‘texinfo’ back-end
provides one for each predefined type: #+CINDEX
, #+FINDEX
,
#+KINDEX
, #+PINDEX
, #+TINDEX
and #+VINDEX
. For
custom indices, you can write raw Texinfo code (see Quoting Texinfo code).
#+CINDEX: Defining indexing entries
To generate an index, you need to set the :INDEX:
property of
a headline to an appropriate abbreviation (e.g., ‘cp’ or ‘vr’).
The headline is then exported as an unnumbered chapter or section command and
the index is inserted after its contents.
* Concept Index :PROPERTIES: :INDEX: cp :END:
Next: Texinfo specific attributes, Previous: Indices, Up: Texinfo export [Contents][Index]
12.11.5 Quoting Texinfo code
It is possible to insert raw Texinfo code using any of the following constructs
Richard @@texinfo:@sc{@@Stallman@@texinfo:}@@ commence' GNU. #+TEXINFO: @need800 This paragraph is preceded by... #+BEGIN_TEXINFO @auindex Johnson, Mark @auindex Lakoff, George #+END_TEXINFO
Next: An example, Previous: Quoting Texinfo code, Up: Texinfo export [Contents][Index]
12.11.6 Texinfo specific attributes
‘texinfo’ back-end understands several attributes in plain lists and
tables. They must be specified using an #+ATTR_TEXINFO
keyword,
written just above the list or table.
Plain lists
In Texinfo output, description lists appear as two-column tables, using the
default command @table
. You can use @ftable
or
@vtable
163 instead with :table-type
attribute.
In any case, these constructs require a highlighting command for entries in
the list. You can provide one with :indic
attribute. If you do not,
it defaults to the value stored in org-texinfo-def-table-markup
, which
see.
#+ATTR_TEXINFO: :indic @asis - foo :: This is the text for /foo/, with no highlighting.
Tables
When exporting a table, column widths are deduced from the longest cell in
each column. You can also define them explicitly as fractions of the line
length, using :columns
attribute.
#+ATTR_TEXINFO: :columns .5 .5 | a cell | another cell |
Previous: Texinfo specific attributes, Up: Texinfo export [Contents][Index]
12.11.7 An example
Here is a thorough example, taken from See (texinfo)GNU Sample Texts.
#+MACRO: version 2.0 #+MACRO: updated last updated 4 March 2014 #+OPTIONS: ':t toc:t author:t email:t #+TITLE: GNU Sample {{{version}}} #+AUTHOR: A.U. Thor #+EMAIL: bug-sample@gnu.org #+LANGUAGE: en #+TEXINFO_FILENAME: sample.info #+TEXINFO_HEADER: @syncodeindex pg cp #+TEXINFO_DIR_CATEGORY: Texinfo documentation system #+TEXINFO_DIR_TITLE: sample: (sample) #+TEXINFO_DIR_DESC: Invoking sample #+TEXINFO_PRINTED_TITLE: GNU Sample #+SUBTITLE: for version 2.0, last updated 4 March 2014 * Copying :PROPERTIES: :COPYING: t :END: This manual is for GNU Sample (version {{{version}}}, {{{updated}}}), which is an example in the Texinfo documentation. Copyright @@texinfo:@copyright{}@@ 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc. #+BEGIN_QUOTE Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". #+END_QUOTE * Invoking sample #+PINDEX: sample #+CINDEX: invoking @command{sample} This is a sample manual. There is no sample program to invoke, but if there were, you could see its basic usage and command line options here. * GNU Free Documentation License :PROPERTIES: :APPENDIX: t :END: #+TEXINFO: @include fdl.texi * Index :PROPERTIES: :INDEX: cp :END:
Next: Other built-in back-ends, Previous: Texinfo export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.12 iCalendar export
Some people use Org mode for keeping track of projects, but still prefer a
standard calendar application for anniversaries and appointments. In this
case it can be useful to show deadlines and other time-stamped items in Org
files in the calendar application. Org mode can export calendar information
in the standard iCalendar format. If you also want to have TODO entries
included in the export, configure the variable
org-icalendar-include-todo
. Plain timestamps are exported as VEVENT,
and TODO items as VTODO. It will also create events from deadlines that are
in non-TODO items. Deadlines and scheduling dates in TODO items will be used
to set the start and due dates for the TODO entry164.
As categories, it will use the tags locally defined in the heading, and the
file/tree category165. See the variable
org-icalendar-alarm-time
for a way to assign alarms to entries with a
time.
The iCalendar standard requires each entry to have a globally unique
identifier (UID). Org creates these identifiers during export. If you set
the variable org-icalendar-store-UID
, the UID will be stored in the
:ID:
property of the entry and re-used next time you report this
entry. Since a single entry can give rise to multiple iCalendar entries (as
a timestamp, a deadline, a scheduled item, and as a TODO item), Org adds
prefixes to the UID, depending on what triggered the inclusion of the entry.
In this way the UID remains unique, but a synchronization program can still
figure out from which entry all the different instances originate.
- C-c C-e c f (
org-icalendar-export-to-ics
) Create iCalendar entries for the current buffer and store them in the same directory, using a file extension .ics.
- C-c C-e c a (
org-icalendar-export-agenda-files
) -
Like C-c C-e c f, but do this for all files in
org-agenda-files
. For each of these files, a separate iCalendar file will be written. - C-c C-e c c (
org-icalendar-combine-agenda-files
) -
Create a single large iCalendar file from all files in
org-agenda-files
and write it to the file given byorg-icalendar-combined-agenda-file
.
The export will honor SUMMARY, DESCRIPTION and LOCATION166 properties if the selected
entries have them. If not, the summary will be derived from the headline,
and the description from the body (limited to
org-icalendar-include-body
characters).
How this calendar is best read and updated, depends on the application you are using. The FAQ covers this issue.
Next: Export in foreign buffers, Previous: iCalendar export, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.13 Other built-in back-ends
On top of the aforementioned back-ends, Org comes with other built-in ones:
- ox-man.el: export to a man page.
To activate these export back-end, customize org-export-backends
or
load them directly with e.g., (require 'ox-man)
. This will add new
keys in the export dispatcher (see The Export Dispatcher).
See the comment section of these files for more information on how to use them.
Next: Advanced configuration, Previous: Other built-in back-ends, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.14 Export in foreign buffers
Most built-in back-ends come with a command to convert the selected region into a selected format and replace this region by the exported output. Here is a list of such conversion commands:
org-html-convert-region-to-html
Convert the selected region into HTML.
org-latex-convert-region-to-latex
Convert the selected region into LaTeX.
org-texinfo-convert-region-to-texinfo
Convert the selected region into
Texinfo
.org-md-convert-region-to-md
Convert the selected region into
MarkDown
.
This is particularly useful for converting tables and lists in foreign
buffers. E.g., in an HTML buffer, you can turn on orgstruct-mode
, then
use Org commands for editing a list, and finally select and convert the list
with M-x org-html-convert-region-to-html RET
.
Previous: Export in foreign buffers, Up: Exporting [Contents][Index]
12.15 Advanced configuration
Hooks
Two hooks are run during the first steps of the export process. The first
one, org-export-before-processing-hook
is called before expanding
macros, Babel code and include keywords in the buffer. The second one,
org-export-before-parsing-hook
, as its name suggests, happens just
before parsing the buffer. Their main use is for heavy duties, that is
duties involving structural modifications of the document. For example, one
may want to remove every headline in the buffer during export. The following
code can achieve this:
(defun my-headline-removal (backend) "Remove all headlines in the current buffer. BACKEND is the export back-end being used, as a symbol." (org-map-entries (lambda () (delete-region (point) (progn (forward-line) (point)))))) (add-hook 'org-export-before-parsing-hook 'my-headline-removal)
Note that functions used in these hooks require a mandatory argument, a symbol representing the back-end used.
Filters
Filters are lists of functions applied on a specific part of the output from a given back-end. More explicitly, each time a back-end transforms an Org object or element into another language, all functions within a given filter type are called in turn on the string produced. The string returned by the last function will be the one used in the final output.
There are filters sets for each type of element or object, for plain text,
for the parse tree, for the export options and for the final output. They
are all named after the same scheme: org-export-filter-TYPE-functions
,
where TYPE
is the type targeted by the filter. Valid types are:
bold | babel-call | center-block |
clock | code | comment |
comment-block | diary-sexp | drawer |
dynamic-block | entity | example-block |
export-block | export-snippet | final-output |
fixed-width | footnote-definition | footnote-reference |
headline | horizontal-rule | inline-babel-call |
inline-src-block | inlinetask | italic |
item | keyword | latex-environment |
latex-fragment | line-break | link |
node-property | options | paragraph |
parse-tree | plain-list | plain-text |
planning | property-drawer | quote-block |
quote-section | radio-target | section |
special-block | src-block | statistics-cookie |
strike-through | subscript | superscript |
table | table-cell | table-row |
target | timestamp | underline |
verbatim | verse-block |
For example, the following snippet allows me to use non-breaking spaces in
the Org buffer and get them translated into LaTeX without using the
\nbsp
macro (where _
stands for the non-breaking space):
(defun my-latex-filter-nobreaks (text backend info) "Ensure \"Â \" are properly handled in LaTeX export." (when (org-export-derived-backend-p backend 'latex) (replace-regexp-in-string "Â " "~" text))) (add-to-list 'org-export-filter-plain-text-functions 'my-latex-filter-nobreaks)
Three arguments must be provided to a filter: the code being changed, the
back-end used, and some information about the export process. You can safely
ignore the third argument for most purposes. Note the use of
org-export-derived-backend-p
, which ensures that the filter will only
be applied when using latex
back-end or any other back-end derived
from it (e.g., beamer
).
Extending an existing back-end
This is obviously the most powerful customization, since the changes happen at the parser level. Indeed, some export back-ends are built as extensions of other ones (e.g. Markdown back-end an extension of HTML back-end).
Extending a back-end means that if an element type is not transcoded by the new back-end, it will be handled by the original one. Hence you can extend specific parts of a back-end without too much work.
As an example, imagine we want the ascii
back-end to display the
language used in a source block, when it is available, but only when some
attribute is non-nil
, like the following:
#+ATTR_ASCII: :language t
Because that back-end is lacking in that area, we are going to create a new
back-end, my-ascii
that will do the job.
(defun my-ascii-src-block (src-block contents info) "Transcode a SRC-BLOCK element from Org to ASCII. CONTENTS is nil. INFO is a plist used as a communication channel." (if (not (org-export-read-attribute :attr_ascii src-block :language)) (org-export-with-backend 'ascii src-block contents info) (concat (format ",--[ %s ]--\n%s`----" (org-element-property :language src-block) (replace-regexp-in-string "^" "| " (org-element-normalize-string (org-export-format-code-default src-block info))))))) (org-export-define-derived-backend 'my-ascii 'ascii :translate-alist '((src-block . my-ascii-src-block)))
The my-ascii-src-block
function looks at the attribute above the
element. If it isn’t true, it gives hand to the ascii
back-end.
Otherwise, it creates a box around the code, leaving room for the language.
A new back-end is then created. It only changes its behavior when
translating src-block
type element. Now, all it takes to use the new
back-end is calling the following from an Org buffer:
(org-export-to-buffer 'my-ascii "*Org MY-ASCII Export*")
It is obviously possible to write an interactive function for this, install it in the export dispatcher menu, and so on.
Next: Working With Source Code, Previous: Exporting, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
13 Publishing
Org includes a publishing management system that allows you to configure automatic HTML conversion of projects composed of interlinked org files. You can also configure Org to automatically upload your exported HTML pages and related attachments, such as images and source code files, to a web server.
You can also use Org to convert files into PDF, or even combine HTML and PDF conversion so that files are available in both formats on the server.
Publishing has been contributed to Org by David O’Toole.
• Configuration: | Defining projects | |
• Uploading files: | How to get files up on the server | |
• Sample configuration: | Example projects | |
• Triggering publication: | Publication commands |
Next: Uploading files, Previous: Publishing, Up: Publishing [Contents][Index]
13.1 Configuration
Publishing needs significant configuration to specify files, destination and many other properties of a project.
• Project alist: | The central configuration variable | |
• Sources and destinations: | From here to there | |
• Selecting files: | What files are part of the project? | |
• Publishing action: | Setting the function doing the publishing | |
• Publishing options: | Tweaking HTML/LaTeX export | |
• Publishing links: | Which links keep working after publishing? | |
• Sitemap: | Generating a list of all pages | |
• Generating an index: | An index that reaches across pages |
Next: Sources and destinations, Previous: Configuration, Up: Configuration [Contents][Index]
13.1.1 The variable org-publish-project-alist
Publishing is configured almost entirely through setting the value of one
variable, called org-publish-project-alist
. Each element of the list
configures one project, and may be in one of the two following forms:
("project-name" :property value :property value ...) i.e., a well-formed property list with alternating keys and values or ("project-name" :components ("project-name" "project-name" ...))
In both cases, projects are configured by specifying property values. A
project defines the set of files that will be published, as well as the
publishing configuration to use when publishing those files. When a project
takes the second form listed above, the individual members of the
:components
property are taken to be sub-projects, which group
together files requiring different publishing options. When you publish such
a “meta-project”, all the components will also be published, in the
sequence given.
Next: Selecting files, Previous: Project alist, Up: Configuration [Contents][Index]
13.1.2 Sources and destinations for files
Most properties are optional, but some should always be set. In particular, Org needs to know where to look for source files, and where to put published files.
:base-directory | Directory containing publishing source files |
:publishing-directory | Directory where output files will be published. You can directly publish to a web server using a file name syntax appropriate for the Emacs tramp package. Or you can publish to a local directory and use external tools to upload your website (see Uploading files). |
:preparation-function | Function or list of functions to be called before starting the
publishing process, for example, to run make for updating files to be
published. The project property list is scoped into this call as the
variable project-plist . |
:completion-function | Function or list of functions called after finishing the publishing
process, for example, to change permissions of the resulting files. The
project property list is scoped into this call as the variable
project-plist . |
Next: Publishing action, Previous: Sources and destinations, Up: Configuration [Contents][Index]
13.1.3 Selecting files
By default, all files with extension .org in the base directory are considered part of the project. This can be modified by setting the properties
:base-extension | Extension (without the dot!) of source files. This actually is a
regular expression. Set this to the symbol any if you want to get all
files in :base-directory , even without extension. |
:exclude | Regular expression to match file names that should not be published, even though they have been selected on the basis of their extension. |
:include | List of files to be included regardless of :base-extension
and :exclude . |
:recursive | non-nil means, check base-directory recursively for files to publish. |
Next: Publishing options, Previous: Selecting files, Up: Configuration [Contents][Index]
13.1.4 Publishing action
Publishing means that a file is copied to the destination directory and
possibly transformed in the process. The default transformation is to export
Org files as HTML files, and this is done by the function
org-html-publish-to-html
, which calls the HTML exporter (see HTML export). But you also can publish your content as PDF files using
org-latex-publish-to-pdf
or as ascii
, Texinfo
, etc.,
using the corresponding functions.
If you want to publish the Org file as an .org
file but with the
archived, commented and tag-excluded trees removed, use the
function org-org-publish-to-org
. This will produce file.org
and put it in the publishing directory. If you want a htmlized version of
this file, set the parameter :htmlized-source
to t
, it will
produce file.org.html in the publishing directory167.
Other files like images only need to be copied to the publishing destination.
For this you can use org-publish-attachment
. For non-org files, you
always need to specify the publishing function:
:publishing-function | Function executing the publication of a file. This may also be a list of functions, which will all be called in turn. |
:htmlized-source | non-nil means, publish htmlized source. |
The function must accept three arguments: a property list containing at least
a :publishing-directory
property, the name of the file to be published
and the path to the publishing directory of the output file. It should take
the specified file, make the necessary transformation (if any) and place the
result into the destination folder.
Next: Publishing links, Previous: Publishing action, Up: Configuration [Contents][Index]
13.1.5 Options for the exporters
The property list can be used to set many export options for the exporters. In most cases, these properties correspond to user variables in Org. The first table below lists these properties along with the variable they belong to. The second table list HTML specific properties. See the documentation string of these options for details.
:archived-trees | org-export-with-archived-trees |
:exclude-tags | org-export-exclude-tags |
:headline-levels | org-export-headline-levels |
:language | org-export-default-language |
:preserve-breaks | org-export-preserve-breaks |
:section-numbers | org-export-with-section-numbers |
:select-tags | org-export-select-tags |
:with-author | org-export-with-author |
:with-creator | org-export-with-creator |
:with-drawers | org-export-with-drawers |
:with-email | org-export-with-email |
:with-emphasize | org-export-with-emphasize |
:with-fixed-width | org-export-with-fixed-width |
:with-footnotes | org-export-with-footnotes |
:with-latex | org-export-with-latex |
:with-planning | org-export-with-planning |
:with-priority | org-export-with-priority |
:with-special-strings | org-export-with-special-strings |
:with-sub-superscript | org-export-with-sub-superscripts |
:with-tables | org-export-with-tables |
:with-tags | org-export-with-tags |
:with-tasks | org-export-with-tasks |
:with-timestamps | org-export-with-timestamps |
:with-toc | org-export-with-toc |
:with-todo-keywords | org-export-with-todo-keywords |
:html-doctype | org-html-doctype |
:html-container | org-html-container-element |
:html-html5-fancy | org-html-html5-fancy |
:html-xml-declaration | org-html-xml-declaration |
:html-link-up | org-html-link-up |
:html-link-home | org-html-link-home |
:html-link-org-as-html | org-html-link-org-files-as-html |
:html-link-use-abs-url | org-html-link-use-abs-url |
:html-head | org-html-head |
:html-head-extra | org-html-head-extra |
:html-inline-images | org-html-inline-images |
:html-extension | org-html-extension |
:html-preamble | org-html-preamble |
:html-postamble | org-html-postamble |
:html-table-attributes | org-html-table-default-attributes |
:html-table-row-tags | org-html-table-row-tags |
:html-head-include-default-style | org-html-head-include-default-style |
:html-head-include-scripts | org-html-head-include-scripts |
Most of the org-export-with-*
variables have the same effect in each
exporter.
When a property is given a value in org-publish-project-alist
, its
setting overrides the value of the corresponding user variable (if any)
during publishing. Options set within a file (see Export settings),
however, override everything.
Next: Sitemap, Previous: Publishing options, Up: Configuration [Contents][Index]
13.1.6 Links between published files
To create a link from one Org file to another, you would use something like
‘[[file:foo.org][The foo]]’ or simply ‘file:foo.org.’
(see Hyperlinks). When published, this link becomes a link to
foo.html. You can thus interlink the pages of your "org web" project
and the links will work as expected when you publish them to HTML. If you
also publish the Org source file and want to link to it, use an http:
link instead of a file:
link, because file:
links are converted
to link to the corresponding html file.
You may also link to related files, such as images. Provided you are careful with relative file names, and provided you have also configured Org to upload the related files, these links will work too. See Complex example, for an example of this usage.
Next: Generating an index, Previous: Publishing links, Up: Configuration [Contents][Index]
13.1.7 Generating a sitemap
The following properties may be used to control publishing of a map of files for a given project.
:auto-sitemap | When non-nil , publish a sitemap during org-publish-current-project
or org-publish-all . |
:sitemap-filename | Filename for output of sitemap. Defaults to sitemap.org (which becomes sitemap.html). |
:sitemap-title | Title of sitemap page. Defaults to name of file. |
:sitemap-function | Plug-in function to use for generation of the sitemap.
Defaults to org-publish-org-sitemap , which generates a plain list
of links to all files in the project. |
:sitemap-sort-folders | Where folders should appear in the sitemap. Set this to first
(default) or last to display folders first or last,
respectively. Any other value will mix files and folders. |
:sitemap-sort-files | How the files are sorted in the site map. Set this to
alphabetically (default), chronologically or
anti-chronologically . chronologically sorts the files with
older date first while anti-chronologically sorts the files with newer
date first. alphabetically sorts the files alphabetically. The date of
a file is retrieved with org-publish-find-date . |
:sitemap-ignore-case | Should sorting be case-sensitive? Default nil . |
:sitemap-file-entry-format | With this option one can tell how a sitemap’s entry is formatted in the
sitemap. This is a format string with some escape sequences: %t stands
for the title of the file, %a stands for the author of the file and
%d stands for the date of the file. The date is retrieved with the
org-publish-find-date function and formatted with
org-publish-sitemap-date-format . Default %t . |
:sitemap-date-format | Format string for the format-time-string function that tells how
a sitemap entry’s date is to be formatted. This property bypasses
org-publish-sitemap-date-format which defaults to %Y-%m-%d . |
:sitemap-sans-extension | When non-nil , remove filenames’ extensions from the generated sitemap.
Useful to have cool URIs (see http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI).
Defaults to nil . |
Previous: Sitemap, Up: Configuration [Contents][Index]
13.1.8 Generating an index
Org mode can generate an index across the files of a publishing project.
:makeindex | When non-nil , generate in index in the file theindex.org and
publish it as theindex.html. |
The file will be created when first publishing a project with the
:makeindex
set. The file only contains a statement #+INCLUDE:
"theindex.inc"
. You can then build around this include statement by adding
a title, style information, etc.
Next: Sample configuration, Previous: Configuration, Up: Publishing [Contents][Index]
13.2 Uploading files
For those people already utilizing third party sync tools such as
rsync
or unison
, it might be preferable not to use the built in
remote publishing facilities of Org mode which rely heavily on
Tramp. Tramp, while very useful and powerful, tends not to be
so efficient for multiple file transfer and has been known to cause problems
under heavy usage.
Specialized synchronization utilities offer several advantages. In addition to timestamp comparison, they also do content and permissions/attribute checks. For this reason you might prefer to publish your web to a local directory (possibly even in place with your Org files) and then use unison or rsync to do the synchronization with the remote host.
Since Unison (for example) can be configured as to which files to transfer to
a certain remote destination, it can greatly simplify the project publishing
definition. Simply keep all files in the correct location, process your Org
files with org-publish
and let the synchronization tool do the rest.
You do not need, in this scenario, to include attachments such as jpg,
css or gif files in the project definition since the 3rd party
tool syncs them.
Publishing to a local directory is also much faster than to a remote one, so
that you can afford more easily to republish entire projects. If you set
org-publish-use-timestamps-flag
to nil
, you gain the main
benefit of re-including any changed external files such as source example
files you might include with #+INCLUDE:
. The timestamp mechanism in
Org is not smart enough to detect if included files have been modified.
Next: Triggering publication, Previous: Uploading files, Up: Publishing [Contents][Index]
13.3 Sample configuration
Below we provide two example configurations. The first one is a simple project publishing only a set of Org files. The second example is more complex, with a multi-component project.
• Simple example: | One-component publishing | |
• Complex example: | A multi-component publishing example |
Next: Complex example, Previous: Sample configuration, Up: Sample configuration [Contents][Index]
13.3.1 Example: simple publishing configuration
This example publishes a set of Org files to the public_html directory on the local machine.
(setq org-publish-project-alist '(("org" :base-directory "~/org/" :publishing-directory "~/public_html" :section-numbers nil :with-toc nil :html-head "<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"../other/mystyle.css\" type=\"text/css\"/>")))
Previous: Simple example, Up: Sample configuration [Contents][Index]
13.3.2 Example: complex publishing configuration
This more complicated example publishes an entire website, including Org files converted to HTML, image files, Emacs Lisp source code, and style sheets. The publishing directory is remote and private files are excluded.
To ensure that links are preserved, care should be taken to replicate your directory structure on the web server, and to use relative file paths. For example, if your Org files are kept in ~/org and your publishable images in ~/images, you would link to an image with
file:../images/myimage.png
On the web server, the relative path to the image should be the same. You can accomplish this by setting up an "images" folder in the right place on the web server, and publishing images to it.
(setq org-publish-project-alist '(("orgfiles" :base-directory "~/org/" :base-extension "org" :publishing-directory "/ssh:user@host:~/html/notebook/" :publishing-function org-html-publish-to-html :exclude "PrivatePage.org" ;; regexp :headline-levels 3 :section-numbers nil :with-toc nil :html-head "<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"../other/mystyle.css\" type=\"text/css\"/>" :html-preamble t) ("images" :base-directory "~/images/" :base-extension "jpg\\|gif\\|png" :publishing-directory "/ssh:user@host:~/html/images/" :publishing-function org-publish-attachment) ("other" :base-directory "~/other/" :base-extension "css\\|el" :publishing-directory "/ssh:user@host:~/html/other/" :publishing-function org-publish-attachment) ("website" :components ("orgfiles" "images" "other"))))
Previous: Sample configuration, Up: Publishing [Contents][Index]
13.4 Triggering publication
Once properly configured, Org can publish with the following commands:
- C-c C-e P x (
org-publish
) Prompt for a specific project and publish all files that belong to it.
- C-c C-e P p (
org-publish-current-project
) - C-c C-e P f (
org-publish-current-file
) - C-c C-e P a (
org-publish-all
) Publish every project.
Org uses timestamps to track when a file has changed. The above functions
normally only publish changed files. You can override this and force
publishing of all files by giving a prefix argument to any of the commands
above, or by customizing the variable org-publish-use-timestamps-flag
.
This may be necessary in particular if files include other files via
#+SETUPFILE:
or #+INCLUDE:
.
Next: Miscellaneous, Previous: Publishing, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
14 Working with source code
Source code can be included in Org mode documents using a ‘src’ block, e.g.:
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp (defun org-xor (a b) "Exclusive or." (if a (not b) b)) #+END_SRC
Org mode provides a number of features for working with live source code, including editing of code blocks in their native major-mode, evaluation of code blocks, converting code blocks into source files (known as tangling in literate programming), and exporting code blocks and their results in several formats. This functionality was contributed by Eric Schulte and Dan Davison, and was originally named Org-babel.
The following sections describe Org mode’s code block handling facilities.
• Structure of code blocks: | Code block syntax described | |
• Editing source code: | Language major-mode editing | |
• Exporting code blocks: | Export contents and/or results | |
• Extracting source code: | Create pure source code files | |
• Evaluating code blocks: | Place results of evaluation in the Org mode buffer | |
• Library of Babel: | Use and contribute to a library of useful code blocks | |
• Languages: | List of supported code block languages | |
• Header arguments: | Configure code block functionality | |
• Results of evaluation: | How evaluation results are handled | |
• Noweb reference syntax: | Literate programming in Org mode | |
• Key bindings and useful functions: | Work quickly with code blocks | |
• Batch execution: | Call functions from the command line |
Next: Editing source code, Previous: Working With Source Code, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.1 Structure of code blocks
Live code blocks can be specified with a ‘src’ block or inline.168 The structure of a ‘src’ block is
#+NAME: <name> #+BEGIN_SRC <language> <switches> <header arguments> <body> #+END_SRC
The #+NAME:
line is optional, and can be used to name the code
block. Live code blocks require that a language be specified on the
#+BEGIN_SRC
line. Switches and header arguments are optional.
Live code blocks can also be specified inline using
src_<language>{<body>}
or
src_<language>[<header arguments>]{<body>}
<#+NAME: name>
This line associates a name with the code block. This is similar to the
#+NAME: Name
lines that can be used to name tables in Org mode files. Referencing the name of a code block makes it possible to evaluate the block from other places in the file, from other files, or from Org mode table formulas (see The spreadsheet). Names are assumed to be unique and the behavior of Org mode when two or more blocks share the same name is undefined.<language>
The language of the code in the block (see Languages).
<switches>
Optional switches control code block export (see the discussion of switches in Literal examples)
<header arguments>
Optional header arguments control many aspects of evaluation, export and tangling of code blocks (see Header arguments). Header arguments can also be set on a per-buffer or per-subtree basis using properties.
source code, header arguments
<body>
Source code in the specified language.
Next: Exporting code blocks, Previous: Structure of code blocks, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.2 Editing source code
Use C-c ' to edit the current code block. This brings up a language
major-mode edit buffer containing the body of the code block. Manually
saving this buffer with C-x C-s will write the contents back to the Org
buffer. You can also set org-edit-src-auto-save-idle-delay
to save the
base buffer after some idle delay, or org-edit-src-turn-on-auto-save
to auto-save this buffer into a separate file using auto-save-mode
.
Use C-c ' again to exit.
The org-src-mode
minor mode will be active in the edit buffer. The
following variables can be used to configure the behavior of the edit
buffer. See also the customization group org-edit-structure
for
further configuration options.
org-src-lang-modes
If an Emacs major-mode named
<lang>-mode
exists, where<lang>
is the language named in the header line of the code block, then the edit buffer will be placed in that major-mode. This variable can be used to map arbitrary language names to existing major modes.org-src-window-setup
Controls the way Emacs windows are rearranged when the edit buffer is created.
org-src-preserve-indentation
By default, the value is
nil
, which means that when code blocks are evaluated during export or tangled, they are re-inserted into the code block, which may replace sequences of spaces with tab characters. When non-nil, whitespace in code blocks will be preserved during export or tangling, exactly as it appears. This variable is especially useful for tangling languages such as Python, in which whitespace indentation in the output is critical.org-src-ask-before-returning-to-edit-buffer
By default, Org will ask before returning to an open edit buffer. Set this variable to
nil
to switch without asking.
To turn on native code fontification in the Org buffer, configure the
variable org-src-fontify-natively
.
Next: Extracting source code, Previous: Editing source code, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.3 Exporting code blocks
It is possible to export the code of code blocks, the results
of code block evaluation, both the code and the results of code block
evaluation, or none. For most languages, the default exports code.
However, for some languages (e.g., ditaa
) the default exports the
results of code block evaluation. For information on exporting code block
bodies, see Literal examples.
The :exports
header argument can be used to specify export
behavior:
Header arguments:
:exports code
The default in most languages. The body of the code block is exported, as described in Literal examples.
:exports results
The code block will be evaluated and the results will be placed in the Org mode buffer for export, either updating previous results of the code block located anywhere in the buffer or, if no previous results exist, placing the results immediately after the code block. The body of the code block will not be exported.
:exports both
Both the code block and its results will be exported.
:exports none
Neither the code block nor its results will be exported.
It is possible to inhibit the evaluation of code blocks during export.
Setting the org-export-babel-evaluate
variable to nil
will
ensure that no code blocks are evaluated as part of the export process. This
can be useful in situations where potentially untrusted Org mode files are
exported in an automated fashion, for example when Org mode is used as the
markup language for a wiki. It is also possible to set this variable to
'inline-only
. In that case, only inline code blocks will be
evaluated, in order to insert their results. Non-inline code blocks are
assumed to have their results already inserted in the buffer by manual
evaluation. This setting is useful to avoid expensive recalculations during
export, not to provide security.
Next: Evaluating code blocks, Previous: Exporting code blocks, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.4 Extracting source code
Creating pure source code files by extracting code from source blocks is
referred to as “tangling”—a term adopted from the literate programming
community. During “tangling” of code blocks their bodies are expanded
using org-babel-expand-src-block
which can expand both variable and
“noweb” style references (see Noweb reference syntax).
Header arguments
:tangle no
The default. The code block is not included in the tangled output.
:tangle yes
Include the code block in the tangled output. The output file name is the name of the org file with the extension ‘.org’ replaced by the extension for the block language.
:tangle filename
Include the code block in the tangled output to file ‘filename’.
Functions
org-babel-tangle
Tangle the current file. Bound to C-c C-v t.
With prefix argument only tangle the current code block.
org-babel-tangle-file
Choose a file to tangle. Bound to C-c C-v f.
Hooks
org-babel-post-tangle-hook
This hook is run from within code files tangled by
org-babel-tangle
. Example applications could include post-processing, compilation or evaluation of tangled code files.
Jumping between code and Org
When tangling code from an Org-mode buffer to a source code file, you’ll frequently find yourself viewing the file of tangled source code (e.g., many debuggers point to lines of the source code file). It is useful to be able to navigate from the tangled source to the Org-mode buffer from which the code originated.
The org-babel-tangle-jump-to-org
function provides this jumping from
code to Org-mode functionality. Two header arguments are required for
jumping to work, first the padline
(padline) option must be set
to true (the default setting), second the comments
(comments)
header argument must be set to links
, which will insert comments into
the source code buffer which point back to the original Org-mode file.
Next: Library of Babel, Previous: Extracting source code, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.5 Evaluating code blocks
Code blocks can be evaluated169 and the results of evaluation optionally placed in the
Org mode buffer. The results of evaluation are placed following a line that
begins by default with #+RESULTS
and optionally a cache identifier
and/or the name of the evaluated code block. The default value of
#+RESULTS
can be changed with the customizable variable
org-babel-results-keyword
.
By default, the evaluation facility is only enabled for Lisp code blocks
specified as emacs-lisp
. However, source code blocks in many languages
can be evaluated within Org mode (see Languages for a list of supported
languages and Structure of code blocks for information on the syntax
used to define a code block).
There are a number of ways to evaluate code blocks. The simplest is to press
C-c C-c or C-c C-v e with the point on a code block170. This will call the
org-babel-execute-src-block
function to evaluate the block and insert
its results into the Org mode buffer.
It is also possible to evaluate named code blocks from anywhere in an Org
mode buffer or an Org mode table. Live code blocks located in the current
Org mode buffer or in the “Library of Babel” (see Library of Babel)
can be executed. Named code blocks can be executed with a separate
#+CALL:
line or inline within a block of text.
The syntax of the #+CALL:
line is
#+CALL: <name>(<arguments>) #+CALL: <name>[<inside header arguments>](<arguments>) <end header arguments>
The syntax for inline evaluation of named code blocks is
... call_<name>(<arguments>) ... ... call_<name>[<inside header arguments>](<arguments>)[<end header arguments>] ...
<name>
The name of the code block to be evaluated (see Structure of code blocks).
<arguments>
Arguments specified in this section will be passed to the code block. These arguments use standard function call syntax, rather than header argument syntax. For example, a
#+CALL:
line that passes the number four to a code block nameddouble
, which declares the header argument:var n=2
, would be written as#+CALL: double(n=4)
.<inside header arguments>
Inside header arguments are passed through and applied to the named code block. These arguments use header argument syntax rather than standard function call syntax. Inside header arguments affect how the code block is evaluated. For example,
[:results output]
will collect the results of everything printed toSTDOUT
during execution of the code block.<end header arguments>
End header arguments are applied to the calling instance and do not affect evaluation of the named code block. They affect how the results are incorporated into the Org mode buffer and how the call line is exported. For example,
:results html
will insert the results of the call line evaluation in the Org buffer, wrapped in aBEGIN_HTML:
block.For more examples of passing header arguments to
#+CALL:
lines see Header arguments in function calls.
Next: Languages, Previous: Evaluating code blocks, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.6 Library of Babel
The “Library of Babel” consists of code blocks that can be called from any Org mode file. Code blocks defined in the “Library of Babel” can be called remotely as if they were in the current Org mode buffer (see Evaluating code blocks for information on the syntax of remote code block evaluation).
The central repository of code blocks in the “Library of Babel” is housed in an Org mode file located in the ‘contrib’ directory of Org mode.
Users can add code blocks they believe to be generally useful to their
“Library of Babel.” The code blocks can be stored in any Org mode file and
then loaded into the library with org-babel-lob-ingest
.
Code blocks located in any Org mode file can be loaded into the “Library of
Babel” with the org-babel-lob-ingest
function, bound to C-c C-v
i.
Next: Header arguments, Previous: Library of Babel, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.7 Languages
Code blocks in the following languages are supported.
Language | Identifier | Language | Identifier |
Asymptote | asymptote | Awk | awk |
Emacs Calc | calc | C | C |
C++ | C++ | Clojure | clojure |
CSS | css | ditaa | ditaa |
Graphviz | dot | Emacs Lisp | emacs-lisp |
gnuplot | gnuplot | Haskell | haskell |
Java | java | ||
Javascript | js | LaTeX | latex |
Ledger | ledger | Lisp | lisp |
Lilypond | lilypond | MATLAB | matlab |
Mscgen | mscgen | Objective Caml | ocaml |
Octave | octave | Org mode | org |
Oz | oz | Perl | perl |
Plantuml | plantuml | Python | python |
R | R | Ruby | ruby |
Sass | sass | Scheme | scheme |
GNU Screen | screen | shell | sh |
SQL | sql | SQLite | sqlite |
Language-specific documentation is available for some languages. If available, it can be found at http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/babel/languages.html.
The option org-babel-load-languages
controls which languages are
enabled for evaluation (by default only emacs-lisp
is enabled). This
variable can be set using the customization interface or by adding code like
the following to your emacs configuration.
The following disables
emacs-lisp
evaluation and enables evaluation ofR
code blocks.
(org-babel-do-load-languages 'org-babel-load-languages '((emacs-lisp . nil) (R . t)))
It is also possible to enable support for a language by loading the related
elisp file with require
.
The following adds support for evaluating
clojure
code blocks.
(require 'ob-clojure)
Next: Results of evaluation, Previous: Languages, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.8 Header arguments
Code block functionality can be configured with header arguments. This section provides an overview of the use of header arguments, and then describes each header argument in detail.
• Using header arguments: | Different ways to set header arguments | |
• Specific header arguments: | List of header arguments |
Next: Specific header arguments, Previous: Header arguments, Up: Header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.1 Using header arguments
The values of header arguments can be set in several way. When the header arguments in each layer have been determined, they are combined in order from the first, least specific (having the lowest priority) up to the last, most specific (having the highest priority). A header argument with a higher priority replaces the same header argument specified at lower priority.
• System-wide header arguments: | Set global default values | |
• Language-specific header arguments: | Set default values by language | |
• Header arguments in Org mode properties: | Set default values for a buffer or heading | |
• Language-specific header arguments in Org mode properties: | Set language-specific default values for a buffer or heading | |
• Code block specific header arguments: | The most common way to set values | |
• Header arguments in function calls: | The most specific level |
Next: Language-specific header arguments, Previous: Using header arguments, Up: Using header arguments [Contents][Index]
System-wide header arguments
System-wide header arguments
System-wide values of header arguments can be specified by adapting the
org-babel-default-header-args
variable:
:session => "none" :results => "replace" :exports => "code" :cache => "no" :noweb => "no"
For example, the following example could be used to set the default value of
:noweb
header arguments to yes
. This would have the effect of
expanding :noweb
references by default when evaluating source code
blocks.
(setq org-babel-default-header-args (cons '(:noweb . "yes") (assq-delete-all :noweb org-babel-default-header-args)))
Next: Header arguments in Org mode properties, Previous: System-wide header arguments, Up: Using header arguments [Contents][Index]
Language-specific header arguments
Language-specific header arguments
Each language can define its own set of default header arguments in variable
org-babel-default-header-args:<lang>
, where <lang>
is the name
of the language. See the language-specific documentation available online at
http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/babel.
Next: Language-specific header arguments in Org mode properties, Previous: Language-specific header arguments, Up: Using header arguments [Contents][Index]
Header arguments in Org mode properties
Header arguments in Org mode properties
Buffer-wide header arguments may be specified as properties through the use
of #+PROPERTY:
lines placed anywhere in an Org mode file (see
Property syntax).
For example the following would set session
to *R*
(only for R
code blocks), and results
to silent
for every code block in the
buffer, ensuring that all execution took place in the same session, and no
results would be inserted into the buffer.
#+PROPERTY: header-args:R :session *R* #+PROPERTY: header-args :results silent
Header arguments read from Org mode properties can also be set on a
per-subtree basis using property drawers (see Property syntax).
When properties are used to set default header arguments, they are always
looked up with inheritance, regardless of the value of
org-use-property-inheritance
. Properties are evaluated as seen by the
outermost call or source block.171
In the following example the value of
the :cache
header argument will default to yes
in all code
blocks in the subtree rooted at the following heading:
* outline header :PROPERTIES: :header-args: :cache yes :END:
Properties defined in this way override the properties set in
org-babel-default-header-args
and are applied for all activated
languages. It is convenient to use the org-set-property
function
bound to C-c C-x p to set properties in Org mode documents.
Next: Code block specific header arguments, Previous: Header arguments in Org mode properties, Up: Using header arguments [Contents][Index]
Language-specific header arguments in Org mode properties
Language-specific header arguments in Org mode properties
Language-specific header arguments are also read from properties
header-args:<lang>
where <lang>
is the name of the language
targeted. As an example
* Heading :PROPERTIES: :header-args:clojure: :session *clojure-1* :header-args:R: :session *R* :END: ** Subheading :PROPERTIES: :header-args:clojure: :session *clojure-2* :END:
would independently set a default session header argument for R and clojure for calls and source blocks under subtree “Heading” and change to a different clojure setting for evaluations under subtree “Subheading”, while the R session is inherited from “Heading” and therefore unchanged.
Next: Header arguments in function calls, Previous: Language-specific header arguments in Org mode properties, Up: Using header arguments [Contents][Index]
Code block specific header arguments
Code block specific header arguments
The most common way to assign values to header arguments is at the
code block level. This can be done by listing a sequence of header
arguments and their values as part of the #+BEGIN_SRC
line.
Properties set in this way override both the values of
org-babel-default-header-args
and header arguments specified as
properties. In the following example, the :results
header argument
is set to silent
, meaning the results of execution will not be
inserted in the buffer, and the :exports
header argument is set to
code
, meaning only the body of the code block will be
preserved on export to HTML or LaTeX.
#+NAME: factorial #+BEGIN_SRC haskell :results silent :exports code :var n=0 fac 0 = 1 fac n = n * fac (n-1) #+END_SRC
Similarly, it is possible to set header arguments for inline code blocks
src_haskell[:exports both]{fac 5}
Code block header arguments can span multiple lines using #+HEADER:
or
#+HEADERS:
lines preceding a code block or nested between the
#+NAME:
line and the #+BEGIN_SRC
line of a named code block.
Multi-line header arguments on an un-named code block:
#+HEADERS: :var data1=1 #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var data2=2 (message "data1:%S, data2:%S" data1 data2) #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: : data1:1, data2:2
Multi-line header arguments on a named code block:
#+NAME: named-block #+HEADER: :var data=2 #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp (message "data:%S" data) #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: named-block : data:2
Previous: Code block specific header arguments, Up: Using header arguments [Contents][Index]
Header arguments in function calls
Header arguments in function calls
At the most specific level, header arguments for “Library of Babel” or
#+CALL:
lines can be set as shown in the two examples below. For more
information on the structure of #+CALL:
lines see Evaluating code blocks.
The following will apply the :exports results
header argument to the
evaluation of the #+CALL:
line.
#+CALL: factorial(n=5) :exports results
The following will apply the :session special
header argument to the
evaluation of the factorial
code block.
#+CALL: factorial[:session special](n=5)
Previous: Using header arguments, Up: Header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2 Specific header arguments
Header arguments consist of an initial colon followed by the name of the argument in lowercase letters. The following header arguments are defined:
• var: | Pass arguments to code blocks | |
• results: | Specify the type of results and how they will be collected and handled | |
• file: | Specify a path for file output | |
• file-desc: | Specify a description for file results | |
• dir: | Specify the default (possibly remote) directory for code block execution | |
• exports: | Export code and/or results | |
• tangle: | Toggle tangling and specify file name | |
• mkdirp: | Toggle creation of parent directories of target files during tangling | |
• comments: | Toggle insertion of comments in tangled code files | |
• padline: | Control insertion of padding lines in tangled code files | |
• no-expand: | Turn off variable assignment and noweb expansion during tangling | |
• session: | Preserve the state of code evaluation | |
• noweb: | Toggle expansion of noweb references | |
• noweb-ref: | Specify block’s noweb reference resolution target | |
• noweb-sep: | String used to separate noweb references | |
• cache: | Avoid re-evaluating unchanged code blocks | |
• sep: | Delimiter for writing tabular results outside Org | |
• hlines: | Handle horizontal lines in tables | |
• colnames: | Handle column names in tables | |
• rownames: | Handle row names in tables | |
• shebang: | Make tangled files executable | |
• tangle-mode: | Set permission of tangled files | |
• eval: | Limit evaluation of specific code blocks | |
• wrap: | Mark source block evaluation results | |
• post: | Post processing of code block results | |
• prologue: | Text to prepend to code block body | |
• epilogue: | Text to append to code block body |
Additional header arguments are defined on a language-specific basis, see Languages.
Next: results, Previous: Specific header arguments, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.1 :var
The :var
header argument is used to pass arguments to code blocks.
The specifics of how arguments are included in a code block vary by language;
these are addressed in the language-specific documentation. However, the
syntax used to specify arguments is the same across all languages. In every
case, variables require a default value when they are declared.
The values passed to arguments can either be literal values, references, or
Emacs Lisp code (see Emacs Lisp evaluation of variables).
References include anything in the Org mode file that takes a #+NAME:
or #+RESULTS:
line: tables, lists, #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
blocks,
other code blocks and the results of other code blocks.
Note: When a reference is made to another code block, the referenced block will be evaluated unless it has current cached results (see cache).
Argument values can be indexed in a manner similar to arrays (see Indexable variable values).
The following syntax is used to pass arguments to code blocks using the
:var
header argument.
:var name=assign
The argument, assign
, can either be a literal value, such as a string
‘"string"’ or a number ‘9’, or a reference to a table, a list, a
literal example, another code block (with or without arguments), or the
results of evaluating another code block.
Here are examples of passing values by reference:
- table
an Org mode table named with either a
#+NAME:
line#+NAME: example-table | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | #+NAME: table-length #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var table=example-table (length table) #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: table-length : 4
- list
a simple list named with a
#+NAME:
line (note that nesting is not carried through to the source code block)#+NAME: example-list - simple - not - nested - list #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var x=example-list (print x) #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: | simple | list |
- code block without arguments
a code block name (from the example above), as assigned by
#+NAME:
, optionally followed by parentheses#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var length=table-length() (* 2 length) #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: : 8
- code block with arguments
a code block name, as assigned by
#+NAME:
, followed by parentheses and optional arguments passed within the parentheses following the code block name using standard function call syntax#+NAME: double #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var input=8 (* 2 input) #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: double : 16 #+NAME: squared #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var input=double(input=1) (* input input) #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: squared : 4
- literal example
a literal example block named with a
#+NAME:
line#+NAME: literal-example #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE A literal example on two lines #+END_EXAMPLE #+NAME: read-literal-example #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var x=literal-example (concatenate 'string x " for you.") #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: read-literal-example : A literal example : on two lines for you.
Indexable variable values
It is possible to reference portions of variable values by “indexing” into
the variables. Indexes are 0 based with negative values counting back from
the end. If an index is separated by ,
s then each subsequent section
will index into the next deepest nesting or dimension of the value. Note
that this indexing occurs before other table related header arguments
like :hlines
, :colnames
and :rownames
are applied. The
following example assigns the last cell of the first row the table
example-table
to the variable data
:
#+NAME: example-table | 1 | a | | 2 | b | | 3 | c | | 4 | d | #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var data=example-table[0,-1] data #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: : a
Ranges of variable values can be referenced using two integers separated by a
:
, in which case the entire inclusive range is referenced. For
example the following assigns the middle three rows of example-table
to data
.
#+NAME: example-table | 1 | a | | 2 | b | | 3 | c | | 4 | d | | 5 | 3 | #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var data=example-table[1:3] data #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: | 2 | b | | 3 | c | | 4 | d |
Additionally, an empty index, or the single character *
, are both
interpreted to mean the entire range and as such are equivalent to
0:-1
, as shown in the following example in which the entire first
column is referenced.
#+NAME: example-table | 1 | a | | 2 | b | | 3 | c | | 4 | d | #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var data=example-table[,0] data #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
It is possible to index into the results of code blocks as well as tables. Any number of dimensions can be indexed. Dimensions are separated from one another by commas, as shown in the following example.
#+NAME: 3D #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp '(((1 2 3) (4 5 6) (7 8 9)) ((10 11 12) (13 14 15) (16 17 18)) ((19 20 21) (22 23 24) (25 26 27))) #+END_SRC #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var data=3D[1,,1] data #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: | 11 | 14 | 17 |
Emacs Lisp evaluation of variables
Emacs lisp code can be used to initialize variable values. When a variable
value starts with (
, [
, '
or `
it will be
evaluated as Emacs Lisp and the result of the evaluation will be assigned as
the variable value. The following example demonstrates use of this
evaluation to reliably pass the file-name of the Org mode buffer to a code
block—note that evaluation of header arguments is guaranteed to take place
in the original Org mode file, while there is no such guarantee for
evaluation of the code block body.
#+BEGIN_SRC sh :var filename=(buffer-file-name) :exports both wc -w $filename #+END_SRC
Note that values read from tables and lists will not be evaluated as Emacs Lisp, as shown in the following example.
#+NAME: table | (a b c) | #+HEADERS: :var data=table[0,0] #+BEGIN_SRC perl $data #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: : (a b c)
Next: file, Previous: var, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.2 :results
There are four classes of :results
header argument. Only one option
per class may be supplied per code block.
- collection header arguments specify how the results should be collected from the code block
- type header arguments specify what type of result the code block will return—which has implications for how they will be processed before insertion into the Org mode buffer
- format header arguments specify what type of result the code block will return—which has implications for how they will be inserted into the Org mode buffer
- handling header arguments specify how the results of evaluating the code block should be handled.
Collection
The following options are mutually exclusive, and specify how the results should be collected from the code block.
-
value
This is the default. The result is the value of the last statement in the code block. This header argument places the evaluation in functional mode. Note that in some languages, e.g., Python, use of this result type requires that areturn
statement be included in the body of the source code block. E.g.,:results value
. -
output
The result is the collection of everything printed to STDOUT during the execution of the code block. This header argument places the evaluation in scripting mode. E.g.,:results output
.
Type
The following options are mutually exclusive and specify what type of results the code block will return. By default, results are inserted as either a table or scalar depending on their value.
-
table
,vector
The results should be interpreted as an Org mode table. If a single value is returned, it will be converted into a table with one row and one column. E.g.,:results value table
. -
list
The results should be interpreted as an Org mode list. If a single scalar value is returned it will be converted into a list with only one element. -
scalar
,verbatim
The results should be interpreted literally—they will not be converted into a table. The results will be inserted into the Org mode buffer as quoted text. E.g.,:results value verbatim
. -
file
The results will be interpreted as the path to a file, and will be inserted into the Org mode buffer as a file link. E.g.,:results value file
.
Format
The following options are mutually exclusive and specify what type of results the code block will return. By default, results are inserted according to the type as specified above.
-
raw
The results are interpreted as raw Org mode code and are inserted directly into the buffer. If the results look like a table they will be aligned as such by Org mode. E.g.,:results value raw
. -
org
The results are will be enclosed in aBEGIN_SRC org
block. They are not comma-escaped by default but they will be if you hit TAB in the block and/or if you export the file. E.g.,:results value org
. -
html
Results are assumed to be HTML and will be enclosed in aBEGIN_HTML
block. E.g.,:results value html
. -
latex
Results assumed to be LaTeX and are enclosed in aBEGIN_LaTeX
block. E.g.,:results value latex
. -
code
Result are assumed to be parsable code and are enclosed in a code block. E.g.,:results value code
. -
pp
The result is converted to pretty-printed code and is enclosed in a code block. This option currently supports Emacs Lisp, Python, and Ruby. E.g.,:results value pp
. -
drawer
The result is wrapped in a RESULTS drawer. This can be useful for insertingraw
ororg
syntax results in such a way that their extent is known and they can be automatically removed or replaced.
Handling
The following results options indicate what happens with the results once they are collected.
-
silent
The results will be echoed in the minibuffer but will not be inserted into the Org mode buffer. E.g.,:results output silent
. -
replace
The default value. Any existing results will be removed, and the new results will be inserted into the Org mode buffer in their place. E.g.,:results output replace
. -
append
If there are pre-existing results of the code block then the new results will be appended to the existing results. Otherwise the new results will be inserted as withreplace
. -
prepend
If there are pre-existing results of the code block then the new results will be prepended to the existing results. Otherwise the new results will be inserted as withreplace
.
Next: file-desc, Previous: results, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.3 :file
The header argument :file
is used to specify an external file in which
to save code block results. After code block evaluation an Org mode style
[[file:]]
link (see Link format) to the file will be inserted
into the Org mode buffer. Some languages including R, gnuplot, dot, and
ditaa provide special handling of the :file
header argument
automatically wrapping the code block body in the boilerplate code required
to save output to the specified file. This is often useful for saving
graphical output of a code block to the specified file.
The argument to :file
should be either a string specifying the path to
a file, or a list of two strings in which case the first element of the list
should be the path to a file and the second a description for the link.
Next: dir, Previous: file, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.4 :file-desc
The value of the :file-desc
header argument is used to provide a
description for file code block results which are inserted as Org mode links
(see Link format). If the :file-desc
header argument is given
with no value the link path will be placed in both the “link” and the
“description” portion of the Org mode link.
Next: exports, Previous: file-desc, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.5 :dir
and remote execution
While the :file
header argument can be used to specify the path to the
output file, :dir
specifies the default directory during code block
execution. If it is absent, then the directory associated with the current
buffer is used. In other words, supplying :dir path
temporarily has
the same effect as changing the current directory with M-x cd path RET, and
then not supplying :dir
. Under the surface, :dir
simply sets
the value of the Emacs variable default-directory
.
When using :dir
, you should supply a relative path for file output
(e.g., :file myfile.jpg
or :file results/myfile.jpg
) in which
case that path will be interpreted relative to the default directory.
In other words, if you want your plot to go into a folder called Work in your home directory, you could use
#+BEGIN_SRC R :file myplot.png :dir ~/Work matplot(matrix(rnorm(100), 10), type="l") #+END_SRC
Remote execution
A directory on a remote machine can be specified using tramp file syntax, in which case the code will be evaluated on the remote machine. An example is
#+BEGIN_SRC R :file plot.png :dir /dand@yakuba.princeton.edu: plot(1:10, main=system("hostname", intern=TRUE)) #+END_SRC
Text results will be returned to the local Org mode buffer as usual, and file output will be created on the remote machine with relative paths interpreted relative to the remote directory. An Org mode link to the remote file will be created.
So, in the above example a plot will be created on the remote machine, and a link of the following form will be inserted in the org buffer:
[[file:/scp:dand@yakuba.princeton.edu:/home/dand/plot.png][plot.png]]
Most of this functionality follows immediately from the fact that :dir
sets the value of the Emacs variable default-directory
, thanks to
tramp. Those using XEmacs, or GNU Emacs prior to version 23 may need to
install tramp separately in order for these features to work correctly.
Further points
- If
:dir
is used in conjunction with:session
, although it will determine the starting directory for a new session as expected, no attempt is currently made to alter the directory associated with an existing session. -
:dir
should typically not be used to create files during export with:exports results
or:exports both
. The reason is that, in order to retain portability of exported material between machines, during export links inserted into the buffer will not be expanded againstdefault directory
. Therefore, ifdefault-directory
is altered using:dir
, it is probable that the file will be created in a location to which the link does not point.
Next: tangle, Previous: dir, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.6 :exports
The :exports
header argument specifies what should be included in HTML
or LaTeX exports of the Org mode file.
-
code
The default. The body of code is included into the exported file. E.g.,:exports code
. -
results
The result of evaluating the code is included in the exported file. E.g.,:exports results
. -
both
Both the code and results are included in the exported file. E.g.,:exports both
. -
none
Nothing is included in the exported file. E.g.,:exports none
.
Next: mkdirp, Previous: exports, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.7 :tangle
The :tangle
header argument specifies whether or not the code
block should be included in tangled extraction of source code files.
-
tangle
The code block is exported to a source code file named after the full path (including the directory) and file name (w/o extension) of the Org mode file. E.g.,:tangle yes
. -
no
The default. The code block is not exported to a source code file. E.g.,:tangle no
. - other
Any other string passed to the
:tangle
header argument is interpreted as a path (directory and file name relative to the directory of the Org mode file) to which the block will be exported. E.g.,:tangle path
.
Next: comments, Previous: tangle, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.8 :mkdirp
The :mkdirp
header argument can be used to create parent directories
of tangled files when missing. This can be set to yes
to enable
directory creation or to no
to inhibit directory creation.
Next: padline, Previous: mkdirp, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.9 :comments
By default code blocks are tangled to source-code files without any insertion
of comments beyond those which may already exist in the body of the code
block. The :comments
header argument can be set as follows to control
the insertion of extra comments into the tangled code file.
-
no
The default. No extra comments are inserted during tangling. -
link
The code block is wrapped in comments which contain pointers back to the original Org file from which the code was tangled. -
yes
A synonym for “link” to maintain backwards compatibility. -
org
Include text from the Org mode file as a comment. The text is picked from the leading context of the tangled code and is limited by the nearest headline or source block as the case may be. -
both
Turns on both the “link” and “org” comment options. -
noweb
Turns on the “link” comment option, and additionally wraps expanded noweb references in the code block body in link comments.
Next: no-expand, Previous: comments, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.10 :padline
Control in insertion of padding lines around code block bodies in tangled
code files. The default value is yes
which results in insertion of
newlines before and after each tangled code block. The following arguments
are accepted.
-
yes
Insert newlines before and after each code block body in tangled code files. -
no
Do not insert any newline padding in tangled output.
Next: session, Previous: padline, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.11 :no-expand
By default, code blocks are expanded with org-babel-expand-src-block
during tangling. This has the effect of assigning values to variables
specified with :var
(see var), and of replacing “noweb”
references (see Noweb reference syntax) with their targets. The
:no-expand
header argument can be used to turn off this behavior.
Next: noweb, Previous: no-expand, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.12 :session
The :session
header argument starts a session for an interpreted
language where state is preserved.
By default, a session is not started.
A string passed to the :session
header argument will give the session
a name. This makes it possible to run concurrent sessions for each
interpreted language.
Next: noweb-ref, Previous: session, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.13 :noweb
The :noweb
header argument controls expansion of “noweb” syntax
references (see Noweb reference syntax) when the code block is
evaluated, tangled, or exported. The :noweb
header argument can have
one of the five values: no
, yes
, tangle
, or
no-export
strip-export
.
-
no
The default. “Noweb” syntax references in the body of the code block will not be expanded before the code block is evaluated, tangled or exported. -
yes
“Noweb” syntax references in the body of the code block will be expanded before the code block is evaluated, tangled or exported. -
tangle
“Noweb” syntax references in the body of the code block will be expanded before the code block is tangled. However, “noweb” syntax references will not be expanded when the code block is evaluated or exported. -
no-export
“Noweb” syntax references in the body of the code block will be expanded before the block is evaluated or tangled. However, “noweb” syntax references will not be expanded when the code block is exported. -
strip-export
“Noweb” syntax references in the body of the code block will be expanded before the block is evaluated or tangled. However, “noweb” syntax references will be removed when the code block is exported. -
eval
“Noweb” syntax references in the body of the code block will only be expanded before the block is evaluated.
Noweb prefix lines
Noweb insertions are now placed behind the line prefix of the
<<reference>>
.
This behavior is illustrated in the following example. Because the
<<example>>
noweb reference appears behind the SQL comment syntax,
each line of the expanded noweb reference will be commented.
This code block:
-- <<example>>
expands to:
-- this is the -- multi-line body of example
Note that noweb replacement text that does not contain any newlines will not be affected by this change, so it is still possible to use inline noweb references.
Next: noweb-sep, Previous: noweb, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.14 :noweb-ref
When expanding “noweb” style references the bodies of all code block with
either a block name matching the reference name or a
:noweb-ref
header argument matching the reference name will be
concatenated together to form the replacement text.
By setting this header argument at the sub-tree or file level, simple code block concatenation may be achieved. For example, when tangling the following Org mode file, the bodies of code blocks will be concatenated into the resulting pure code file172.
#+BEGIN_SRC sh :tangle yes :noweb yes :shebang #!/bin/sh <<fullest-disk>> #+END_SRC * the mount point of the fullest disk :PROPERTIES: :noweb-ref: fullest-disk :END: ** query all mounted disks #+BEGIN_SRC sh df \ #+END_SRC ** strip the header row #+BEGIN_SRC sh |sed '1d' \ #+END_SRC ** sort by the percent full #+BEGIN_SRC sh |awk '{print $5 " " $6}'|sort -n |tail -1 \ #+END_SRC ** extract the mount point #+BEGIN_SRC sh |awk '{print $2}' #+END_SRC
The :noweb-sep
(see noweb-sep) header argument holds the string
used to separate accumulate noweb references like those above. By default a
newline is used.
Next: cache, Previous: noweb-ref, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.15 :noweb-sep
The :noweb-sep
header argument holds the string used to separate
accumulate noweb references (see noweb-ref). By default a newline is
used.
Next: sep, Previous: noweb-sep, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.16 :cache
The :cache
header argument controls the use of in-buffer caching of
the results of evaluating code blocks. It can be used to avoid re-evaluating
unchanged code blocks. Note that the :cache
header argument will not
attempt to cache results when the :session
header argument is used,
because the results of the code block execution may be stored in the session
outside of the Org mode buffer. The :cache
header argument can have
one of two values: yes
or no
.
-
no
The default. No caching takes place, and the code block will be evaluated every time it is called. -
yes
Every time the code block is run a SHA1 hash of the code and arguments passed to the block will be generated. This hash is packed into the#+RESULTS:
line and will be checked on subsequent executions of the code block. If the code block has not changed since the last time it was evaluated, it will not be re-evaluated.
Code block caches notice if the value of a variable argument
to the code block has changed. If this is the case, the cache is
invalidated and the code block is re-run. In the following example,
caller
will not be re-run unless the results of random
have
changed since it was last run.
#+NAME: random #+BEGIN_SRC R :cache yes runif(1) #+END_SRC #+RESULTS[a2a72cd647ad44515fab62e144796432793d68e1]: random 0.4659510825295 #+NAME: caller #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var x=random :cache yes x #+END_SRC #+RESULTS[bec9c8724e397d5df3b696502df3ed7892fc4f5f]: caller 0.254227238707244
Next: hlines, Previous: cache, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.17 :sep
The :sep
header argument can be used to control the delimiter used
when writing tabular results out to files external to Org mode. This is used
either when opening tabular results of a code block by calling the
org-open-at-point
function bound to C-c C-o on the code block,
or when writing code block results to an external file (see file)
header argument.
By default, when :sep
is not specified output tables are tab
delimited.
Next: colnames, Previous: sep, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.18 :hlines
Tables are frequently represented with one or more horizontal lines, or
hlines. The :hlines
argument to a code block accepts the
values yes
or no
, with a default value of no
.
-
no
Strips horizontal lines from the input table. In most languages this is the desired effect because anhline
symbol is interpreted as an unbound variable and raises an error. Setting:hlines no
or relying on the default value yields the following results.#+NAME: many-cols | a | b | c | |---+---+---| | d | e | f | |---+---+---| | g | h | i | #+NAME: echo-table #+BEGIN_SRC python :var tab=many-cols return tab #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: echo-table | a | b | c | | d | e | f | | g | h | i |
-
yes
Leaves hlines in the table. Setting:hlines yes
has this effect.#+NAME: many-cols | a | b | c | |---+---+---| | d | e | f | |---+---+---| | g | h | i | #+NAME: echo-table #+BEGIN_SRC python :var tab=many-cols :hlines yes return tab #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: echo-table | a | b | c | |---+---+---| | d | e | f | |---+---+---| | g | h | i |
Next: rownames, Previous: hlines, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.19 :colnames
The :colnames
header argument accepts the values yes
,
no
, or nil
for unassigned. The default value is nil
.
Note that the behavior of the :colnames
header argument may differ
across languages.
-
nil
If an input table looks like it has column names (because its second row is an hline), then the column names will be removed from the table before processing, then reapplied to the results.#+NAME: less-cols | a | |---| | b | | c | #+NAME: echo-table-again #+BEGIN_SRC python :var tab=less-cols return [[val + '*' for val in row] for row in tab] #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: echo-table-again | a | |----| | b* | | c* |
Please note that column names are not removed before the table is indexed using variable indexing See Indexable variable values.
-
no
No column name pre-processing takes place -
yes
Column names are removed and reapplied as withnil
even if the table does not “look like” it has column names (i.e., the second row is not an hline)
Next: shebang, Previous: colnames, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.20 :rownames
The :rownames
header argument can take on the values yes
or
no
, with a default value of no
. Note that Emacs Lisp code
blocks ignore the :rownames
header argument entirely given the ease
with which tables with row names may be handled directly in Emacs Lisp.
-
no
No row name pre-processing will take place. -
yes
The first column of the table is removed from the table before processing, and is then reapplied to the results.#+NAME: with-rownames | one | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | two | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | #+NAME: echo-table-once-again #+BEGIN_SRC python :var tab=with-rownames :rownames yes return [[val + 10 for val in row] for row in tab] #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: echo-table-once-again | one | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | | two | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
Please note that row names are not removed before the table is indexed using variable indexing See Indexable variable values.
Next: tangle-mode, Previous: rownames, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.21 :shebang
Setting the :shebang
header argument to a string value
(e.g., :shebang "#!/bin/bash"
) causes the string to be inserted as the
first line of any tangled file holding the code block, and the file
permissions of the tangled file are set to make it executable.
Next: eval, Previous: shebang, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.22 :tangle-mode
The tangle-mode
header argument controls the permission set on tangled
files. The value of this header argument will be passed to
set-file-modes
. For example, to set a tangled file as read only use
:tangle-mode (identity #o444)
, or to set a tangled file as executable
use :tangle-mode (identity #o755)
. Blocks with shebang
(shebang) header arguments will automatically be made executable unless
the tangle-mode
header argument is also used. The behavior is
undefined if multiple code blocks with different values for the
tangle-mode
header argument are tangled to the same file.
Next: wrap, Previous: tangle-mode, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.23 :eval
The :eval
header argument can be used to limit the evaluation of
specific code blocks. The :eval
header argument can be useful for
protecting against the evaluation of dangerous code blocks or to ensure that
evaluation will require a query regardless of the value of the
org-confirm-babel-evaluate
variable. The possible values of
:eval
and their effects are shown below.
never or no
The code block will not be evaluated under any circumstances.
query
Evaluation of the code block will require a query.
never-export or no-export
The code block will not be evaluated during export but may still be called interactively.
query-export
Evaluation of the code block during export will require a query.
If this header argument is not set then evaluation is determined by the value
of the org-confirm-babel-evaluate
variable see Code evaluation security.
Next: post, Previous: eval, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.24 :wrap
The :wrap
header argument is used to mark the results of source block
evaluation. The header argument can be passed a string that will be appended
to #+BEGIN_
and #+END_
, which will then be used to wrap the
results. If not string is specified then the results will be wrapped in a
#+BEGIN/END_RESULTS
block.
Next: prologue, Previous: wrap, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.25 :post
The :post
header argument is used to post-process the results of a
code block execution. When a post argument is given, the results of the code
block will temporarily be bound to the *this*
variable. This variable
may then be included in header argument forms such as those used in var
header argument specifications allowing passing of results to other code
blocks, or direct execution via Emacs Lisp.
The following example illustrates the usage of the :post
header
argument.
#+name: attr_wrap #+begin_src sh :var data="" :var width="\\textwidth" :results output echo "#+ATTR_LATEX :width $width" echo "$data" #+end_src #+header: :file /tmp/it.png #+begin_src dot :post attr_wrap(width="5cm", data=*this*) :results drawer digraph{ a -> b; b -> c; c -> a; } #+end_src #+RESULTS: :RESULTS: #+ATTR_LATEX :width 5cm [[file:/tmp/it.png]] :END:
Next: epilogue, Previous: post, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.26 :prologue
The value of the prologue
header argument will be prepended to the
code block body before execution. For example, :prologue "reset"
may
be used to reset a gnuplot session before execution of a particular code
block, or the following configuration may be used to do this for all gnuplot
code blocks. Also see epilogue.
(add-to-list 'org-babel-default-header-args:gnuplot '((:prologue . "reset")))
Previous: prologue, Up: Specific header arguments [Contents][Index]
14.8.2.27 :epilogue
The value of the epilogue
header argument will be appended to the code
block body before execution. Also see prologue.
Next: Noweb reference syntax, Previous: Header arguments, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.9 Results of evaluation
The way in which results are handled depends on whether a session is invoked,
as well as on whether :results value
or :results output
is
used. The following table shows the table possibilities. For a full listing
of the possible results header arguments see results.
Non-session | Session | |
:results value | value of last expression | value of last expression |
:results output | contents of STDOUT | concatenation of interpreter output |
Note: With :results value
, the result in both :session
and
non-session is returned to Org mode as a table (a one- or two-dimensional
vector of strings or numbers) when appropriate.
14.9.1 Non-session
14.9.1.1 :results value
This is the default. Internally, the value is obtained by wrapping the code
in a function definition in the external language, and evaluating that
function. Therefore, code should be written as if it were the body of such a
function. In particular, note that Python does not automatically return a
value from a function unless a return
statement is present, and so a
‘return’ statement will usually be required in Python.
This is the only one of the four evaluation contexts in which the code is automatically wrapped in a function definition.
14.9.1.2 :results output
The code is passed to the interpreter as an external process, and the contents of the standard output stream are returned as text. (In certain languages this also contains the error output stream; this is an area for future work.)
14.9.2 Session
14.9.2.1 :results value
The code is passed to an interpreter running as an interactive Emacs inferior
process. Only languages which provide tools for interactive evaluation of
code have session support, so some language (e.g., C and ditaa) do not
support the :session
header argument, and in other languages (e.g.,
Python and Haskell) which have limitations on the code which may be entered
into interactive sessions, those limitations apply to the code in code blocks
using the :session
header argument as well.
Unless the :results output
option is supplied (see below) the result
returned is the result of the last evaluation performed by the
interpreter. (This is obtained in a language-specific manner: the value of
the variable _
in Python and Ruby, and the value of .Last.value
in R).
14.9.2.2 :results output
The code is passed to the interpreter running as an interactive Emacs
inferior process. The result returned is the concatenation of the sequence of
(text) output from the interactive interpreter. Notice that this is not
necessarily the same as what would be sent to STDOUT
if the same code
were passed to a non-interactive interpreter running as an external
process. For example, compare the following two blocks:
#+BEGIN_SRC python :results output print "hello" 2 print "bye" #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: : hello : bye
In non-session mode, the ‘2’ is not printed and does not appear.
#+BEGIN_SRC python :results output :session print "hello" 2 print "bye" #+END_SRC #+RESULTS: : hello : 2 : bye
But in :session
mode, the interactive interpreter receives input ‘2’
and prints out its value, ‘2’. (Indeed, the other print statements are
unnecessary here).
Next: Key bindings and useful functions, Previous: Results of evaluation, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.10 Noweb reference syntax
The “noweb” (see http://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/noweb/) Literate Programming system allows named blocks of code to be referenced by using the familiar Noweb syntax:
<<code-block-name>>
When a code block is tangled or evaluated, whether or not “noweb”
references are expanded depends upon the value of the :noweb
header
argument. If :noweb yes
, then a Noweb reference is expanded before
evaluation. If :noweb no
, the default, then the reference is not
expanded before evaluation. See the noweb-ref header argument for
a more flexible way to resolve noweb references.
It is possible to include the results of a code block rather than the body. This is done by appending parenthesis to the code block name which may optionally contain arguments to the code block as shown below.
<<code-block-name(optional arguments)>>
Note: the default value, :noweb no
, was chosen to ensure that
correct code is not broken in a language, such as Ruby, where
<<arg>>
is a syntactically valid construct. If <<arg>>
is not
syntactically valid in languages that you use, then please consider setting
the default value.
Note: if noweb tangling is slow in large Org mode files consider setting the
org-babel-use-quick-and-dirty-noweb-expansion
variable to t
.
This will result in faster noweb reference resolution at the expense of not
correctly resolving inherited values of the :noweb-ref
header
argument.
Next: Batch execution, Previous: Noweb reference syntax, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.11 Key bindings and useful functions
Many common Org mode key sequences are re-bound depending on the context.
Within a code block, the following key bindings are active:
C-c C-c | org-babel-execute-src-block
|
C-c C-o | org-babel-open-src-block-result
|
M-up | org-babel-load-in-session
|
M-down | org-babel-switch-to-session |
In an Org mode buffer, the following key bindings are active:
Previous: Key bindings and useful functions, Up: Working With Source Code [Contents][Index]
14.12 Batch execution
It is possible to call functions from the command line. This shell
script calls org-babel-tangle
on every one of its arguments.
Be sure to adjust the paths to fit your system.
#!/bin/sh # -*- mode: shell-script -*- # # tangle files with org-mode # DIR=`pwd` FILES="" # wrap each argument in the code required to call tangle on it for i in $@; do FILES="$FILES \"$i\"" done emacs -Q --batch \ --eval "(progn (add-to-list 'load-path (expand-file-name \"~/src/org/lisp/\")) (add-to-list 'load-path (expand-file-name \"~/src/org/contrib/lisp/\" t)) (require 'org)(require 'org-exp)(require 'ob)(require 'ob-tangle) (mapc (lambda (file) (find-file (expand-file-name file \"$DIR\")) (org-babel-tangle) (kill-buffer)) '($FILES)))" 2>&1 |grep tangled
Next: Hacking, Previous: Working With Source Code, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
15 Miscellaneous
• Completion: | M-TAB knows what you need | |
• Easy Templates: | Quick insertion of structural elements | |
• Speed keys: | Electric commands at the beginning of a headline | |
• Code evaluation security: | Org mode files evaluate inline code | |
• Customization: | Adapting Org to your taste | |
• In-buffer settings: | Overview of the #+KEYWORDS | |
• The very busy C-c C-c key: | When in doubt, press C-c C-c | |
• Clean view: | Getting rid of leading stars in the outline | |
• TTY keys: | Using Org on a tty | |
• Interaction: | Other Emacs packages | |
• org-crypt: | Encrypting Org files |
Next: Easy Templates, Previous: Miscellaneous, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.1 Completion
Emacs would not be Emacs without completion, and Org mode uses it whenever it
makes sense. If you prefer an iswitchb- or ido-like interface for
some of the completion prompts, you can specify your preference by setting at
most one of the variables org-completion-use-iswitchb
org-completion-use-ido
.
Org supports in-buffer completion. This type of completion does not make use of the minibuffer. You simply type a few letters into the buffer and use the key to complete text right there.
- M-TAB
Complete word at point
- At the beginning of a headline, complete TODO keywords.
- After ‘\’, complete TeX symbols supported by the exporter.
- After ‘*’, complete headlines in the current buffer so that they can be used in search links like ‘[[*find this headline]]’.
- After ‘:’ in a headline, complete tags. The list of tags is taken
from the variable
org-tag-alist
(possibly set through the ‘#+TAGS’ in-buffer option, see Setting tags), or it is created dynamically from all tags used in the current buffer. - After ‘:’ and not in a headline, complete property keys. The list of keys is constructed dynamically from all keys used in the current buffer.
- After ‘[’, complete link abbreviations (see Link abbreviations).
- After ‘#+’, complete the special keywords like ‘TYP_TODO’ or ‘OPTIONS’ which set file-specific options for Org mode. When the option keyword is already complete, pressing M-TAB again will insert example settings for this keyword.
- In the line after ‘#+STARTUP: ’, complete startup keywords, i.e., valid keys for this line.
- Elsewhere, complete dictionary words using Ispell.
Next: Speed keys, Previous: Completion, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.2 Easy Templates
Org mode supports insertion of empty structural elements (like
#+BEGIN_SRC
and #+END_SRC
pairs) with just a few key
strokes. This is achieved through a native template expansion mechanism.
Note that Emacs has several other template mechanisms which could be used in
a similar way, for example yasnippet.
To insert a structural element, type a ‘<’, followed by a template selector and TAB. Completion takes effect only when the above keystrokes are typed on a line by itself.
The following template selectors are currently supported.
s | #+BEGIN_SRC ... #+END_SRC |
e | #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE ... #+END_EXAMPLE |
q | #+BEGIN_QUOTE ... #+END_QUOTE |
v | #+BEGIN_VERSE ... #+END_VERSE |
c | #+BEGIN_CENTER ... #+END_CENTER |
l | #+BEGIN_LaTeX ... #+END_LaTeX |
L | #+LaTeX: |
h | #+BEGIN_HTML ... #+END_HTML |
H | #+HTML: |
a | #+BEGIN_ASCII ... #+END_ASCII |
A | #+ASCII: |
i | #+INDEX: line |
I | #+INCLUDE: line |
For example, on an empty line, typing "<e" and then pressing TAB, will expand into a complete EXAMPLE template.
You can install additional templates by customizing the variable
org-structure-template-alist
. See the docstring of the variable for
additional details.
Next: Code evaluation security, Previous: Easy Templates, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.3 Speed keys
Single keys can be made to execute commands when the cursor is at the
beginning of a headline, i.e., before the first star. Configure the variable
org-use-speed-commands
to activate this feature. There is a
pre-defined list of commands, and you can add more such commands using the
variable org-speed-commands-user
. Speed keys do not only speed up
navigation and other commands, but they also provide an alternative way to
execute commands bound to keys that are not or not easily available on a TTY,
or on a small mobile device with a limited keyboard.
To see which commands are available, activate the feature and press ? with the cursor at the beginning of a headline.
Next: Customization, Previous: Speed keys, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.4 Code evaluation and security issues
Org provides tools to work with the code snippets, including evaluating them.
Running code on your machine always comes with a security risk. Badly written or malicious code can be executed on purpose or by accident. Org has default settings which will only evaluate such code if you give explicit permission to do so, and as a casual user of these features you should leave these precautions intact.
For people who regularly work with such code, the confirmation prompts can become annoying, and you might want to turn them off. This can be done, but you must be aware of the risks that are involved.
Code evaluation can happen under the following circumstances:
- Source code blocks
Source code blocks can be evaluated during export, or when pressing C-c C-c in the block. The most important thing to realize here is that Org mode files which contain code snippets are, in a certain sense, like executable files. So you should accept them and load them into Emacs only from trusted sources—just like you would do with a program you install on your computer.
Make sure you know what you are doing before customizing the variables which take off the default security brakes.
- User Option: org-confirm-babel-evaluate
When t (the default), the user is asked before every code block evaluation. When
nil
, the user is not asked. When set to a function, it is called with two arguments (language and body of the code block) and should return t to ask andnil
not to ask.
For example, here is how to execute "ditaa" code (which is considered safe) without asking:
(defun my-org-confirm-babel-evaluate (lang body) (not (string= lang "ditaa"))) ; don't ask for ditaa (setq org-confirm-babel-evaluate 'my-org-confirm-babel-evaluate)
- Following
shell
andelisp
links Org has two link types that can directly evaluate code (see External links). These links can be problematic because the code to be evaluated is not visible.
- Formulas in tables
Formulas in tables (see The spreadsheet) are code that is evaluated either by the calc interpreter, or by the Emacs Lisp interpreter.
Next: In-buffer settings, Previous: Code evaluation security, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.5 Customization
There are more than 500 variables that can be used to customize
Org. For the sake of compactness of the manual, I am not
describing the variables here. A structured overview of customization
variables is available with M-x org-customize RET. Or select
Browse Org Group
from the Org->Customization
menu. Many
settings can also be activated on a per-file basis, by putting special
lines into the buffer (see In-buffer settings).
Next: The very busy C-c C-c key, Previous: Customization, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.6 Summary of in-buffer settings
Org mode uses special lines in the buffer to define settings on a per-file basis. These lines start with a ‘#+’ followed by a keyword, a colon, and then individual words defining a setting. Several setting words can be in the same line, but you can also have multiple lines for the keyword. While these settings are described throughout the manual, here is a summary. After changing any of those lines in the buffer, press C-c C-c with the cursor still in the line to activate the changes immediately. Otherwise they become effective only when the file is visited again in a new Emacs session.
- #+ARCHIVE: %s_done::
This line sets the archive location for the agenda file. It applies for all subsequent lines until the next ‘#+ARCHIVE’ line, or the end of the file. The first such line also applies to any entries before it. The corresponding variable is
org-archive-location
.- #+CATEGORY:
This line sets the category for the agenda file. The category applies for all subsequent lines until the next ‘#+CATEGORY’ line, or the end of the file. The first such line also applies to any entries before it.
- #+COLUMNS: %25ITEM ...
-
Set the default format for columns view. This format applies when columns view is invoked in locations where no
COLUMNS
property applies. - #+CONSTANTS: name1=value1 ...
-
Set file-local values for constants to be used in table formulas. This line sets the local variable
org-table-formula-constants-local
. The global version of this variable isorg-table-formula-constants
. - #+FILETAGS: :tag1:tag2:tag3:
Set tags that can be inherited by any entry in the file, including the top-level entries.
- #+DRAWERS: NAME1 ...
-
Set the file-local set of additional drawers. The corresponding global variable is
org-drawers
. - #+LINK: linkword replace
-
These lines (several are allowed) specify link abbreviations. See Link abbreviations. The corresponding variable is
org-link-abbrev-alist
. - #+PRIORITIES: highest lowest default
-
This line sets the limits and the default for the priorities. All three must be either letters A–Z or numbers 0–9. The highest priority must have a lower ASCII number than the lowest priority.
- #+PROPERTY: Property_Name Value
This line sets a default inheritance value for entries in the current buffer, most useful for specifying the allowed values of a property.
- #+SETUPFILE: file
This line defines a file that holds more in-buffer setup. Normally this is entirely ignored. Only when the buffer is parsed for option-setting lines (i.e., when starting Org mode for a file, when pressing C-c C-c in a settings line, or when exporting), then the contents of this file are parsed as if they had been included in the buffer. In particular, the file can be any other Org mode file with internal setup. You can visit the file the cursor is in the line with C-c '.
- #+STARTUP:
-
This line sets options to be used at startup of Org mode, when an Org file is being visited.
The first set of options deals with the initial visibility of the outline tree. The corresponding variable for global default settings is
org-startup-folded
, with a default valuet
, which meansoverview
.overview top-level headlines only content all headlines showall no folding of any entries showeverything show even drawer contents
Dynamic virtual indentation is controlled by the variable
org-startup-indented
173indent start with
org-indent-mode
turned on noindent start withorg-indent-mode
turned offThen there are options for aligning tables upon visiting a file. This is useful in files containing narrowed table columns. The corresponding variable is
org-startup-align-all-tables
, with a default valuenil
.align align all tables noalign don’t align tables on startup
When visiting a file, inline images can be automatically displayed. The corresponding variable is
org-startup-with-inline-images
, with a default valuenil
to avoid delays when visiting a file.inlineimages show inline images noinlineimages don’t show inline images on startup
When visiting a file, LaTeX fragments can be converted to images automatically. The variable
org-startup-with-latex-preview
which controls this behavior, is set tonil
by default to avoid delays on startup.latexpreview preview LaTeX fragments nolatexpreview don’t preview LaTeX fragments
Logging the closing and reopening of TODO items and clock intervals can be configured using these options (see variables
org-log-done
,org-log-note-clock-out
andorg-log-repeat
)logdone record a timestamp when an item is marked DONE lognotedone record timestamp and a note when DONE nologdone don’t record when items are marked DONE logrepeat record a time when reinstating a repeating item lognoterepeat record a note when reinstating a repeating item nologrepeat do not record when reinstating repeating item lognoteclock-out record a note when clocking out nolognoteclock-out don’t record a note when clocking out logreschedule record a timestamp when scheduling time changes lognotereschedule record a note when scheduling time changes nologreschedule do not record when a scheduling date changes logredeadline record a timestamp when deadline changes lognoteredeadline record a note when deadline changes nologredeadline do not record when a deadline date changes logrefile record a timestamp when refiling lognoterefile record a note when refiling nologrefile do not record when refiling logdrawer store log into drawer nologdrawer store log outside of drawer logstatesreversed reverse the order of states notes nologstatesreversed do not reverse the order of states notes
Here are the options for hiding leading stars in outline headings, and for indenting outlines. The corresponding variables are
org-hide-leading-stars
andorg-odd-levels-only
, both with a default settingnil
(meaningshowstars
andoddeven
).hidestars make all but one of the stars starting a headline invisible. showstars show all stars starting a headline indent virtual indentation according to outline level noindent no virtual indentation according to outline level odd allow only odd outline levels (1,3,...) oddeven allow all outline levels
To turn on custom format overlays over timestamps (variables
org-put-time-stamp-overlays
andorg-time-stamp-overlay-formats
), usecustomtime overlay custom time format
The following options influence the table spreadsheet (variable
constants-unit-system
).constcgs constants.el should use the c-g-s unit system constSI constants.el should use the SI unit system
To influence footnote settings, use the following keywords. The corresponding variables are
org-footnote-define-inline
,org-footnote-auto-label
, andorg-footnote-auto-adjust
.fninline define footnotes inline fnnoinline define footnotes in separate section fnlocal define footnotes near first reference, but not inline fnprompt prompt for footnote labels fnauto create
[fn:1]
-like labels automatically (default) fnconfirm offer automatic label for editing or confirmation fnplain create[1]
-like labels automatically fnadjust automatically renumber and sort footnotes nofnadjust do not renumber and sort automaticallyTo hide blocks on startup, use these keywords. The corresponding variable is
org-hide-block-startup
.hideblocks Hide all begin/end blocks on startup nohideblocks Do not hide blocks on startup
The display of entities as UTF-8 characters is governed by the variable
org-pretty-entities
and the keywordsentitiespretty Show entities as UTF-8 characters where possible entitiesplain Leave entities plain
- #+TAGS: TAG1(c1) TAG2(c2)
-
These lines (several such lines are allowed) specify the valid tags in this file, and (potentially) the corresponding fast tag selection keys. The corresponding variable is
org-tag-alist
. - #+TBLFM:
This line contains the formulas for the table directly above the line.
Table can have multiple lines containing ‘#+TBLFM:’. Note that only the first line of ‘#+TBLFM:’ will be applied when you recalculate the table. For more details see Using multiple #+TBLFM lines in Editing and debugging formulas.
- #+TITLE:, #+AUTHOR:, #+EMAIL:, #+LANGUAGE:, #+DATE:,
- #+OPTIONS:, #+BIND:,
- #+DESCRIPTION:, #+KEYWORDS:,
- #+LaTeX_HEADER:, #+LaTeX_HEADER_EXTRA:,
- #+HTML_HEAD:, #+HTML_HEAD_EXTRA:, #+HTML_LINK_UP:, #+HTML_LINK_HOME:,
- #+SELECT_TAGS:, #+EXCLUDE_TAGS:
These lines provide settings for exporting files. For more details see Export settings.
- #+TODO: #+SEQ_TODO: #+TYP_TODO:
-
These lines set the TODO keywords and their interpretation in the current file. The corresponding variable is
org-todo-keywords
.
Next: Clean view, Previous: In-buffer settings, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.7 The very busy C-c C-c key
The key C-c C-c has many purposes in Org, which are all mentioned scattered throughout this manual. One specific function of this key is to add tags to a headline (see Tags). In many other circumstances it means something like “Hey Org, look here and update according to what you see here”. Here is a summary of what this means in different contexts.
- - If there are highlights in the buffer from the creation of a sparse tree, or from clock display, remove these highlights.
- - If the cursor is in one of the special
#+KEYWORD
lines, this triggers scanning the buffer for these lines and updating the information. - - If the cursor is inside a table, realign the table. This command works even if the automatic table editor has been turned off.
- - If the cursor is on a
#+TBLFM
line, re-apply the formulas to the entire table. - - If the current buffer is a capture buffer, close the note and file it. With a prefix argument, file it, without further interaction, to the default location.
- - If the cursor is on a
<<<target>>>
, update radio targets and corresponding links in this buffer. - - If the cursor is in a property line or at the start or end of a property drawer, offer property commands.
- - If the cursor is at a footnote reference, go to the corresponding definition, and vice versa.
- - If the cursor is on a statistics cookie, update it.
- - If the cursor is in a plain list item with a checkbox, toggle the status of the checkbox.
- - If the cursor is on a numbered item in a plain list, renumber the ordered list.
- - If the cursor is on the
#+BEGIN
line of a dynamic block, the block is updated. - - If the cursor is at a timestamp, fix the day name in the timestamp.
Next: TTY keys, Previous: The very busy C-c C-c key, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.8 A cleaner outline view
Some people find it noisy and distracting that the Org headlines start with a potentially large number of stars, and that text below the headlines is not indented. While this is no problem when writing a book-like document where the outline headings are really section headings, in a more list-oriented outline, indented structure is a lot cleaner:
* Top level headline | * Top level headline ** Second level | * Second level *** 3rd level | * 3rd level some text | some text *** 3rd level | * 3rd level more text | more text * Another top level headline | * Another top level headline
If you are using at least Emacs 23.2174 and version 6.29 of Org, this kind of view can
be achieved dynamically at display time using org-indent-mode
. In
this minor mode, all lines are prefixed for display with the necessary amount
of space175. Also headlines are prefixed with additional stars, so that the amount of
indentation shifts by two176 spaces per level. All headline
stars but the last one are made invisible using the org-hide
face177; see below under ‘2.’ for more information on how this
works. You can turn on org-indent-mode
for all files by customizing
the variable org-startup-indented
, or you can turn it on for
individual files using
#+STARTUP: indent
If you want a similar effect in an earlier version of Emacs and/or Org, or if you want the indentation to be hard space characters so that the plain text file looks as similar as possible to the Emacs display, Org supports you in the following way:
- Indentation of text below headlines
You may indent text below each headline to make the left boundary line up with the headline, like*** 3rd level more text, now indented
Org supports this with paragraph filling, line wrapping, and structure editing178, preserving or adapting the indentation as appropriate.
-
Hiding leading stars
You can modify the display in such a way that all leading stars become invisible. To do this in a global way, configure the variableorg-hide-leading-stars
or change this on a per-file basis with#+STARTUP: hidestars #+STARTUP: showstars
With hidden stars, the tree becomes:
* Top level headline * Second level * 3rd level ...
The leading stars are not truly replaced by whitespace, they are only fontified with the face
org-hide
that uses the background color as font color. If you are not using either white or black background, you may have to customize this face to get the wanted effect. Another possibility is to set this font such that the extra stars are almost invisible, for example using the colorgrey90
on a white background. -
Things become cleaner still if you skip all the even levels and use only odd
levels 1, 3, 5..., effectively adding two stars to go from one outline level
to the next179. In this
way we get the outline view shown at the beginning of this section. In order
to make the structure editing and export commands handle this convention
correctly, configure the variable
org-odd-levels-only
, or set this on a per-file basis with one of the following lines:#+STARTUP: odd #+STARTUP: oddeven
You can convert an Org file from single-star-per-level to the double-star-per-level convention with M-x org-convert-to-odd-levels RET in that file. The reverse operation is M-x org-convert-to-oddeven-levels.
Next: Interaction, Previous: Clean view, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.9 Using Org on a tty
Because Org contains a large number of commands, by default many of Org’s core commands are bound to keys that are generally not accessible on a tty, such as the cursor keys (left, right, up, down), TAB and RET, in particular when used together with modifiers like Meta and/or Shift. To access these commands on a tty when special keys are unavailable, the following alternative bindings can be used. The tty bindings below will likely be more cumbersome; you may find for some of the bindings below that a customized workaround suits you better. For example, changing a timestamp is really only fun with S-cursor keys, whereas on a tty you would rather use C-c . to re-insert the timestamp.
Default | Alternative 1 | Speed key | Alternative 2 |
S-TAB | C-u TAB | C | |
M-left | C-c C-x l | l | Esc left |
M-S-left | C-c C-x L | L | |
M-right | C-c C-x r | r | Esc right |
M-S-right | C-c C-x R | R | |
M-up | C-c C-x u | Esc up | |
M-S-up | C-c C-x U | U | |
M-down | C-c C-x d | Esc down | |
M-S-down | C-c C-x D | D | |
S-RET | C-c C-x c | ||
M-RET | C-c C-x m | Esc RET | |
M-S-RET | C-c C-x M | ||
S-left | C-c left | ||
S-right | C-c right | ||
S-up | C-c up | ||
S-down | C-c down | ||
C-S-left | C-c C-x left | ||
C-S-right | C-c C-x right |
Next: org-crypt, Previous: TTY keys, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.10 Interaction with other packages
Org lives in the world of GNU Emacs and interacts in various ways with other code out there.
• Cooperation: | Packages Org cooperates with | |
• Conflicts: | Packages that lead to conflicts |
Next: Conflicts, Previous: Interaction, Up: Interaction [Contents][Index]
15.10.1 Packages that Org cooperates with
- calc.el by Dave Gillespie
Org uses the Calc package for implementing spreadsheet functionality in its tables (see The spreadsheet). Org checks for the availability of Calc by looking for the function
calc-eval
which will have been autoloaded during setup if Calc has been installed properly. As of Emacs 22, Calc is part of the Emacs distribution. Another possibility for interaction between the two packages is using Calc for embedded calculations. See Embedded Mode in GNU Emacs Calc Manual.- constants.el by Carsten Dominik
-
In a table formula (see The spreadsheet), it is possible to use names for natural constants or units. Instead of defining your own constants in the variable
org-table-formula-constants
, install the constants package which defines a large number of constants and units, and lets you use unit prefixes like ‘M’ for ‘Mega’, etc. You will need version 2.0 of this package, available at http://www.astro.uva.nl/~dominik/Tools. Org checks for the functionconstants-get
, which has to be autoloaded in your setup. See the installation instructions in the file constants.el. - cdlatex.el by Carsten Dominik
-
Org mode can make use of the CDLaTeX package to efficiently enter LaTeX fragments into Org files. See CDLaTeX mode.
- imenu.el by Ake Stenhoff and Lars Lindberg
-
Imenu allows menu access to an index of items in a file. Org mode supports Imenu—all you need to do to get the index is the following:
(add-hook 'org-mode-hook (lambda () (imenu-add-to-menubar "Imenu")))
By default the index is two levels deep—you can modify the depth using the option
org-imenu-depth
. - remember.el by John Wiegley
-
Org used to use this package for capture, but no longer does.
- speedbar.el by Eric M. Ludlam
-
Speedbar is a package that creates a special frame displaying files and index items in files. Org mode supports Speedbar and allows you to drill into Org files directly from the Speedbar. It also allows you to restrict the scope of agenda commands to a file or a subtree by using the command < in the Speedbar frame.
- table.el by Takaaki Ota
-
Complex ASCII tables with automatic line wrapping, column- and row-spanning, and alignment can be created using the Emacs table package by Takaaki Ota (http://sourceforge.net/projects/table, and also part of Emacs 22). Org mode will recognize these tables and export them properly. Because of interference with other Org mode functionality, you unfortunately cannot edit these tables directly in the buffer. Instead, you need to use the command C-c ' to edit them, similar to source code snippets.
- C-c ' (
org-edit-special
) Edit a table.el table. Works when the cursor is in a table.el table.
- C-c ~ (
org-table-create-with-table.el
) Insert a table.el table. If there is already a table at point, this command converts it between the table.el format and the Org mode format. See the documentation string of the command
org-convert-table
for the restrictions under which this is possible.
table.el is part of Emacs since Emacs 22.
- footnote.el by Steven L. Baur
-
Org mode recognizes numerical footnotes as provided by this package. However, Org mode also has its own footnote support (see Footnotes), which makes using footnote.el unnecessary.
Previous: Cooperation, Up: Interaction [Contents][Index]
15.10.2 Packages that lead to conflicts with Org mode
-
In Emacs 23,
shift-selection-mode
is on by default, meaning that cursor motions combined with the shift key should start or enlarge regions. This conflicts with the use of S-cursor commands in Org to change timestamps, TODO keywords, priorities, and item bullet types if the cursor is at such a location. By default, S-cursor commands outside special contexts don’t do anything, but you can customize the variableorg-support-shift-select
. Org mode then tries to accommodate shift selection by (i) using it outside of the special contexts where special commands apply, and by (ii) extending an existing active region even if the cursor moves across a special context. - CUA.el by Kim. F. Storm
-
Key bindings in Org conflict with the S-<cursor> keys used by CUA mode (as well as
pc-select-mode
ands-region-mode
) to select and extend the region. In fact, Emacs 23 has this built-in in the form ofshift-selection-mode
, see previous paragraph. If you are using Emacs 23, you probably don’t want to use another package for this purpose. However, if you prefer to leave these keys to a different package while working in Org mode, configure the variableorg-replace-disputed-keys
. When set, Org will move the following key bindings in Org files, and in the agenda buffer (but not during date selection).S-UP ⇒ M-p S-DOWN ⇒ M-n S-LEFT ⇒ M-- S-RIGHT ⇒ M-+ C-S-LEFT ⇒ M-S-- C-S-RIGHT ⇒ M-S-+
Yes, these are unfortunately more difficult to remember. If you want to have other replacement keys, look at the variable
org-disputed-keys
. - ecomplete.el by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen larsi@gnus.org
-
Ecomplete provides “electric” address completion in address header lines in message buffers. Sadly Orgtbl mode cuts ecompletes power supply: No completion happens when Orgtbl mode is enabled in message buffers while entering text in address header lines. If one wants to use ecomplete one should not follow the advice to automagically turn on Orgtbl mode in message buffers (see Orgtbl mode), but instead—after filling in the message headers—turn on Orgtbl mode manually when needed in the messages body.
- filladapt.el by Kyle Jones
-
Org mode tries to do the right thing when filling paragraphs, list items and other elements. Many users reported they had problems using both filladapt.el and Org mode, so a safe thing to do is to disable it like this:
(add-hook 'org-mode-hook 'turn-off-filladapt-mode)
- yasnippet.el
-
The way Org mode binds the TAB key (binding to
[tab]
instead of"\t"
) overrules YASnippet’s access to this key. The following code fixed this problem:(add-hook 'org-mode-hook (lambda () (org-set-local 'yas/trigger-key [tab]) (define-key yas/keymap [tab] 'yas/next-field-or-maybe-expand)))
The latest version of yasnippet doesn’t play well with Org mode. If the above code does not fix the conflict, start by defining the following function:
(defun yas/org-very-safe-expand () (let ((yas/fallback-behavior 'return-nil)) (yas/expand)))
Then, tell Org mode what to do with the new function:
(add-hook 'org-mode-hook (lambda () (make-variable-buffer-local 'yas/trigger-key) (setq yas/trigger-key [tab]) (add-to-list 'org-tab-first-hook 'yas/org-very-safe-expand) (define-key yas/keymap [tab] 'yas/next-field)))
- windmove.el by Hovav Shacham
-
This package also uses the S-<cursor> keys, so everything written in the paragraph above about CUA mode also applies here. If you want make the windmove function active in locations where Org mode does not have special functionality on S-cursor, add this to your configuration:
;; Make windmove work in org-mode: (add-hook 'org-shiftup-final-hook 'windmove-up) (add-hook 'org-shiftleft-final-hook 'windmove-left) (add-hook 'org-shiftdown-final-hook 'windmove-down) (add-hook 'org-shiftright-final-hook 'windmove-right)
- viper.el by Michael Kifer
-
Viper uses C-c / and therefore makes this key not access the corresponding Org mode command
org-sparse-tree
. You need to find another key for this command, or override the key inviper-vi-global-user-map
with(define-key viper-vi-global-user-map "C-c /" 'org-sparse-tree)
Previous: Interaction, Up: Miscellaneous [Contents][Index]
15.11 org-crypt.el
Org-crypt will encrypt the text of an entry, but not the headline, or properties. Org-crypt uses the Emacs EasyPG library to encrypt and decrypt files.
Any text below a headline that has a ‘:crypt:’ tag will be automatically
be encrypted when the file is saved. If you want to use a different tag just
customize the org-crypt-tag-matcher
setting.
To use org-crypt it is suggested that you have the following in your .emacs:
(require 'org-crypt) (org-crypt-use-before-save-magic) (setq org-tags-exclude-from-inheritance (quote ("crypt"))) (setq org-crypt-key nil) ;; GPG key to use for encryption ;; Either the Key ID or set to nil to use symmetric encryption. (setq auto-save-default nil) ;; Auto-saving does not cooperate with org-crypt.el: so you need ;; to turn it off if you plan to use org-crypt.el quite often. ;; Otherwise, you'll get an (annoying) message each time you ;; start Org. ;; To turn it off only locally, you can insert this: ;; ;; # -*- buffer-auto-save-file-name: nil; -*-
Excluding the crypt tag from inheritance prevents already encrypted text being encrypted again.
Next: MobileOrg, Previous: Miscellaneous, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
Appendix A Hacking
This appendix covers some aspects where users can extend the functionality of Org.
• Hooks: | How to reach into Org’s internals | |
• Add-on packages: | Available extensions | |
• Adding hyperlink types: | New custom link types | |
• Adding export back-ends: | How to write new export back-ends | |
• Context-sensitive commands: | How to add functionality to such commands | |
• Tables in arbitrary syntax: | Orgtbl for LaTeX and other programs | |
• Dynamic blocks: | Automatically filled blocks | |
• Special agenda views: | Customized views | |
• Speeding up your agendas: | Tips on how to speed up your agendas | |
• Extracting agenda information: | Post-processing of agenda information | |
• Using the property API: | Writing programs that use entry properties | |
• Using the mapping API: | Mapping over all or selected entries |
Next: Add-on packages, Previous: Hacking, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.1 Hooks
Org has a large number of hook variables that can be used to add functionality. This appendix about hacking is going to illustrate the use of some of them. A complete list of all hooks with documentation is maintained by the Worg project and can be found at http://orgmode.org/worg/org-configs/org-hooks.php.
Next: Adding hyperlink types, Previous: Hooks, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.2 Add-on packages
A large number of add-on packages have been written by various authors.
These packages are not part of Emacs, but they are distributed as contributed packages with the separate release available at http://orgmode.org. See the contrib/README file in the source code directory for a list of contributed files. You may also find some more information on the Worg page: http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/.
Next: Adding export back-ends, Previous: Add-on packages, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.3 Adding hyperlink types
Org has a large number of hyperlink types built-in (see Hyperlinks). If you would like to add new link types, Org provides an interface for doing so. Let’s look at an example file, org-man.el, that will add support for creating links like ‘[[man:printf][The printf manpage]]’ to show Unix manual pages inside Emacs:
;;; org-man.el - Support for links to manpages in Org (require 'org) (org-add-link-type "man" 'org-man-open) (add-hook 'org-store-link-functions 'org-man-store-link) (defcustom org-man-command 'man "The Emacs command to be used to display a man page." :group 'org-link :type '(choice (const man) (const woman))) (defun org-man-open (path) "Visit the manpage on PATH. PATH should be a topic that can be thrown at the man command." (funcall org-man-command path)) (defun org-man-store-link () "Store a link to a manpage." (when (memq major-mode '(Man-mode woman-mode)) ;; This is a man page, we do make this link (let* ((page (org-man-get-page-name)) (link (concat "man:" page)) (description (format "Manpage for %s" page))) (org-store-link-props :type "man" :link link :description description)))) (defun org-man-get-page-name () "Extract the page name from the buffer name." ;; This works for both `Man-mode' and `woman-mode'. (if (string-match " \\(\\S-+\\)\\*" (buffer-name)) (match-string 1 (buffer-name)) (error "Cannot create link to this man page"))) (provide 'org-man) ;;; org-man.el ends here
You would activate this new link type in .emacs with
(require 'org-man)
Let’s go through the file and see what it does.
- It does
(require 'org)
to make sure that org.el has been loaded. - The next line calls
org-add-link-type
to define a new link type with prefix ‘man’. The call also contains the name of a function that will be called to follow such a link. -
The next line adds a function to
org-store-link-functions
, in order to allow the command C-c l to record a useful link in a buffer displaying a man page.
The rest of the file defines the necessary variables and functions.
First there is a customization variable that determines which Emacs
command should be used to display man pages. There are two options,
man
and woman
. Then the function to follow a link is
defined. It gets the link path as an argument—in this case the link
path is just a topic for the manual command. The function calls the
value of org-man-command
to display the man page.
Finally the function org-man-store-link
is defined. When you try
to store a link with C-c l, this function will be called to
try to make a link. The function must first decide if it is supposed to
create the link for this buffer type; we do this by checking the value
of the variable major-mode
. If not, the function must exit and
return the value nil
. If yes, the link is created by getting the
manual topic from the buffer name and prefixing it with the string
‘man:’. Then it must call the command org-store-link-props
and set the :type
and :link
properties. Optionally you
can also set the :description
property to provide a default for
the link description when the link is later inserted into an Org
buffer with C-c C-l.
When it makes sense for your new link type, you may also define a function
org-PREFIX-complete-link
that implements special (e.g., completion)
support for inserting such a link with C-c C-l. Such a function should
not accept any arguments, and return the full link with prefix.
Next: Context-sensitive commands, Previous: Adding hyperlink types, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.4 Adding export back-ends
Org 8.0 comes with a completely rewritten export engine which makes it easy to write new export back-ends, either from scratch, or from deriving them from existing ones.
Your two entry points are respectively org-export-define-backend
and
org-export-define-derived-backend
. To grok these functions, you
should first have a look at ox-latex.el (for how to define a new
back-end from scratch) and ox-beamer.el (for how to derive a new
back-end from an existing one.
When creating a new back-end from scratch, the basic idea is to set the name
of the back-end (as a symbol) and an an alist of elements and export
functions. On top of this, you will need to set additional keywords like
:menu-entry
(to display the back-end in the export dispatcher),
:export-block
(to specify what blocks should not be exported by this
back-end), and :options-alist
(to let the user set export options that
are specific to this back-end.)
Deriving a new back-end is similar, except that you need to set
:translate-alist
to an alist of export functions that should be used
instead of the parent back-end functions.
For a complete reference documentation, see the Org Export Reference on Worg.
Next: Tables in arbitrary syntax, Previous: Adding export back-ends, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.5 Context-sensitive commands
Org has several commands that act differently depending on context. The most important example is the C-c C-c (see The very busy C-c C-c key). Also the M-cursor and M-S-cursor keys have this property.
Add-ons can tap into this functionality by providing a function that detects
special context for that add-on and executes functionality appropriate for
the context. Here is an example from Dan Davison’s org-R.el which
allows you to evaluate commands based on the R programming language
180. For this
package, special contexts are lines that start with #+R:
or
#+RR:
.
(defun org-R-apply-maybe () "Detect if this is context for org-R and execute R commands." (if (save-excursion (beginning-of-line 1) (looking-at "#\\+RR?:")) (progn (call-interactively 'org-R-apply) t) ;; to signal that we took action nil)) ;; to signal that we did not (add-hook 'org-ctrl-c-ctrl-c-hook 'org-R-apply-maybe)
The function first checks if the cursor is in such a line. If that is the
case, org-R-apply
is called and the function returns t
to
signal that action was taken, and C-c C-c will stop looking for other
contexts. If the function finds it should do nothing locally, it returns
nil
so that other, similar functions can have a try.
Next: Dynamic blocks, Previous: Context-sensitive commands, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.6 Tables and lists in arbitrary syntax
Since Orgtbl mode can be used as a minor mode in arbitrary buffers, a frequent feature request has been to make it work with native tables in specific languages, for example LaTeX. However, this is extremely hard to do in a general way, would lead to a customization nightmare, and would take away much of the simplicity of the Orgtbl mode table editor.
This appendix describes a different approach. We keep the Orgtbl mode table in its native format (the source table), and use a custom function to translate the table to the correct syntax, and to install it in the right location (the target table). This puts the burden of writing conversion functions on the user, but it allows for a very flexible system.
Bastien added the ability to do the same with lists, in Orgstruct mode. You
can use Org’s facilities to edit and structure lists by turning
orgstruct-mode
on, then locally exporting such lists in another format
(HTML, LaTeX or Texinfo.)
• Radio tables: | Sending and receiving radio tables | |
• A LaTeX example: | Step by step, almost a tutorial | |
• Translator functions: | Copy and modify | |
• Radio lists: | Sending and receiving lists |
Next: A LaTeX example, Previous: Tables in arbitrary syntax, Up: Tables in arbitrary syntax [Contents][Index]
A.6.1 Radio tables
To define the location of the target table, you first need to create two
lines that are comments in the current mode, but contain magic words
BEGIN/END RECEIVE ORGTBL
for Orgtbl mode to find. Orgtbl mode will
insert the translated table between these lines, replacing whatever was there
before. For example in C mode where comments are between /* ... */
:
/* BEGIN RECEIVE ORGTBL table_name */ /* END RECEIVE ORGTBL table_name */
Just above the source table, we put a special line that tells Orgtbl mode how to translate this table and where to install it. For example:
#+ORGTBL: SEND table_name translation_function arguments...
table_name
is the reference name for the table that is also used
in the receiver lines. translation_function
is the Lisp function
that does the translation. Furthermore, the line can contain a list of
arguments (alternating key and value) at the end. The arguments will be
passed as a property list to the translation function for
interpretation. A few standard parameters are already recognized and
acted upon before the translation function is called:
:skip N
Skip the first N lines of the table. Hlines do count as separate lines for this parameter!
:skipcols (n1 n2 ...)
List of columns that should be skipped. If the table has a column with calculation marks, that column is automatically discarded as well. Please note that the translator function sees the table after the removal of these columns, the function never knows that there have been additional columns.
:no-escape t
When non-
nil
, do not escape special characters&%#_^
when exporting the table. The default value isnil
.
The one problem remaining is how to keep the source table in the buffer without disturbing the normal workings of the file, for example during compilation of a C file or processing of a LaTeX file. There are a number of different solutions:
- The table could be placed in a block comment if that is supported by the language. For example, in C mode you could wrap the table between ‘/*’ and ‘*/’ lines.
- Sometimes it is possible to put the table after some kind of END statement, for example ‘\bye’ in TeX and ‘\end{document}’ in LaTeX.
- You can just comment the table line-by-line whenever you want to process the file, and uncomment it whenever you need to edit the table. This only sounds tedious—the command M-x orgtbl-toggle-comment RET makes this comment-toggling very easy, in particular if you bind it to a key.
Next: Translator functions, Previous: Radio tables, Up: Tables in arbitrary syntax [Contents][Index]
A.6.2 A LaTeX example of radio tables
The best way to wrap the source table in LaTeX is to use the
comment
environment provided by comment.sty. It has to be
activated by placing \usepackage{comment}
into the document
header. Orgtbl mode can insert a radio table skeleton181 with the command M-x orgtbl-insert-radio-table RET. You will
be prompted for a table name, let’s say we use ‘salesfigures’. You
will then get the following template:
% BEGIN RECEIVE ORGTBL salesfigures % END RECEIVE ORGTBL salesfigures \begin{comment} #+ORGTBL: SEND salesfigures orgtbl-to-latex | | | \end{comment}
The #+ORGTBL: SEND
line tells Orgtbl mode to use the function
orgtbl-to-latex
to convert the table into LaTeX and to put it
into the receiver location with name salesfigures
. You may now
fill in the table—feel free to use the spreadsheet features182:
% BEGIN RECEIVE ORGTBL salesfigures % END RECEIVE ORGTBL salesfigures \begin{comment} #+ORGTBL: SEND salesfigures orgtbl-to-latex | Month | Days | Nr sold | per day | |-------+------+---------+---------| | Jan | 23 | 55 | 2.4 | | Feb | 21 | 16 | 0.8 | | March | 22 | 278 | 12.6 | #+TBLFM: $4=$3/$2;%.1f % $ (optional extra dollar to keep font-lock happy, see footnote) \end{comment}
When you are done, press C-c C-c in the table to get the converted table inserted between the two marker lines.
Now let’s assume you want to make the table header by hand, because you want to control how columns are aligned, etc. In this case we make sure that the table translator skips the first 2 lines of the source table, and tell the command to work as a splice, i.e., to not produce header and footer commands of the target table:
\begin{tabular}{lrrr} Month & \multicolumn{1}{c}{Days} & Nr.\ sold & per day\\ % BEGIN RECEIVE ORGTBL salesfigures % END RECEIVE ORGTBL salesfigures \end{tabular} % \begin{comment} #+ORGTBL: SEND salesfigures orgtbl-to-latex :splice t :skip 2 | Month | Days | Nr sold | per day | |-------+------+---------+---------| | Jan | 23 | 55 | 2.4 | | Feb | 21 | 16 | 0.8 | | March | 22 | 278 | 12.6 | #+TBLFM: $4=$3/$2;%.1f \end{comment}
The LaTeX translator function orgtbl-to-latex
is already part of
Orgtbl mode. It uses a tabular
environment to typeset the table
and marks horizontal lines with \hline
. Furthermore, it
interprets the following parameters (see also see Translator functions):
:splice nil/t
When set to t, return only table body lines, don’t wrap them into a tabular environment. Default is
nil
.:fmt fmt
A format to be used to wrap each field, it should contain
%s
for the original field value. For example, to wrap each field value in dollars, you could use:fmt "$%s$"
. This may also be a property list with column numbers and formats, for example:fmt (2 "$%s$" 4 "%s\\%%")
. A function of one argument can be used in place of the strings; the function must return a formatted string.:efmt efmt
Use this format to print numbers with exponentials. The format should have
%s
twice for inserting mantissa and exponent, for example"%s\\times10^{%s}"
. The default is"%s\\,(%s)"
. This may also be a property list with column numbers and formats, for example:efmt (2 "$%s\\times10^{%s}$" 4 "$%s\\cdot10^{%s}$")
. Afterefmt
has been applied to a value,fmt
will also be applied. Similar tofmt
, functions of two arguments can be supplied instead of strings.
Next: Radio lists, Previous: A LaTeX example, Up: Tables in arbitrary syntax [Contents][Index]
A.6.3 Translator functions
Orgtbl mode has several translator functions built-in: orgtbl-to-csv
(comma-separated values), orgtbl-to-tsv
(TAB-separated values)
orgtbl-to-latex
, orgtbl-to-html
, and orgtbl-to-texinfo
.
Except for orgtbl-to-html
183, these all use a generic
translator, orgtbl-to-generic
. For example, orgtbl-to-latex
itself is a very short function that computes the column definitions for the
tabular
environment, defines a few field and line separators and then
hands processing over to the generic translator. Here is the entire code:
(defun orgtbl-to-latex (table params) "Convert the Orgtbl mode TABLE to LaTeX." (let* ((alignment (mapconcat (lambda (x) (if x "r" "l")) org-table-last-alignment "")) (params2 (list :tstart (concat "\\begin{tabular}{" alignment "}") :tend "\\end{tabular}" :lstart "" :lend " \\\\" :sep " & " :efmt "%s\\,(%s)" :hline "\\hline"))) (orgtbl-to-generic table (org-combine-plists params2 params))))
As you can see, the properties passed into the function (variable PARAMS) are combined with the ones newly defined in the function (variable PARAMS2). The ones passed into the function (i.e., the ones set by the ‘ORGTBL SEND’ line) take precedence. So if you would like to use the LaTeX translator, but wanted the line endings to be ‘\\[2mm]’ instead of the default ‘\\’, you could just overrule the default with
#+ORGTBL: SEND test orgtbl-to-latex :lend " \\\\[2mm]"
For a new language, you can either write your own converter function in analogy with the LaTeX translator, or you can use the generic function directly. For example, if you have a language where a table is started with ‘!BTBL!’, ended with ‘!ETBL!’, and where table lines are started with ‘!BL!’, ended with ‘!EL!’, and where the field separator is a TAB, you could call the generic translator like this (on a single line!):
#+ORGTBL: SEND test orgtbl-to-generic :tstart "!BTBL!" :tend "!ETBL!" :lstart "!BL! " :lend " !EL!" :sep "\t"
Please check the documentation string of the function
orgtbl-to-generic
for a full list of parameters understood by
that function, and remember that you can pass each of them into
orgtbl-to-latex
, orgtbl-to-texinfo
, and any other function
using the generic function.
Of course you can also write a completely new function doing complicated
things the generic translator cannot do. A translator function takes
two arguments. The first argument is the table, a list of lines, each
line either the symbol hline
or a list of fields. The second
argument is the property list containing all parameters specified in the
‘#+ORGTBL: SEND’ line. The function must return a single string
containing the formatted table. If you write a generally useful
translator, please post it on emacs-orgmode@gnu.org so that
others can benefit from your work.
Previous: Translator functions, Up: Tables in arbitrary syntax [Contents][Index]
A.6.4 Radio lists
Sending and receiving radio lists works exactly the same way as sending and
receiving radio tables (see Radio tables). As for radio tables, you can
insert radio list templates in HTML, LaTeX and Texinfo modes by calling
org-list-insert-radio-list
.
Here are the differences with radio tables:
- - Orgstruct mode must be active.
- - Use the
ORGLST
keyword instead ofORGTBL
. - - The available translation functions for radio lists don’t take parameters.
- - C-c C-c will work when pressed on the first item of the list.
Here is a LaTeX example. Let’s say that you have this in your LaTeX file:
% BEGIN RECEIVE ORGLST to-buy % END RECEIVE ORGLST to-buy \begin{comment} #+ORGLST: SEND to-buy org-list-to-latex - a new house - a new computer + a new keyboard + a new mouse - a new life \end{comment}
Pressing C-c C-c on a new house
and will insert the converted
LaTeX list between the two marker lines.
Next: Special agenda views, Previous: Tables in arbitrary syntax, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.7 Dynamic blocks
Org documents can contain dynamic blocks. These are specially marked regions that are updated by some user-written function. A good example for such a block is the clock table inserted by the command C-c C-x C-r (see Clocking work time).
Dynamic blocks are enclosed by a BEGIN-END structure that assigns a name to the block and can also specify parameters for the function producing the content of the block.
#+BEGIN: myblock :parameter1 value1 :parameter2 value2 ... #+END:
Dynamic blocks are updated with the following commands
Updating a dynamic block means to remove all the text between BEGIN and
END, parse the BEGIN line for parameters and then call the specific
writer function for this block to insert the new content. If you want
to use the original content in the writer function, you can use the
extra parameter :content
.
For a block with name myblock
, the writer function is
org-dblock-write:myblock
with as only parameter a property list
with the parameters given in the begin line. Here is a trivial example
of a block that keeps track of when the block update function was last
run:
#+BEGIN: block-update-time :format "on %m/%d/%Y at %H:%M" #+END:
The corresponding block writer function could look like this:
(defun org-dblock-write:block-update-time (params) (let ((fmt (or (plist-get params :format) "%d. %m. %Y"))) (insert "Last block update at: " (format-time-string fmt (current-time)))))
If you want to make sure that all dynamic blocks are always up-to-date,
you could add the function org-update-all-dblocks
to a hook, for
example before-save-hook
. org-update-all-dblocks
is
written in a way such that it does nothing in buffers that are not in
org-mode
.
You can narrow the current buffer to the current dynamic block (like any
other block) with org-narrow-to-block
.
Next: Speeding up your agendas, Previous: Dynamic blocks, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.8 Special agenda views
Org provides a special hook that can be used to narrow down the selection
made by these agenda views: agenda
, agenda*
184, todo
,
alltodo
, tags
, tags-todo
, tags-tree
. You may
specify a function that is used at each match to verify if the match should
indeed be part of the agenda view, and if not, how much should be skipped.
You can specify a global condition that will be applied to all agenda views,
this condition would be stored in the variable
org-agenda-skip-function-global
. More commonly, such a definition is
applied only to specific custom searches, using
org-agenda-skip-function
.
Let’s say you want to produce a list of projects that contain a WAITING tag anywhere in the project tree. Let’s further assume that you have marked all tree headings that define a project with the TODO keyword PROJECT. In this case you would run a TODO search for the keyword PROJECT, but skip the match unless there is a WAITING tag anywhere in the subtree belonging to the project line.
To achieve this, you must write a function that searches the subtree for
the tag. If the tag is found, the function must return nil
to
indicate that this match should not be skipped. If there is no such
tag, return the location of the end of the subtree, to indicate that
search should continue from there.
(defun my-skip-unless-waiting () "Skip trees that are not waiting" (let ((subtree-end (save-excursion (org-end-of-subtree t)))) (if (re-search-forward ":waiting:" subtree-end t) nil ; tag found, do not skip subtree-end))) ; tag not found, continue after end of subtree
Now you may use this function in an agenda custom command, for example like this:
(org-add-agenda-custom-command '("b" todo "PROJECT" ((org-agenda-skip-function 'my-skip-unless-waiting) (org-agenda-overriding-header "Projects waiting for something: "))))
Note that this also binds org-agenda-overriding-header
to get a
meaningful header in the agenda view.
A general way to create custom searches is to base them on a search for
entries with a certain level limit. If you want to study all entries with
your custom search function, simply do a search for
‘LEVEL>0’185, and then use org-agenda-skip-function
to select the entries
you really want to have.
You may also put a Lisp form into org-agenda-skip-function
. In
particular, you may use the functions org-agenda-skip-entry-if
and org-agenda-skip-subtree-if
in this form, for example:
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'scheduled)
Skip current entry if it has been scheduled.
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'notscheduled)
Skip current entry if it has not been scheduled.
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'deadline)
Skip current entry if it has a deadline.
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'scheduled 'deadline)
Skip current entry if it has a deadline, or if it is scheduled.
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'todo '("TODO" "WAITING"))
Skip current entry if the TODO keyword is TODO or WAITING.
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'todo 'done)
Skip current entry if the TODO keyword marks a DONE state.
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'timestamp)
Skip current entry if it has any timestamp, may also be deadline or scheduled.
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'regexp "regular expression")
Skip current entry if the regular expression matches in the entry.
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'notregexp "regular expression")
Skip current entry unless the regular expression matches.
(org-agenda-skip-subtree-if 'regexp "regular expression")
Same as above, but check and skip the entire subtree.
Therefore we could also have written the search for WAITING projects like this, even without defining a special function:
(org-add-agenda-custom-command '("b" todo "PROJECT" ((org-agenda-skip-function '(org-agenda-skip-subtree-if 'regexp ":waiting:")) (org-agenda-overriding-header "Projects waiting for something: "))))
Next: Extracting agenda information, Previous: Special agenda views, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.9 Speeding up your agendas
When your Org files grow in both number and size, agenda commands may start to become slow. Below are some tips on how to speed up the agenda commands.
- Reduce the number of Org agenda files: this will reduce the slowness caused by accessing a hard drive.
- Reduce the number of DONE and archived headlines: this way the agenda does not need to skip them.
-
Inhibit the dimming of blocked tasks:
(setq org-agenda-dim-blocked-tasks nil)
-
Inhibit agenda files startup options:
(setq org-agenda-inhibit-startup nil)
-
Disable tag inheritance in agenda:
(setq org-agenda-use-tag-inheritance nil)
You can set these options for specific agenda views only. See the docstrings of these variables for details on why they affect the agenda generation, and this dedicated Worg page for further explanations.
Next: Using the property API, Previous: Speeding up your agendas, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.10 Extracting agenda information
Org provides commands to access agenda information for the command
line in Emacs batch mode. This extracted information can be sent
directly to a printer, or it can be read by a program that does further
processing of the data. The first of these commands is the function
org-batch-agenda
, that produces an agenda view and sends it as
ASCII text to STDOUT. The command takes a single string as parameter.
If the string has length 1, it is used as a key to one of the commands
you have configured in org-agenda-custom-commands
, basically any
key you can use after C-c a. For example, to directly print the
current TODO list, you could use
emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -eval '(org-batch-agenda "t")' | lpr
If the parameter is a string with 2 or more characters, it is used as a tags/TODO match string. For example, to print your local shopping list (all items with the tag ‘shop’, but excluding the tag ‘NewYork’), you could use
emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs \ -eval '(org-batch-agenda "+shop-NewYork")' | lpr
You may also modify parameters on the fly like this:
emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs \ -eval '(org-batch-agenda "a" \ org-agenda-span (quote month) \ org-agenda-include-diary nil \ org-agenda-files (quote ("~/org/project.org")))' \ | lpr
which will produce a 30-day agenda, fully restricted to the Org file ~/org/projects.org, not even including the diary.
If you want to process the agenda data in more sophisticated ways, you
can use the command org-batch-agenda-csv
to get a comma-separated
list of values for each agenda item. Each line in the output will
contain a number of fields separated by commas. The fields in a line
are:
category The category of the item head The headline, without TODO keyword, TAGS and PRIORITY type The type of the agenda entry, can be todo selected in TODO match tagsmatch selected in tags match diary imported from diary deadline a deadline scheduled scheduled timestamp appointment, selected by timestamp closed entry was closed on date upcoming-deadline warning about nearing deadline past-scheduled forwarded scheduled item block entry has date block including date todo The TODO keyword, if any tags All tags including inherited ones, separated by colons date The relevant date, like 2007-2-14 time The time, like 15:00-16:50 extra String with extra planning info priority-l The priority letter if any was given priority-n The computed numerical priority
Time and date will only be given if a timestamp (or deadline/scheduled) led to the selection of the item.
A CSV list like this is very easy to use in a post-processing script. For example, here is a Perl program that gets the TODO list from Emacs/Org and prints all the items, preceded by a checkbox:
#!/usr/bin/perl # define the Emacs command to run $cmd = "emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -eval '(org-batch-agenda-csv \"t\")'"; # run it and capture the output $agenda = qx{$cmd 2>/dev/null}; # loop over all lines foreach $line (split(/\n/,$agenda)) { # get the individual values ($category,$head,$type,$todo,$tags,$date,$time,$extra, $priority_l,$priority_n) = split(/,/,$line); # process and print print "[ ] $head\n"; }
Next: Using the mapping API, Previous: Extracting agenda information, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.11 Using the property API
Here is a description of the functions that can be used to work with properties.
- Function: org-entry-properties &optional pom which
Get all properties of the entry at point-or-marker POM.
This includes the TODO keyword, the tags, time strings for deadline, scheduled, and clocking, and any additional properties defined in the entry. The return value is an alist. Keys may occur multiple times if the property key was used several times.
POM may also benil
, in which case the current entry is used. If WHICH isnil
or ‘all’, get all properties. If WHICH is ‘special’ or ‘standard’, only get that subclass.
- Function: org-entry-get pom property &optional inherit
Get value of
PROPERTY
for entry at point-or-markerPOM
. By default, this only looks at properties defined locally in the entry. IfINHERIT
is non-nil
and the entry does not have the property, then also check higher levels of the hierarchy. IfINHERIT
is the symbolselective
, use inheritance if and only if the setting oforg-use-property-inheritance
selectsPROPERTY
for inheritance.
- Function: org-entry-delete pom property
Delete the property
PROPERTY
from entry at point-or-marker POM.
- Function: org-buffer-property-keys &optional include-specials
Get all property keys in the current buffer.
- Function: org-entry-put-multivalued-property pom property &rest values
Set
PROPERTY
at point-or-markerPOM
toVALUES
.VALUES
should be a list of strings. They will be concatenated, with spaces as separators.
- Function: org-entry-get-multivalued-property pom property
Treat the value of the property
PROPERTY
as a whitespace-separated list of values and return the values as a list of strings.
- Function: org-entry-add-to-multivalued-property pom property value
Treat the value of the property
PROPERTY
as a whitespace-separated list of values and make sure thatVALUE
is in this list.
- Function: org-entry-remove-from-multivalued-property pom property value
Treat the value of the property
PROPERTY
as a whitespace-separated list of values and make sure thatVALUE
is not in this list.
- Function: org-entry-member-in-multivalued-property pom property value
Treat the value of the property
PROPERTY
as a whitespace-separated list of values and check ifVALUE
is in this list.
- User Option: org-property-allowed-value-functions
Hook for functions supplying allowed values for a specific property. The functions must take a single argument, the name of the property, and return a flat list of allowed values. If ‘:ETC’ is one of the values, use the values as completion help, but allow also other values to be entered. The functions must return
nil
if they are not responsible for this property.
Previous: Using the property API, Up: Hacking [Contents][Index]
A.12 Using the mapping API
Org has sophisticated mapping capabilities to find all entries satisfying certain criteria. Internally, this functionality is used to produce agenda views, but there is also an API that can be used to execute arbitrary functions for each or selected entries. The main entry point for this API is:
- Function: org-map-entries func &optional match scope &rest skip
Call
FUNC
at each headline selected byMATCH
inSCOPE
.FUNC
is a function or a Lisp form. The function will be called without arguments, with the cursor positioned at the beginning of the headline. The return values of all calls to the function will be collected and returned as a list.The call to
FUNC
will be wrapped into a save-excursion form, soFUNC
does not need to preserve point. After evaluation, the cursor will be moved to the end of the line (presumably of the headline of the processed entry) and search continues from there. Under some circumstances, this may not produce the wanted results. For example, if you have removed (e.g., archived) the current (sub)tree it could mean that the next entry will be skipped entirely. In such cases, you can specify the position from where search should continue by makingFUNC
set the variableorg-map-continue-from
to the desired buffer position.MATCH
is a tags/property/todo match as it is used in the agenda match view. Only headlines that are matched by this query will be considered during the iteration. WhenMATCH
isnil
ort
, all headlines will be visited by the iteration.SCOPE
determines the scope of this command. It can be any of:nil the current buffer, respecting the restriction if any tree the subtree started with the entry at point region The entries within the active region, if any file the current buffer, without restriction file-with-archives the current buffer, and any archives associated with it agenda all agenda files agenda-with-archives all agenda files with any archive files associated with them (file1 file2 ...) if this is a list, all files in the list will be scanned
The remaining args are treated as settings for the skipping facilities of the scanner. The following items can be given here:
archive skip trees with the archive tag comment skip trees with the COMMENT keyword function or Lisp form will be used as value for
org-agenda-skip-function
, so whenever the function returns t, FUNC will not be called for that entry and search will continue from the point where the function leaves it
The function given to that mapping routine can really do anything you like. It can use the property API (see Using the property API) to gather more information about the entry, or in order to change metadata in the entry. Here are a couple of functions that might be handy:
- Function: org-todo &optional arg
Change the TODO state of the entry. See the docstring of the functions for the many possible values for the argument
ARG
.
- Function: org-priority &optional action
Change the priority of the entry. See the docstring of this function for the possible values for
ACTION
.
- Function: org-toggle-tag tag &optional onoff
Toggle the tag
TAG
in the current entry. SettingONOFF
to eitheron
oroff
will not toggle tag, but ensure that it is either on or off.
Here is a simple example that will turn all entries in the current file with
a tag TOMORROW
into TODO entries with the keyword UPCOMING
.
Entries in comment trees and in archive trees will be ignored.
(org-map-entries '(org-todo "UPCOMING") "+TOMORROW" 'file 'archive 'comment)
The following example counts the number of entries with TODO keyword
WAITING
, in all agenda files.
(length (org-map-entries t "/+WAITING" 'agenda))
Next: History and Acknowledgments, Previous: Hacking, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
Appendix B MobileOrg
MobileOrg is the name of the mobile companion app for Org mode, currently available for iOS and for Android. MobileOrg offers offline viewing and capture support for an Org mode system rooted on a “real” computer. It does also allow you to record changes to existing entries. The iOS implementation for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad series of devices, was started by Richard Moreland and is now in the hands Sean Escriva. Android users should check out MobileOrg Android by Matt Jones. The two implementations are not identical but offer similar features.
This appendix describes the support Org has for creating agenda views in a format that can be displayed by MobileOrg, and for integrating notes captured and changes made by MobileOrg into the main system.
For changing tags and TODO states in MobileOrg, you should have set up the
customization variables org-todo-keywords
and org-tag-alist
to
cover all important tags and TODO keywords, even if individual files use only
part of these. MobileOrg will also offer you states and tags set up with
in-buffer settings, but it will understand the logistics of TODO state
sets (see Per-file keywords) and mutually exclusive tags
(see Setting tags) only for those set in these variables.
• Setting up the staging area: | Where to interact with the mobile device | |
• Pushing to MobileOrg: | Uploading Org files and agendas | |
• Pulling from MobileOrg: | Integrating captured and flagged items |
Next: Pushing to MobileOrg, Previous: MobileOrg, Up: MobileOrg [Contents][Index]
B.1 Setting up the staging area
MobileOrg needs to interact with Emacs through a directory on a server. If you
are using a public server, you should consider to encrypt the files that are
uploaded to the server. This can be done with Org mode 7.02 and with
MobileOrg 1.5 (iPhone version), and you need an openssl
installation on your system. To turn on encryption, set a password in
MobileOrg and, on the Emacs side, configure the variable
org-mobile-use-encryption
186.
The easiest way to create that directory is to use a free Dropbox.com account187. When MobileOrg first connects to your Dropbox, it will create a directory MobileOrg inside the Dropbox. After the directory has been created, tell Emacs about it:
(setq org-mobile-directory "~/Dropbox/MobileOrg")
Org mode has commands to put files for MobileOrg into that directory, and to read captured notes from there.
Next: Pulling from MobileOrg, Previous: Setting up the staging area, Up: MobileOrg [Contents][Index]
B.2 Pushing to MobileOrg
This operation copies all files currently listed in org-mobile-files
to the directory org-mobile-directory
. By default this list contains
all agenda files (as listed in org-agenda-files
), but additional files
can be included by customizing org-mobile-files
. File names will be
staged with paths relative to org-directory
, so all files should be
inside this directory188.
The push operation also creates a special Org file agendas.org with all custom agenda view defined by the user189.
Finally, Org writes the file index.org, containing links to all other files. MobileOrg first reads this file from the server, and then downloads all agendas and Org files listed in it. To speed up the download, MobileOrg will only read files whose checksums190 have changed.
Previous: Pushing to MobileOrg, Up: MobileOrg [Contents][Index]
B.3 Pulling from MobileOrg
When MobileOrg synchronizes with the server, it not only pulls the Org files for viewing. It also appends captured entries and pointers to flagged and changed entries to the file mobileorg.org on the server. Org has a pull operation that integrates this information into an inbox file and operates on the pointers to flagged entries. Here is how it works:
- Org moves all entries found in
mobileorg.org191 and appends them to the file pointed to by the variable
org-mobile-inbox-for-pull
. Each captured entry and each editing event will be a top-level entry in the inbox file. - After moving the entries, Org will attempt to implement the changes made in
MobileOrg. Some changes are applied directly and without user
interaction. Examples are all changes to tags, TODO state, headline and body
text that can be cleanly applied. Entries that have been flagged for further
action will receive a tag
:FLAGGED:
, so that they can be easily found again. When there is a problem finding an entry or applying the change, the pointer entry will remain in the inbox and will be marked with an error message. You need to later resolve these issues by hand. - Org will then generate an agenda view with all flagged entries. The user
should then go through these entries and do whatever actions are necessary.
If a note has been stored while flagging an entry in MobileOrg, that note
will be displayed in the echo area when the cursor is on the corresponding
agenda line.
- ?
Pressing ? in that special agenda will display the full flagging note in another window and also push it onto the kill ring. So you could use ? z C-y C-c C-c to store that flagging note as a normal note in the entry. Pressing ? twice in succession will offer to remove the
:FLAGGED:
tag along with the recorded flagging note (which is stored in a property). In this way you indicate that the intended processing for this flagged entry is finished.
If you are not able to process all flagged entries directly, you can always return to this agenda view192 using C-c a ?.
Next: GNU Free Documentation License, Previous: MobileOrg, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
Appendix C History and acknowledgments
C.1 From Carsten
Org was born in 2003, out of frustration over the user interface of the Emacs Outline mode. I was trying to organize my notes and projects, and using Emacs seemed to be the natural way to go. However, having to remember eleven different commands with two or three keys per command, only to hide and show parts of the outline tree, that seemed entirely unacceptable to me. Also, when using outlines to take notes, I constantly wanted to restructure the tree, organizing it parallel to my thoughts and plans. Visibility cycling and structure editing were originally implemented in the package outline-magic.el, but quickly moved to the more general org.el. As this environment became comfortable for project planning, the next step was adding TODO entries, basic timestamps, and table support. These areas highlighted the two main goals that Org still has today: to be a new, outline-based, plain text mode with innovative and intuitive editing features, and to incorporate project planning functionality directly into a notes file.
Since the first release, literally thousands of emails to me or to emacs-orgmode@gnu.org have provided a constant stream of bug reports, feedback, new ideas, and sometimes patches and add-on code. Many thanks to everyone who has helped to improve this package. I am trying to keep here a list of the people who had significant influence in shaping one or more aspects of Org. The list may not be complete, if I have forgotten someone, please accept my apologies and let me know.
Before I get to this list, a few special mentions are in order:
- Bastien Guerry
Bastien has written a large number of extensions to Org (most of them integrated into the core by now), including the LaTeX exporter and the plain list parser. His support during the early days, when he basically acted as co-maintainer, was central to the success of this project. Bastien also invented Worg, helped establishing the Web presence of Org, and sponsored hosting costs for the orgmode.org website.
- Eric Schulte and Dan Davison
Eric and Dan are jointly responsible for the Org-babel system, which turns Org into a multi-language environment for evaluating code and doing literate programming and reproducible research.
- John Wiegley
John has contributed a number of great ideas and patches directly to Org, including the attachment system (org-attach.el), integration with Apple Mail (org-mac-message.el), hierarchical dependencies of TODO items, habit tracking (org-habits.el), and encryption (org-crypt.el). Also, the capture system is really an extended copy of his great remember.el.
- Sebastian Rose
Without Sebastian, the HTML/XHTML publishing of Org would be the pitiful work of an ignorant amateur. Sebastian has pushed this part of Org onto a much higher level. He also wrote org-info.js, a Java script for displaying web pages derived from Org using an Info-like or a folding interface with single-key navigation.
See below for the full list of contributions! Again, please let me know what I am missing here!
C.2 From Bastien
I (Bastien) have been maintaining Org since January 2011. This appendix would not be complete without adding a few more acknowledgements and thanks to Carsten’s ones above.
I am first grateful to Carsten for his trust while handing me over the maintainership of Org. His unremitting support is what really helped me getting more confident over time, with both the community and the code.
When I took over maintainership, I knew I would have to make Org more collaborative than ever, as I would have to rely on people that are more knowledgeable than I am on many parts of the code. Here is a list of the persons I could rely on, they should really be considered co-maintainers, either of the code or the community:
- Eric Schulte
Eric is maintaining the Babel parts of Org. His reactivity here kept me away from worrying about possible bugs here and let me focus on other parts.
- Nicolas Goaziou
Nicolas is maintaining the consistency of the deepest parts of Org. His work on org-element.el and ox.el has been outstanding, and opened the doors for many new ideas and features. He rewrote many of the old exporters to use the new export engine, and helped with documenting this major change. More importantly (if that’s possible), he has been more than reliable during all the work done for Org 8.0, and always very reactive on the mailing list.
- Achim Gratz
Achim rewrote the building process of Org, turning some ad hoc tools into a flexible and conceptually clean process. He patiently coped with the many hiccups that such a change can create for users.
- Nick Dokos
The Org mode mailing list would not be such a nice place without Nick, who patiently helped users so many times. It is impossible to overestimate such a great help, and the list would not be so active without him.
I received support from so many users that it is clearly impossible to be fair when shortlisting a few of them, but Org’s history would not be complete if the ones above were not mentioned in this manual.
C.3 List of contributions
- Russel Adams came up with the idea for drawers.
- Suvayu Ali has steadily helped on the mailing list, providing useful feedback on many features and several patches.
- Luis Anaya wrote ox-man.el.
- Thomas Baumann wrote org-bbdb.el and org-mhe.el.
- Michael Brand helped by reporting many bugs and testing many features. He also implemented the distinction between empty fields and 0-value fields in Org’s spreadsheets.
- Christophe Bataillon created the great unicorn logo that we use on the Org mode website.
- Alex Bochannek provided a patch for rounding timestamps.
- Jan Böcker wrote org-docview.el.
- Brad Bozarth showed how to pull RSS feed data into Org mode files.
- Tom Breton wrote org-choose.el.
- Charles Cave’s suggestion sparked the implementation of templates for Remember, which are now templates for capture.
- Pavel Chalmoviansky influenced the agenda treatment of items with specified time.
- Gregory Chernov patched support for Lisp forms into table calculations and improved XEmacs compatibility, in particular by porting nouline.el to XEmacs.
- Sacha Chua suggested copying some linking code from Planner.
- Toby S. Cubitt contributed to the code for clock formats.
- Baoqiu Cui contributed the DocBook exporter. It has been deleted from
Org 8.0: you can now export to Texinfo and export the .texi file to
DocBook using
makeinfo
. - Eddward DeVilla proposed and tested checkbox statistics. He also came up with the idea of properties, and that there should be an API for them.
- Nick Dokos tracked down several nasty bugs.
- Kees Dullemond used to edit projects lists directly in HTML and so inspired some of the early development, including HTML export. He also asked for a way to narrow wide table columns.
- Jason Dunsmore has been maintaining the Org-Mode server at Rackspace for several years now. He also sponsored the hosting costs until Rackspace started to host us for free.
- Thomas S. Dye contributed documentation on Worg and helped integrating the Org-Babel documentation into the manual.
- Christian Egli converted the documentation into Texinfo format, inspired the agenda, patched CSS formatting into the HTML exporter, and wrote org-taskjuggler.el, which has been rewritten by Nicolas Goaziou as ox-taskjuggler.el for Org 8.0.
- David Emery provided a patch for custom CSS support in exported HTML agendas.
- Sean Escriva took over MobileOrg development on the iPhone platform.
- Nic Ferrier contributed mailcap and XOXO support.
- Miguel A. Figueroa-Villanueva implemented hierarchical checkboxes.
- John Foerch figured out how to make incremental search show context around a match in a hidden outline tree.
- Raimar Finken wrote org-git-line.el.
- Mikael Fornius works as a mailing list moderator.
- Austin Frank works as a mailing list moderator.
- Eric Fraga drove the development of BEAMER export with ideas and testing.
- Barry Gidden did proofreading the manual in preparation for the book publication through Network Theory Ltd.
- Niels Giesen had the idea to automatically archive DONE trees.
- Nicolas Goaziou rewrote much of the plain list code. He also wrote org-element.el and org-export.el, which was a huge step forward in implementing a clean framework for Org exporters.
- Kai Grossjohann pointed out key-binding conflicts with other packages.
- Brian Gough of Network Theory Ltd publishes the Org mode manual as a book.
- Bernt Hansen has driven much of the support for auto-repeating tasks, task state change logging, and the clocktable. His clear explanations have been critical when we started to adopt the Git version control system.
- Manuel Hermenegildo has contributed various ideas, small fixes and patches.
- Phil Jackson wrote org-irc.el.
- Scott Jaderholm proposed footnotes, control over whitespace between folded entries, and column view for properties.
- Matt Jones wrote MobileOrg Android.
- Tokuya Kameshima wrote org-wl.el and org-mew.el.
- Jonathan Leech-Pepin wrote ox-texinfo.el.
- Shidai Liu ("Leo") asked for embedded LaTeX and tested it. He also provided frequent feedback and some patches.
- Matt Lundin has proposed last-row references for table formulas and named invisible anchors. He has also worked a lot on the FAQ.
- David Maus wrote org-atom.el, maintains the issues file for Org, and is a prolific contributor on the mailing list with competent replies, small fixes and patches.
- Jason F. McBrayer suggested agenda export to CSV format.
- Max Mikhanosha came up with the idea of refiling and sticky agendas.
- Dmitri Minaev sent a patch to set priority limits on a per-file basis.
- Stefan Monnier provided a patch to keep the Emacs-Lisp compiler happy.
- Richard Moreland wrote MobileOrg for the iPhone.
- Rick Moynihan proposed allowing multiple TODO sequences in a file and being able to quickly restrict the agenda to a subtree.
- Todd Neal provided patches for links to Info files and Elisp forms.
- Greg Newman refreshed the unicorn logo into its current form.
- Tim O’Callaghan suggested in-file links, search options for general file links, and TAGS.
- Osamu Okano wrote orgcard2ref.pl, a Perl program to create a text version of the reference card.
- Takeshi Okano translated the manual and David O’Toole’s tutorial into Japanese.
- Oliver Oppitz suggested multi-state TODO items.
- Scott Otterson sparked the introduction of descriptive text for links, among other things.
- Pete Phillips helped during the development of the TAGS feature, and provided frequent feedback.
- Francesco Pizzolante provided patches that helped speeding up the agenda generation.
- Martin Pohlack provided the code snippet to bundle character insertion into bundles of 20 for undo.
- Rackspace.com is hosting our website for free. Thank you Rackspace!
- T.V. Raman reported bugs and suggested improvements.
- Matthias Rempe (Oelde) provided ideas, Windows support, and quality control.
- Paul Rivier provided the basic implementation of named footnotes. He also acted as mailing list moderator for some time.
- Kevin Rogers contributed code to access VM files on remote hosts.
- Frank Ruell solved the mystery of the
keymapp nil
bug, a conflict with allout.el. - Jason Riedy generalized the send-receive mechanism for Orgtbl tables with extensive patches.
- Philip Rooke created the Org reference card, provided lots of feedback, developed and applied standards to the Org documentation.
- Christian Schlauer proposed angular brackets around links, among other things.
- Christopher Schmidt reworked
orgstruct-mode
so that users can enjoy folding in non-org buffers by using Org headlines in comments. - Paul Sexton wrote org-ctags.el.
- Linking to VM/BBDB/Gnus was first inspired by Tom Shannon’s organizer-mode.el.
- Ilya Shlyakhter proposed the Archive Sibling, line numbering in literal examples, and remote highlighting for referenced code lines.
- Stathis Sideris wrote the ditaa.jar ASCII to PNG converter that is now packaged into Org’s contrib directory.
- Daniel Sinder came up with the idea of internal archiving by locking subtrees.
- Dale Smith proposed link abbreviations.
- James TD Smith has contributed a large number of patches for useful tweaks and features.
- Adam Spiers asked for global linking commands, inspired the link extension system, added support for mairix, and proposed the mapping API.
- Ulf Stegemann created the table to translate special symbols to HTML, LaTeX, UTF-8, Latin-1 and ASCII.
- Andy Stewart contributed code to org-w3m.el, to copy HTML content with links transformation to Org syntax.
- David O’Toole wrote org-publish.el and drafted the manual chapter about publishing.
- Jambunathan K contributed the ODT exporter and rewrote the HTML exporter.
- Sebastien Vauban reported many issues with LaTeX and BEAMER export and enabled source code highlighting in Gnus.
- Stefan Vollmar organized a video-recorded talk at the Max-Planck-Institute for Neurology. He also inspired the creation of a concept index for HTML export.
- Jürgen Vollmer contributed code generating the table of contents in HTML output.
- Samuel Wales has provided important feedback and bug reports.
- Chris Wallace provided a patch implementing the ‘QUOTE’ keyword.
- David Wainberg suggested archiving, and improvements to the linking system.
- Carsten Wimmer suggested some changes and helped fix a bug in linking to Gnus.
- Roland Winkler requested additional key bindings to make Org work on a tty.
- Piotr Zielinski wrote org-mouse.el, proposed agenda blocks and contributed various ideas and code snippets.
Next: Main Index, Previous: History and Acknowledgments, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
Appendix D GNU Free Documentation License
Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. http://fsf.org/ Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
- PREAMBLE
The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document free in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.
This License is a kind of “copyleft”, which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free software.
We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software does. But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or reference.
- APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated herein. The “Document”, below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as “you”. You accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way requiring permission under copyright law.
A “Modified Version” of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language.
A “Secondary Section” is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document’s overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.
The “Invariant Sections” are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. If a section does not fit the above definition of Secondary then it is not allowed to be designated as Invariant. The Document may contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document does not identify any Invariant Sections then there are none.
The “Cover Texts” are certain short passages of text that are listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. A Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may be at most 25 words.
A “Transparent” copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, represented in a format whose specification is available to the general public, that is suitable for revising the document straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of markup, has been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by readers is not Transparent. An image format is not Transparent if used for any substantial amount of text. A copy that is not “Transparent” is called “Opaque”.
Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format, SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for human modification. Examples of transparent image formats include PNG, XCF and JPG. Opaque formats include proprietary formats that can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF produced by some word processors for output purposes only.
The “Title Page” means, for a printed book, the title page itself, plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the material this License requires to appear in the title page. For works in formats which do not have any title page as such, “Title Page” means the text near the most prominent appearance of the work’s title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.
The “publisher” means any person or entity that distributes copies of the Document to the public.
A section “Entitled XYZ” means a named subunit of the Document whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses following text that translates XYZ in another language. (Here XYZ stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as “Acknowledgements”, “Dedications”, “Endorsements”, or “History”.) To “Preserve the Title” of such a section when you modify the Document means that it remains a section “Entitled XYZ” according to this definition.
The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice which states that this License applies to the Document. These Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and has no effect on the meaning of this License.
- VERBATIM COPYING
You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow the conditions in section 3.
You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above, and you may publicly display copies.
- COPYING IN QUANTITY
If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and the Document’s license notice requires Cover Texts, you must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of the title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.
If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.
If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document numbering more than 100, you must either include a machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with each Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general network-using public has access to download using public-standard network protocols a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free of added material. If you use the latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated location until at least one year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.
It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the Document.
- MODIFICATIONS
You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in the Modified Version:
- Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the History section of the Document). You may use the same title as a previous version if the original publisher of that version gives permission.
- List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in the Modified Version, together with at least five of the principal authors of the Document (all of its principal authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you from this requirement.
- State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the Modified Version, as the publisher.
- Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
- Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to the other copyright notices.
- Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license notice giving the public permission to use the Modified Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in the Addendum below.
- Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document’s license notice.
- Include an unaltered copy of this License.
- Preserve the section Entitled “History”, Preserve its Title, and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the Title Page. If there is no section Entitled “History” in the Document, create one stating the title, year, authors, and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the previous sentence.
- Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and likewise the network locations given in the Document for previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the “History” section. You may omit a network location for a work that was published at least four years before the Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers to gives permission.
- For any section Entitled “Acknowledgements” or “Dedications”, Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the section all the substance and tone of each of the contributor acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
- Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered in their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the equivalent are not considered part of the section titles.
- Delete any section Entitled “Endorsements”. Such a section may not be included in the Modified Version.
- Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled “Endorsements” or to conflict in title with any Invariant Section.
- Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.
If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Version’s license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other section titles.
You may add a section Entitled “Endorsements”, provided it contains nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various parties—for example, statements of peer review or that the text has been approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of a standard.
You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the Document already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added the old one.
The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.
- COMBINING DOCUMENTS
You may combine the Document with other documents released under this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all their Warranty Disclaimers.
The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name but different contents, make the title of each such section unique by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the combined work.
In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled “History” in the various original documents, forming one section Entitled “History”; likewise combine any sections Entitled “Acknowledgements”, and any sections Entitled “Dedications”. You must delete all sections Entitled “Endorsements.”
- COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other documents released under this License, and replace the individual copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents in all other respects.
You may extract a single document from such a collection, and distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that document.
- AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a storage or distribution medium, is called an “aggregate” if the copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the legal rights of the compilation’s users beyond what the individual works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which are not themselves derivative works of the Document.
If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half of the entire aggregate, the Document’s Cover Texts may be placed on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket the whole aggregate.
- TRANSLATION
Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special permission from their copyright holders, but you may include translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a translation of this License, and all the license notices in the Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also include the original English version of this License and the original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a disagreement between the translation and the original version of this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will prevail.
If a section in the Document is Entitled “Acknowledgements”, “Dedications”, or “History”, the requirement (section 4) to Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the actual title.
- TERMINATION
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute it is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.
However, if you cease all violation of this License, then your license from a particular copyright holder is reinstated (a) provisionally, unless and until the copyright holder explicitly and finally terminates your license, and (b) permanently, if the copyright holder fails to notify you of the violation by some reasonable means prior to 60 days after the cessation.
Moreover, your license from a particular copyright holder is reinstated permanently if the copyright holder notifies you of the violation by some reasonable means, this is the first time you have received notice of violation of this License (for any work) from that copyright holder, and you cure the violation prior to 30 days after your receipt of the notice.
Termination of your rights under this section does not terminate the licenses of parties who have received copies or rights from you under this License. If your rights have been terminated and not permanently reinstated, receipt of a copy of some or all of the same material does not give you any rights to use it.
- FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/.
Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered version of this License “or any later version” applies to it, you have the option of following the terms and conditions either of that specified version or of any later version that has been published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document specifies that a proxy can decide which future versions of this License can be used, that proxy’s public statement of acceptance of a version permanently authorizes you to choose that version for the Document.
- RELICENSING
“Massive Multiauthor Collaboration Site” (or “MMC Site”) means any World Wide Web server that publishes copyrightable works and also provides prominent facilities for anybody to edit those works. A public wiki that anybody can edit is an example of such a server. A “Massive Multiauthor Collaboration” (or “MMC”) contained in the site means any set of copyrightable works thus published on the MMC site.
“CC-BY-SA” means the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license published by Creative Commons Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation with a principal place of business in San Francisco, California, as well as future copyleft versions of that license published by that same organization.
“Incorporate” means to publish or republish a Document, in whole or in part, as part of another Document.
An MMC is “eligible for relicensing” if it is licensed under this License, and if all works that were first published under this License somewhere other than this MMC, and subsequently incorporated in whole or in part into the MMC, (1) had no cover texts or invariant sections, and (2) were thus incorporated prior to November 1, 2008.
The operator of an MMC Site may republish an MMC contained in the site under CC-BY-SA on the same site at any time before August 1, 2009, provided the MMC is eligible for relicensing.
ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents
To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of the License in the document and put the following copyright and license notices just after the title page:
Copyright (C) year your name. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover Texts, replace the “with…Texts.” line with this:
with the Invariant Sections being list their titles, with the Front-Cover Texts being list, and with the Back-Cover Texts being list.
If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the situation.
If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to permit their use in free software.
Next: Key Index, Previous: GNU Free Documentation License, Up: Top [Contents][Index]
Concept index
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Key index
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Command and function index
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Variable index
This is not a complete index of variables and faces, only the ones that are mentioned in the manual. For a more complete list, use M-x org-customize RET and then click yourself through the tree.
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Footnotes
(1)
If you don’t use font-lock globally, turn it on in Org buffer
with (add-hook 'org-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
(2)
Please consider subscribing to the mailing list, in order to minimize the work the mailing list moderators have to do.
(3)
Easy
templates insert lowercase keywords and Babel dynamically inserts
#+results
.
(4)
See the variables
org-special-ctrl-a/e
, org-special-ctrl-k
, and
org-ctrl-k-protect-subtree
to configure special behavior of C-a,
C-e, and C-k in headlines.
(5)
Clocking only works with headings indented less then 30 stars.
(6)
see, however,
the option org-cycle-emulate-tab
.
(7)
see the
option org-cycle-global-at-bob
.
(8)
The indirect buffer (see the Emacs manual for more information about indirect buffers) will contain the entire buffer, but will be narrowed to the current tree. Editing the indirect buffer will also change the original buffer, but without affecting visibility in that buffer.
(9)
When
org-agenda-inhibit-startup
is non-nil
, Org will not honor the default
visibility state when first opening a file for the agenda (see Speeding up your agendas).
(10)
If you do not want the line to be
split, customize the variable org-M-RET-may-split-line
.
(11)
See also the
variables org-show-hierarchy-above
, org-show-following-heading
,
org-show-siblings
, and org-show-entry-below
for detailed
control on how much context is shown around each match.
(12)
This depends on the option
org-remove-highlights-with-change
(13)
This does not work under XEmacs, because XEmacs uses selective display for outlining, not text properties.
(14)
When using ‘*’ as a bullet, lines must be indented or they will be seen as top-level headlines. Also, when you are hiding leading stars to get a clean outline view, plain list items starting with a star may be hard to distinguish from true headlines. In short: even though ‘*’ is supported, it may be better to not use it for plain list items.
(15)
You can filter out any of them by configuring
org-plain-list-ordered-item-terminator
.
(16)
You can also get ‘a.’, ‘A.’, ‘a)’ and
‘A)’ by configuring org-list-allow-alphabetical
. To minimize
confusion with normal text, those are limited to one character only. Beyond
that limit, bullets will automatically fallback to numbers.
(17)
If there’s a checkbox in the item, the cookie
must be put before the checkbox. If you have activated alphabetical
lists, you can also use counters like [@b]
.
(18)
See also org-list-empty-line-terminates-plain-lists
.
(19)
Org only changes the filling settings for Emacs. For
XEmacs, you should use Kyle E. Jones’ filladapt.el. To turn this on,
put into .emacs: (require 'filladapt)
(20)
If you do not want the item to be split, customize the
variable org-M-RET-may-split-line
.
(21)
If you want to
cycle around items that way, you may customize
org-list-use-circular-motion
.
(22)
See
org-list-use-circular-motion
for a cyclic behavior.
(23)
You
can define additional drawers on a per-file basis with a line like
#+DRAWERS: HIDDEN STATE
(24)
The corresponding in-buffer
setting is: #+STARTUP: fninline
or #+STARTUP: nofninline
(25)
the
corresponding in-buffer options are fnadjust
and nofnadjust
.
(26)
To insert a vertical bar into a table
field, use \vert
or, inside a word abc\vert{}def
.
(27)
This feature does not work on XEmacs.
(28)
Centering does not work inside Emacs, but it does have an effect when exporting to HTML.
(29)
Org will understand references typed by the
user as ‘B4’, but it will not use this syntax when offering a formula
for editing. You can customize this behavior using the option
org-table-use-standard-references
.
(30)
For backward compatibility
you can also use special names like $LR5
and $LR12
to refer in
a stable way to the 5th and 12th field in the last row of the table.
However, this syntax is deprecated, it should not be used for new documents.
Use @>$
instead.
(31)
The computation time scales as O(N^2) because table FOO is parsed for each field to be copied.
(32)
constants.el can
supply the values of constants in two different unit systems, SI
and cgs
. Which one is used depends on the value of the variable
constants-unit-system
. You can use the #+STARTUP
options
constSI
and constcgs
to set this value for the current
buffer.
(33)
The ‘printf’ reformatting is limited in precision because the value passed to it is converted into an ‘integer’ or ‘double’. The ‘integer’ is limited in size by truncating the signed value to 32 bits. The ‘double’ is limited in precision to 64 bits overall which leaves approximately 16 significant decimal digits.
(34)
Such names must start by an alphabetic character and use only alphanumeric/underscore characters.
(35)
To insert a link targeting a headline, in-buffer completion can be used. Just type a star followed by a few optional letters into the buffer and press M-TAB. All headlines in the current buffer will be offered as completions.
(36)
When targeting a #+NAME
keyword,
#+CAPTION
keyword is mandatory in order to get proper numbering
(see Images and tables).
(37)
The actual behavior of the search will depend on the value of
the option org-link-search-must-match-exact-headline
. If its value
is nil
, then a fuzzy text search will be done. If it is t, then only the
exact headline will be matched. If the value is 'query-to-create
,
then an exact headline will be searched; if it is not found, then the user
will be queried to create it.
(38)
If the headline contains a timestamp, it will be removed from the link and result in a wrong link—you should avoid putting timestamp in the headline.
(39)
The library
org-id.el must first be loaded, either through org-customize
by
enabling org-id
in org-modules
, or by adding (require
'org-id)
in your .emacs.
(40)
Note that you don’t have to use this command to insert a link. Links in Org are plain text, and you can type or paste them straight into the buffer. By using this command, the links are automatically enclosed in double brackets, and you will be asked for the optional descriptive text.
(41)
After insertion of a stored link, the link will be
removed from the list of stored links. To keep it in the list later use, use
a triple C-u prefix argument to C-c C-l, or configure the option
org-keep-stored-link-after-insertion
.
(42)
This works by
calling a special function org-PREFIX-complete-link
.
(43)
See the
option org-display-internal-link-with-indirect-buffer
(44)
with corresponding
#+STARTUP
keywords inlineimages
and noinlineimages
(45)
For backward compatibility, line numbers can also follow a single colon.
(46)
Of course, you can make a document that contains only long lists of TODO items, but this is not required.
(47)
Changing this variable only becomes effective after restarting Org mode in a buffer.
(48)
This is also true for the t command in the timeline and agenda buffers.
(49)
All characters are allowed except
@^!
, which have a special meaning here.
(50)
Check also the option
org-fast-tag-selection-include-todo
, it allows you to change the TODO
state through the tags interface (see Setting tags), in case you like to
mingle the two concepts. Note that this means you need to come up with
unique keys across both sets of keywords.
(51)
Org mode parses these lines only when Org mode is activated after visiting a file. C-c C-c with the cursor in a line starting with ‘#+’ is simply restarting Org mode for the current buffer.
(52)
The corresponding
in-buffer setting is: #+STARTUP: logdone
(53)
The corresponding in-buffer setting is: #+STARTUP:
lognotedone
.
(54)
See the option
org-log-states-order-reversed
(55)
Note that the
LOGBOOK
drawer is unfolded when pressing SPC in the agenda to
show an entry—use C-u SPC to keep it folded here
(56)
It is possible that Org mode will record two timestamps
when you are using both org-log-done
and state change logging.
However, it will never prompt for two notes—if you have configured
both, the state change recording note will take precedence and cancel
the ‘Closing Note’.
(57)
See also the option
org-priority-start-cycle-with-default
.
(58)
To keep subtasks out of the
global TODO list, see the org-agenda-todo-list-sublevels
.
(59)
With the exception of description
lists. But you can allow it by modifying org-list-automatic-rules
accordingly.
(60)
Set the option
org-checkbox-hierarchical-statistics
if you want such cookies to
count all checkboxes below the cookie, not just those belonging to direct
children.
(61)
C-u C-c C-c on the first item of a list with no checkbox will add checkboxes to the rest of the list.
(62)
As with all these in-buffer settings, pressing C-c C-c activates any changes in the line.
(63)
This is only true if the search does not involve more complex tests including properties (see Property searches).
(64)
Keys will automatically be assigned to tags which have no configured keys.
(65)
Please note that the COLUMNS definition must be on a single line—it is wrapped here only because of formatting constraints.
(66)
Contributed packages are not part of Emacs, but are distributed with the main distribution of Org (visit http://orgmode.org).
(67)
In this simplest form, the day name is optional when you type the date yourself. However, any dates inserted or modified by Org will add that day name, for reading convenience.
(68)
This is inspired by the standard ISO 8601 date/time format. To use an alternative format, see Custom time format.
(69)
When working with the standard diary sexp functions, you
need to be very careful with the order of the arguments. That order depend
evilly on the variable calendar-date-style
(or, for older Emacs
versions, european-calendar-style
). For example, to specify a date
December 12, 2005, the call might look like (diary-date 12 1 2005)
or
(diary-date 1 12 2005)
or (diary-date 2005 12 1)
, depending on
the settings. This has been the source of much confusion. Org mode users
can resort to special versions of these functions like org-date
or
org-anniversary
. These work just like the corresponding diary-
functions, but with stable ISO order of arguments (year, month, day) wherever
applicable, independent of the value of calendar-date-style
.
(70)
See the
variable org-read-date-prefer-future
. You may set that variable to
the symbol time
to even make a time before now shift the date to
tomorrow.
(71)
If
you don’t need/want the calendar, configure the variable
org-popup-calendar-for-date-prompt
.
(72)
If you find this distracting, turn the display off with
org-read-date-display-live
.
(73)
It will still
be listed on that date after it has been marked DONE. If you don’t like
this, set the variable org-agenda-skip-scheduled-if-done
.
(74)
The ‘SCHEDULED’ and ‘DEADLINE’ dates are inserted on the line right below the headline. Don’t put any text between this line and the headline.
(75)
with corresponding
#+STARTUP
keywords logredeadline
, lognoteredeadline
,
and nologredeadline
(76)
with corresponding #+STARTUP
keywords logreschedule
, lognotereschedule
, and
nologreschedule
(77)
In fact, the target
state is taken from, in this sequence, the REPEAT_TO_STATE
property or
the variable org-todo-repeat-to-state
. If neither of these is
specified, the target state defaults to the first state of the TODO state
sequence.
(78)
You can change this using the option
org-log-repeat
, or the #+STARTUP
options logrepeat
,
lognoterepeat
, and nologrepeat
. With lognoterepeat
, you
will also be prompted for a note.
(79)
Clocking only works if all headings are indented with less than 30 stars. This is a hardcoded limitation of ‘lmax’ in ‘org-clock-sum’.
(80)
To resume the clock under the assumption that you have worked
on this task while outside Emacs, use (setq org-clock-persist t)
.
(81)
To add an effort estimate “on the fly”,
hook a function doing this to org-clock-in-prepare-hook
.
(82)
as recorded by the LAST_REPEAT
property
(83)
See also the variable
org-clock-modeline-total
.
(84)
The corresponding in-buffer setting is:
#+STARTUP: lognoteclock-out
(85)
Language terms can be set through the variable org-clock-clocktable-language-setup
.
(86)
Note that all parameters must be specified in a single line—the line is broken here only to fit it into the manual.
(87)
On computers using Mac OS X,
idleness is based on actual user idleness, not just Emacs’ idle time. For
X11, you can install a utility program x11idle.c, available in the
contrib/scripts
directory of the Org git distribution, or install the
xprintidle package and set it to the variable
org-clock-x11idle-program-name
if you are running Debian, to get the
same general treatment of idleness. On other systems, idle time refers to
Emacs idle time only.
(88)
You may change the property being
used with the variable org-effort-property
.
(89)
Please note the pitfalls of summing hierarchical data in a flat list (see Agenda column view).
(90)
Please select your own key, C-c c is only a suggestion.
(91)
Datetree
headlines for years accept tags, so if you use both * 2013 :noexport:
and * 2013
in your file, the capture will refile the note to the first
one matched.
(92)
If you need one of these sequences literally, escape the % with a backslash.
(93)
If you define your own link types (see Adding hyperlink types), any property you store with
org-store-link-props
can be accessed in capture templates in a
similar way.
(94)
This will always be the other, not the user. See the variable org-from-is-user-regexp
.
(95)
If you move entries or Org files from one
directory to another, you may want to configure org-attach-directory
to contain an absolute path.
(96)
with corresponding
#+STARTUP
keywords logrefile
, lognoterefile
,
and nologrefile
(97)
For backward compatibility, the following also works: If there are several such lines in a file, each specifies the archive location for the text below it. The first such line also applies to any text before its definition. However, using this method is strongly deprecated as it is incompatible with the outline structure of the document. The correct method for setting multiple archive locations in a buffer is using properties.
(98)
If the value of that variable is not a list, but a single file name, then the list of agenda files will be maintained in that external file.
(99)
When using the dispatcher, pressing
< before selecting a command will actually limit the command to
the current file, and ignore org-agenda-files
until the next
dispatcher command.
(100)
For backward compatibility, you can also press 1 to restrict to the current buffer.
(101)
For backward compatibility, you can also press 0 to restrict to the current region/subtree.
(102)
For backward compatibility, the universal prefix C-u causes all TODO entries to be listed before the agenda. This feature is deprecated, use the dedicated TODO list, or a block agenda instead (see Block agenda).
(103)
org-anniversary
is just like diary-anniversary
, but the argument order is always according to ISO and therefore independent of the value of calendar-date-style
.
(104)
But see skipping entries based on regexp.
(105)
See Tag searches.
(106)
For backward compatibility, the following also works: if there are several such lines in a file, each specifies the category for the text below it. The first category also applies to any text before the first CATEGORY line. However, using this method is strongly deprecated as it is incompatible with the outline structure of the document. The correct method for setting multiple categories in a buffer is using a property.
(107)
Custom commands can preset a filter by
binding the variable org-agenda-tag-filter-preset
as an option. This
filter will then be applied to the view and persist as a basic filter through
refreshes and more secondary filtering. The filter is a global property of
the entire agenda view—in a block agenda, you should only set this in the
global options section, not in the section of an individual block.
(108)
Those temporary limits are lost when rebuilding the agenda.
(109)
Only tags filtering will be respected here, effort filtering is ignored.
(110)
Moving agenda lines does not persist after an agenda refresh and does not modify the contributing .org files
(111)
You can also create persistent custom functions
through org-agenda-bulk-custom-functions
.
(112)
This file is parsed for the agenda when
org-agenda-include-diary
is set.
(113)
You can provide a description for a prefix key by inserting a cons cell with the prefix and the description.
(114)
Planned means
here that these entries have some planning information attached to them, like
a time-stamp, a scheduled or a deadline string. See
org-agenda-entry-types
on how to set what planning information will be
taken into account.
(115)
You need to install Hrvoje Niksic’s htmlize.el.
(116)
To create PDF output, the ghostscript ps2pdf utility must be installed on the system. Selecting a PDF file will also create the postscript file.
(117)
If you want to store standard views like the weekly agenda or the global TODO list as well, you need to define custom commands for them in order to be able to specify file names.
(118)
Quoting depends on the system you use, please check the FAQ for examples.
(119)
This works automatically for
the HTML back-end (it requires version 1.34 of the htmlize.el package,
which is distributed with Org). Fontified code chunks in LaTeX can be
achieved using either the listings or the
minted package. Refer to
org-latex-listings
documentation for details.
(120)
Code in ‘src’ blocks may also be evaluated either interactively or on export. See see Working With Source Code for more information on evaluating code blocks.
(121)
Adding -k
to -n -r
will keep the
labels in the source code while using line numbers for the links, which might
be useful to explain those in an Org mode example code.
(122)
Upon exit, lines starting with ‘*’, ‘,*’, ‘#+’ and ‘,#+’ will get a comma prepended, to keep them from being interpreted by Org as outline nodes or special syntax. These commas will be stripped for editing with C-c ', and also for export.
(123)
You may select
a different-mode with the variable org-edit-fixed-width-region-mode
.
(124)
Since commas separate arguments, commas within arguments have to be escaped with a backslash character. Conversely, backslash characters before a comma, and only them, need to be escaped with another backslash character.
(125)
LaTeX is a macro system based on Donald E. Knuth’s TeX system. Many of the features described here as “LaTeX” are really from TeX, but for simplicity I am blurring this distinction.
(126)
You can turn this on by default by setting the
variable org-pretty-entities
, or on a per-file base with the
#+STARTUP
option entitiespretty
.
(127)
If you plan to use this regularly or on pages with significant page views, you should install MathJax on your own server in order to limit the load of our server.
(128)
For this to work you need to be on a system with a working
LaTeX installation. You also need the dvipng program or the
convert, respectively available at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/dvipng/ and from the imagemagick
suite. The LaTeX header that will be used when processing a fragment can
be configured with the variable org-format-latex-header
.
(129)
When MathJax is used, only the environments recognized by MathJax will be processed. When dvipng program or imagemagick suite is used to create images, any LaTeX environment will be handled.
(130)
Choose the
converter by setting the variable
org-latex-create-formula-image-program
accordingly.
(131)
Org mode has a method to test if the cursor is
inside such a fragment, see the documentation of the function
org-inside-LaTeX-fragment-p
.
(132)
It is also possible to use a less intrusive
interface by setting org-export-dispatch-use-expert-ui
to a
non-nil
value. In that case, only a prompt is visible from the
minibuffer. From there one can still switch back to regular menu by pressing
?.
(133)
The variable
org-export-date-timestamp-format
defines how this time-stamp will be
exported.
(134)
If you want to configure
many options this way, you can use several #+OPTIONS
lines.
(135)
With the exception of ‘SETUPFILE’.
(136)
If
this property is set, the entry will also get a :B_environment:
tag to
make this visible. This tag has no semantic meaning, it is only a visual
aid.
(137)
The fragile
option is added automatically
if it contains code that requires a verbatim environment, though.
(138)
But see the variable
org-html-inline-images
.
(139)
Installation instructions can be found on the MathJax website, see http://www.mathjax.org/resources/docs/?installation.html.
(140)
If the classes on
TODO keywords and tags lead to conflicts, use the variables
org-html-todo-kwd-class-prefix
and org-html-tag-class-prefix
to
make them unique.
(141)
This style is defined in the constant
org-html-style-default
, which you should not modify. To turn
inclusion of these defaults off, customize
org-html-head-include-default-style
or set html-style
to
nil
in an OPTIONS
line.
(142)
The
default LaTeX output is designed for processing with pdftex
or
LaTeX. It includes packages that are not compatible with xetex
and
possibly luatex
. The LaTeX exporter can be configured to support
alternative TeX engines, see the options
org-latex-default-packages-alist
and org-latex-packages-alist
.
(143)
Into which the values of
org-latex-default-packages-alist
and org-latex-packages-alist
are spliced.
(144)
Unlike LATEX_HEADER
, contents
from LATEX_HEADER_EXTRA
keywords will not be loaded when previewing
LaTeX snippets (see Previewing LaTeX fragments).
(145)
Requires adding the
tabularx
package to org-latex-packages-alist
.
(146)
Requires adding the
tabu
package to org-latex-packages-alist
.
(147)
In the case of
TikZ (http://sourceforge.net/projects/pgf/) images, it will become an
\input
macro wrapped within a tikzpicture
environment.
(148)
Vanilla flavor, as defined at http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/.
(149)
Versions 7.8 or later
(150)
Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) Version 1.2
(151)
This requires transient-mark-mode
to be
turned on
(152)
To select the current subtree, use C-c @
(153)
The column widths are interpreted as weighted ratios with the default weight being 1
(154)
Use of ImageMagick is only desirable. However, if you routinely produce documents that have large images or you export your Org files that has images using a Emacs batch script, then the use of ImageMagick is mandatory.
(155)
See MathToWeb
(156)
Your htmlfontify.el library must at least be at Emacs 24.1 levels for fontification to be turned on.
(157)
OpenDocument-v1.2 Specification
(158)
See the <table:table-template>
element of the OpenDocument-v1.2 specification
(159)
See the attributes table:template-name
,
table:use-first-row-styles
, table:use-last-row-styles
,
table:use-first-column-styles
, table:use-last-column-styles
,
table:use-banding-rows-styles
, and
table:use-banding-column-styles
of the <table:table>
element in
the OpenDocument-v1.2 specification
(160)
.odt files are nothing but ‘zip’ archives
(161)
By setting
org-texinfo-info-process
, it is possible to generate other formats,
including DocBook.
(162)
See
org-texinfo-coding-system
for more information.
(163)
For more information, See (texinfo)Two-column Tables.
(164)
See the variables
org-icalendar-use-deadline
and org-icalendar-use-scheduled
.
(165)
To add inherited tags or the TODO state,
configure the variable org-icalendar-categories
.
(166)
The LOCATION
property can be inherited from higher in the hierarchy if you configure
org-use-property-inheritance
accordingly.
(167)
If the publishing directory is the same than the source directory, file.org will be exported as file.org.org, so probably don’t want to do this.
(168)
Note that ‘src’ blocks may be inserted using Org mode’s Easy Templates system
(169)
Whenever code is evaluated there is a potential for that code to do harm. Org mode provides safeguards to ensure that code is only evaluated after explicit confirmation from the user. For information on these safeguards (and on how to disable them) see Code evaluation security.
(170)
The
option org-babel-no-eval-on-ctrl-c-ctrl-c
can be used to remove code
evaluation from the C-c C-c key binding.
(171)
The deprecated syntax for default header argument properties, using the name of the header argument as a property name directly, evaluates the property as seen by the corresponding source block definition. This behavior has been kept for backwards compatibility.
(172)
(The example needs property inheritance
to be turned on for the noweb-ref
property, see Property inheritance).
(173)
Emacs 23 and Org mode 6.29 are required
(174)
Emacs 23.1 can actually crash
with org-indent-mode
(175)
org-indent-mode
also sets the wrap-prefix
property, such that visual-line-mode
(or purely setting
word-wrap
) wraps long lines (including headlines) correctly indented.
(176)
See the variable
org-indent-indentation-per-level
.
(177)
Turning on org-indent-mode
sets
org-hide-leading-stars
to t
and org-adapt-indentation
to
nil
.
(178)
See also the variable org-adapt-indentation
.
(179)
When you need to specify a level for a property search or refile targets, ‘LEVEL=2’ will correspond to 3 stars, etc.
(180)
org-R.el has been replaced by the Org mode functionality described in Working With Source Code and is now obsolete.
(181)
By
default this works only for LaTeX, HTML, and Texinfo. Configure the
variable orgtbl-radio-table-templates
to install templates for other
modes.
(182)
If
the ‘#+TBLFM’ line contains an odd number of dollar characters,
this may cause problems with font-lock in LaTeX mode. As shown in the
example you can fix this by adding an extra line inside the
comment
environment that is used to balance the dollar
expressions. If you are using AUCTeX with the font-latex library, a
much better solution is to add the comment
environment to the
variable LaTeX-verbatim-environments
.
(183)
The HTML translator uses the same code that produces tables during HTML export.
(184)
The
agenda*
view is the same than agenda
except that it only
considers appointments, i.e., scheduled and deadline items that have a
time specification [h]h:mm
in their time-stamps.
(185)
Note that, when using org-odd-levels-only
, a
level number corresponds to order in the hierarchy, not to the number of
stars.
(186)
If you can safely store the
password in your Emacs setup, you might also want to configure
org-mobile-encryption-password
. Please read the docstring of that
variable. Note that encryption will apply only to the contents of the
.org files. The file names themselves will remain visible.
(187)
If you cannot use Dropbox, or if your version of MobileOrg does not support it, you can use a webdav server. For more information, check out the documentation of MobileOrg and also this FAQ entry.
(188)
Symbolic links in org-directory
need to
have the same name than their targets.
(189)
While creating the
agendas, Org mode will force ID properties on all referenced entries, so that
these entries can be uniquely identified if MobileOrg flags them for
further action. If you do not want to get these properties in so many
entries, you can set the variable org-mobile-force-id-on-agenda-items
to nil
. Org mode will then rely on outline paths, in the hope that
these will be unique enough.
(190)
Checksums are stored automatically in the file checksums.dat
(191)
mobileorg.org will be empty after this operation.
(192)
Note, however, that there is a subtle difference. The view created automatically by M-x org-mobile-pull RET is guaranteed to search all files that have been addressed by the last pull. This might include a file that is not currently in your list of agenda files. If you later use C-c a ? to regenerate the view, only the current agenda files will be searched.