Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[tomas]

On Thu, Jan 30, 2020 at 10:12:25AM +0200, Andrei POPESCU wrote:

[...

> It's a default in the most common packaging tool that saves work for 
> many maintainers (they don't need to explicitly mark files under /etc as 
> conffiles).
> 
> To me it's quite clear that conffiles are typically in /etc (the text 
> explicitly allows for other possibilities), but not every 
> (configuration) file in /etc is a conffile.

That's true, yes.

Cheers
-- t


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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Andrei POPESCU]

On Mi, 29 ian 20, 08:41:41, to...@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 29, 2020 at 08:48:56AM +0200, Andrei POPESCU wrote:
> > 
> > It seems to me you are conflating dpkg conffiles[1] with files in /etc.
> > 
> > [1] https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ap-pkg-conffiles.html
> 
> Yep, but this [2] /strongly/ suggests that conffiles are exactly those
> living under /etc.

It's a default in the most common packaging tool that saves work for 
many maintainers (they don't need to explicitly mark files under /etc as 
conffiles).

To me it's quite clear that conffiles are typically in /etc (the text 
explicitly allows for other possibilities), but not every 
(configuration) file in /etc is a conffile.
 
> Cheers
> [2] https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/maint-guide/dother.en.html#conffiles

The 3rd paragraph explicitly recommends *not* marking files as conffiles 
if they must be changed through other mechanisms (I believe cups does 
this, but am too lazy to check).

It then goes on about how to deal with having a configuration file (not 
conffile) in /etc that is not managed by dpkg.

Kind regards,
Andrei
-- 
http://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebianUser


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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[tomas]

On Wed, Jan 29, 2020 at 08:48:56AM +0200, Andrei POPESCU wrote:
> On Ma, 28 ian 20, 09:59:44, to...@tuxteam.de wrote:
> > On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:54:47PM -0600, Nate Bargmann wrote:
> > 
> > >  As that package apparently is required for the Mate desktop, it's
> > > likely that to resolve this that you'll need to comment the lines in
> > > that file as root and note that package upgrades may overwrite your
> > > commented file with the one supplied with the package.
> > 
> > This would be a Debian policy violation. /etc is taboo, sysadmin
> > overrides (you get asked at upgrade, though, so some vigilance is
> > in order).
> 
> It seems to me you are conflating dpkg conffiles[1] with files in /etc.
> 
> [1] https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ap-pkg-conffiles.html

Yep, but this [2] /strongly/ suggests that conffiles are exactly those
living under /etc.

Cheers
[2] https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/maint-guide/dother.en.html#conffiles

-- tomás


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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Andrei POPESCU]

On Ma, 28 ian 20, 09:59:44, to...@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:54:47PM -0600, Nate Bargmann wrote:
> 
> >  As that package apparently is required for the Mate desktop, it's
> > likely that to resolve this that you'll need to comment the lines in
> > that file as root and note that package upgrades may overwrite your
> > commented file with the one supplied with the package.
> 
> This would be a Debian policy violation. /etc is taboo, sysadmin
> overrides (you get asked at upgrade, though, so some vigilance is
> in order).

It seems to me you are conflating dpkg conffiles[1] with files in /etc.

[1] https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ap-pkg-conffiles.html

Kind regards,
Andrei
-- 
http://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebianUser


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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 9:33 AM Curt  wrote:...
...

Okay, I've taken Curt's and Greg's suggestions together:

1. I had to install the dconf-editor package. I was able to use the
dconf editor to turn off the xrdb plugin. I then logged off and logged
back in. Highlighting is working.

Note: The deconf-editor has to be executed from the CLI (dconf-editor
&). It is not greatly intuitive. I had to search for xrdb to get to a
screen to turn off a slider widget.

2. In my home directory I ran "xrdb -query > highlight-works.txt"

It shows none of the original *emacs* stuff.

I'll report results later after I've given this a few days.

Thank you so much Nate, Tomas, Curt, David, Byung-Hee, and Greg!

Debian folks are great!

Cheers!

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Curt]

On 2020-01-28, Tom Browder  wrote:
>
> On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 07:36 Greg Wooledge  wrote:
>
>> On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 04:11:33PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
>> >   when highlighting disappears, run "xrdb /dev/null" and restart emacs
>>
>> So, wait.  You're saying that it *works for a little while* after
>> you log in, and then at some point later, it *stops working*?
>>
>> If that's actually the case, then maybe you can pinpoint the offending
>> X resource by doing
>>
>> xrdb -query > working
>
> ...
>
> Great idea, Greg. And that goes hand-on-hand with my "giving up" method!

As mate-settings-daemon is a daemon, it may be the culprit here, too.

> But I will take a shot at Curt's method first.
>
> Cheers!
>
> -Tom
>


-- 
"J'ai pour me guérir du jugement des autres toute la distance qui me sépare de
moi." Antonin Artaud

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 07:36 Greg Wooledge  wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 04:11:33PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> >   when highlighting disappears, run "xrdb /dev/null" and restart emacs
>
> So, wait.  You're saying that it *works for a little while* after
> you log in, and then at some point later, it *stops working*?
>
> If that's actually the case, then maybe you can pinpoint the offending
> X resource by doing
>
> xrdb -query > working

...

Great idea, Greg. And that goes hand-on-hand with my "giving up" method!

But I will take a shot at Curt's method first.

Cheers!

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 07:26 Curt  wrote:
...

> Have you tried my suggestion of yesterday, a method which worked for the
> man in the thread linked at the bottom of this post? You might have to
> be root, and you must have the dconf-editor installed. Open that gui
> app, search for the

...

No, Curt, I didn't, but I will. I'm sorry I glossed over the point about
the dconf editor. I will try that today.

Thanks.

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Greg Wooledge]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 04:11:33PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
>   when highlighting disappears, run "xrdb /dev/null" and restart emacs

So, wait.  You're saying that it *works for a little while* after
you log in, and then at some point later, it *stops working*?

If that's actually the case, then maybe you can pinpoint the offending
X resource by doing

xrdb -query > working

right after you log in (possibly after verifying that emacs is in fact
working properly).

Then, after it stops working properly, run the xrdb -query command
again, but redirect it to a different file.  Then use diff to see
what changed.

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Curt]

On 2020-01-28, Tom Browder  wrote:
>
> On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 03:09  wrote:
>
>> On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:57:49PM -0600, Nate Bargmann wrote:
>> > Or it may be as easy as going into the Mate Settings Daemon application
>> > (if it has a GUI) and disabling the xrdg plugin.

> I tried to find that and couldn't.

Have you tried my suggestion of yesterday, a method which worked for the
man in the thread linked at the bottom of this post? You might have to
be root, and you must have the dconf-editor installed. Open that gui
app, search for the

 org.mate.SettingsDaemon.plugins.xrdb

setting and set it to false. Worth a try. Maybe you already did and I
missed it. You might also, as Nate suggested, simply comment out the
relevant or irrelevant lines in /etc/xrdb/Emacs.ad.

Of course, for any of this to have any effect, I believe, at the very
least you need to log out and back in again; verification of eventual
effects might be done with yet another 'xrdb -query'. 

I would point out that the man in the superuser.com thread uses an
~./.Xresources file for certain terminal settings, and the dconf-editor
method of deactivating plugins.xrdb succeeded in preventing that file
from being superseded.
 
> I would like to be able to experiment with other desktops or window
> managers. Can I do that and still return safely to my current setup? If so,
> what do you recommend?

This is purported to be as simple as installing the desired DE and
choosing it rather than Mate during login in your display manager.


https://superuser.com/questions/1351751/xresources-not-loaded-under-mate-desktop

> Best,
>
> -Tom
>
> --93c427059d31e489
> Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
>On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 03:09 =
> to...@tuxteam.de> wrote: lockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px =
> #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:57:49PM -0600, Nate=
>  Bargmann wrote:
> > Or it may be as easy as going into the Mate Settings Daemon applicatio=
> n
> > (if it has a GUI) and disabling the xrdg plugin.=3D"auto">I tried to find that and couldn't=
> .I would like to be abl=
> e to experiment with other desktops or window managers. Can I do that and s=
> till return safely to my current setup? If so, what do you recommend?=
>Best,=
>-Tom
>
> --93c427059d31e489--
>
>


-- 
"J'ai pour me guérir du jugement des autres toute la distance qui me sépare de
moi." Antonin Artaud

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[tomas]

On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 05:54:46AM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 03:09  wrote:
> 
> > On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:57:49PM -0600, Nate Bargmann wrote:
> > > Or it may be as easy as going into the Mate Settings Daemon application
> > > (if it has a GUI) and disabling the xrdg plugin.
> 
> 
> I tried to find that and couldn't.
> 
> I would like to be able to experiment with other desktops or window
> managers. Can I do that and still return safely to my current setup? If so,
> what do you recommend?

I burnt my bridges when i left, screaming, the last DE I used
(it was XFCE, AFAIR), so I can't give you first-hand advice. But
I know Debian goes a long way in enabling you to choose and change
your environment.

Perhaps set up another (throwaway) user accont to try out.

That said, I don't want to come across as if I consider DEs to be
"something bad": there are many things you'll have to take care
of (e.g. don't expect an USB stick to be automatically mounted on
insert, be prepared to go shopping or hacking -- I went hacking --
when your LCD brigntness control doesn't do what you want, yadda,
yadda).

I think it's a deeper problem, But perhaps off-topic here.

Cheers
-- tomás


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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 03:09  wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:57:49PM -0600, Nate Bargmann wrote:
> > Or it may be as easy as going into the Mate Settings Daemon application
> > (if it has a GUI) and disabling the xrdg plugin.


I tried to find that and couldn't.

I would like to be able to experiment with other desktops or window
managers. Can I do that and still return safely to my current setup? If so,
what do you recommend?

Best,

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[tomas]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:57:49PM -0600, Nate Bargmann wrote:
> Or it may be as easy as going into the Mate Settings Daemon application
> (if it has a GUI) and disabling the xrdg plugin.

By all means, do -- and tell us whether it worked (the link
I provided was a bit discouraging: so /if/ that works, it
should be here loud and clear for the search engines to find
and to the benefit of others).

Cheers
-- t


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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[tomas]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:54:47PM -0600, Nate Bargmann wrote:
> * On 2020 27 Jan 16:12 -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
>  
> > Gang, I've tried various combinations of:
> > 
> > 1. removing/installing the /etc/xrdb/*.ad files
> 
> I see that the mate-settings-daemon package has the /etc/xrdb/Emacs.ad
> file.

Yep, that was my impression too: that some desktop environment is
messing up the X resources (not the files, the database in the
server) in some creative way.

>  As that package apparently is required for the Mate desktop, it's
> likely that to resolve this that you'll need to comment the lines in
> that file as root and note that package upgrades may overwrite your
> commented file with the one supplied with the package.

This would be a Debian policy violation. /etc is taboo, sysadmin
overrides (you get asked at upgrade, though, so some vigilance is
in order).

Ah-hah. Some search-engining later: see this

  https://ubuntu-mate.community/t/issue-with-xresources-and-ubuntu-mate/3756

This guy is having the same problem (the solution is inconclusive,
though -- he disabled some "mate X resources plugin" without any
success).

Things like this, BTW, are what at last, drove me away from desktop
environments: they are fiendishly complex, full of quick fire-and
forget contribs "oh, this seems a good idea", and when you have
a serious question... crickets.

Note that I'm not blaming anyone. I'm of the impression that there
aren't enough resources to manage that complexity (and I don't mean
technical, but more the social, i.e. the width of the user base).

Hapy fvwm camper since.

Cheers
-- tomás


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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Nate Bargmann]

Or it may be as easy as going into the Mate Settings Daemon application
(if it has a GUI) and disabling the xrdg plugin.

- Nate

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Web: https://www.n0nb.us
Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Nate Bargmann]

* On 2020 27 Jan 16:12 -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
 
> Gang, I've tried various combinations of:
> 
> 1. removing/installing the /etc/xrdb/*.ad files

I see that the mate-settings-daemon package has the /etc/xrdb/Emacs.ad
file.  As that package apparently is required for the Mate desktop, it's
likely that to resolve this that you'll need to comment the lines in
that file as root and note that package upgrades may overwrite your
commented file with the one supplied with the package.  After commenting
those lines, you need to completely restart X11 or use an xrdb command
that I'm not familiar with to flush the xrdb database and clear the
Emacs* namespace.  I'd probably just do a complete system restart.

As I am using Gnome, the /etc/xrdb directory doesn't even exist on my
systems and I don't recall seeing it with Xfce either.  There are four
packages that contain a file named Emacs.ad:

https://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=contents&keywords=Emacs.ad&mode=exactfilename&suite=stable&arch=any

- Nate

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Web: https://www.n0nb.us
Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 2:39 AM  wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 26, 2020 at 08:04:29PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> > On Sat, Jan 25, 2020 at 2:17 AM  wrote:
...
>
> Have you had a look in /etc/X11/Xresources?

Yes, contents:

$ cat /etc/X11/Xresources/x11-common
! $Id$

! load color-specific resources for clients that have them
#ifdef COLOR
*customization: -color
#endif

! make Xaw (Athena widget set) clients understand the delete key
! this causes problems with some non-Xaw apps, use with care
! *Text.translations: #override ~Shift ~Meta Delete:
delete-next-character()

Thanks, Tomas.

-Tom



> Cheers
> -- tomás

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 1:00 PM Nate Bargmann  wrote:
> * On 2020 27 Jan 10:11 -0600, Curt wrote:
> > I missed that point, yet I'm still left to wonder whether the mate
> > settings daemon xrdb plugins referenced above (if it is indeed running

Gang, I've tried various combinations of:

1. removing/installing the /etc/xrdb/*.ad files
2. running with an empty .Xresources file
3. running xrdb /dev/null

It seems like this is the only thing that I can do to get highlighting
reliably so far is:

  when highlighting disappears, run "xrdb /dev/null" and restart emacs

Ugh, suggestions welcome, but I'm about to give up.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

If anyone does have an .Xresources file that seems to give a
satisfactory emacs GTK under Buster I would love to get a copy to try
it.

Thanks,

-Tom


> > on the OP's machine as part of the Mate kitchen sink) might be
> > responsible for the rather copious Emacs 'xdrb -query' output he offered
> > up for inspection.
> >
> > Looking at this
> >
> > https://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-settings-daemon/blob/master/plugins/xrdb/data/Emacs.ad
> >
> > there does appear to be similarities. Maybe I'm not understanding the
> > whole thing correctly.
>
> Good sleuth work, Curt.  It looks to me like this is part of a theme
> plugin for Mate.  Beyond playing with it for a short time as to satisfy
> a bit of curiosity, I've not used Mate any length of time.  Still, I find
> it interesting that a Gtk based desktop is tweaking Xresources as that
> was one of things that was seemingly declared "obsolete" about 20+ years
> ago as the new "Linux desktops" began to develop.
>
> Anyway, @ the OP, Tom.  I'd go through the Appearance/theme menus of
> Mate and at least remove or disable this Emacs plugin if it can be found
> through the GUI.
>
> The other thought I had was to create a new user and see if the problem
> followed along.  In this case it probably would.  Another option would
> be to install Xfce and try it, but these thoughts were before I saw
> Curt's message.
>
> - Nate
>
> --
>
> "The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
> possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."
>
> Web: https://www.n0nb.us
> Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
> GPG fingerprint: 82D6 4F6B 0E67 CD41 F689 BBA6 FB2C 5130 D55A 8819
>

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Nate Bargmann]

* On 2020 27 Jan 10:11 -0600, Curt wrote:
> I missed that point, yet I'm still left to wonder whether the mate
> settings daemon xrdb plugins referenced above (if it is indeed running
> on the OP's machine as part of the Mate kitchen sink) might be
> responsible for the rather copious Emacs 'xdrb -query' output he offered
> up for inspection.
> 
> Looking at this
> 
> https://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-settings-daemon/blob/master/plugins/xrdb/data/Emacs.ad
> 
> there does appear to be similarities. Maybe I'm not understanding the
> whole thing correctly.

Good sleuth work, Curt.  It looks to me like this is part of a theme
plugin for Mate.  Beyond playing with it for a short time as to satisfy
a bit of curiosity, I've not used Mate any length of time.  Still, I find
it interesting that a Gtk based desktop is tweaking Xresources as that
was one of things that was seemingly declared "obsolete" about 20+ years
ago as the new "Linux desktops" began to develop.

Anyway, @ the OP, Tom.  I'd go through the Appearance/theme menus of
Mate and at least remove or disable this Emacs plugin if it can be found
through the GUI.

The other thought I had was to create a new user and see if the problem
followed along.  In this case it probably would.  Another option would
be to install Xfce and try it, but these thoughts were before I saw
Curt's message.

- Nate

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Web: https://www.n0nb.us
Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
GPG fingerprint: 82D6 4F6B 0E67 CD41 F689 BBA6 FB2C 5130 D55A 8819



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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 10:11 AM Curt  wrote:
> On 2020-01-27, David Wright  wrote:
> > On Mon 27 Jan 2020 at 14:34:14 (-), Curt wrote:
> >> On 2020-01-27, Nate Bargmann  wrote:
...

A few points ref my problem:

1. I have to admit I've always been confused by the menuing inside
emacs to change things, so that would be a last resort. I prefer to
put stull in my init.el.

2. I have also been very confused over the multitude of configuration
files affecting the graphical displays.

3. Looking in detail at the results of my "xrdb -query" incantation I
only see three colors and they affect the following attributes:

a. color: f8f8f8 affects:

*Button.activeBackground:#f8f8f8
*Checkbutton.activeBackground:#f8f8f8
*Radiobutton.activeBackground:#f8f8f8
*Scrollbar.activeBackground:#f8f8f8

b. color: cecece affects:
=

*Box.background:#cecece
*Button.background:#cecece
*Button.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Canvas.activeBackground:#cecece
*Canvas.background:#cecece
*Canvas.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Canvas.selectbackground:#cecece
*Checkbutton.background:#cecece
*Checkbutton.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Command.background:#cecece
*Dialog.background:#cecece
*Entry.activeBackground:#cecece
*Entry.background:#cecece
*Entry.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Entry.selectBackground:#cecece
*Form.background:#cecece
*Frame.background:#cecece
*Label.background:#cecece
*Label.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Labelframe.background:#cecece
*List.background:#cecece
*Listbox.activeBackground:#cecece
*Listbox.background:#cecece
*Listbox.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Listbox.selectBackground:#cecece
*Menu.activeBackground:#cecece
*Menu.background:#cecece
*MenuButton.background:#cecece
*Menubutton.activeBackground:#cecece
*Menubutton.background:#cecece
*Menubutton.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Radiobutton.background:#cecece
*Radiobutton.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Scale.activeBackground:#cecece
*Scale.background:#cecece
*Scale.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Scrollbar*background:#cecece
*Scrollbar.background:#cecece
*Scrollbar.highlightBackground:#cecece
*ScrollbarBackground:#cecece
*SimpleMenu*background:#cecece
*Text.activeBackground:#cecece
*Text.background:#cecece
*Text.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Text.selectBackground:#cecece
*Toggle.background:#cecece
*Toplevel.activeBackground:#cecece
*Toplevel.background:#cecece
*Toplevel.highlightBackground:#cecece
*XmCascadeButton.background:#cecece
*XmCascadeButtonGadget.background:#cecece
*XmDialogShell.background:#cecece
*XmFileSelectionBox.background:#cecece
*XmForm.background:#cecece
*XmFrame.background:#cecece
*XmLabel.background:#cecece
*XmLabelGadget.background:#cecece
*XmList.background:#cecece
*XmMenuShell.background:#cecece
*XmMessageBox.background:#cecece
*XmPanedWindow.background:#cecece
*XmPushButton.background:#cecece
*XmPushButtonGadget.background:#cecece
*XmRowColumn.background:#cecece
*XmSash.background:#cecece
*XmScrollBar.background:#cecece
*XmScrolledWindow.background:#cecece
*XmSelectionBox.background:#cecece
*XmSeparator.background:#cecece
*XmSeparatorGadget.background:#cecece
*XmTearOffButton.background:#cecece
*XmTearOffButtonGadget.background:#cecece
*XmText.background:#cecece
*XmTextField.background:#cecece
*XmToggleButton.background:#cecece
*XmToggleButtonGadget.background:#cecece
*background:#cecece
Editres*Panner.Background:#cecece
Editres*Tree.Background:#cecece
Editres*Tree.Toggle.Background:#cecece
Emacs*Background:#cecece
Emacs*Dialog*background:#cecece
Emacs*XlwScrollBar.Background:#cecece
Emacs*backgroundToolBarColor:#cecece
Emacs*bottomToolBarShadowColor:#cecece
Emacs*menubar*background:#cecece
Emacs*popup*Background:#cecece
Emacs*topToolBarShadowColor:#cecece
Emacs.default.attributeBackground:#cecece
Emacs.scroll-bar.attributeBackground:#cecece
Emacs.tool-bar.attributeBackground:#cecece

c. color: 3c3c3c affects:
==

*Box.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Button.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Button.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Button.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Canvas.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Canvas.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Canvas.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Canvas.selectforeground:#3c3c3c
*Checkbutton.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Checkbutton.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Checkbutton.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Command.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Dialog.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Entry.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Entry.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Entry.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Entry.selectForeground:#3c3c3c
*Form.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Frame.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Label.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Label.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Labelframe.foreground:  

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Curt]

On 2020-01-27, David Wright  wrote:
> On Mon 27 Jan 2020 at 14:34:14 (-), Curt wrote:
>> On 2020-01-27, Nate Bargmann  wrote:
>> >
>> > At this point, I think you need to find any file on your system that has
>> > the Emacs X resources that xrdb showed and comment them out.
>> >
>> 
>> As perhaps an unhelpful and not necessarily related data point, there
>> exists a bug report concerning Xresources and Emacs 24.4, the insect
>> consisting of the former remaining unread or "unrespected" (which may
>> not be a word) in the Mate desktop environment when using the latter.
>> 
>> https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=770781
>> 
>> https://superuser.com/questions/1351751/xresources-not-loaded-under-mate-desktop
>> 
>> (Set the active attribute to false under
>> 'org.mate.SettingsDaemon.plugins.xrdb' with dconf-editor?)
>
> It's not clear to me whether "my Xresources" means the dotfile in
> $HOME, or something else. In the case of the former, the OP wrote
> that they had no ~/.Xresources, so not reading it wouldn't matter.

I missed that point, yet I'm still left to wonder whether the mate
settings daemon xrdb plugins referenced above (if it is indeed running
on the OP's machine as part of the Mate kitchen sink) might be
responsible for the rather copious Emacs 'xdrb -query' output he offered
up for inspection.

Looking at this

https://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-settings-daemon/blob/master/plugins/xrdb/data/Emacs.ad

there does appear to be similarities. Maybe I'm not understanding the
whole thing correctly.


> Cheers,
> David.
>
>


-- 
"J'ai pour me guérir du jugement des autres toute la distance qui me sépare de
moi." Antonin Artaud

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[David Wright]

On Mon 27 Jan 2020 at 14:34:14 (-), Curt wrote:
> On 2020-01-27, Nate Bargmann  wrote:
> >
> > At this point, I think you need to find any file on your system that has
> > the Emacs X resources that xrdb showed and comment them out.
> >
> 
> As perhaps an unhelpful and not necessarily related data point, there
> exists a bug report concerning Xresources and Emacs 24.4, the insect
> consisting of the former remaining unread or "unrespected" (which may
> not be a word) in the Mate desktop environment when using the latter.
> 
> https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=770781
> 
> https://superuser.com/questions/1351751/xresources-not-loaded-under-mate-desktop
> 
> (Set the active attribute to false under
> 'org.mate.SettingsDaemon.plugins.xrdb' with dconf-editor?)

It's not clear to me whether "my Xresources" means the dotfile in
$HOME, or something else. In the case of the former, the OP wrote
that they had no ~/.Xresources, so not reading it wouldn't matter.

Cheers,
David.

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[David Wright]

On Mon 27 Jan 2020 at 08:23:00 (-0600), Tom Browder wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:49 Nate Bargmann  wrote:
> ...
> 
> > At this point, I think you need to find any file on your system that has
> > the Emacs X resources that xrdb showed and comment them out.

You showed us your Xresources, presumably before you clobbered them
all with   xrdb /dev/null.

You might be able to find out which resources are causing your problem
by deleting them in turn with a command like:

$ xrdb -query | grep -v 'Emacs\*font:' | xrdb -

cutting and pasting from your posted list, and/or setting/editing
individual resources with:

$ xrdb -merge - <<< 'Emacs*font: neep-alt-iso10646-1-18'

Or you might be more comfortable running:

$ xrdb -query > /tmp/xrdb

then editing /tmp/xrdb while running

$ xrdb /tmp/xrdb

repeatedly in another xterm to set what's in your edit buffer.

Cheers,
David.

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Curt]

On 2020-01-27, Nate Bargmann  wrote:
>
> At this point, I think you need to find any file on your system that has
> the Emacs X resources that xrdb showed and comment them out.
>

As perhaps an unhelpful and not necessarily related data point, there
exists a bug report concerning Xresources and Emacs 24.4, the insect
consisting of the former remaining unread or "unrespected" (which may
not be a word) in the Mate desktop environment when using the latter.

https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=770781

https://superuser.com/questions/1351751/xresources-not-loaded-under-mate-desktop

(Set the active attribute to false under
'org.mate.SettingsDaemon.plugins.xrdb' with dconf-editor?)

-- 
"J'ai pour me guérir du jugement des autres toute la distance qui me sépare de
moi." Antonin Artaud

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 07:49 Nate Bargmann  wrote:
...

> At this point, I think you need to find any file on your system that has
> the Emacs X resources that xrdb showed and comment them out.

...

Good suggestion, Nate.

And thanks for your and the other folks' patience.

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Nate Bargmann]

* On 2020 27 Jan 07:03 -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> Would it help if I post my entire /etc/X11 directory and init.el on my
> github account?

At this point probably not.  If there was nothing referencing Emacs in
/etc/X11/app-defaults then wherever those resources are being set must
be in your home directory.  Someplace.

> BTW, I do not use the GUI menu to start emacs, CLI only. and I rarely use
> it in its terminal version.

My suggestion to run it in the terminal was a test to see if the
highlighting colors come up sane.

There are several places where X resources can be set.  Default on
Debian these days appear to be /etc/X11/Xresources and
/etc/X11/app-defaults.  In your home directory it can become a mess as X
will look at several hidden files probably not limited to .Xresources,
.Xdefaults, .xinitrc, .xsession, and .xsessionrc.  Any of these can
source other files!

At this point, I think you need to find any file on your system that has
the Emacs X resources that xrdb showed and comment them out.

Is it possible that you had the emacs-lucid package installed and did
not purge it when you removed it?  I'm just grasping at straws here.

https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/X-Resources.html

- Nate

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Web: https://www.n0nb.us
Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 05:37 Tom Browder  wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 5:00 AM Nate Bargmann  wrote:
> > OP, Tom, you might try:
> >
> > grep -i "Emacs" /etc/X11/app-defaults/*
>

Would it help if I post my entire /etc/X11 directory and init.el on my
github account?

BTW, I do not use the GUI menu to start emacs, CLI only. and I rarely use
it in its terminal version.

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 5:00 AM Nate Bargmann  wrote:
> OP, Tom, you might try:
>
> grep -i "Emacs" /etc/X11/app-defaults/*

Nothing on mine, either, Nate.
Thanks.

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Nate Bargmann]

* On 2020 27 Jan 02:40 -0600, to...@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 26, 2020 at 08:04:29PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> > Emacs*Background:#cecece
> > Emacs*Dialog*background:#cecece
> > Emacs*Dialog*foreground:#3c3c3c
> > Emacs*Foreground:#3c3c3c
> > Emacs*XlwScrollBar.Background:#cecece
> > Emacs*XlwScrollBar.Foreground:#3c3c3c
> > Emacs*backgroundToolBarColor:#cecece
> > Emacs*bottomToolBarShadowColor:#cecece
> > Emacs*menubar*background:#cecece
> > Emacs*menubar*foreground:#3c3c3c
> > Emacs*popup*Background:#cecece
> > Emacs*popup*Foreground:#3c3c3c
> > Emacs*topToolBarShadowColor:#cecece
> > Emacs.default.attributeBackground:#cecece
> > Emacs.default.attributeForeground:#3c3c3c
> > Emacs.mode-line.attributeForeground:#3c3c3c
> > Emacs.scroll-bar.attributeBackground:#cecece
> > Emacs.scroll-bar.attributeForeground:#3c3c3c
> > Emacs.tool-bar.attributeBackground:#cecece
> > Emacs.tool-bar.attributeForeground:#3c3c3c
> 
> OK. These are, I'd say, the first ones to concentrate on.
> Something in your system is setting that "on purpose", and
> you don't seem to like the results (note the prevalence of
> two colours: lightgray and darkgray -- kinda like a end-1990s
> Mac).
> 
> Have you had a look in /etc/X11/Xresources?

There are also ~/.Xdefaults and possibly a system Xdefaults to be
considered, IIUC.  In the old days I used to have an ~/.app-defaults
directory which had copies of files from /etc/X11/app-defaults/ that I
customized and loaded from ~/.xinitrc (maybe, something else?).  It's
not a facility I use any more, just ~/.Xresources with customizations
for Xterm and URxvt.

OP, Tom, you might try:

grep -i "Emacs" /etc/X11/app-defaults/*

and see if anything comes up.  Nothing comes up on my system.

- Nate

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Web: https://www.n0nb.us
Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Nate Bargmann]

* On 2020 26 Jan 20:14 -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> On Sat, Jan 25, 2020 at 6:01 AM Nate Bargmann  wrote:
> > What do you get if there is no ~/.emacs or ~/.emacs.d/init.el file?
> 
> Still no highlighting without the xrdb incantation.

Sorry, I've never had to do anything like that, so I'm of no further
help.  :(

> 
> > Are you using the Emacs GTK GUI or running in a terminal?
> 
> I'm using:
> 
> emacs-gtk - GNU Emacs editor (with GTK+ GUI support)

My Gnome menu on Buster, which I have not changed, shows the following
for Emacs commands:

Emacs (Terminal)
/usr/bin/emacs -nw %F

and:

Emacs (GUI)
/usr/bin/emacs %F

I presume the '%F' is the GUI's way of passing a file list to emacs.

I decided to chase 'emacs' in the terminal.  Tab completion shows:

$ emacs
emacs  emacsclientemacsclient.emacs  emacs-gtk  

Checking 'emacs' further I see that it is a symlink:

$ ls -l `which emacs-gtk`
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 39926024 Sep  4 21:35 /usr/bin/emacs-gtk*
$ ls -l `which emacs`
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 23 Oct 14  2018 /usr/bin/emacs -> 
/etc/alternatives/emacs*
$ ll /etc/alternatives/emacs
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 18 Oct 14  2018 /etc/alternatives/emacs -> 
/usr/bin/emacs-gtk*


I see that the GUI doesn't call 'emacs-gtk' directly.  I'm not sure if
that makes any difference with emacs, but it sometimes does as certain
programs will check the name they were called by and change behavior
accordingly.  I don't know if emacs does this check or not.

You might try running 'emacs -nw -q' in a terminal which will cause it
to run in the terminal with a basic set of colors.  After that, I would
start looking for and removing any Gtk configuration file (~/.gtk*) or
themes out of the way.  It might be picking up a Gtk theme that is
causing your issue, though I think setting the colors for the editor
frame as in my example does override any Gtk theme.

> > anti-aliased fonts were well supported), I have configured Emacs the
> > same in my ~/.emacs.d/init.al file:
> >
> > (custom-set-faces
> ...
> 
> Thanks, but I like a white os very light background.

I find that as I age that dark backgrounds lead to far less eye strain.
Unfortunately, trying to force the Web into dark backgrounds doesn't
work well so I don't bother with forcing the browsers into dark
backgrounds.  All my terminals and editors are setup with a dark
background.  I used to like them light, like you, but longish coding
sessions showed me the value of light text on a dark background.

Hopefully you'll get some ideas.  Have you posted any screenshots that I
missed?

- Nate

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Web: https://www.n0nb.us
Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[황병희]

Tom Browder  writes:

> [...]
> Thanks, but I like a white os very light background.

Indeed, real hacker like light and white colors, i think.

Sincerely, StarWars fan Byung-Hee

-- 
^고맙습니다 _地平天成_ 감사합니다_^))//

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[tomas]

On Sun, Jan 26, 2020 at 08:04:29PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> On Sat, Jan 25, 2020 at 2:17 AM  wrote:
> > On Fri, Jan 24, 2020 at 04:10:37PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:

[...]

> > >   $ xrdb /dev/null
> >
> > Yikes. Like hitting your TV set with a wrench ;-)

[...]

> Maybe, but I felt like I had nothing to lose.

...and in the times of vacuum tubes it sometimes actually helped.
Cyclical thermal stress tended to develop cracks... but hey, I
disgress :-)

> > You can have a look into the content of your X resource database with
> >   xrdb -query
> 
> Result:
> 
[...]
> Emacs*Background:#cecece
> Emacs*Dialog*background:#cecece
> Emacs*Dialog*foreground:#3c3c3c
> Emacs*Foreground:#3c3c3c
> Emacs*XlwScrollBar.Background:#cecece
> Emacs*XlwScrollBar.Foreground:#3c3c3c
> Emacs*backgroundToolBarColor:#cecece
> Emacs*bottomToolBarShadowColor:#cecece
> Emacs*menubar*background:#cecece
> Emacs*menubar*foreground:#3c3c3c
> Emacs*popup*Background:#cecece
> Emacs*popup*Foreground:#3c3c3c
> Emacs*topToolBarShadowColor:#cecece
> Emacs.default.attributeBackground:#cecece
> Emacs.default.attributeForeground:#3c3c3c
> Emacs.mode-line.attributeForeground:#3c3c3c
> Emacs.scroll-bar.attributeBackground:#cecece
> Emacs.scroll-bar.attributeForeground:#3c3c3c
> Emacs.tool-bar.attributeBackground:#cecece
> Emacs.tool-bar.attributeForeground:#3c3c3c

OK. These are, I'd say, the first ones to concentrate on.
Something in your system is setting that "on purpose", and
you don't seem to like the results (note the prevalence of
two colours: lightgray and darkgray -- kinda like a end-1990s
Mac).

Have you had a look in /etc/X11/Xresources?

Cheers
-- tomás


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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Sat, Jan 25, 2020 at 6:01 AM Nate Bargmann  wrote:
> What do you get if there is no ~/.emacs or ~/.emacs.d/init.el file?

Still no highlighting without the xrdb incantation.

> Are you using the Emacs GTK GUI or running in a terminal?

I'm using:

emacs-gtk - GNU Emacs editor (with GTK+ GUI support)

> anti-aliased fonts were well supported), I have configured Emacs the
> same in my ~/.emacs.d/init.al file:
>
> (custom-set-faces
...

Thanks, but I like a white os very light background.

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Sat, Jan 25, 2020 at 5:01 AM Curt  wrote:
...
> I guess we'll never know why unless you show us the output of
>
>  xrdb -query

Sorry, to be so late, but I just did.

-Thanks.

-Tom

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Sun, Jan 26, 2020 at 5:16 PM Mike Kupfer  wrote:
> Curt wrote:
> I had something similar to this happen to me with Emacs 24.  I ended up
> adding an override to my ~/.emacs to set the highlighting color.
>
> Tom, which Emacs package are you using?  The (default) GTK-based build
> can behave differently than the Lucid-based build.
>
> One way to change the highlighting color is to do
>
>   M-x customize-face RET
>   region RET
>
> Pick a background color that works for you, then save the change from
> the Customize window.

Thank you, I will experiment with that.

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

On Sat, Jan 25, 2020 at 2:17 AM  wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 24, 2020 at 04:10:37PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> > I have a new laptop running Buster (with the MATE desktop) and noticed my
> > Emacs highlighted text was not showing any differently than non-highlighted
> > text. After some conversation on the #emacs IRC channel, it was suggested I
> > run this in a terminal window and restart Emacs:
> >
> >   $ xrdb /dev/null
>
> Yikes. Like hitting your TV set with a wrench ;-)

Maybe, but I felt like I had nothing to lose.

> You can have a look into the content of your X resource database with
>   xrdb -query

Result:

*Box.background:#cecece
*Box.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Button.activeBackground:#f8f8f8
*Button.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Button.background:#cecece
*Button.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Button.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Button.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Canvas.activeBackground:#cecece
*Canvas.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Canvas.background:#cecece
*Canvas.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Canvas.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Canvas.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Canvas.selectbackground:#cecece
*Canvas.selectforeground:#3c3c3c
*Checkbutton.activeBackground:#f8f8f8
*Checkbutton.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Checkbutton.background:#cecece
*Checkbutton.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Checkbutton.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Checkbutton.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Command.background:#cecece
*Command.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Dialog.background:#cecece
*Dialog.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Entry.activeBackground:#cecece
*Entry.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Entry.background:#cecece
*Entry.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Entry.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Entry.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Entry.selectBackground:#cecece
*Entry.selectForeground:#3c3c3c
*Form.background:#cecece
*Form.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Frame.background:#cecece
*Frame.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Label.background:#cecece
*Label.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Label.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Label.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Labelframe.background:#cecece
*Labelframe.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Labelframe.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*List.background:#cecece
*List.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Listbox.activeBackground:#cecece
*Listbox.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Listbox.background:#cecece
*Listbox.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Listbox.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Listbox.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Listbox.selectBackground:#cecece
*Listbox.selectForeground:#3c3c3c
*Menu.activeBackground:#cecece
*Menu.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Menu.background:#cecece
*Menu.foreground:#3c3c3c
*MenuButton.background:#cecece
*MenuButton.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Menubutton.activeBackground:#cecece
*Menubutton.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Menubutton.background:#cecece
*Menubutton.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Menubutton.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Menubutton.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Radiobutton.activeBackground:#f8f8f8
*Radiobutton.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Radiobutton.background:#cecece
*Radiobutton.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Radiobutton.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Radiobutton.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Scale.activeBackground:#cecece
*Scale.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Scale.background:#cecece
*Scale.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Scale.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Scale.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Scrollbar*background:#cecece
*Scrollbar.activeBackground:#f8f8f8
*Scrollbar.background:#cecece
*Scrollbar.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Scrollbar.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Scrollbar.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*ScrollbarBackground:#cecece
*SimpleMenu*background:#cecece
*SimpleMenu*foreground:#3c3c3c
*Text.activeBackground:#cecece
*Text.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Text.background:#cecece
*Text.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Text.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Text.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*Text.selectBackground:#cecece
*Text.selectForeground:#3c3c3c
*Toggle.background:#cecece
*Toggle.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Toplevel.activeBackground:#cecece
*Toplevel.activeForeground:#3c3c3c
*Toplevel.background:#cecece
*Toplevel.foreground:#3c3c3c
*Toplevel.highlightBackground:#cecece
*Toplevel.highlightColor:#3c3c3c
*XmCascadeButton.background:#cecece
*XmCascadeButton.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmCascadeButtonGadget.background:#cecece
*XmCascadeButtonGadget.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmDialogShell.background:#cecece
*XmDialogShell.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmFileSelectionBox.background:#cecece
*XmFileSelectionBox.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmForm.background:#cecece
*XmForm.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmFrame.background:#cecece
*XmFrame.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmLabel.background:#cecece
*XmLabel.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmLabelGadget.background:#cecece
*XmLabelGadget.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmList.background:#cecece
*XmList.foreground:#3c3c3c
*XmMenuShell.background:#cecece
*XmMenuShell.f

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Mike Kupfer]

Curt wrote:

> I heard about one fellow whose window background color was strangely
> similar to his emacs highlighting color, and this explained why his
> highlighting efforts were suboptimal and even quite close to being
> totally invisible.

I had something similar to this happen to me with Emacs 24.  I ended up
adding an override to my ~/.emacs to set the highlighting color.

Tom, which Emacs package are you using?  The (default) GTK-based build
can behave differently than the Lucid-based build.

One way to change the highlighting color is to do

  M-x customize-face RET
  region RET

Pick a background color that works for you, then save the change from
the Customize window.

regards,
mike

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Nate Bargmann]

What do you get if there is no ~/.emacs or ~/.emacs.d/init.el file?

Are you using the Emacs GTK GUI or running in a terminal?

As I like my terminal sessions to be gray text on a black (or nearly
black) background (the reason is historical from the days before
anti-aliased fonts were well supported), I have configured Emacs the
same in my ~/.emacs.d/init.al file:

(custom-set-faces
 ;; custom-set-faces was added by Custom.
 ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful.
 ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance.
 ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right.
 '(default ((t (:background "gray3" :foreground "gray92" :slant normal :weight 
normal :height 120 :width normal :foundry "unknown" :family "Droid Sans Mono 
Slashed"
 '(cursor ((t (:background "orange"
 '(font-lock-warning-face ((t (:foreground "orchid")

This is a color set you might find a bit jarring but it works for me.

The Droid Sans Mono Slashed font is something I found years back and it
removes ambiguity of the zero glyph for me.

I do have an ~/.Xresources file but nothing in it relating to Emacs,
only Xterm and URxvt and my /etc/X11/app-defaults directory shows
nothing relating to Emacs.

HTH

- Nate

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Web: https://www.n0nb.us
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Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Curt]

On 2020-01-24, Tom Browder  wrote:
>
> I have a new laptop running Buster (with the MATE desktop) and noticed my
> Emacs highlighted text was not showing any differently than non-highlighted
> text. After some conversation on the #emacs IRC channel, it was suggested I
> run this in a terminal window and restart Emacs:
>
>   $ xrdb /dev/null
>
> Lo and behold Emacs highlighting worked again!
>

I guess we'll never know why unless you show us the output of

 xrdb -query

I heard about one fellow whose window background color was strangely
similar to his emacs highlighting color, and this explained why his
highlighting efforts were suboptimal and even quite close to being
totally invisible.

-- 
"J'ai pour me guérir du jugement des autres toute la distance qui me sépare de
moi." Antonin Artaud

Re: Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[tomas]

On Fri, Jan 24, 2020 at 04:10:37PM -0600, Tom Browder wrote:
> I have a new laptop running Buster (with the MATE desktop) and noticed my
> Emacs highlighted text was not showing any differently than non-highlighted
> text. After some conversation on the #emacs IRC channel, it was suggested I
> run this in a terminal window and restart Emacs:
> 
>   $ xrdb /dev/null

Yikes. Like hitting your TV set with a wrench ;-)

> Lo and behold Emacs highlighting worked again!

I'm not very much into how MATE manages your resources [1], but it
sems that some resources for your Emacs are broken.

Typically, at start, resources come from ~/.Xresources or ~/.Xdefaults
(you stated that the first one in your case was empty). For system-wide
resources, there are usually files under /etc/X11/Xresources, typically
one file per application.

You can have a look into the content of your X resource database with

  xrdb -query

(of course before whacking the database with /dev/null ;-)

Perhaps you can recognize the problematic entries and find out whence
they are set.

Cheers

[1] I'm under the impression that "modern" desktop environments
   hate X, but I might be wrong.

-- tomás


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Emacs and loss of highlighting: problem semi-solved (Buster MATE)

[Tom Browder]

I have a new laptop running Buster (with the MATE desktop) and noticed my
Emacs highlighted text was not showing any differently than non-highlighted
text. After some conversation on the #emacs IRC channel, it was suggested I
run this in a terminal window and restart Emacs:

  $ xrdb /dev/null

Lo and behold Emacs highlighting worked again!

That lasted a day or two, then highlighting disappeared again. I repeated
the xrdb incantation and Emacs highlighting started working again.

In the old Linux days I could deal with various desktop, X, and other
windows configuration but I haven't had to deal with that for a very long
time so, I am at a loss as to the next step.

One thing mentioned on the IRC: the contents of my .Xresources file. I had
none, and one of my correspondents gave me a link to his, but I haven't
used it. Instead, I created an empty version which has not affected
anything. I wanted to see if the mere presence of the file would affect the
situation, but apparently not.

I hope someone can suggest something to fix this problem permanently.

Thanks.

Best regards,

-Tom