(lispref.info)Minibuffer Misc

Minibuffer Miscellany
=====================

   This section describes some basic functions and variables related to
minibuffers.

 - Command: exit-minibuffer
     This command exits the active minibuffer.  It is normally bound to
     keys in minibuffer local keymaps.

 - Command: self-insert-and-exit
     This command exits the active minibuffer after inserting the last
     character typed on the keyboard (found in `last-command-char';
     Note: Command Loop Info.).

 - Command: previous-history-element N
     This command replaces the minibuffer contents with the value of the
     Nth previous (older) history element.

 - Command: next-history-element N
     This command replaces the minibuffer contents with the value of the
     Nth more recent history element.

 - Command: previous-matching-history-element PATTERN
     This command replaces the minibuffer contents with the value of the
     previous (older) history element that matches PATTERN.  At the
     time of printing, we have not made a final decision about how to
     get the pattern interactively or how to match it against history
     elements.

 - Command: next-matching-history-element PATTERN
     This command replaces the minibuffer contents with the value of the
     next (newer) history element that matches PATTERN.

 - Variable: minibuffer-setup-hook
     This is a normal hook that is run whenever the minibuffer is
     entered.

 - Variable: minibuffer-help-form
     The current value of this variable is used to rebind `help-form'
     locally inside the minibuffer (Note: Help Functions.).

 - Function: minibuffer-window &optional SCREEN
     This function returns the window that is used for the minibuffer.
     In Emacs 18, there is one and only one minibuffer window; this
     window always exists and cannot be deleted.  In Emacs 19, each
     screen can have its own minibuffer, and this function returns the
     minibuffer window used for screen SCREEN (which defaults to the
     currently selected screen).

 - Function: window-minibuffer-p WINDOW
     This function returns non-`nil' if WINDOW is a minibuffer window.

   It is not correct to determine whether a given window is a
minibuffer by comparing it with the result of `(minibuffer-window)',
because there can be more than one minibuffer window there is more than
one screen.

 - Function: minibuffer-window-active-p WINDOW
     This function returns non-`nil' if WINDOW, assumed to be a
     minibuffer window, is currently active.

 - Variable: minibuffer-scroll-window
     If the value of this variable is non-`nil', it should be a window
     object.  When the function `scroll-other-window' is called in the
     minibuffer, it scrolls this window.

   Finally, some functions and variables deal with recursive minibuffers
(Note: Recursive Editing.):

 - Function: minibuffer-depth
     This function returns the current depth of activations of the
     minibuffer, a nonnegative integer.  If no minibuffers are active,
     it returns zero.

 - User Option: enable-recursive-minibuffers
     If this variable is non-`nil', you can invoke commands (such as
     `find-file') which use minibuffers even while in the minibuffer
     window.  Such invocation produces a recursive editing level for a
     new minibuffer.  The outer-level minibuffer is invisible while you
     are editing the inner one.

     This variable only affects invoking the minibuffer while the
     minibuffer window is selected.   If you switch windows while in the
     minibuffer, you can always invoke minibuffer commands while some
     other window is selected.

   If a command name has a property `enable-recursive-minibuffers'
which is non-`nil', then the command can use the minibuffer to read
arguments even if it is invoked from the minibuffer.  The minibuffer
command `next-matching-history-element' (normally bound to `M-s' in the
minibuffer) uses this feature.