Node:Temp- and compile-buffers, Next:The Methods buffer, Previous:The edit-window, Up:Usage of ECB

Temp- and compile-buffers display in ECB

If you call any help in Emacs, e.g. by calling describe-function, or if you do a completion in the minibuffer, then Emacs displays the result-buffer in another window. This behavior you have also in ECB.

Standard Emacs behavior

If the edit-window is already splitted then the temp-buffer is displayed in the "other" edit-window otherwise the edit-window will be splitted first. The variables temp-buffer-max-height and temp-buffer-resize-mode (the latter one does not exist in XEmacs) work also correctly with ECB.

Same for all compilation output-buffers (e.g. after a compile or grep) and the variable compilation-window-height.

This is default behavior of ECB. But there is also another way to display such buffers: Using a durable extra window at the bottom of the ECB-frame:

Using a durable compile window

With the option ecb-compile-window-height you can define if the ECB layout should contain per default a compile-window at the bottom (just specify the number of lines which should be used for the compile-window at the bottom of the frame). If "yes" ECB displays all buffers for which the function ecb-compilation-buffer-p returns not nil (e.g. all output of compilation-mode (compile, grep etc.) or all temp-buffers like *Help*-buffers) in this special window.

In general: With the options ecb-compilation-buffer-names, ecb-compilation-major-modes and ecb-compilation-predicates you can define which buffers should be displayed in the compile-window of ECB (for example if you call switch-to-buffer or display-buffer or if you run compile or if you display *Help*-buffers). Per default these are all temp-buffers like *Help*-buffers, all compile- and grep buffers, *Occur*-buffers etc. See the default values of these options.

With the command ecb-toggle-compile-window (bound to C-c . \) you can toggle the visibility of the compile-window (see Interactive ECB commands).

There are some more useful options and commands related to the compile-window of ECB (to see all options for the compile-window see the customization group ecb-compilation):

• With the option ecb-compile-window-temporally-enlarge you can allow Emacs to enlarge temporally the ECB-compile-window in some situations. Please read the comment of this option. See also the description of the command ecb-toggle-compile-window-height.
• With the option ecb-enlarged-compilation-window-max-height you specify how ecb-toggle-compile-window-height should enlarge the compile-window.
• With the command ecb-cycle-through-compilation-buffers (see Interactive ECB commands) you can cycle through all current open compilation-buffers (in the sense of ecb-compilation-buffer-p) very fast.

What to do if there are problems with the compile-window

Normally displaying temp- and compilation-buffers (or more general: displaying buffer for which ecb-compilation-buffer-p is not nil) should work reliable. But if there are problems which you can not handle with the options ecb-compilation-buffer-names, ecb-compilation-major-modes or ecb-compilation-predicates then please go on like follows:

1. Set the option ecb-layout-debug-mode to not nil.
2. Reproduce the wrong behavior exactly by repeating all the operations which lead to the problem. If possible then restart Emacs before reproducing the problem so you can begin from the beginning!
3. Now send immediately a bug report with ecb-submit-problem-report.
4. Set ecb-layout-debug-mode back to nil if you do not want further debugging output in the *Messages* buffer"