Read-Only Files

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Epsilon User's Manual and Reference

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Epsilon User's Manual and Reference > Commands by Topic > Buffers and Files > Files >

Read-Only Files

Whenever you read a read-only file into a buffer using find-file or visit-file, Epsilon makes the buffer read-only, and indicates this by displaying "RO" in the modeline. Epsilon keeps you from modifying a read-only buffer. Attempts to do so result in an error message. In a read-only buffer you can use the <Space> and <Backspace> keys to page forward and back more conveniently; see the readonly-pages variable to disable this.

If you want to modify the buffer, you can change its read-only status with the change-read-only command on Ctrl-x Ctrl-q. With no numeric argument, it toggles the read-only status. With a non-zero numeric argument, it makes the buffer read-only; with a numeric argument of zero, it makes the buffer changeable.

The change-read-only command sets the buffer's status but doesn't change the read-only status of its file. Use the change-file-read-only command to toggle whether or not a file is read-only.

By default, when Epsilon reads a read-only file, it displays a message and makes the buffer read-only. To make Epsilon do something else instead, you can set the readonly-warning variable, default 3, according to the table.

Action   0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7

Display a warning message   N   Y   N   Y   N   Y   N   Y

Make buffer read-only   N   N   Y   Y   N   N   Y   Y

Ring the bell   N   N   N   N   Y   Y   Y   Y

Sometimes you may want to edit a file that is not read-only, but still have Epsilon keep you from making any accidental changes to the file. The find-read-only-file command does this. It prompts for a file name just like find-file and reads it, but marks the buffer read-only so it cannot be modified, and sets it so that if you should ever try to save the file, Epsilon will prompt for a different name.

Standard bindings:

Ctrl-x Ctrl-q    change-read-only

   find-read-only-file

   change-file-read-only

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