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From: tom@uw-warp.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: Updating point in a buffer NOT on the screen.
Message-ID: <268@uw-warp.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 30-Aug-87 02:25:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: uw-warp.268
Posted: Sun Aug 30 02:25:33 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Sep-87 01:38:37 EDT
References: <421@cos.COM>
Organization: The Warp, Seattle, WA
Lines: 33
In-reply-to: patrick@COS.COM's message of 28 Aug 87 12:19:03 GMT
Posting-Front-End: GNU Emacs 18.47.1 of Sat Jun 27 1987 on uw-warp (usg-unix-v)

In article <421@cos.COM> patrick@COS.COM (Patrick Steranka) writes:
>I have a question I hope someone can help me with.
>How can I update a buffer's point IF/WHEN the buffer is NOT
>in a window?
>
>The only solution I currently know of to modify a buffers point is
>by using the command "set-window-point", and of course that requires
>the buffer to be in a window.

There are two flavors of point, one for buffers and one for windows.
To set the point in "some-buffer" to 50, say, you can use

	(save-excursion
	 (set-buffer "some-buffer")
	 (goto-char 50))

This sets the buffer point regardless of whether the buffer is in a
window or not.  However, any windows displaying "some-buffer" will not
have their window points changed.  So if you now switch to a window
which is already displaying "some-buffer", the buffer point (which was
just set to 50) is set again to match the window point.  If instead
you select "some-buffer" in a window which is not already displaying
it, the window point will be set to match the buffer point and you
will find the cursor at character 50.

Put simply, goto-char sets a buffer point.  set-window-point sets a
window point.  When a buffer is newly selected in a window, the window
point is set to the buffer point.  When the cursor is moved to a
window, the buffer point is set to the window point.  When the cursor
is moved within a window, both points change.
-- 
Tom May
uw-nsr!uw-warp!tom@beaver.cs.washington.edu
uw-beaver!uw-nsr!uw-warp!tom