1 @c This file is included either in emacs-xtra.texi (when producing the
2 @c printed version) or in the main Emacs manual (for the on-line version).
4 @c Moved here from the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual, 2005-03-26.
5 @node Advanced Calendar/Diary Usage
6 @section Customizing the Calendar and Diary
8 There are many customizations that you can use to make the calendar and
9 diary suit your personal tastes.
12 * Calendar Customizing:: Defaults you can set.
13 * Holiday Customizing:: Defining your own holidays.
14 * Date Display Format:: Changing the format.
15 * Time Display Format:: Changing the format.
16 * Diary Customizing:: Defaults you can set.
17 * Hebrew/Islamic Entries:: How to obtain them.
18 * Fancy Diary Display:: Enhancing the diary display, sorting entries,
19 using included diary files.
20 * Sexp Diary Entries:: Fancy things you can do.
23 @node Calendar Customizing
24 @subsection Customizing the Calendar
25 @vindex calendar-holiday-marker
26 @vindex diary-entry-marker
27 The variable @code{calendar-holiday-marker} specifies how to mark a
28 date as being a holiday. Its value may be a single-character string
29 to insert next to the date, or a face name to use for displaying the
30 date. Likewise, the variable @code{diary-entry-marker} specifies how
31 to mark a date that has diary entries. The calendar creates faces
32 named @code{holiday-face} and @code{diary-face} for these purposes;
33 those symbols are the default values of these variables.
35 @vindex calendar-load-hook
36 The variable @code{calendar-load-hook} is a normal hook run when the
37 calendar package is first loaded (before actually starting to display
40 @vindex initial-calendar-window-hook
41 Starting the calendar runs the normal hook
42 @code{initial-calendar-window-hook}. Recomputation of the calendar
43 display does not run this hook. But if you leave the calendar with the
44 @kbd{q} command and reenter it, the hook runs again.@refill
46 @vindex today-visible-calendar-hook
47 The variable @code{today-visible-calendar-hook} is a normal hook run
48 after the calendar buffer has been prepared with the calendar when the
49 current date is visible in the window. One use of this hook is to
50 replace today's date with asterisks; to do that, use the hook function
51 @code{calendar-star-date}.
53 @findex calendar-star-date
55 (add-hook 'today-visible-calendar-hook 'calendar-star-date)
59 Another standard hook function marks the current date, either by
60 changing its face or by adding an asterisk. Here's how to use it:
62 @findex calendar-mark-today
64 (add-hook 'today-visible-calendar-hook 'calendar-mark-today)
68 @vindex calendar-today-marker
69 The variable @code{calendar-today-marker} specifies how to mark
70 today's date. Its value should be a single-character string to insert
71 next to the date or a face name to use for displaying the date. A
72 face named @code{calendar-today-face} is provided for this purpose;
73 that symbol is the default for this variable.
75 @vindex today-invisible-calendar-hook
77 A similar normal hook, @code{today-invisible-calendar-hook} is run if
78 the current date is @emph{not} visible in the window.
80 @vindex calendar-move-hook
81 Each of the calendar cursor motion commands runs the hook
82 @code{calendar-move-hook} after it moves the cursor.
84 @node Holiday Customizing
85 @subsection Customizing the Holidays
87 @vindex calendar-holidays
88 @vindex christian-holidays
89 @vindex hebrew-holidays
90 @vindex islamic-holidays
91 Emacs knows about holidays defined by entries on one of several lists.
92 You can customize these lists of holidays to your own needs, adding or
93 deleting holidays. The lists of holidays that Emacs uses are for
94 general holidays (@code{general-holidays}), local holidays
95 (@code{local-holidays}), Christian holidays (@code{christian-holidays}),
96 Hebrew (Jewish) holidays (@code{hebrew-holidays}), Islamic (Muslim)
97 holidays (@code{islamic-holidays}), and other holidays
98 (@code{other-holidays}).
100 @vindex general-holidays
101 The general holidays are, by default, holidays common throughout the
102 United States. To eliminate these holidays, set @code{general-holidays}
105 @vindex local-holidays
106 There are no default local holidays (but sites may supply some). You
107 can set the variable @code{local-holidays} to any list of holidays, as
110 @vindex all-christian-calendar-holidays
111 @vindex all-hebrew-calendar-holidays
112 @vindex all-islamic-calendar-holidays
113 By default, Emacs does not include all the holidays of the religions
114 that it knows, only those commonly found in secular calendars. For a
115 more extensive collection of religious holidays, you can set any (or
116 all) of the variables @code{all-christian-calendar-holidays},
117 @code{all-hebrew-calendar-holidays}, or
118 @code{all-islamic-calendar-holidays} to @code{t}. If you want to
119 eliminate the religious holidays, set any or all of the corresponding
120 variables @code{christian-holidays}, @code{hebrew-holidays}, and
121 @code{islamic-holidays} to @code{nil}.@refill
123 @vindex other-holidays
124 You can set the variable @code{other-holidays} to any list of
125 holidays. This list, normally empty, is intended for individual use.
127 @cindex holiday forms
128 Each of the lists (@code{general-holidays}, @code{local-holidays},
129 @code{christian-holidays}, @code{hebrew-holidays},
130 @code{islamic-holidays}, and @code{other-holidays}) is a list of
131 @dfn{holiday forms}, each holiday form describing a holiday (or
132 sometimes a list of holidays).
134 Here is a table of the possible kinds of holiday form. Day numbers
135 and month numbers count starting from 1, but ``dayname'' numbers
136 count Sunday as 0. The element @var{string} is always the
137 name of the holiday, as a string.
140 @item (holiday-fixed @var{month} @var{day} @var{string})
141 A fixed date on the Gregorian calendar.
143 @item (holiday-float @var{month} @var{dayname} @var{k} @var{string})
144 The @var{k}th @var{dayname} in @var{month} on the Gregorian calendar
145 (@var{dayname}=0 for Sunday, and so on); negative @var{k} means count back
146 from the end of the month.
148 @item (holiday-hebrew @var{month} @var{day} @var{string})
149 A fixed date on the Hebrew calendar.
151 @item (holiday-islamic @var{month} @var{day} @var{string})
152 A fixed date on the Islamic calendar.
154 @item (holiday-julian @var{month} @var{day} @var{string})
155 A fixed date on the Julian calendar.
157 @item (holiday-sexp @var{sexp} @var{string})
158 A date calculated by the Lisp expression @var{sexp}. The expression
159 should use the variable @code{year} to compute and return the date of a
160 holiday, or @code{nil} if the holiday doesn't happen this year. The
161 value of @var{sexp} must represent the date as a list of the form
162 @code{(@var{month} @var{day} @var{year})}.
164 @item (if @var{condition} @var{holiday-form})
165 A holiday that happens only if @var{condition} is true.
167 @item (@var{function} @r{[}@var{args}@r{]})
168 A list of dates calculated by the function @var{function}, called with
169 arguments @var{args}.
172 For example, suppose you want to add Bastille Day, celebrated in
173 France on July 14. You can do this as follows:
176 (setq other-holidays '((holiday-fixed 7 14 "Bastille Day")))
180 The holiday form @code{(holiday-fixed 7 14 "Bastille Day")} specifies the
181 fourteenth day of the seventh month (July).
183 Many holidays occur on a specific day of the week, at a specific time
184 of month. Here is a holiday form describing Hurricane Supplication Day,
185 celebrated in the Virgin Islands on the fourth Monday in August:
188 (holiday-float 8 1 4 "Hurricane Supplication Day")
192 Here the 8 specifies August, the 1 specifies Monday (Sunday is 0,
193 Tuesday is 2, and so on), and the 4 specifies the fourth occurrence in
194 the month (1 specifies the first occurrence, 2 the second occurrence,
195 @minus{}1 the last occurrence, @minus{}2 the second-to-last occurrence, and
198 You can specify holidays that occur on fixed days of the Hebrew,
199 Islamic, and Julian calendars too. For example,
203 '((holiday-hebrew 10 2 "Last day of Hanukkah")
204 (holiday-islamic 3 12 "Mohammed's Birthday")
205 (holiday-julian 4 2 "Jefferson's Birthday")))
209 adds the last day of Hanukkah (since the Hebrew months are numbered with
210 1 starting from Nisan), the Islamic feast celebrating Mohammed's
211 birthday (since the Islamic months are numbered from 1 starting with
212 Muharram), and Thomas Jefferson's birthday, which is 2 April 1743 on the
215 To include a holiday conditionally, use either Emacs Lisp's @code{if} or the
216 @code{holiday-sexp} form. For example, American presidential elections
217 occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of years
221 (holiday-sexp '(if (= 0 (% year 4))
222 (calendar-gregorian-from-absolute
223 (1+ (calendar-dayname-on-or-before
224 1 (+ 6 (calendar-absolute-from-gregorian
225 (list 11 1 year)))))))
226 "US Presidential Election")
233 (if (= 0 (% displayed-year 4))
235 (extract-calendar-day
236 (calendar-gregorian-from-absolute
237 (1+ (calendar-dayname-on-or-before
238 1 (+ 6 (calendar-absolute-from-gregorian
239 (list 11 1 displayed-year)))))))
240 "US Presidential Election"))
243 Some holidays just don't fit into any of these forms because special
244 calculations are involved in their determination. In such cases you
245 must write a Lisp function to do the calculation. To include eclipses,
246 for example, add @code{(eclipses)} to @code{other-holidays}
247 and write an Emacs Lisp function @code{eclipses} that returns a
248 (possibly empty) list of the relevant Gregorian dates among the range
249 visible in the calendar window, with descriptive strings, like this:
252 (((6 27 1991) "Lunar Eclipse") ((7 11 1991) "Solar Eclipse") ... )
255 @node Date Display Format
256 @subsection Date Display Format
257 @vindex calendar-date-display-form
259 You can customize the manner of displaying dates in the diary, in mode
260 lines, and in messages by setting @code{calendar-date-display-form}.
261 This variable holds a list of expressions that can involve the variables
262 @code{month}, @code{day}, and @code{year}, which are all numbers in
263 string form, and @code{monthname} and @code{dayname}, which are both
264 alphabetic strings. In the American style, the default value of this
268 ((if dayname (concat dayname ", ")) monthname " " day ", " year)
272 while in the European style this value is the default:
275 ((if dayname (concat dayname ", ")) day " " monthname " " year)
279 The ISO standard date representation is this:
282 (year "-" month "-" day)
286 This specifies a typical American format:
289 (month "/" day "/" (substring year -2))
292 @node Time Display Format
293 @subsection Time Display Format
294 @vindex calendar-time-display-form
296 The calendar and diary by default display times of day in the
297 conventional American style with the hours from 1 through 12, minutes,
298 and either @samp{am} or @samp{pm}. If you prefer the European style,
299 also known in the US as military, in which the hours go from 00 to 23,
300 you can alter the variable @code{calendar-time-display-form}. This
301 variable is a list of expressions that can involve the variables
302 @code{12-hours}, @code{24-hours}, and @code{minutes}, which are all
303 numbers in string form, and @code{am-pm} and @code{time-zone}, which are
304 both alphabetic strings. The default value of
305 @code{calendar-time-display-form} is as follows:
308 (12-hours ":" minutes am-pm
309 (if time-zone " (") time-zone (if time-zone ")"))
313 Here is a value that provides European style times:
316 (24-hours ":" minutes
317 (if time-zone " (") time-zone (if time-zone ")"))
320 @node Diary Customizing
321 @subsection Customizing the Diary
323 @vindex holidays-in-diary-buffer
324 Ordinarily, the mode line of the diary buffer window indicates any
325 holidays that fall on the date of the diary entries. The process of
326 checking for holidays can take several seconds, so including holiday
327 information delays the display of the diary buffer noticeably. If you'd
328 prefer to have a faster display of the diary buffer but without the
329 holiday information, set the variable @code{holidays-in-diary-buffer} to
332 @vindex number-of-diary-entries
333 The variable @code{number-of-diary-entries} controls the number of
334 days of diary entries to be displayed at one time. It affects the
335 initial display when @code{view-diary-entries-initially} is @code{t}, as
336 well as the command @kbd{M-x diary}. For example, the default value is
337 1, which says to display only the current day's diary entries. If the
338 value is 2, both the current day's and the next day's entries are
339 displayed. The value can also be a vector of seven elements: for
340 example, if the value is @code{[0 2 2 2 2 4 1]} then no diary entries
341 appear on Sunday, the current date's and the next day's diary entries
342 appear Monday through Thursday, Friday through Monday's entries appear
343 on Friday, while on Saturday only that day's entries appear.
345 @vindex print-diary-entries-hook
346 @findex print-diary-entries
347 The variable @code{print-diary-entries-hook} is a normal hook run
348 after preparation of a temporary buffer containing just the diary
349 entries currently visible in the diary buffer. (The other, irrelevant
350 diary entries are really absent from the temporary buffer; in the diary
351 buffer, they are merely hidden.) The default value of this hook does
352 the printing with the command @code{lpr-buffer}. If you want to use a
353 different command to do the printing, just change the value of this
354 hook. Other uses might include, for example, rearranging the lines into
355 order by day and time.
357 @vindex diary-date-forms
358 You can customize the form of dates in your diary file, if neither the
359 standard American nor European styles suits your needs, by setting the
360 variable @code{diary-date-forms}. This variable is a list of patterns
361 for recognizing a date. Each date pattern is a list whose elements may
362 be regular expressions (@pxref{Regular Expressions,,, elisp, the Emacs
363 Lisp Reference Manual}) or the symbols @code{month}, @code{day},
364 @code{year}, @code{monthname}, and @code{dayname}. All these elements
365 serve as patterns that match certain kinds of text in the diary file.
366 In order for the date pattern, as a whole, to match, all of its elements
367 must match consecutively.
369 A regular expression in a date pattern matches in its usual fashion,
370 using the standard syntax table altered so that @samp{*} is a word
373 The symbols @code{month}, @code{day}, @code{year}, @code{monthname},
374 and @code{dayname} match the month number, day number, year number,
375 month name, and day name of the date being considered. The symbols that
376 match numbers allow leading zeros; those that match names allow
377 three-letter abbreviations and capitalization. All the symbols can
378 match @samp{*}; since @samp{*} in a diary entry means ``any day'', ``any
379 month'', and so on, it should match regardless of the date being
382 The default value of @code{diary-date-forms} in the American style is
386 ((month "/" day "[^/0-9]")
387 (month "/" day "/" year "[^0-9]")
388 (monthname " *" day "[^,0-9]")
389 (monthname " *" day ", *" year "[^0-9]")
393 The date patterns in the list must be @emph{mutually exclusive} and
394 must not match any portion of the diary entry itself, just the date and
395 one character of whitespace. If, to be mutually exclusive, the pattern
396 must match a portion of the diary entry text---beyond the whitespace
397 that ends the date---then the first element of the date pattern
398 @emph{must} be @code{backup}. This causes the date recognizer to back
399 up to the beginning of the current word of the diary entry, after
400 finishing the match. Even if you use @code{backup}, the date pattern
401 must absolutely not match more than a portion of the first word of the
402 diary entry. The default value of @code{diary-date-forms} in the
403 European style is this list:
406 ((day "/" month "[^/0-9]")
407 (day "/" month "/" year "[^0-9]")
408 (backup day " *" monthname "\\W+\\<[^*0-9]")
409 (day " *" monthname " *" year "[^0-9]")
414 Notice the use of @code{backup} in the third pattern, because it needs
415 to match part of a word beyond the date itself to distinguish it from
418 @node Hebrew/Islamic Entries
419 @subsection Hebrew- and Islamic-Date Diary Entries
421 Your diary file can have entries based on Hebrew or Islamic dates, as
422 well as entries based on the world-standard Gregorian calendar.
423 However, because recognition of such entries is time-consuming and most
424 people don't use them, you must explicitly enable their use. If you
425 want the diary to recognize Hebrew-date diary entries, for example,
428 @vindex nongregorian-diary-listing-hook
429 @vindex nongregorian-diary-marking-hook
430 @findex list-hebrew-diary-entries
431 @findex mark-hebrew-diary-entries
433 (add-hook 'nongregorian-diary-listing-hook 'list-hebrew-diary-entries)
434 (add-hook 'nongregorian-diary-marking-hook 'mark-hebrew-diary-entries)
438 If you want Islamic-date entries, do this:
440 @findex list-islamic-diary-entries
441 @findex mark-islamic-diary-entries
443 (add-hook 'nongregorian-diary-listing-hook 'list-islamic-diary-entries)
444 (add-hook 'nongregorian-diary-marking-hook 'mark-islamic-diary-entries)
447 Hebrew- and Islamic-date diary entries have the same formats as
448 Gregorian-date diary entries, except that @samp{H} precedes a Hebrew
449 date and @samp{I} precedes an Islamic date. Moreover, because the
450 Hebrew and Islamic month names are not uniquely specified by the first
451 three letters, you may not abbreviate them. For example, a diary entry
452 for the Hebrew date Heshvan 25 could look like this:
455 HHeshvan 25 Happy Hebrew birthday!
459 and would appear in the diary for any date that corresponds to Heshvan 25
460 on the Hebrew calendar. And here is an Islamic-date diary entry that matches
464 IDhu al-Qada 25 Happy Islamic birthday!
467 As with Gregorian-date diary entries, Hebrew- and Islamic-date entries
468 are nonmarking if they are preceded with an ampersand (@samp{&}).
470 Here is a table of commands used in the calendar to create diary entries
471 that match the selected date and other dates that are similar in the Hebrew
476 Add a diary entry for the Hebrew date corresponding to the selected date
477 (@code{insert-hebrew-diary-entry}).
479 Add a diary entry for the day of the Hebrew month corresponding to the
480 selected date (@code{insert-monthly-hebrew-diary-entry}). This diary
481 entry matches any date that has the same Hebrew day-within-month as the
484 Add a diary entry for the day of the Hebrew year corresponding to the
485 selected date (@code{insert-yearly-hebrew-diary-entry}). This diary
486 entry matches any date which has the same Hebrew month and day-within-month
487 as the selected date.
489 Add a diary entry for the Islamic date corresponding to the selected date
490 (@code{insert-islamic-diary-entry}).
492 Add a diary entry for the day of the Islamic month corresponding to the
493 selected date (@code{insert-monthly-islamic-diary-entry}).
495 Add a diary entry for the day of the Islamic year corresponding to the
496 selected date (@code{insert-yearly-islamic-diary-entry}).
499 @findex insert-hebrew-diary-entry
500 @findex insert-monthly-hebrew-diary-entry
501 @findex insert-yearly-hebrew-diary-entry
502 @findex insert-islamic-diary-entry
503 @findex insert-monthly-islamic-diary-entry
504 @findex insert-yearly-islamic-diary-entry
505 These commands work much like the corresponding commands for ordinary
506 diary entries: they apply to the date that point is on in the calendar
507 window, and what they do is insert just the date portion of a diary entry
508 at the end of your diary file. You must then insert the rest of the
511 @node Fancy Diary Display
512 @subsection Fancy Diary Display
513 @vindex diary-display-hook
514 @findex simple-diary-display
516 Diary display works by preparing the diary buffer and then running the
517 hook @code{diary-display-hook}. The default value of this hook
518 (@code{simple-diary-display}) hides the irrelevant diary entries and
519 then displays the buffer. However, if you specify the hook as follows,
522 @findex fancy-diary-display
524 (add-hook 'diary-display-hook 'fancy-diary-display)
528 this enables fancy diary display. It displays diary entries and
529 holidays by copying them into a special buffer that exists only for the
530 sake of display. Copying to a separate buffer provides an opportunity
531 to change the displayed text to make it prettier---for example, to sort
532 the entries by the dates they apply to.
534 As with simple diary display, you can print a hard copy of the buffer
535 with @code{print-diary-entries}. To print a hard copy of a day-by-day
536 diary for a week, position point on Sunday of that week, type
537 @kbd{7 d}, and then do @kbd{M-x print-diary-entries}. As usual, the
538 inclusion of the holidays slows down the display slightly; you can speed
539 things up by setting the variable @code{holidays-in-diary-buffer} to
542 @vindex diary-list-include-blanks
543 Ordinarily, the fancy diary buffer does not show days for which there are
544 no diary entries, even if that day is a holiday. If you want such days to be
545 shown in the fancy diary buffer, set the variable
546 @code{diary-list-include-blanks} to @code{t}.@refill
548 @cindex sorting diary entries
549 If you use the fancy diary display, you can use the normal hook
550 @code{list-diary-entries-hook} to sort each day's diary entries by their
551 time of day. Here's how:
553 @findex sort-diary-entries
555 (add-hook 'list-diary-entries-hook 'sort-diary-entries t)
559 For each day, this sorts diary entries that begin with a recognizable
560 time of day according to their times. Diary entries without times come
561 first within each day.
563 Fancy diary display also has the ability to process included diary
564 files. This permits a group of people to share a diary file for events
565 that apply to all of them. Lines in the diary file of this form:
568 #include "@var{filename}"
572 includes the diary entries from the file @var{filename} in the fancy
573 diary buffer. The include mechanism is recursive, so that included files
574 can include other files, and so on; you must be careful not to have a
575 cycle of inclusions, of course. Here is how to enable the include
578 @vindex list-diary-entries-hook
579 @vindex mark-diary-entries-hook
580 @findex include-other-diary-files
581 @findex mark-included-diary-files
583 (add-hook 'list-diary-entries-hook 'include-other-diary-files)
584 (add-hook 'mark-diary-entries-hook 'mark-included-diary-files)
587 The include mechanism works only with the fancy diary display, because
588 ordinary diary display shows the entries directly from your diary file.
590 @node Sexp Diary Entries
591 @subsection Sexp Entries and the Fancy Diary Display
592 @cindex sexp diary entries
594 Sexp diary entries allow you to do more than just have complicated
595 conditions under which a diary entry applies. If you use the fancy
596 diary display, sexp entries can generate the text of the entry depending
597 on the date itself. For example, an anniversary diary entry can insert
598 the number of years since the anniversary date into the text of the
599 diary entry. Thus the @samp{%d} in this dairy entry:
601 @findex diary-anniversary
603 %%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's birthday (%d years old)
607 gets replaced by the age, so on October 31, 1990 the entry appears in
608 the fancy diary buffer like this:
611 Arthur's birthday (42 years old)
615 If the diary file instead contains this entry:
618 %%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's %d%s birthday
622 the entry in the fancy diary buffer for October 31, 1990 appears like this:
625 Arthur's 42nd birthday
628 Similarly, cyclic diary entries can interpolate the number of repetitions
633 %%(diary-cyclic 50 1 1 1990) Renew medication (%d%s time)
640 Renew medication (5th time)
644 in the fancy diary display on September 8, 1990.
646 There is an early reminder diary sexp that includes its entry in the
647 diary not only on the date of occurrence, but also on earlier dates.
648 For example, if you want a reminder a week before your anniversary, you
653 %%(diary-remind '(diary-anniversary 12 22 1968) 7) Ed's anniversary
657 and the fancy diary will show
662 both on December 15 and on December 22.
665 The function @code{diary-date} applies to dates described by a month,
666 day, year combination, each of which can be an integer, a list of
667 integers, or @code{t}. The value @code{t} means all values. For
671 %%(diary-date '(10 11 12) 22 t) Rake leaves
675 causes the fancy diary to show
682 on October 22, November 22, and December 22 of every year.
685 The function @code{diary-float} allows you to describe diary entries
686 that apply to dates like the third Friday of November, or the last
687 Tuesday in April. The parameters are the @var{month}, @var{dayname},
688 and an index @var{n}. The entry appears on the @var{n}th @var{dayname}
689 of @var{month}, where @var{dayname}=0 means Sunday, 1 means Monday, and
690 so on. If @var{n} is negative it counts backward from the end of
691 @var{month}. The value of @var{month} can be a list of months, a single
692 month, or @code{t} to specify all months. You can also use an optional
693 parameter @var{day} to specify the @var{n}th @var{dayname} of
694 @var{month} on or after/before @var{day}; the value of @var{day} defaults
695 to 1 if @var{n} is positive and to the last day of @var{month} if
696 @var{n} is negative. For example,
699 %%(diary-float t 1 -1) Pay rent
703 causes the fancy diary to show
710 on the last Monday of every month.
712 The generality of sexp diary entries lets you specify any diary
713 entry that you can describe algorithmically. A sexp diary entry
714 contains an expression that computes whether the entry applies to any
715 given date. If its value is non-@code{nil}, the entry applies to that
716 date; otherwise, it does not. The expression can use the variable
717 @code{date} to find the date being considered; its value is a list
718 (@var{month} @var{day} @var{year}) that refers to the Gregorian
721 The sexp diary entry applies to a date when the expression's value
722 is non-@code{nil}, but some values have more specific meanings. If
723 the value is a string, that string is a description of the event which
724 occurs on that date. The value can also have the form
725 @code{(@var{mark} . @var{string})}; then @var{mark} specifies how to
726 mark the date in the calendar, and @var{string} is the description of
727 the event. If @var{mark} is a single-character string, that character
728 appears next to the date in the calendar. If @var{mark} is a face
729 name, the date is displayed in that face. If @var{mark} is
730 @code{nil}, that specifies no particular highlighting for the date.
732 Suppose you get paid on the 21st of the month if it is a weekday, and
733 on the Friday before if the 21st is on a weekend. Here is how to write
734 a sexp diary entry that matches those dates:
737 &%%(let ((dayname (calendar-day-of-week date))
738 (day (car (cdr date))))
739 (or (and (= day 21) (memq dayname '(1 2 3 4 5)))
740 (and (memq day '(19 20)) (= dayname 5)))
741 ) Pay check deposited
744 The following sexp diary entries take advantage of the ability (in the fancy
745 diary display) to concoct diary entries whose text varies based on the date:
747 @findex diary-sunrise-sunset
748 @findex diary-phases-of-moon
749 @findex diary-day-of-year
750 @findex diary-iso-date
751 @findex diary-julian-date
752 @findex diary-astro-day-number
753 @findex diary-hebrew-date
754 @findex diary-islamic-date
755 @findex diary-french-date
756 @findex diary-mayan-date
758 @item %%(diary-sunrise-sunset)
759 Make a diary entry for the local times of today's sunrise and sunset.
760 @item %%(diary-phases-of-moon)
761 Make a diary entry for the phases (quarters) of the moon.
762 @item %%(diary-day-of-year)
763 Make a diary entry with today's day number in the current year and the number
764 of days remaining in the current year.
765 @item %%(diary-iso-date)
766 Make a diary entry with today's equivalent ISO commercial date.
767 @item %%(diary-julian-date)
768 Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the Julian calendar.
769 @item %%(diary-astro-day-number)
770 Make a diary entry with today's equivalent astronomical (Julian) day number.
771 @item %%(diary-hebrew-date)
772 Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the Hebrew calendar.
773 @item %%(diary-islamic-date)
774 Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the Islamic calendar.
775 @item %%(diary-french-date)
776 Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the French Revolutionary
778 @item %%(diary-mayan-date)
779 Make a diary entry with today's equivalent date on the Mayan calendar.
783 Thus including the diary entry
786 &%%(diary-hebrew-date)
790 causes every day's diary display to contain the equivalent date on the
791 Hebrew calendar, if you are using the fancy diary display. (With simple
792 diary display, the line @samp{&%%(diary-hebrew-date)} appears in the
793 diary for any date, but does nothing particularly useful.)
795 These functions can be used to construct sexp diary entries based on
796 the Hebrew calendar in certain standard ways:
799 @findex diary-rosh-hodesh
800 @cindex parasha, weekly
801 @findex diary-parasha
802 @cindex candle lighting times
803 @findex diary-sabbath-candles
807 @findex diary-yahrzeit
809 @item %%(diary-rosh-hodesh)
810 Make a diary entry that tells the occurrence and ritual announcement of each
812 @item %%(diary-parasha)
813 Make a Saturday diary entry that tells the weekly synagogue scripture reading.
814 @item %%(diary-sabbath-candles)
815 Make a Friday diary entry that tells the @emph{local time} of Sabbath
818 Make a diary entry that gives the omer count, when appropriate.
819 @item %%(diary-yahrzeit @var{month} @var{day} @var{year}) @var{name}
820 Make a diary entry marking the anniversary of a date of death. The date
821 is the @emph{Gregorian} (civil) date of death. The diary entry appears
822 on the proper Hebrew calendar anniversary and on the day before. (In
823 the European style, the order of the parameters is changed to @var{day},
824 @var{month}, @var{year}.)
827 All the functions documented above take an optional argument
828 @var{mark} which specifies how to mark the date in the calendar display.
829 If one of these functions decides that it applies to a certain date,
830 it returns a value that contains @var{mark}.