Mode Line

MODE LINE

The modeLine is the line of text shown at the bottom of each window identifying the window being displayed. The mode line typically contains the name of the buffer, the file and operating mode associated with the buffer displayed in the window. e.g.

#*-me (BEI) - 250 foo (foo.txt) ---------------- 

Note that only a sub-set of the modes are visible on the mode line, this reduces the cluttering of the mode line. Use the about(2) command to determine the exact modes that are active.

The text content and color of the mode line is fully configurable and may be defined in the users start-up script. The currently active buffer is generally indicated by the state of the mode line, e.g. highlighted color (typically red) and/or double line separator characters ===; conversely inactive buffers are shown in a dull color with single line separator characters ---.

The mode line may be configured or interrogated using the following variables:

$buffer-mode-line(5) Buffer mode line string
$mode-chars(5) Mode characters
$mode-line(5) Mode line format
$mode-line-scheme(5) Mode line color scheme
$show-modes(5) Select buffer modes to display
$window-mode-line(5) Window mode line position
$window-scroll-bar(5) Window scroll bar (or separator) position

Ref: Mode Line File: me.0 Date: 2026/03/05

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