writeroom-mode is a minor mode for Emacs that implements a distraction-free writing mode similar to the famous Writeroom editor for OS X. writeroom-mode is meant for GNU Emacs 24, lower versions are not actively supported.
writeroom-mode can be installed by putting writeroom-mode.el in your load-path and calling (load "writeroom-mode") in your init.el or, more conveniently, through the package manager: writeroom-mode is available on Melpa.
writeroom-mode can be activated in a buffer by calling M-x writeroom-mode RET. By default, writeroom-mode does the following things:
- activate fullscreen
- disable transparency
- disable the menu bar
- disable the tool bar
- disable the scroll bar
- maximise the current window (i.e., delete all other windows in the frame)
- disable the fringes
- disable the mode line
- add window margins to the current buffer so that the text is 80 characters wide
The last three effects are buffer-local. The other effects apply to the current frame. Because writeroom-mode is a minor mode, this isn't entirely on the up and up, since minor modes aren't supposed to have such global effects. But writeroom-mode is meant for distraction-free writing, so these effects do make sense.
There is also the option to add a border around the text area, but this is disabled by default.
All writeroom-mode effects can be switched off separately in the customisation group writeroom. The option writeroom-global-effects lists the global effects (fullscreen, transparency, scroll bar, menu bar, tool bar, and border), which can be switched off individually. The fringes, the mode line and the window maximisation each have a toggle option.
Normally, the option 'fullscreen' disables the window decorations and makes the Emacs frame occupy the entire screen, covering the window manager's panel or task bar. If you prefer to "just" maximise the frame (i.e., keep the window decorations and do not cover the window manager's panel), you can set the option writeroom-fullscreen-effect to maximized instead of fullboth (the default).
The width of the (normally disabled) border around the text area is controlled by the user option writeroom-border-width. To use this option, check the relevant box in the customisation option 'Global Effects' or add the symbol writeroom-toggle-internal-border-width to the variable writeroom-global-effects.
The width of the text area can be specified with the option writeroom-width. It can be an absolute value, in which case it indicates the number of columns, or it can be a percentage of the window's width. In that case, it should be a number between 0 and 1.
It is possible to activate writeroom-mode in more than one buffer. The global effects are of course activated only once and they remain active until writeroom-mode is deactivated in all buffers. Alternatively, if you use writeroom-mode in multiple buffers with particular major modes (e.g., text-mode, markdown-mode), you can use the global minor mode global-writeroom-mode. This function enables the global effects and activates the buffer-local effects in all (current and future) buffers that have a major mode listed in the user option writeroom-major-modes (by default only text-mode).
When global-writeroom-mode is active, the function writeroom-mode can still be called to enable or disable writeroom-mode in individual buffers (regardless of their major mode, of course). Calling global-writeroom-mode again disables writeroom-mode in all buffers in which it is active, also those in which it was activated manually.
It is possible to define your own global effects and have them activated automatically when writeroom-mode is activated. For example, you may want to add your own font or colour effects, or replace the default fullscreen function with one that works in an older Emacs version. To do this, write a function that takes one argument and that activates the effect when this argument is t and deactivates it when it is nil. Then add this function to the user option writeroom-global-effects by checking the box "Custom effects" and adding the function to the list.
- Add a global minor mode.
- Automatically adjust margins when window width changes.
- Rename
writeroom-global-functionstowriteroom-global-effects.