38.9 Windows and Point

Each window has its own value of point, independent of the value of point in other windows displaying the same buffer. This makes it useful to have multiple windows showing one buffer.

• The window point is established when a window is first created; it is initialized from the buffer’s point, or from the window point of another window opened on the buffer if such a window exists.
• Selecting a window sets the value of point in its buffer to the window’s value of point. Conversely, deselecting a window sets the window’s value of point from that of the buffer. Thus, when you switch between windows that display a given buffer, the point value for the selected window is in effect in the buffer, while the point values for the other windows are stored in those windows.
• As long as the selected window displays the current buffer, the window’s point and the buffer’s point always move together; they remain equal.
• See Positions, for more details on buffer positions.

As far as the user is concerned, point is where the cursor is, and when the user switches to another buffer, the cursor jumps to the position of point in that buffer.

Function: window-point &optional window

This function returns the current position of point in window. For a non-selected window, this is the value point would have (in that window’s buffer) if that window were selected.

When window is the selected window and its buffer is also the current buffer, the value returned is the same as the value of point in that buffer.

Strictly speaking, it would be more correct to return the “top-level” value of point, outside of any save-excursion forms. But that value is hard to find.

Function: set-window-point window position

This function positions point in window at position position in window’s buffer.