29.4 Frame Titles

Every frame has a name parameter; this serves as the default for the frame title which window systems typically display at the top of the frame. You can specify a name explicitly by setting the name frame property.

Normally you don't specify the name explicitly, and Emacs computes the frame name automatically based on a template stored in the variable frame-title-format. Emacs recomputes the name each time the frame is redisplayed.

Variable: frame-title-format

This variable specifies how to compute a name for a frame when you have not explicitly specified one. The variable's value is actually a mode line construct, just like mode-line-format. See section 23.3.1 The Data Structure of the Mode Line.

Variable: icon-title-format

This variable specifies how to compute the name for an iconified frame, when you have not explicitly specified the frame title. This title appears in the icon itself.

Variable: multiple-frames

This variable is set automatically by Emacs. Its value is t when there are two or more frames (not counting minibuffer-only frames or invisible frames). The default value of frame-title-format uses multiple-frames so as to put the buffer name in the frame title only when there is more than one frame.