On Aug 16, 2011, at 1:54 PM, Jérémy Compostella wrote:

> As long as I know, header-line-format is buffer related and not frame related.
> Am I wrong ?

It is buffer- and not frame-associated, yes.  I was suggesting that you consider
building a way to have only the topmost window in a given frame display the
header-line.  This might be tricky in general, but since you're using a
desktop system of your own creation, it seems likely to be easier for you.

For emacs in general, there is a lot of currently on-going work/discussion
around frame and window parameters, so it's probably a bit too early to
try to figure out such a mechanism for emacs24, but that's just an artifact
of development right now.

> What is this Ted's `Emacs as a Desktop Environment' you are talking about ?

Some developers are pursing the idea of moving all of the `important' parts
of the desktop environment inside emacs, or at least inside emacs' easy
reach.  This includes `desktop widgets' and an associated `dock', that would
be in specialized frames/windows. It's closer to Thien-Thi Nguyen's idea
of a `special messages buffer' than your `global mode-line', but it could easily
serve both purposes, and other more gui-based uses as well. You can read
the discussion (from emacs-devel archives) starting here:

>> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2011-05/msg00746.html


*Chad