Emacs Status Bar Documentation

Question

There are many abbreviations in the emacs status bar and there is no good way to decode them. This article has been most helpful. I could not find the word “status bar” in the Emacs manual . Does anyone know where I can find descriptions of how this status bar works?

Answer 1

Emacs calls it mode line . You should read manual . It contains comprehensive discussions of terminology, which (unfortunately) are very different from what most other programs use.

Details are in the manual at:
C-h i g (emacs) Mode Line RET