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(emacs)Optional Mode Line

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Optional Mode Line Features
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   The current line number of point appears in the mode line when Line
Number mode is enabled.  Use the command `M-x line-number-mode' to turn
this mode on and off; normally it is on.  The line number appears
before the buffer percentage POS, with the letter `L' to indicate what
it is.  Note: Minor Modes, for more information about minor modes and
about how to use this command.

   If you have narrowed the buffer (Note: Narrowing), the displayed
line number is relative to the accessible portion of the buffer.

   If the buffer is very large (larger than the value of
`line-number-display-limit'), then the line number doesn't appear.
Emacs doesn't compute the line number when the buffer is large, because
that would be too slow.  Set it to `nil' to remove the limit.

   Line-number computation can also be slow if the lines in the buffer
are too long.  For this reason, Emacs normally doesn't display line
numbers if the average width, in characters, of lines near point is
larger than the value of the variable
`line-number-display-limit-width'.  The default value is 200 characters.

   You can also display the current column number by turning on Column
Number mode.  It displays the current column number preceded by the
letter `C'.  Type `M-x column-number-mode' to toggle this mode.

   Emacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode
lines.  To enable this feature, type `M-x display-time' or customize
the option `display-time-mode'.  The information added to the mode line
usually appears after the buffer name, before the mode names and their
parentheses.  It looks like this:

     HH:MMpm L.LL

Here HH and MM are the hour and minute, followed always by `am' or
`pm'.  L.LL is the average number of running processes in the whole
system recently.  (Some fields may be missing if your operating system
cannot support them.)  If you prefer time display in 24-hour format,
set the variable `display-time-24hr-format' to `t'.

   The word `Mail' appears after the load level if there is mail for
you that you have not read yet.  On a graphical display you can use an
icon instead of `Mail' by customizing `display-time-use-mail-icon';
this may save some space on the mode line.  You can customize
`display-time-mail-face' to make the mail indicator prominent.

   By default, the mode line is drawn on graphics displays with
3D-style highlighting, like that of a button when it is not being
pressed.  If you don't like this effect, you can disable the 3D
highlighting of the mode line, by customizing the attributes of the
`mode-line' face in your `.emacs' init file, like this:

     (set-face-attribute 'mode-line nil :box nil)

Alternatively, you can turn off the box attribute in your `.Xdefaults'
file:

     Emacs.mode-line.AttributeBox: off