[comp.emacs] MODE-LINE as string; updating the mode-line display

Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (01/19/88)

Is there any way to get the current mode line as a string?  I know about
mode-line-format, but I need the mode line, as it currently appears in that
window, in the form of an ordinary string.


A related query -- is there a function that forces the mode-line to be
redisplayed, if some component of it has been changed?  I swiped some code
from time.el to do this:

(defun force-mode-line-update ()
   "This is swiped from time.el and really should be part of GNU Emacs."
  ;; Force redisplay of all buffers' mode lines to be considered.
  (save-excursion (set-buffer (other-buffer)))
  (set-buffer-modified-p (buffer-modified-p))
  ;; Do redisplay right now, if no input pending.
  (sit-for 0))

but I wonder if there is a standard function that either I'm missing or is
missing :-).


Thanks in advance.

-- Ashwin Ram --

ARPA:    Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu
UUCP:    {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin
BITNET:  Ram@yalecs


ARPA:    Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu
UUCP:    {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin
BITNET:  Ram@yalecs