John> Thank you for your prompt response. John> In XEmacs 21.0 "Pyrenean-pre6" [Lucid] (i486-pc-linux) of John> Fri Oct 16 1998 on athene.jamux.com configured using John> `configure '--cflags=-m486 -O2 -fno-strength-reduce John> -fomit-frame-pointer' --debug=yes --gung-ho --with-sound=no John> --with-mule=no --use-union-type=yes John> --lockdir=/var/lock/xemacs --prefix=/usr' APA> John, are you (require[ing] 'bbdb) in order to use it within APA> XEmacs? APA> Your mail does not specify the bbdb-version (mine, e.g., is APA> "2.00.02") you are using. John> Sorry, everything was the latest, bbdb-1.06-pkg.tar.gz, John> tm-1.15-pkg.tar.gz and installed when building XEmacs. Send Same here for both bbdb and tm. John> Bug Report seems not use MIME although tm was alive and well John> in the XEmacs that sent the message. APA> Assuming 2.x, the right thing to do in .emacs or APA> .../lisp/site-start.el is something like this: APA> (bbdb-initialize 'gnus 'message 'sc 'sendmail 'w3) John> Both bbdb.info and my .../xemacs-packages/lisp/bbdb/INSTALL John> give John> (require 'bbdb) * (bbdb-initialize) * Hmmh, I don't use (require 'bbdb) in my setup and all is well. I just put it in my site-start.el just before (bbdb-initialize ...) and XEmacs still comes up fine and I can query BBDB entries. John> and when I tried (bbdb-initialize) alone it failed with the John> same John> Lisp nesting exceeds `max-lisp-eval-depth' My setting: max-lisp-eval-depth 500 which supposedly is the standard-value. John> with or without listing the supported programs[1]. APA> You'll have to adjust the argument-list to include packages APA> you want insinuated by BBDB. APA> Make sure to comment all bbdb-related autoloads you may have APA> in .emacs or .../lisp/site-start.el from times past. John> Was done. Perhaps it was not evident from the stuff in the John> bug report that (require 'bbdb) was executed from a scratch John> buffer in an XEmacs started with --vanilla. After "Lisp John> nesting exceeds `max-lisp-eval-depth'" that XEmacs was John> crippled (responded to Send Bug Report and other mail John> commands with "Lisp nesting exceeds `max-lisp-eval-depth'"). John> I wrote the backtrace to a file and imported it into a Send John> Bug Report buffer in another XEmacs and cut and pasted the John> lossage. John> I cannot get a functional XEmacs when bbdb is initialized John> from my .emacs[2], I get an otherwise working XEmacs without John> references to bbdb in .emacs. APA> Then you're ready to M-x customize-group RET bbdb RET and APA> save your customizations. John> Hmm... All that left me with is John> (custom-set-variables) (custom-set-faces) John> in a new ~/.emacs after starting with -vanilla. APA> HTH, John> Well, you induced me to wade through a lot of customize John> hokus pokus. That was educational. :-) However, I failed to John> dope out how to enter something like the following into Bbdb John> Auto Notes Alist what with all the protect you from yourself John> stuff John> Thank you for your suggestions but I am no closer to having John> bbdb working. Perhaps I'm missing a lot, but I don't see John> what's hindering it if it isn't related to the failures to John> load stuff that gives the "Lisp nesting exceeds John> `max-lisp-eval-depth'" error. John> Footnotes: [1] I dunno if it is pertinent but it seems that John> of the 19 .el files (apart from _pkg.el) in the bbdb John> directory only the 4 _without_ `(require 'bbdb)' byte John> compile. I also noticed complaints about tm-bbdb until I John> re-bite compiled it. I think the complaints were to the John> effect that it had been compiled for xemacs-20. Do you have any lisp package shadowing? Do you have an old version of bbdb lurking somewhere? What does M-x locate-library RET bbdb RET give you? I get: (locate-library "bbdb") "c:\\Program Files\\XEmacs\\packages\\lisp\\bbdb\\bbdb.elc" John> [2] Actually I have been using 'xemacs -vanilla -l John> ~/.emacs.new' while I continue to run an old reliable XEmacs John> with only old fashioned customization and from before John> packages. John> jam