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1 | @c This is part of the Emacs manual. |
2 | @c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc. | |
3 | @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. | |
4 | @node Registers, Display, Rectangles, Top | |
5 | @chapter Registers | |
6 | @cindex registers | |
7 | ||
8 | Emacs @dfn{registers} are places you can save text or positions for | |
9 | later use. Once you save text or a rectangle in a register, you can | |
10 | copy it into the buffer once or many times; you can move point to a | |
11 | position saved in a register once or many times. | |
12 | ||
13 | @findex view-register | |
14 | Each register has a name which is a single character. A register can | |
15 | store a piece of text, a rectangle, a position, a window configuration, | |
16 | or a file name, but only one thing at any given time. Whatever you | |
17 | store in a register remains there until you store something else in that | |
18 | register. To see what a register @var{r} contains, use @kbd{M-x | |
19 | view-register}. | |
20 | ||
21 | @table @kbd | |
22 | @item M-x view-register @key{RET} @var{r} | |
23 | Display a description of what register @var{r} contains. | |
24 | @end table | |
25 | ||
26 | @menu | |
27 | * Position: RegPos. Saving positions in registers. | |
28 | * Text: RegText. Saving text in registers. | |
29 | * Rectangle: RegRect. Saving rectangles in registers. | |
30 | * Configurations: RegConfig. Saving window configurations in registers. | |
31 | * Files: RegFiles. File names in registers. | |
32 | * Numbers: RegNumbers. Numbers in registers. | |
33 | * Bookmarks:: Bookmarks are like registers, but persistent. | |
34 | @end menu | |
35 | ||
36 | @node RegPos | |
37 | @section Saving Positions in Registers | |
38 | ||
39 | Saving a position records a place in a buffer so that you can move | |
40 | back there later. Moving to a saved position switches to that buffer | |
41 | and moves point to that place in it. | |
42 | ||
43 | @table @kbd | |
44 | @item C-x r @key{SPC} @var{r} | |
45 | Save position of point in register @var{r} (@code{point-to-register}). | |
46 | @item C-x r j @var{r} | |
47 | Jump to the position saved in register @var{r} (@code{jump-to-register}). | |
48 | @end table | |
49 | ||
50 | @kindex C-x r SPC | |
51 | @findex point-to-register | |
52 | To save the current position of point in a register, choose a name | |
53 | @var{r} and type @kbd{C-x r @key{SPC} @var{r}}. The register @var{r} | |
54 | retains the position thus saved until you store something else in that | |
55 | register. | |
56 | ||
57 | @kindex C-x r j | |
58 | @findex jump-to-register | |
59 | The command @kbd{C-x r j @var{r}} moves point to the position recorded | |
60 | in register @var{r}. The register is not affected; it continues to | |
61 | record the same position. You can jump to the saved position any number | |
62 | of times. | |
63 | ||
64 | If you use @kbd{C-x r j} to go to a saved position, but the buffer it | |
65 | was saved from has been killed, @kbd{C-x r j} tries to create the buffer | |
66 | again by visiting the same file. Of course, this works only for buffers | |
67 | that were visiting files. | |
68 | ||
69 | @node RegText | |
70 | @section Saving Text in Registers | |
71 | ||
72 | When you want to insert a copy of the same piece of text several | |
73 | times, it may be inconvenient to yank it from the kill ring, since each | |
74 | subsequent kill moves that entry further down the ring. An alternative | |
75 | is to store the text in a register and later retrieve it. | |
76 | ||
77 | @table @kbd | |
78 | @item C-x r s @var{r} | |
79 | Copy region into register @var{r} (@code{copy-to-register}). | |
80 | @item C-x r i @var{r} | |
81 | Insert text from register @var{r} (@code{insert-register}). | |
82 | @end table | |
83 | ||
84 | @kindex C-x r s | |
85 | @kindex C-x r i | |
86 | @findex copy-to-register | |
87 | @findex insert-register | |
88 | @kbd{C-x r s @var{r}} stores a copy of the text of the region into the | |
89 | register named @var{r}. Given a numeric argument, @kbd{C-x r s @var{r}} | |
90 | deletes the text from the buffer as well. | |
91 | ||
92 | @kbd{C-x r i @var{r}} inserts in the buffer the text from register | |
93 | @var{r}. Normally it leaves point before the text and places the mark | |
94 | after, but with a numeric argument (@kbd{C-u}) it puts point after the | |
95 | text and the mark before. | |
96 | ||
97 | @node RegRect | |
98 | @section Saving Rectangles in Registers | |
99 | ||
100 | A register can contain a rectangle instead of linear text. The | |
101 | rectangle is represented as a list of strings. @xref{Rectangles}, for | |
102 | basic information on how to specify a rectangle in the buffer. | |
103 | ||
104 | @table @kbd | |
105 | @findex copy-rectangle-to-register | |
106 | @kindex C-x r r | |
107 | @item C-x r r @var{r} | |
108 | Copy the region-rectangle into register @var{r} | |
109 | (@code{copy-rectangle-to-register}). With numeric argument, delete it as | |
110 | well. | |
111 | @item C-x r i @var{r} | |
112 | Insert the rectangle stored in register @var{r} (if it contains a | |
113 | rectangle) (@code{insert-register}). | |
114 | @end table | |
115 | ||
116 | The @kbd{C-x r i @var{r}} command inserts a text string if the | |
117 | register contains one, and inserts a rectangle if the register contains | |
118 | one. | |
119 | ||
120 | See also the command @code{sort-columns}, which you can think of | |
121 | as sorting a rectangle. @xref{Sorting}. | |
122 | ||
123 | @node RegConfig | |
124 | @section Saving Window Configurations in Registers | |
125 | ||
126 | @findex window-configuration-to-register | |
127 | @findex frame-configuration-to-register | |
128 | @kindex C-x r w | |
129 | @kindex C-x r f | |
130 | You can save the window configuration of the selected frame in a | |
131 | register, or even the configuration of all windows in all frames, and | |
132 | restore the configuration later. | |
133 | ||
134 | @table @kbd | |
135 | @item C-x r w @var{r} | |
136 | Save the state of the selected frame's windows in register @var{r} | |
137 | (@code{window-configuration-to-register}). | |
138 | @item C-x r f @var{r} | |
139 | Save the state of all frames, including all their windows, in register | |
140 | @var{r} (@code{frame-configuration-to-register}). | |
141 | @end table | |
142 | ||
143 | Use @kbd{C-x r j @var{r}} to restore a window or frame configuration. | |
144 | This is the same command used to restore a cursor position. When you | |
145 | restore a frame configuration, any existing frames not included in the | |
146 | configuration become invisible. If you wish to delete these frames | |
147 | instead, use @kbd{C-u C-x r j @var{r}}. | |
148 | ||
149 | @node RegNumbers | |
150 | @section Keeping Numbers in Registers | |
151 | ||
152 | There are commands to store a number in a register, to insert | |
153 | the number in the buffer in decimal, and to increment it. These commands | |
154 | can be useful in keyboard macros (@pxref{Keyboard Macros}). | |
155 | ||
156 | @table @kbd | |
157 | @item C-u @var{number} C-x r n @var{reg} | |
158 | @kindex C-x r n | |
159 | @findex number-to-register | |
160 | Store @var{number} into register @var{reg} (@code{number-to-register}). | |
161 | @item C-u @var{number} C-x r + @var{reg} | |
162 | @kindex C-x r + | |
163 | @findex increment-register | |
164 | Increment the number in register @var{reg} by @var{number} | |
165 | (@code{increment-register}). | |
166 | @item C-x r g @var{reg} | |
167 | Insert the number from register @var{reg} into the buffer. | |
168 | @end table | |
169 | ||
170 | @kbd{C-x r g} is the same command used to insert any other | |
171 | sort of register contents into the buffer. | |
172 | ||
173 | @node RegFiles | |
174 | @section Keeping File Names in Registers | |
175 | ||
176 | If you visit certain file names frequently, you can visit them more | |
177 | conveniently if you put their names in registers. Here's the Lisp code | |
178 | used to put a file name in a register: | |
179 | ||
180 | @smallexample | |
181 | (set-register ?@var{r} '(file . @var{name})) | |
182 | @end smallexample | |
183 | ||
184 | @need 3000 | |
185 | @noindent | |
186 | For example, | |
187 | ||
188 | @smallexample | |
189 | (set-register ?z '(file . "/gd/gnu/emacs/19.0/src/ChangeLog")) | |
190 | @end smallexample | |
191 | ||
192 | @noindent | |
193 | puts the file name shown in register @samp{z}. | |
194 | ||
195 | To visit the file whose name is in register @var{r}, type @kbd{C-x r j | |
196 | @var{r}}. (This is the same command used to jump to a position or | |
197 | restore a frame configuration.) | |
198 | ||
199 | @node Bookmarks | |
200 | @section Bookmarks | |
201 | @cindex bookmarks | |
202 | ||
203 | @dfn{Bookmarks} are somewhat like registers in that they record | |
204 | positions you can jump to. Unlike registers, they have long names, and | |
205 | they persist automatically from one Emacs session to the next. The | |
206 | prototypical use of bookmarks is to record ``where you were reading'' in | |
207 | various files. | |
208 | ||
209 | @table @kbd | |
210 | @item C-x r m @key{RET} | |
211 | Set the bookmark for the visited file, at point. | |
212 | ||
213 | @item C-x r m @var{bookmark} @key{RET} | |
214 | @findex bookmark-set | |
215 | Set the bookmark named @var{bookmark} at point (@code{bookmark-set}). | |
216 | ||
217 | @item C-x r b @var{bookmark} @key{RET} | |
218 | @findex bookmark-jump | |
219 | Jump to the bookmark named @var{bookmark} (@code{bookmark-jump}). | |
220 | ||
221 | @item C-x r l | |
222 | @findex list-bookmarks | |
223 | List all bookmarks (@code{list-bookmarks}). | |
224 | ||
225 | @item M-x bookmark-save | |
226 | @findex bookmark-save | |
227 | Save all the current bookmark values in the default bookmark file. | |
228 | @end table | |
229 | ||
230 | @kindex C-x r m | |
231 | @findex bookmark-set | |
232 | @kindex C-x r b | |
233 | @findex bookmark-jump | |
234 | The prototypical use for bookmarks is to record one current position | |
235 | in each of several files. So the command @kbd{C-x r m}, which sets a | |
236 | bookmark, uses the visited file name as the default for the bookmark | |
237 | name. If you name each bookmark after the file it points to, then you | |
238 | can conveniently revisit any of those files with @kbd{C-x r b}, and move | |
239 | to the position of the bookmark at the same time. | |
240 | ||
241 | @kindex C-x r l | |
242 | To display a list of all your bookmarks in a separate buffer, type | |
243 | @kbd{C-x r l} (@code{list-bookmarks}). If you switch to that buffer, | |
244 | you can use it to edit your bookmark definitions or annotate the | |
245 | bookmarks. Type @kbd{C-h m} in that buffer for more information about | |
246 | its special editing commands. | |
247 | ||
248 | When you kill Emacs, Emacs offers to save your bookmark values in your | |
249 | default bookmark file, @file{~/.emacs.bmk}, if you have changed any | |
250 | bookmark values. You can also save the bookmarks at any time with the | |
251 | @kbd{M-x bookmark-save} command. The bookmark commands load your | |
252 | default bookmark file automatically. This saving and loading is how | |
253 | bookmarks persist from one Emacs session to the next. | |
254 | ||
255 | @vindex bookmark-save-flag | |
256 | If you set the variable @code{bookmark-save-flag} to 1, then each | |
257 | command that sets a bookmark will also save your bookmarks; this way, | |
258 | you don't lose any bookmark values even if Emacs crashes. (The value, | |
259 | if a number, says how many bookmark modifications should go by between | |
260 | saving.) | |
261 | ||
262 | @vindex bookmark-search-size | |
263 | Bookmark position values are saved with surrounding context, so that | |
264 | @code{bookmark-jump} can find the proper position even if the file is | |
265 | modified slightly. The variable @code{bookmark-search-size} says how | |
266 | many characters of context to record, on each side of the bookmark's | |
267 | position. | |
268 | ||
269 | Here are some additional commands for working with bookmarks: | |
270 | ||
271 | @table @kbd | |
272 | @item M-x bookmark-load @key{RET} @var{filename} @key{RET} | |
273 | @findex bookmark-load | |
274 | Load a file named @var{filename} that contains a list of bookmark | |
275 | values. You can use this command, as well as @code{bookmark-write}, to | |
276 | work with other files of bookmark values in addition to your default | |
277 | bookmark file. | |
278 | ||
279 | @item M-x bookmark-write @key{RET} @var{filename} @key{RET} | |
280 | @findex bookmark-write | |
281 | Save all the current bookmark values in the file @var{filename}. | |
282 | ||
283 | @item M-x bookmark-delete @key{RET} @var{bookmark} @key{RET} | |
284 | @findex bookmark-delete | |
285 | Delete the bookmark named @var{bookmark}. | |
286 | ||
287 | @item M-x bookmark-insert-location @key{RET} @var{bookmark} @key{RET} | |
288 | @findex bookmark-insert-location | |
289 | Insert in the buffer the name of the file that bookmark @var{bookmark} | |
290 | points to. | |
291 | ||
292 | @item M-x bookmark-insert @key{RET} @var{bookmark} @key{RET} | |
293 | @findex bookmark-insert | |
294 | Insert in the buffer the @emph{contents} of the file that bookmark | |
295 | @var{bookmark} points to. | |
296 | @end table |