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1 | You are looking at the Emacs tutorial. See end for copying conditions. |
2 | Copyright (c) 1985, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002 Free Software Foundation. | |
f751376f | 3 | |
1869e50a KH |
4 | Emacs commands generally involve the CONTROL key (sometimes labeled |
5 | CTRL or CTL) or the META key (sometimes labeled EDIT or ALT). Rather than | |
4a3142d2 | 6 | write that in full each time, we'll use the following abbreviations: |
f751376f JB |
7 | |
8 | C-<chr> means hold the CONTROL key while typing the character <chr> | |
9 | Thus, C-f would be: hold the CONTROL key and type f. | |
8a4aff68 | 10 | M-<chr> means hold the META or EDIT or ALT key down while typing <chr>. |
4a3142d2 KH |
11 | If there is no META, EDIT or ALT key, instead press and release the |
12 | ESC key and then type <chr>. We write <ESC> for the ESC key. | |
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13 | |
14 | Important note: to end the Emacs session, type C-x C-c. (Two characters.) | |
15 | The characters ">>" at the left margin indicate directions for you to | |
16 | try using a command. For instance: | |
39296e3a RS |
17 | <<Blank lines inserted around following line by help-with-tutorial>> |
18 | [Middle of page left blank for didactic purposes. Text continues below] | |
f751376f | 19 | >> Now type C-v (View next screen) to move to the next screen. |
1e78d347 | 20 | (go ahead, do it by holding down the CONTROL key while typing v). |
82e312c7 | 21 | From now on, you should do this again whenever you finish |
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22 | reading the screen. |
23 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
24 | Note that there is an overlap of two lines when you move from screen |
25 | to screen; this provides some continuity so you can continue reading | |
26 | the text. | |
f751376f | 27 | |
82e312c7 RS |
28 | The first thing that you need to know is how to move around from place |
29 | to place in the text. You already know how to move forward one screen, | |
30 | with C-v. To move backwards one screen, type M-v (hold down the META key | |
bec1289c | 31 | and type v, or type <ESC>v if you do not have a META, EDIT, or ALT key). |
f751376f | 32 | |
82e312c7 | 33 | >> Try typing M-v and then C-v, a few times. |
f751376f JB |
34 | |
35 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
36 | * SUMMARY |
37 | --------- | |
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38 | |
39 | The following commands are useful for viewing screenfuls: | |
40 | ||
41 | C-v Move forward one screenful | |
42 | M-v Move backward one screenful | |
82e312c7 RS |
43 | C-l Clear screen and redisplay all the text, |
44 | moving the text around the cursor | |
45 | to the center of the screen. | |
1e78d347 | 46 | (That's CONTROL-L, not CONTROL-1.) |
f751376f | 47 | |
82e312c7 RS |
48 | >> Find the cursor, and note what text is near it. |
49 | Then type C-l. | |
50 | Find the cursor again and notice that the same text | |
51 | is near the cursor now. | |
f751376f | 52 | |
3d9a3367 RS |
53 | You can also use the PageUp and PageDn keys to move by screenfuls, if |
54 | your terminal has them, but you can edit more efficiently if you use | |
55 | C-v and M-v. | |
49a8a2f5 | 56 | |
f751376f | 57 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
58 | * BASIC CURSOR CONTROL |
59 | ---------------------- | |
f751376f | 60 | |
82e312c7 RS |
61 | Moving from screenful to screenful is useful, but how do you |
62 | move to a specific place within the text on the screen? | |
63 | ||
49a8a2f5 RS |
64 | There are several ways you can do this. You can use the arrow keys, |
65 | but it's more efficient to keep your hands in the standard position | |
66 | and use the commands C-p, C-b, C-f, and C-n. These characters | |
67 | are equivalent to the four arrow keys, like this: | |
177c0ea7 | 68 | |
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69 | Previous line, C-p |
70 | : | |
71 | : | |
72 | Backward, C-b .... Current cursor position .... Forward, C-f | |
73 | : | |
74 | : | |
82e312c7 | 75 | Next line, C-n |
f751376f JB |
76 | |
77 | >> Move the cursor to the line in the middle of that diagram | |
82e312c7 RS |
78 | using C-n or C-p. Then type C-l to see the whole diagram |
79 | centered in the screen. | |
f751376f | 80 | |
49a8a2f5 RS |
81 | You'll find it easy to remember these letters by words they stand for: |
82 | P for previous, N for next, B for backward and F for forward. You | |
83 | will be using these basic cursor positioning commands all the time. | |
f751376f JB |
84 | |
85 | >> Do a few C-n's to bring the cursor down to this line. | |
86 | ||
87 | >> Move into the line with C-f's and then up with C-p's. | |
88 | See what C-p does when the cursor is in the middle of the line. | |
89 | ||
5b85892b RS |
90 | Each line of text ends with a Newline character, which serves to |
91 | separate it from the following line. The last line in your file ought | |
92 | to have a Newline at the end (but Emacs does not require it to have | |
93 | one). | |
82e312c7 RS |
94 | |
95 | >> Try to C-b at the beginning of a line. It should move to | |
96 | the end of the previous line. This is because it moves back | |
97 | across the Newline character. | |
f751376f | 98 | |
82e312c7 | 99 | C-f can move across a Newline just like C-b. |
f751376f | 100 | |
82e312c7 RS |
101 | >> Do a few more C-b's, so you get a feel for where the cursor is. |
102 | Then do C-f's to return to the end of the line. | |
103 | Then do one more C-f to move to the following line. | |
f751376f | 104 | |
82e312c7 RS |
105 | When you move past the top or bottom of the screen, the text beyond |
106 | the edge shifts onto the screen. This is called "scrolling". It | |
107 | enables Emacs to move the cursor to the specified place in the text | |
108 | without moving it off the screen. | |
109 | ||
110 | >> Try to move the cursor off the bottom of the screen with C-n, and | |
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111 | see what happens. |
112 | ||
113 | If moving by characters is too slow, you can move by words. M-f | |
1e78d347 | 114 | (META-f) moves forward a word and M-b moves back a word. |
f751376f | 115 | |
82e312c7 RS |
116 | >> Type a few M-f's and M-b's. |
117 | ||
118 | When you are in the middle of a word, M-f moves to the end of the word. | |
119 | When you are in whitespace between words, M-f moves to the end of the | |
120 | following word. M-b works likewise in the opposite direction. | |
121 | ||
122 | >> Type M-f and M-b a few times, interspersed with C-f's and C-b's | |
123 | so that you can observe the action of M-f and M-b from various | |
124 | places inside and between words. | |
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125 | |
126 | Notice the parallel between C-f and C-b on the one hand, and M-f and | |
127 | M-b on the other hand. Very often Meta characters are used for | |
82e312c7 RS |
128 | operations related to the units defined by language (words, sentences, |
129 | paragraphs), while Control characters operate on basic units that are | |
130 | independent of what you are editing (characters, lines, etc). | |
131 | ||
132 | This parallel applies between lines and sentences: C-a and C-e move to | |
133 | the beginning or end of a line, and M-a and M-e move to the beginning | |
134 | or end of a sentence. | |
f751376f JB |
135 | |
136 | >> Try a couple of C-a's, and then a couple of C-e's. | |
137 | Try a couple of M-a's, and then a couple of M-e's. | |
138 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
139 | See how repeated C-a's do nothing, but repeated M-a's keep moving one |
140 | more sentence. Although these are not quite analogous, each one seems | |
141 | natural. | |
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142 | |
143 | The location of the cursor in the text is also called "point". To | |
144 | paraphrase, the cursor shows on the screen where point is located in | |
145 | the text. | |
146 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
147 | Here is a summary of simple cursor-moving operations, including the |
148 | word and sentence moving commands: | |
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149 | |
150 | C-f Move forward a character | |
151 | C-b Move backward a character | |
152 | ||
153 | M-f Move forward a word | |
154 | M-b Move backward a word | |
155 | ||
156 | C-n Move to next line | |
157 | C-p Move to previous line | |
158 | ||
159 | C-a Move to beginning of line | |
160 | C-e Move to end of line | |
161 | ||
162 | M-a Move back to beginning of sentence | |
163 | M-e Move forward to end of sentence | |
164 | ||
f751376f | 165 | >> Try all of these commands now a few times for practice. |
82e312c7 RS |
166 | These are the most often used commands. |
167 | ||
1e78d347 PJ |
168 | Two other important cursor motion commands are M-< (META Less-than), |
169 | which moves to the beginning of the whole text, and M-> (META | |
82e312c7 RS |
170 | Greater-than), which moves to the end of the whole text. |
171 | ||
172 | On most terminals, the "<" is above the comma, so you must use the | |
173 | shift key to type it. On these terminals you must use the shift key | |
174 | to type M-< also; without the shift key, you would be typing M-comma. | |
175 | ||
176 | >> Try M-< now, to move to the beginning of the tutorial. | |
177 | Then use C-v repeatedly to move back here. | |
178 | ||
179 | >> Try M-> now, to move to the end of the tutorial. | |
180 | Then use M-v repeatedly to move back here. | |
181 | ||
182 | You can also move the cursor with the arrow keys, if your terminal has | |
183 | arrow keys. We recommend learning C-b, C-f, C-n and C-p for three | |
184 | reasons. First, they work on all kinds of terminals. Second, once | |
8806d20f | 185 | you gain practice at using Emacs, you will find that typing these Control |
82e312c7 RS |
186 | characters is faster than typing the arrow keys (because you do not |
187 | have to move your hands away from touch-typing position). Third, once | |
8806d20f | 188 | you form the habit of using these Control character commands, you can |
82e312c7 RS |
189 | easily learn to use other advanced cursor motion commands as well. |
190 | ||
191 | Most Emacs commands accept a numeric argument; for most commands, this | |
192 | serves as a repeat-count. The way you give a command a repeat count | |
193 | is by typing C-u and then the digits before you type the command. If | |
6f108a37 | 194 | you have a META (or EDIT or ALT) key, there is another, alternative way |
bec1289c KH |
195 | to enter a numeric argument: type the digits while holding down the |
196 | META key. We recommend learning the C-u method because it works on | |
973cefd2 RS |
197 | any terminal. The numeric argument is also called a "prefix argument", |
198 | because you type the argument before the command it applies to. | |
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199 | |
200 | For instance, C-u 8 C-f moves forward eight characters. | |
177c0ea7 | 201 | |
82e312c7 RS |
202 | >> Try using C-n or C-p with a numeric argument, to move the cursor |
203 | to a line near this one with just one command. | |
f751376f | 204 | |
973cefd2 RS |
205 | Most commands use the numeric argument as a repeat count, but some |
206 | commands use it in some other way. Several commands (but none of | |
207 | those you have learned so far) use it as a flag--the presence of a | |
208 | prefix argument, regardless of its value, makes the command do | |
209 | something different. | |
210 | ||
211 | C-v and M-v are another kind of exception. When given an argument, | |
212 | they scroll the screen up or down by that many lines, rather than by a | |
213 | screenful. For example, C-u 8 C-v scrolls the screen by 8 lines. | |
f751376f JB |
214 | |
215 | >> Try typing C-u 8 C-v now. | |
216 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
217 | This should have scrolled the screen up by 8 lines. If you would like |
218 | to scroll it down again, you can give an argument to M-v. | |
f751376f | 219 | |
fc19ea9d EZ |
220 | If you are using a windowed display, such as X11 or MS-Windows, there |
221 | should be a tall rectangular area called a scroll bar at the left hand | |
222 | side of the Emacs window. You can scroll the text by clicking the | |
223 | mouse in the scroll bar. | |
b0874bbd RS |
224 | |
225 | >> Try pressing the middle button at the top of the highlighted area | |
82e312c7 RS |
226 | within the scroll bar. This should scroll the text to a position |
227 | determined by how high or low you click. | |
b0874bbd | 228 | |
82e312c7 RS |
229 | >> Try moving the mouse up and down, while holding the middle button |
230 | pressed down. You'll see that the text scrolls up and down as | |
231 | you move the mouse. | |
b0874bbd | 232 | |
f751376f | 233 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
234 | * WHEN EMACS IS HUNG |
235 | -------------------- | |
f751376f | 236 | |
82e312c7 RS |
237 | If Emacs stops responding to your commands, you can stop it safely by |
238 | typing C-g. You can use C-g to stop a command which is taking too | |
239 | long to execute. | |
240 | ||
f751376f | 241 | You can also use C-g to discard a numeric argument or the beginning of |
82e312c7 | 242 | a command that you do not want to finish. |
f751376f JB |
243 | |
244 | >> Type C-u 100 to make a numeric arg of 100, then type C-g. | |
82e312c7 RS |
245 | Now type C-f. It should move just one character, |
246 | because you canceled the argument with C-g. | |
f751376f | 247 | |
82e312c7 RS |
248 | If you have typed an <ESC> by mistake, you can get rid of it |
249 | with a C-g. | |
335b1952 | 250 | |
82e312c7 RS |
251 | |
252 | * DISABLED COMMANDS | |
253 | ------------------- | |
254 | ||
255 | Some Emacs commands are "disabled" so that beginning users cannot use | |
256 | them by accident. | |
257 | ||
258 | If you type one of the disabled commands, Emacs displays a message | |
259 | saying what the command was, and asking you whether you want to go | |
260 | ahead and execute the command. | |
261 | ||
262 | If you really want to try the command, type Space in answer to the | |
263 | question. Normally, if you do not want to execute the disabled | |
264 | command, answer the question with "n". | |
265 | ||
70f4a594 | 266 | >> Type C-x C-l (which is a disabled command), |
82e312c7 | 267 | then type n to answer the question. |
f751376f JB |
268 | |
269 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
270 | * WINDOWS |
271 | --------- | |
f751376f | 272 | |
82e312c7 RS |
273 | Emacs can have several windows, each displaying its own text. We will |
274 | explain later on how to use multiple windows. Right now we want to | |
275 | explain how to get rid of extra windows and go back to basic | |
276 | one-window editing. It is simple: | |
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277 | |
278 | C-x 1 One window (i.e., kill all other windows). | |
279 | ||
1e78d347 | 280 | That is CONTROL-x followed by the digit 1. C-x 1 expands the window |
82e312c7 RS |
281 | which contains the cursor, to occupy the full screen. It deletes all |
282 | other windows. | |
f751376f JB |
283 | |
284 | >> Move the cursor to this line and type C-u 0 C-l. | |
1e78d347 | 285 | >> Type CONTROL-h k CONTROL-f. |
f751376f | 286 | See how this window shrinks, while a new one appears |
1e78d347 | 287 | to display documentation on the CONTROL-f command. |
f751376f JB |
288 | |
289 | >> Type C-x 1 and see the documentation listing window disappear. | |
290 | ||
8806d20f | 291 | This command is unlike the other commands you have learned in that it |
1e78d347 PJ |
292 | consists of two characters. It starts with the character CONTROL-x. |
293 | There is a whole series of commands that start with CONTROL-x; many of | |
8806d20f RS |
294 | them have to do with windows, files, buffers, and related things. |
295 | These commands are two, three or four characters long. | |
296 | ||
f751376f | 297 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
298 | * INSERTING AND DELETING |
299 | ------------------------ | |
f751376f | 300 | |
82e312c7 RS |
301 | If you want to insert text, just type the text. Characters which you |
302 | can see, such as A, 7, *, etc. are taken by Emacs as text and inserted | |
f751376f JB |
303 | immediately. Type <Return> (the carriage-return key) to insert a |
304 | Newline character. | |
305 | ||
d6635fa1 RS |
306 | You can delete the last character you typed by typing <Delback>. |
307 | <Delback> is a key on the keyboard--the same one you normally use, | |
308 | outside Emacs, for deleting the last character you typed. It is | |
309 | normally a large key a couple of lines up from the <Return> key, and | |
310 | it is usually labeled "Delete", "Del" or "Backspace". | |
50d326a4 | 311 | |
d6635fa1 RS |
312 | If the large key there is labeled "Backspace", then that's the one you |
313 | use for <Delback>. There may also be another key labeled "Delete" | |
314 | somewhere else, but that's not <Delback>. | |
315 | ||
316 | More generally, <Delback> deletes the character immediately before the | |
50d326a4 | 317 | current cursor position. |
f751376f | 318 | |
82e312c7 | 319 | >> Do this now--type a few characters, then delete them |
d6635fa1 | 320 | by typing <Delback> a few times. Don't worry about this file |
82e312c7 RS |
321 | being changed; you will not alter the master tutorial. This is |
322 | your personal copy of it. | |
323 | ||
324 | When a line of text gets too big for one line on the screen, the line | |
325 | of text is "continued" onto a second screen line. A backslash ("\") | |
bc2973c0 GM |
326 | (or, if you're using a windowed display, a little curved arrow) at the |
327 | right margin indicates a line which has been continued. | |
82e312c7 RS |
328 | |
329 | >> Insert text until you reach the right margin, and keep on inserting. | |
330 | You'll see a continuation line appear. | |
331 | ||
d6635fa1 | 332 | >> Use <Delback>s to delete the text until the line fits on one screen |
f751376f JB |
333 | line again. The continuation line goes away. |
334 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
335 | You can delete a Newline character just like any other character. |
336 | Deleting the Newline character between two lines merges them into | |
337 | one line. If the resulting combined line is too long to fit in the | |
338 | screen width, it will be displayed with a continuation line. | |
339 | ||
d6635fa1 | 340 | >> Move the cursor to the beginning of a line and type <Delback>. This |
82e312c7 RS |
341 | merges that line with the previous line. |
342 | ||
f751376f JB |
343 | >> Type <Return> to reinsert the Newline you deleted. |
344 | ||
345 | Remember that most Emacs commands can be given a repeat count; | |
82e312c7 RS |
346 | this includes text characters. Repeating a text character inserts |
347 | it several times. | |
f751376f | 348 | |
82e312c7 | 349 | >> Try that now -- type C-u 8 * to insert ********. |
f751376f JB |
350 | |
351 | You've now learned the most basic way of typing something in | |
352 | Emacs and correcting errors. You can delete by words or lines | |
353 | as well. Here is a summary of the delete operations: | |
354 | ||
3d9a3367 | 355 | <Delback> delete the character just before the cursor |
f751376f JB |
356 | C-d delete the next character after the cursor |
357 | ||
3d9a3367 | 358 | M-<Delback> kill the word immediately before the cursor |
f751376f JB |
359 | M-d kill the next word after the cursor |
360 | ||
361 | C-k kill from the cursor position to end of line | |
362 | M-k kill to the end of the current sentence | |
363 | ||
d6635fa1 RS |
364 | Notice that <Delback> and C-d vs M-<Delback> and M-d extend the parallel |
365 | started by C-f and M-f (well, <Delback> is not really a control | |
f751376f JB |
366 | character, but let's not worry about that). C-k and M-k are like C-e |
367 | and M-e, sort of, in that lines are opposite sentences. | |
368 | ||
6f311043 KH |
369 | You can also kill any part of the buffer with one uniform method. |
370 | Move to one end of that part, and type C-@ or C-SPC (either one). | |
dcb14dc0 EZ |
371 | (SPC is the Space bar.) Move to the other end of that part, and type |
372 | C-w. That kills all the text between the two positions. | |
6f311043 KH |
373 | |
374 | >> Move the cursor to the Y at the start of the previous paragraph. | |
375 | >> Type C-SPC. Emacs should display a message "Mark set" | |
376 | at the bottom of the screen. | |
377 | >> Move the cursor to the n in "end", on the second line of the | |
378 | paragraph. | |
379 | >> Type C-w. This will kill the text starting from the Y, | |
380 | and ending just before the n. | |
381 | ||
5b85892b RS |
382 | The difference between "killing" and "deleting" is that "killed" text |
383 | can be reinserted, whereas "deleted" things cannot be reinserted. | |
384 | Reinsertion of killed text is called "yanking". Generally, the | |
385 | commands that can remove a lot of text kill the text (they set up so | |
386 | that you can yank the text), while the commands that remove just one | |
3d9a3367 RS |
387 | character, or only remove blank lines and spaces, do deletion (so you |
388 | cannot yank that text). | |
f751376f | 389 | |
82e312c7 RS |
390 | >> Move the cursor to the beginning of a line which is not empty. |
391 | Then type C-k to kill the text on that line. | |
392 | >> Type C-k a second time. You'll see that it kills the Newline | |
393 | which follows that line. | |
f751376f JB |
394 | |
395 | Note that a single C-k kills the contents of the line, and a second | |
6f108a37 | 396 | C-k kills the line itself, and makes all the other lines move up. C-k |
82e312c7 RS |
397 | treats a numeric argument specially: it kills that many lines AND |
398 | their contents. This is not mere repetition. C-u 2 C-k kills two | |
399 | lines and their newlines; typing C-k twice would not do that. | |
f751376f | 400 | |
5b85892b RS |
401 | Bringing back killed text is called "yanking". (Think of it as |
402 | yanking back, or pulling back, some text that was taken away.) You | |
403 | can yank the killed text either at the same place where it was killed, | |
404 | or at some other place in the buffer, or even in a different file. | |
3d9a3367 RS |
405 | You can yank the same text several times; that makes multiple copies |
406 | of it. | |
5b85892b RS |
407 | |
408 | The command for yanking is C-y. It reinserts the last killed text, | |
409 | at the current cursor position. | |
f751376f JB |
410 | |
411 | >> Try it; type C-y to yank the text back. | |
412 | ||
5b85892b RS |
413 | If you do several C-k's in a row, all of the killed text is saved |
414 | together, so that one C-y will yank all of the lines at once. | |
f751376f JB |
415 | |
416 | >> Do this now, type C-k several times. | |
417 | ||
418 | Now to retrieve that killed text: | |
419 | ||
420 | >> Type C-y. Then move the cursor down a few lines and type C-y | |
421 | again. You now see how to copy some text. | |
422 | ||
423 | What do you do if you have some text you want to yank back, and then | |
424 | you kill something else? C-y would yank the more recent kill. But | |
425 | the previous text is not lost. You can get back to it using the M-y | |
426 | command. After you have done C-y to get the most recent kill, typing | |
bec1289c | 427 | M-y replaces that yanked text with the previous kill. Typing M-y |
82e312c7 RS |
428 | again and again brings in earlier and earlier kills. When you have |
429 | reached the text you are looking for, you do not have to do anything to | |
430 | keep it. Just go on with your editing, leaving the yanked text where | |
431 | it is. | |
432 | ||
433 | If you M-y enough times, you come back to the starting point (the most | |
434 | recent kill). | |
f751376f JB |
435 | |
436 | >> Kill a line, move around, kill another line. | |
437 | Then do C-y to get back the second killed line. | |
438 | Then do M-y and it will be replaced by the first killed line. | |
439 | Do more M-y's and see what you get. Keep doing them until | |
440 | the second kill line comes back, and then a few more. | |
441 | If you like, you can try giving M-y positive and negative | |
442 | arguments. | |
443 | ||
444 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
445 | * UNDO |
446 | ------ | |
f751376f | 447 | |
82e312c7 RS |
448 | If you make a change to the text, and then decide that it was a |
449 | mistake, you can undo the change with the undo command, C-x u. | |
450 | ||
451 | Normally, C-x u undoes the changes made by one command; if you repeat | |
452 | the C-x u several times in a row, each repetition undoes one | |
453 | additional command. | |
454 | ||
455 | But there are two exceptions: commands that do not change the text do | |
456 | not count (this includes cursor motion commands and scrolling | |
457 | command), and self-inserting characters are usually handled in groups | |
458 | of up to 20. (This is to reduce the number of C-x u's you have to | |
459 | type to undo insertion of text.) | |
f751376f JB |
460 | |
461 | >> Kill this line with C-k, then type C-x u and it should reappear. | |
462 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
463 | C-_ is an alternative undo command; it works just the same as C-x u, |
464 | but it is easier to type several times in a row. The disadvantage of | |
465 | C-_ is that on some keyboards it is not obvious how to type it. That | |
466 | is why we provide C-x u as well. On some terminals, you can type C-_ | |
8806d20f | 467 | by typing / while holding down CONTROL. |
f751376f | 468 | |
82e312c7 | 469 | A numeric argument to C-_ or C-x u acts as a repeat count. |
f751376f | 470 | |
5b85892b RS |
471 | You can undo deletion of text just as you can undo killing of text. |
472 | The distinction between killing something and deleting it affects | |
473 | whether you can yank it with C-y; it makes no difference for undo. | |
474 | ||
f751376f | 475 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
476 | * FILES |
477 | ------- | |
f751376f JB |
478 | |
479 | In order to make the text you edit permanent, you must put it in a | |
480 | file. Otherwise, it will go away when your invocation of Emacs goes | |
8806d20f RS |
481 | away. In order to put your text in a file, you must "find" the file |
482 | before you enter the text. (This is also called "visiting" the file.) | |
82e312c7 RS |
483 | |
484 | Finding a file means that you see the contents of the file within | |
485 | Emacs. In many ways, it is as if you were editing the file itself. | |
486 | However, the changes you make using Emacs do not become permanent | |
487 | until you "save" the file. This is so you can avoid leaving a | |
488 | half-changed file on the system when you do not want to. Even when | |
489 | you save, Emacs leaves the original file under a changed name in case | |
490 | you later decide that your changes were a mistake. | |
f751376f JB |
491 | |
492 | If you look near the bottom of the screen you will see a line that | |
3c72adf2 RS |
493 | begins and ends with dashes, and starts with "--:-- TUTORIAL" or |
494 | something like that. This part of the screen normally shows the name | |
495 | of the file that you are visiting. Right now, you are visiting a file | |
496 | called "TUTORIAL" which is your personal scratch copy of the Emacs | |
497 | tutorial. When you find a file with Emacs, that file's name will | |
498 | appear in that precise spot. | |
f751376f | 499 | |
8806d20f RS |
500 | One special thing about the command for finding a file is that you |
501 | have to say what file name you want. We say the command "reads an | |
502 | argument from the terminal" (in this case, the argument is the name of | |
503 | the file). After you type the command | |
f751376f JB |
504 | |
505 | C-x C-f Find a file | |
506 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
507 | Emacs asks you to type the file name. The file name you type appears |
508 | on the bottom line of the screen. The bottom line is called the | |
509 | minibuffer when it is used for this sort of input. You can use | |
510 | ordinary Emacs editing commands to edit the file name. | |
511 | ||
512 | While you are entering the file name (or any minibuffer input), | |
513 | you can cancel the command with C-g. | |
f751376f JB |
514 | |
515 | >> Type C-x C-f, then type C-g. This cancels the minibuffer, | |
516 | and also cancels the C-x C-f command that was using the | |
517 | minibuffer. So you do not find any file. | |
518 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
519 | When you have finished entering the file name, type <Return> to |
520 | terminate it. Then C-x C-f command goes to work, and finds the file | |
521 | you chose. The minibuffer disappears when the C-x C-f command is | |
522 | finished. | |
523 | ||
524 | In a little while the file contents appear on the screen, and you can | |
525 | edit the contents. When you wish to make your changes permanent, | |
526 | type the command | |
f751376f JB |
527 | |
528 | C-x C-s Save the file | |
529 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
530 | This copies the text within Emacs into the file. The first time you |
531 | do this, Emacs renames the original file to a new name so that it is | |
532 | not lost. The new name is made by adding "~" to the end of the | |
533 | original file's name. | |
f751376f | 534 | |
fafee579 | 535 | When saving is finished, Emacs displays the name of the file written. |
f751376f JB |
536 | You should save fairly often, so that you will not lose very much |
537 | work if the system should crash. | |
538 | ||
539 | >> Type C-x C-s, saving your copy of the tutorial. | |
fafee579 | 540 | This should show "Wrote ...TUTORIAL" at the bottom of the screen. |
f751376f | 541 | |
afb7440b RS |
542 | NOTE: On some systems, typing C-x C-s will freeze the screen and you |
543 | will see no further output from Emacs. This indicates that an | |
544 | operating system "feature" called "flow control" is intercepting the | |
545 | C-s and not letting it get through to Emacs. To unfreeze the screen, | |
546 | type C-q. Then see the section "Spontaneous Entry to Incremental | |
547 | Search" in the Emacs manual for advice on dealing with this "feature". | |
548 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
549 | You can find an existing file, to view it or edit it. You can also |
550 | find a file which does not already exist. This is the way to create a | |
551 | file with Emacs: find the file, which will start out empty, and then | |
552 | begin inserting the text for the file. When you ask to "save" the | |
553 | file, Emacs will really create the file with the text that you have | |
554 | inserted. From then on, you can consider yourself to be editing an | |
555 | already existing file. | |
f751376f JB |
556 | |
557 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
558 | * BUFFERS |
559 | --------- | |
f751376f JB |
560 | |
561 | If you find a second file with C-x C-f, the first file remains | |
562 | inside Emacs. You can switch back to it by finding it again with | |
563 | C-x C-f. This way you can get quite a number of files inside Emacs. | |
564 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
565 | >> Create a file named "foo" by typing C-x C-f foo <Return>. |
566 | Then insert some text, edit it, and save "foo" by typing C-x C-s. | |
567 | Finally, type C-x C-f TUTORIAL <Return> | |
568 | to come back to the tutorial. | |
569 | ||
73635959 | 570 | Emacs stores each file's text inside an object called a "buffer". |
82e312c7 | 571 | Finding a file makes a new buffer inside Emacs. To see a list of the |
73635959 | 572 | buffers that currently exist in your Emacs job, type |
f751376f JB |
573 | |
574 | C-x C-b List buffers | |
575 | ||
576 | >> Try C-x C-b now. | |
577 | ||
8d60818b RS |
578 | See how each buffer has a name, and it may also have a file name for |
579 | the file whose contents it holds. ANY text you see in an Emacs window | |
82e312c7 | 580 | is always part of some buffer. |
f751376f JB |
581 | |
582 | >> Type C-x 1 to get rid of the buffer list. | |
583 | ||
f458a8e0 | 584 | When you have several buffers, only one of them is "current" at any |
8d60818b RS |
585 | time. That buffer is the one you edit. If you want to edit another |
586 | buffer, you need to "switch" to it. If you want to switch to a buffer | |
587 | that corresponds to a file, you can do it by visiting the file again | |
588 | with C-x C-f. But there is an easier way: use the C-x b command. | |
589 | In that command, you have to type the buffer's name. | |
590 | ||
591 | >> Type C-x b foo <Return> to go back to the buffer "foo" which holds | |
592 | the text of the file "foo". Then type C-x b TUTORIAL <Return> | |
593 | to come back to this tutorial. | |
594 | ||
595 | Most of the time, the buffer's name is the same as the file name | |
596 | (without the file directory part). However, this is not always true. | |
597 | The buffer list you make with C-x C-b always shows you the name of | |
598 | every buffer. | |
599 | ||
600 | ANY text you see in an Emacs window is always part of some buffer. | |
601 | Some buffers do not correspond to files. For example, the buffer | |
602 | named "*Buffer List*" does not have any file. It is the buffer which | |
603 | contains the buffer list that you made with C-x C-b. The buffer named | |
604 | "*Messages*" also does not correspond to any file; it contains the | |
605 | messages that have appeared on the bottom line during your Emacs | |
606 | session. | |
607 | ||
608 | >> Type C-x b *Messages* <Return> to look at the buffer of messages. | |
ff7de4ee | 609 | Then type C-x b TUTORIAL <Return> to come back to this tutorial. |
8d60818b | 610 | |
f751376f JB |
611 | If you make changes to the text of one file, then find another file, |
612 | this does not save the first file. Its changes remain inside Emacs, | |
613 | in that file's buffer. The creation or editing of the second file's | |
614 | buffer has no effect on the first file's buffer. This is very useful, | |
615 | but it also means that you need a convenient way to save the first | |
616 | file's buffer. It would be a nuisance to have to switch back to | |
617 | it with C-x C-f in order to save it with C-x C-s. So we have | |
618 | ||
619 | C-x s Save some buffers | |
620 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
621 | C-x s asks you about each buffer which contains changes that you have |
622 | not saved. It asks you, for each such buffer, whether to save the | |
623 | buffer. | |
f751376f | 624 | |
82e312c7 RS |
625 | >> Insert a line of text, then type C-x s. |
626 | It should ask you whether to save the buffer named TUTORIAL. | |
627 | Answer yes to the question by typing "y". | |
f751376f | 628 | |
5577e2b2 | 629 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
630 | * EXTENDING THE COMMAND SET |
631 | --------------------------- | |
f751376f JB |
632 | |
633 | There are many, many more Emacs commands than could possibly be put | |
634 | on all the control and meta characters. Emacs gets around this with | |
635 | the X (eXtend) command. This comes in two flavors: | |
636 | ||
637 | C-x Character eXtend. Followed by one character. | |
638 | M-x Named command eXtend. Followed by a long name. | |
639 | ||
640 | These are commands that are generally useful but used less than the | |
82e312c7 RS |
641 | commands you have already learned about. You have already seen two of |
642 | them: the file commands C-x C-f to Find and C-x C-s to Save. Another | |
643 | example is the command to end the Emacs session--this is the command | |
644 | C-x C-c. (Do not worry about losing changes you have made; C-x C-c | |
645 | offers to save each changed file before it kills the Emacs.) | |
f751376f | 646 | |
e7662099 RS |
647 | C-z is the command to exit Emacs *temporarily*--so that you can go |
648 | back to the same Emacs session afterward. | |
649 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
650 | On systems which allow it, C-z "suspends" Emacs; that is, it returns |
651 | to the shell but does not destroy the Emacs. In the most common | |
652 | shells, you can resume Emacs with the `fg' command or with `%emacs'. | |
653 | ||
654 | On systems which do not implement suspending, C-z creates a subshell | |
655 | running under Emacs to give you the chance to run other programs and | |
656 | return to Emacs afterward; it does not truly "exit" from Emacs. In | |
657 | this case, the shell command `exit' is the usual way to get back to | |
658 | Emacs from the subshell. | |
e7662099 RS |
659 | |
660 | The time to use C-x C-c is when you are about to log out. It's also | |
661 | the right thing to use to exit an Emacs invoked under mail handling | |
82e312c7 RS |
662 | programs and other miscellaneous utilities, since they may not know |
663 | how to cope with suspension of Emacs. In ordinary circumstances, | |
664 | though, if you are not about to log out, it is better to suspend Emacs | |
665 | with C-z instead of exiting Emacs. | |
f751376f | 666 | |
82e312c7 | 667 | There are many C-x commands. Here is a list of the ones you have learned: |
f751376f JB |
668 | |
669 | C-x C-f Find file. | |
670 | C-x C-s Save file. | |
671 | C-x C-b List buffers. | |
672 | C-x C-c Quit Emacs. | |
e64159dd | 673 | C-x 1 Delete all but one window. |
f751376f JB |
674 | C-x u Undo. |
675 | ||
676 | Named eXtended commands are commands which are used even less | |
82e312c7 RS |
677 | frequently, or commands which are used only in certain modes. An |
678 | example is the command replace-string, which globally replaces one | |
679 | string with another. When you type M-x, Emacs prompts you at the | |
680 | bottom of the screen with M-x and you should type the name of the | |
681 | command; in this case, "replace-string". Just type "repl s<TAB>" and | |
dcb14dc0 | 682 | Emacs will complete the name. (<TAB> is the Tab key, usually found |
2f6e6410 | 683 | above the CapsLock or Shift key near the left edge of the keyboard.) |
dcb14dc0 | 684 | End the command name with <Return>. |
82e312c7 RS |
685 | |
686 | The replace-string command requires two arguments--the string to be | |
687 | replaced, and the string to replace it with. You must end each | |
688 | argument with <Return>. | |
f751376f JB |
689 | |
690 | >> Move the cursor to the blank line two lines below this one. | |
691 | Then type M-x repl s<Return>changed<Return>altered<Return>. | |
692 | ||
693 | Notice how this line has changed: you've replaced | |
82e312c7 RS |
694 | the word c-h-a-n-g-e-d with "altered" wherever it occurred, |
695 | after the initial position of the cursor. | |
f751376f JB |
696 | |
697 | ||
4a630427 RS |
698 | * AUTO SAVE |
699 | ----------- | |
700 | ||
701 | When you have made changes in a file, but you have not saved them yet, | |
702 | they could be lost if your computer crashes. To protect you from | |
82e312c7 RS |
703 | this, Emacs periodically writes an "auto save" file for each file that |
704 | you are editing. The auto save file name has a # at the beginning and | |
705 | the end; for example, if your file is named "hello.c", its auto save | |
706 | file's name is "#hello.c#". When you save the file in the normal way, | |
707 | Emacs deletes its auto save file. | |
4a630427 RS |
708 | |
709 | If the computer crashes, you can recover your auto-saved editing by | |
710 | finding the file normally (the file you were editing, not the auto | |
73635959 KH |
711 | save file) and then typing M-x recover file<Return>. When it asks for |
712 | confirmation, type yes<Return> to go ahead and recover the auto-save | |
4a630427 RS |
713 | data. |
714 | ||
715 | ||
82e312c7 | 716 | * ECHO AREA |
26dc36e6 | 717 | ----------- |
f751376f | 718 | |
e64159dd RS |
719 | If Emacs sees that you are typing multicharacter commands slowly, it |
720 | shows them to you at the bottom of the screen in an area called the | |
721 | "echo area". The echo area contains the bottom line of the screen. | |
f751376f | 722 | |
f751376f | 723 | |
82e312c7 RS |
724 | * MODE LINE |
725 | ----------- | |
726 | ||
e64159dd | 727 | The line immediately above the echo area is called the "mode line". |
82e312c7 RS |
728 | The mode line says something like this: |
729 | ||
775a19b4 | 730 | --:** TUTORIAL (Fundamental)--L670--58%---------------- |
82e312c7 RS |
731 | |
732 | This line gives useful information about the status of Emacs and | |
733 | the text you are editing. | |
f751376f JB |
734 | |
735 | You already know what the filename means--it is the file you have | |
82e312c7 RS |
736 | found. -NN%-- indicates your current position in the text; it means |
737 | that NN percent of the text is above the top of the screen. If the | |
738 | top of the file is on the screen, it will say --Top-- instead of | |
739 | --00%--. If the bottom of the text is on the screen, it will say | |
740 | --Bot--. If you are looking at text so small that all of it fits on | |
741 | the screen, the mode line says --All--. | |
f751376f | 742 | |
dcf671d2 GM |
743 | The L and digits indicate position in another way: they give the |
744 | current line number of point. | |
745 | ||
f751376f | 746 | The stars near the front mean that you have made changes to the text. |
82e312c7 RS |
747 | Right after you visit or save a file, that part of the mode line shows |
748 | no stars, just dashes. | |
f751376f JB |
749 | |
750 | The part of the mode line inside the parentheses is to tell you what | |
82e312c7 | 751 | editing modes you are in. The default mode is Fundamental which is |
177c0ea7 | 752 | what you are using now. It is an example of a "major mode". |
82e312c7 RS |
753 | |
754 | Emacs has many different major modes. Some of them are meant for | |
bec1289c | 755 | editing different languages and/or kinds of text, such as Lisp mode, |
82e312c7 RS |
756 | Text mode, etc. At any time one and only one major mode is active, |
757 | and its name can always be found in the mode line just where | |
758 | "Fundamental" is now. | |
759 | ||
760 | Each major mode makes a few commands behave differently. For example, | |
761 | there are commands for creating comments in a program, and since each | |
762 | programming language has a different idea of what a comment should | |
763 | look like, each major mode has to insert comments differently. Each | |
764 | major mode is the name of an extended command, which is how you can | |
bec1289c | 765 | switch to that mode. For example, M-x fundamental-mode is a command to |
82e312c7 | 766 | switch to Fundamental mode. |
f751376f | 767 | |
ab380f51 | 768 | If you are going to be editing human-language text, such as this file, you |
f751376f | 769 | should probably use Text Mode. |
73635959 | 770 | >> Type M-x text mode<Return>. |
f751376f | 771 | |
e64159dd | 772 | Don't worry, none of the Emacs commands you have learned changes in |
82e312c7 RS |
773 | any great way. But you can observe that M-f and M-b now treat |
774 | apostrophes as part of words. Previously, in Fundamental mode, | |
775 | M-f and M-b treated apostrophes as word-separators. | |
f751376f | 776 | |
82e312c7 RS |
777 | Major modes usually make subtle changes like that one: most commands |
778 | do "the same job" in each major mode, but they work a little bit | |
779 | differently. | |
780 | ||
781 | To view documentation on your current major mode, type C-h m. | |
f751376f JB |
782 | |
783 | >> Use C-u C-v once or more to bring this line near the top of screen. | |
784 | >> Type C-h m, to see how Text mode differs from Fundamental mode. | |
785 | >> Type C-x 1 to remove the documentation from the screen. | |
786 | ||
787 | Major modes are called major because there are also minor modes. | |
6f108a37 | 788 | Minor modes are not alternatives to the major modes, just minor |
bec1289c KH |
789 | modifications of them. Each minor mode can be turned on or off by |
790 | itself, independent of all other minor modes, and independent of your | |
791 | major mode. So you can use no minor modes, or one minor mode, or any | |
792 | combination of several minor modes. | |
f751376f | 793 | |
ab380f51 RS |
794 | One minor mode which is very useful, especially for editing |
795 | human-language text, is Auto Fill mode. When this mode is on, Emacs | |
796 | breaks the line in between words automatically whenever you insert | |
797 | text and make a line that is too wide. | |
82e312c7 | 798 | |
48cc32f0 | 799 | You can turn Auto Fill mode on by doing M-x auto fill mode<Return>. |
6f108a37 | 800 | When the mode is on, you can turn it off again by doing M-x |
48cc32f0 | 801 | auto fill mode<Return>. If the mode is off, this command turns it on, |
82e312c7 RS |
802 | and if the mode is on, this command turns it off. We say that the |
803 | command "toggles the mode". | |
f751376f | 804 | |
48cc32f0 | 805 | >> Type M-x auto fill mode<Return> now. Then insert a line of "asdf " |
f751376f JB |
806 | over again until you see it divide into two lines. You must put in |
807 | spaces between them because Auto Fill breaks lines only at spaces. | |
808 | ||
809 | The margin is usually set at 70 characters, but you can change it | |
810 | with the C-x f command. You should give the margin setting you want | |
811 | as a numeric argument. | |
812 | ||
813 | >> Type C-x f with an argument of 20. (C-u 2 0 C-x f). | |
814 | Then type in some text and see Emacs fill lines of 20 | |
815 | characters with it. Then set the margin back to 70 using | |
816 | C-x f again. | |
817 | ||
e64159dd | 818 | If you make changes in the middle of a paragraph, Auto Fill mode |
f751376f | 819 | does not re-fill it for you. |
1e78d347 | 820 | To re-fill the paragraph, type M-q (META-q) with the cursor inside |
f751376f JB |
821 | that paragraph. |
822 | ||
823 | >> Move the cursor into the previous paragraph and type M-q. | |
824 | ||
5577e2b2 | 825 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
826 | * SEARCHING |
827 | ----------- | |
f751376f JB |
828 | |
829 | Emacs can do searches for strings (these are groups of contiguous | |
82e312c7 RS |
830 | characters or words) either forward through the text or backward |
831 | through it. Searching for a string is a cursor motion command; | |
832 | it moves the cursor to the next place where that string appears. | |
833 | ||
834 | The Emacs search command is different from the search commands | |
835 | of most editors, in that it is "incremental". This means that the | |
836 | search happens while you type in the string to search for. | |
837 | ||
838 | The command to initiate a search is C-s for forward search, and C-r | |
839 | for reverse search. BUT WAIT! Don't try them now. | |
840 | ||
841 | When you type C-s you'll notice that the string "I-search" appears as | |
842 | a prompt in the echo area. This tells you that Emacs is in what is | |
843 | called an incremental search waiting for you to type the thing that | |
8806d20f | 844 | you want to search for. <Return> terminates a search. |
f751376f JB |
845 | |
846 | >> Now type C-s to start a search. SLOWLY, one letter at a time, | |
847 | type the word 'cursor', pausing after you type each | |
848 | character to notice what happens to the cursor. | |
82e312c7 RS |
849 | Now you have searched for "cursor", once. |
850 | >> Type C-s again, to search for the next occurrence of "cursor". | |
d6635fa1 | 851 | >> Now type <Delback> four times and see how the cursor moves. |
8806d20f | 852 | >> Type <Return> to terminate the search. |
f751376f JB |
853 | |
854 | Did you see what happened? Emacs, in an incremental search, tries to | |
82e312c7 RS |
855 | go to the occurrence of the string that you've typed out so far. To |
856 | go to the next occurrence of 'cursor' just type C-s again. If no such | |
6f108a37 RS |
857 | occurrence exists, Emacs beeps and tells you the search is currently |
858 | "failing". C-g would also terminate the search. | |
f751376f | 859 | |
afb7440b RS |
860 | NOTE: On some systems, typing C-s will freeze the screen and you will |
861 | see no further output from Emacs. This indicates that an operating | |
862 | system "feature" called "flow control" is intercepting the C-s and not | |
863 | letting it get through to Emacs. To unfreeze the screen, type C-q. | |
864 | Then see the section "Spontaneous Entry to Incremental Search" in the | |
865 | Emacs manual for advice on dealing with this "feature". | |
866 | ||
d6635fa1 | 867 | If you are in the middle of an incremental search and type <Delback>, |
f751376f JB |
868 | you'll notice that the last character in the search string is erased |
869 | and the search backs up to the last place of the search. For | |
82e312c7 RS |
870 | instance, suppose you have typed "c", to search for the first |
871 | occurrence of "c". Now if you type "u", the cursor will move | |
d6635fa1 | 872 | to the first occurrence of "cu". Now type <Delback>. This erases |
82e312c7 RS |
873 | the "u" from the search string, and the cursor moves back to |
874 | the first occurrence of "c". | |
f751376f | 875 | |
3242b6f0 RS |
876 | If you are in the middle of a search and type a control or meta |
877 | character (with a few exceptions--characters that are special in | |
878 | a search, such as C-s and C-r), the search is terminated. | |
f751376f JB |
879 | |
880 | The C-s starts a search that looks for any occurrence of the search | |
82e312c7 RS |
881 | string AFTER the current cursor position. If you want to search for |
882 | something earlier in the text, type C-r instead. Everything that we | |
883 | have said about C-s also applies to C-r, except that the direction of | |
884 | the search is reversed. | |
f751376f JB |
885 | |
886 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
887 | * MULTIPLE WINDOWS |
888 | ------------------ | |
e652a34a JB |
889 | |
890 | One of the nice features of Emacs is that you can display more than one | |
891 | window on the screen at the same time. | |
892 | ||
1e78d347 PJ |
893 | >> Move the cursor to this line and type C-u 0 C-l (that's CONTROL-L, not |
894 | CONTROL-1). | |
e652a34a JB |
895 | |
896 | >> Now type C-x 2 which splits the screen into two windows. | |
897 | Both windows display this tutorial. The cursor stays in the top window. | |
898 | ||
899 | >> Type C-M-v to scroll the bottom window. | |
1e78d347 | 900 | (If you do not have a real META key, type ESC C-v.) |
e652a34a JB |
901 | |
902 | >> Type C-x o ("o" for "other") to move the cursor to the bottom window. | |
903 | >> Use C-v and M-v in the bottom window to scroll it. | |
904 | Keep reading these directions in the top window. | |
905 | ||
906 | >> Type C-x o again to move the cursor back to the top window. | |
82e312c7 | 907 | The cursor in the top window is just where it was before. |
e652a34a JB |
908 | |
909 | You can keep using C-x o to switch between the windows. Each | |
910 | window has its own cursor position, but only one window actually | |
911 | shows the cursor. All the ordinary editing commands apply to the | |
82e312c7 | 912 | window that the cursor is in. We call this the "selected window". |
e652a34a JB |
913 | |
914 | The command C-M-v is very useful when you are editing text in one | |
915 | window and using the other window just for reference. You can keep | |
82e312c7 RS |
916 | the cursor always in the window where you are editing, and advance |
917 | through the other window sequentially with C-M-v. | |
e652a34a | 918 | |
8a4aff68 | 919 | C-M-v is an example of a CONTROL-META character. If you have a real |
8806d20f RS |
920 | META key, you can type C-M-v by holding down both CONTROL and META while |
921 | typing v. It does not matter whether CONTROL or META "comes first," | |
82e312c7 | 922 | because both of these keys act by modifying the characters you type. |
8a4aff68 | 923 | |
82e312c7 | 924 | If you do not have a real META key, and you use ESC instead, the order |
1e78d347 PJ |
925 | does matter: you must type ESC followed by CONTROL-v, because |
926 | CONTROL-ESC v will not work. This is because ESC is a character in | |
8806d20f | 927 | its own right, not a modifier key. |
8a4aff68 | 928 | |
e652a34a JB |
929 | >> Type C-x 1 (in the top window) to get rid of the bottom window. |
930 | ||
931 | (If you had typed C-x 1 in the bottom window, that would get rid | |
932 | of the top one. Think of this command as "Keep just one | |
933 | window--the window I am already in.") | |
934 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
935 | You do not have to display the same buffer in both windows. If you |
936 | use C-x C-f to find a file in one window, the other window does not | |
937 | change. You can find a file in each window independently. | |
e652a34a JB |
938 | |
939 | Here is another way to use two windows to display two different | |
940 | things: | |
941 | ||
942 | >> Type C-x 4 C-f followed by the name of one of your files. | |
82e312c7 | 943 | End with <Return>. See the specified file appear in the bottom |
e652a34a JB |
944 | window. The cursor goes there, too. |
945 | ||
946 | >> Type C-x o to go back to the top window, and C-x 1 to delete | |
947 | the bottom window. | |
948 | ||
949 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
950 | * RECURSIVE EDITING LEVELS |
951 | -------------------------- | |
f751376f JB |
952 | |
953 | Sometimes you will get into what is called a "recursive editing | |
954 | level". This is indicated by square brackets in the mode line, | |
955 | surrounding the parentheses around the major mode name. For | |
956 | example, you might see [(Fundamental)] instead of (Fundamental). | |
957 | ||
289e5a55 RS |
958 | To get out of the recursive editing level, type ESC ESC ESC. That is |
959 | an all-purpose "get out" command. You can also use it for eliminating | |
960 | extra windows, and getting out of the minibuffer. | |
f751376f | 961 | |
289e5a55 | 962 | >> Type M-x to get into a minibuffer; then type ESC ESC ESC to get out. |
f751376f | 963 | |
82e312c7 RS |
964 | You cannot use C-g to get out of a recursive editing level. This is |
965 | because C-g is used for canceling commands and arguments WITHIN the | |
966 | recursive editing level. | |
f751376f JB |
967 | |
968 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
969 | * GETTING MORE HELP |
970 | ------------------- | |
f751376f JB |
971 | |
972 | In this tutorial we have tried to supply just enough information to | |
973 | get you started using Emacs. There is so much available in Emacs that | |
974 | it would be impossible to explain it all here. However, you may want | |
82e312c7 RS |
975 | to learn more about Emacs since it has many other useful features. |
976 | Emacs provides commands for reading documentation about Emacs | |
977 | commands. These "help" commands all start with the character | |
1e78d347 | 978 | CONTROL-h, which is called "the Help character". |
f751376f | 979 | |
82e312c7 | 980 | To use the Help features, type the C-h character, and then a |
f751376f JB |
981 | character saying what kind of help you want. If you are REALLY lost, |
982 | type C-h ? and Emacs will tell you what kinds of help it can give. | |
82e312c7 | 983 | If you have typed C-h and decide you do not want any help, just |
3242b6f0 | 984 | type C-g to cancel it. |
f751376f | 985 | |
1c71da93 RS |
986 | (Some sites change the meaning of the character C-h. They really |
987 | should not do this as a blanket measure for all users, so you have | |
988 | grounds to complain to the system administrator. Meanwhile, if C-h | |
989 | does not display a message about help at the bottom of the screen, try | |
8806d20f | 990 | typing the F1 key or M-x help <Return> instead.) |
1c71da93 RS |
991 | |
992 | The most basic HELP feature is C-h c. Type C-h, the character c, and | |
993 | a command character or sequence; then Emacs displays a very brief | |
f751376f JB |
994 | description of the command. |
995 | ||
dcf671d2 | 996 | >> Type C-h c C-p. |
ff7de4ee RS |
997 | |
998 | The message should be something like this: | |
f751376f JB |
999 | |
1000 | C-p runs the command previous-line | |
1001 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
1002 | This tells you the "name of the function". Function names are used |
1003 | mainly for customizing and extending Emacs. But since function names | |
1004 | are chosen to indicate what the command does, they can serve also as | |
1005 | very brief documentation--sufficient to remind you of commands you | |
1006 | have already learned. | |
f751376f JB |
1007 | |
1008 | Multi-character commands such as C-x C-s and (if you have no META or | |
bec1289c | 1009 | EDIT or ALT key) <ESC>v are also allowed after C-h c. |
f751376f | 1010 | |
82e312c7 | 1011 | To get more information about a command, use C-h k instead of C-h c. |
f751376f | 1012 | |
dcf671d2 | 1013 | >> Type C-h k C-p. |
f751376f | 1014 | |
10a4c11f JB |
1015 | This displays the documentation of the function, as well as its |
1016 | name, in an Emacs window. When you are finished reading the | |
1017 | output, type C-x 1 to get rid of the help text. You do not have | |
1018 | to do this right away. You can do some editing while referring | |
82e312c7 | 1019 | to the help text, and then type C-x 1. |
f751376f JB |
1020 | |
1021 | Here are some other useful C-h options: | |
1022 | ||
1023 | C-h f Describe a function. You type in the name of the | |
1024 | function. | |
1025 | ||
1026 | >> Try typing C-h f previous-line<Return>. | |
fafee579 | 1027 | This displays all the information Emacs has about the |
3242b6f0 | 1028 | function which implements the C-p command. |
f751376f | 1029 | |
fafee579 | 1030 | A similar command C-h v displays the documentation of variables whose |
ee31752e EZ |
1031 | values you can set to customize Emacs behavior. You need to type in |
1032 | the name of the variable when Emacs prompts for it. | |
1033 | ||
f751376f JB |
1034 | C-h a Command Apropos. Type in a keyword and Emacs will list |
1035 | all the commands whose names contain that keyword. | |
1e78d347 | 1036 | These commands can all be invoked with META-x. |
f751376f | 1037 | For some commands, Command Apropos will also list a one |
bec1289c | 1038 | or two character sequence which runs the same command. |
f751376f | 1039 | |
10a4c11f JB |
1040 | >> Type C-h a file<Return>. |
1041 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
1042 | This displays in another window a list of all M-x commands with "file" |
1043 | in their names. You will see character-commands like C-x C-f listed | |
1044 | beside the corresponding command names such as find-file. | |
10a4c11f JB |
1045 | |
1046 | >> Type C-M-v to scroll the help window. Do this a few times. | |
1047 | ||
1048 | >> Type C-x 1 to delete the help window. | |
f751376f | 1049 | |
ee31752e EZ |
1050 | C-h i Read On-line Manuals (a.k.a. Info). This command puts |
1051 | you into a special buffer called `*info*' where you | |
1052 | can read on-line manuals for the packages installed on | |
1053 | your system. Type m emacs <Return> to read the Emacs | |
1054 | manual. If you have never before used Info, type ? | |
1055 | and Emacs will take you on a guided tour of Info mode | |
1056 | facilities. Once you are through with this tutorial, | |
1057 | you should consult the Emacs Info manual as your | |
1058 | primary documentation. | |
1059 | ||
f751376f | 1060 | |
da40fe46 RS |
1061 | * MORE FEATURES |
1062 | --------------- | |
1063 | ||
1064 | You can learn more about Emacs by reading its manual, either as a book | |
1065 | or on-line in Info (use the Help menu or type F10 h r). Two features | |
1066 | that you may like especially are completion, which saves typing, and | |
1067 | dired, which simplifies file handling. | |
1068 | ||
1069 | Completion is a way to avoid unnecessary typing. For instance, if you | |
1070 | want to switch to the *Messages* buffer, you can type C-x b *M<Tab> | |
1071 | and Emacs will fill in the rest of the buffer name as far as it can | |
1072 | determine from what you have already typed. Completion is described | |
1073 | in Info in the Emacs manual in the node called "Completion". | |
1074 | ||
1075 | Dired enables you to list files in a directory (and optionally its | |
1076 | subdirectories), move around that list, visit, rename, delete and | |
1077 | otherwise operate on the files. Dired is described in Info in the | |
1078 | Emacs manual in the node called "Dired". | |
1079 | ||
1080 | The manual also describes many other Emacs features. | |
1081 | ||
1082 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
1083 | * CONCLUSION |
1084 | ------------ | |
f751376f JB |
1085 | |
1086 | Remember, to exit Emacs permanently use C-x C-c. To exit to a shell | |
82e312c7 | 1087 | temporarily, so that you can come back to Emacs afterward, use C-z. |
f751376f JB |
1088 | |
1089 | This tutorial is meant to be understandable to all new users, so if | |
1090 | you found something unclear, don't sit and blame yourself - complain! | |
1091 | ||
1092 | ||
5577e2b2 KH |
1093 | * COPYING |
1094 | --------- | |
f751376f JB |
1095 | |
1096 | This tutorial descends from a long line of Emacs tutorials | |
1097 | starting with the one written by Stuart Cracraft for the original Emacs. | |
1098 | ||
1099 | This version of the tutorial, like GNU Emacs, is copyrighted, and | |
1100 | comes with permission to distribute copies on certain conditions: | |
1101 | ||
bbe4fd22 | 1102 | Copyright (c) 1985, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002 Free Software Foundation |
f751376f JB |
1103 | |
1104 | Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies | |
1105 | of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the | |
1106 | copyright notice and permission notice are preserved, | |
1107 | and that the distributor grants the recipient permission | |
1108 | for further redistribution as permitted by this notice. | |
1109 | ||
1110 | Permission is granted to distribute modified versions | |
1111 | of this document, or of portions of it, | |
1112 | under the above conditions, provided also that they | |
1113 | carry prominent notices stating who last altered them. | |
1114 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
1115 | The conditions for copying Emacs itself are more complex, but in the |
1116 | same spirit. Please read the file COPYING and then do give copies of | |
1117 | GNU Emacs to your friends. Help stamp out software obstructionism | |
1118 | ("ownership") by using, writing, and sharing free software! |