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4873755c | 1 | Emacs tutorial. See end for copying conditions. |
f751376f | 2 | |
1869e50a KH |
3 | Emacs commands generally involve the CONTROL key (sometimes labeled |
4 | CTRL or CTL) or the META key (sometimes labeled EDIT or ALT). Rather than | |
4a3142d2 | 5 | write that in full each time, we'll use the following abbreviations: |
f751376f JB |
6 | |
7 | C-<chr> means hold the CONTROL key while typing the character <chr> | |
8 | Thus, C-f would be: hold the CONTROL key and type f. | |
8a4aff68 | 9 | M-<chr> means hold the META or EDIT or ALT key down while typing <chr>. |
4a3142d2 KH |
10 | If there is no META, EDIT or ALT key, instead press and release the |
11 | ESC key and then type <chr>. We write <ESC> for the ESC key. | |
f751376f JB |
12 | |
13 | Important note: to end the Emacs session, type C-x C-c. (Two characters.) | |
15f54450 | 14 | To quit a partially entered command, type C-g. |
f751376f JB |
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] | |
95486d46 | 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 |
f751376f JB |
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 | |
95486d46 | 33 | >> Try typing M-v and then C-v, a few times. |
f751376f JB |
34 | |
35 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
36 | * SUMMARY |
37 | --------- | |
f751376f JB |
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 | |
45ea35bf GM |
48 | >> Find the cursor, and note what text is near it. Then type C-l. |
49 | Find the cursor again and notice that the same text is still near | |
50 | the cursor, but now it is in the center of the screen. | |
51 | If you press C-l again, this piece of text will move to the top of | |
52 | the screen. Press C-l again, and it moves to the bottom. | |
f751376f | 53 | |
3d9a3367 RS |
54 | You can also use the PageUp and PageDn keys to move by screenfuls, if |
55 | your terminal has them, but you can edit more efficiently if you use | |
56 | C-v and M-v. | |
49a8a2f5 | 57 | |
f751376f | 58 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
59 | * BASIC CURSOR CONTROL |
60 | ---------------------- | |
f751376f | 61 | |
82e312c7 RS |
62 | Moving from screenful to screenful is useful, but how do you |
63 | move to a specific place within the text on the screen? | |
64 | ||
49a8a2f5 RS |
65 | There are several ways you can do this. You can use the arrow keys, |
66 | but it's more efficient to keep your hands in the standard position | |
67 | and use the commands C-p, C-b, C-f, and C-n. These characters | |
68 | are equivalent to the four arrow keys, like this: | |
177c0ea7 | 69 | |
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70 | Previous line, C-p |
71 | : | |
72 | : | |
73 | Backward, C-b .... Current cursor position .... Forward, C-f | |
74 | : | |
75 | : | |
82e312c7 | 76 | Next line, C-n |
f751376f JB |
77 | |
78 | >> Move the cursor to the line in the middle of that diagram | |
82e312c7 RS |
79 | using C-n or C-p. Then type C-l to see the whole diagram |
80 | centered in the screen. | |
f751376f | 81 | |
49a8a2f5 RS |
82 | You'll find it easy to remember these letters by words they stand for: |
83 | P for previous, N for next, B for backward and F for forward. You | |
84 | will be using these basic cursor positioning commands all the time. | |
f751376f JB |
85 | |
86 | >> Do a few C-n's to bring the cursor down to this line. | |
87 | ||
88 | >> Move into the line with C-f's and then up with C-p's. | |
89 | See what C-p does when the cursor is in the middle of the line. | |
90 | ||
5b85892b | 91 | Each line of text ends with a Newline character, which serves to |
45ea35bf GM |
92 | separate it from the following line. (Normally, the last line in |
93 | a file will have a Newline at the end, but Emacs does not require it.) | |
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 | |
f751376f JB |
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. | |
f751376f JB |
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. | |
f751376f JB |
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: | |
f751376f JB |
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. | |
f751376f JB |
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, | |
95486d46 MW |
212 | they scroll the text up or down by that many lines, rather than by a |
213 | screenful. For example, C-u 8 C-v scrolls by 8 lines. | |
f751376f JB |
214 | |
215 | >> Try typing C-u 8 C-v now. | |
216 | ||
95486d46 | 217 | This should have scrolled the text up by 8 lines. If you would like |
82e312c7 | 218 | to scroll it down again, you can give an argument to M-v. |
f751376f | 219 | |
107ddb97 | 220 | If you are using a graphical display, such as X or MS-Windows, there |
45ea35bf | 221 | should be a tall rectangular area called a scroll bar on one side of |
107ddb97 CY |
222 | the Emacs window. You can scroll the text by clicking the mouse in |
223 | the scroll bar. | |
b0874bbd | 224 | |
45ea35bf | 225 | If your mouse has a wheel button, you can also use this to scroll. |
f751376f | 226 | |
45ea35bf GM |
227 | |
228 | * IF EMACS STOPS RESPONDING | |
229 | --------------------------- | |
f751376f | 230 | |
82e312c7 RS |
231 | If Emacs stops responding to your commands, you can stop it safely by |
232 | typing C-g. You can use C-g to stop a command which is taking too | |
233 | long to execute. | |
234 | ||
f751376f | 235 | You can also use C-g to discard a numeric argument or the beginning of |
82e312c7 | 236 | a command that you do not want to finish. |
f751376f | 237 | |
45ea35bf | 238 | >> Type C-u 100 to make a numeric argument of 100, then type C-g. |
107ddb97 CY |
239 | Now type C-f. It should move just one character, because you |
240 | canceled the argument with C-g. | |
f751376f | 241 | |
45ea35bf | 242 | If you have typed an <ESC> by mistake, you can get rid of it with a C-g. |
335b1952 | 243 | |
82e312c7 RS |
244 | |
245 | * DISABLED COMMANDS | |
246 | ------------------- | |
247 | ||
248 | Some Emacs commands are "disabled" so that beginning users cannot use | |
249 | them by accident. | |
250 | ||
251 | If you type one of the disabled commands, Emacs displays a message | |
252 | saying what the command was, and asking you whether you want to go | |
253 | ahead and execute the command. | |
254 | ||
41835686 LK |
255 | If you really want to try the command, type <SPC> (the Space bar) in |
256 | answer to the question. Normally, if you do not want to execute the | |
257 | disabled command, answer the question with "n". | |
82e312c7 | 258 | |
70f4a594 | 259 | >> Type C-x C-l (which is a disabled command), |
82e312c7 | 260 | then type n to answer the question. |
f751376f JB |
261 | |
262 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
263 | * WINDOWS |
264 | --------- | |
f751376f | 265 | |
107ddb97 CY |
266 | Emacs can have several "windows", each displaying its own text. We |
267 | will explain later on how to use multiple windows. Right now we want | |
268 | to explain how to get rid of extra windows and go back to basic | |
82e312c7 | 269 | one-window editing. It is simple: |
f751376f JB |
270 | |
271 | C-x 1 One window (i.e., kill all other windows). | |
272 | ||
1e78d347 | 273 | That is CONTROL-x followed by the digit 1. C-x 1 expands the window |
82e312c7 RS |
274 | which contains the cursor, to occupy the full screen. It deletes all |
275 | other windows. | |
f751376f JB |
276 | |
277 | >> Move the cursor to this line and type C-u 0 C-l. | |
107ddb97 | 278 | >> Type C-h k C-f. |
f751376f | 279 | See how this window shrinks, while a new one appears |
107ddb97 | 280 | to display documentation on the C-f command. |
f751376f JB |
281 | |
282 | >> Type C-x 1 and see the documentation listing window disappear. | |
283 | ||
1e78d347 | 284 | There is a whole series of commands that start with CONTROL-x; many of |
8806d20f RS |
285 | them have to do with windows, files, buffers, and related things. |
286 | These commands are two, three or four characters long. | |
287 | ||
f751376f | 288 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
289 | * INSERTING AND DELETING |
290 | ------------------------ | |
f751376f | 291 | |
107ddb97 CY |
292 | If you want to insert text, just type the text. Ordinary characters, |
293 | like A, 7, *, etc., are inserted as you type them. To insert a | |
294 | Newline character, type <Return> (this is the key on the keyboard | |
295 | which is sometimes labeled "Enter"). | |
50d326a4 | 296 | |
861df977 | 297 | To delete the character immediately before the current cursor |
107ddb97 CY |
298 | position, type <DEL>. This is the key on the keyboard usually labeled |
299 | "Backspace"--the same one you normally use, outside Emacs, to delete | |
300 | the last character typed. | |
d6635fa1 | 301 | |
107ddb97 CY |
302 | There may also be another key on your keyboard labeled <Delete>, but |
303 | that's not the one we refer to as <DEL>. | |
f751376f | 304 | |
107ddb97 CY |
305 | >> Do this now--type a few characters, then delete them by |
306 | typing <DEL> a few times. Don't worry about this file | |
307 | being changed; you will not alter the master tutorial. | |
308 | This is your personal copy of it. | |
82e312c7 RS |
309 | |
310 | When a line of text gets too big for one line on the screen, the line | |
107ddb97 CY |
311 | of text is "continued" onto a second screen line. If you're using a |
312 | graphical display, little curved arrows appear in the narrow spaces on | |
313 | each side of the text area (the left and right "fringes"), to indicate | |
314 | where a line has been continued. If you're using a text terminal, the | |
315 | continued line is indicated by a backslash ("\") on the rightmost | |
316 | screen column. | |
82e312c7 RS |
317 | |
318 | >> Insert text until you reach the right margin, and keep on inserting. | |
319 | You'll see a continuation line appear. | |
320 | ||
107ddb97 | 321 | >> Use <DEL>s to delete the text until the line fits on one screen |
f751376f JB |
322 | line again. The continuation line goes away. |
323 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
324 | You can delete a Newline character just like any other character. |
325 | Deleting the Newline character between two lines merges them into | |
326 | one line. If the resulting combined line is too long to fit in the | |
327 | screen width, it will be displayed with a continuation line. | |
328 | ||
107ddb97 | 329 | >> Move the cursor to the beginning of a line and type <DEL>. This |
82e312c7 RS |
330 | merges that line with the previous line. |
331 | ||
f751376f JB |
332 | >> Type <Return> to reinsert the Newline you deleted. |
333 | ||
334 | Remember that most Emacs commands can be given a repeat count; | |
82e312c7 RS |
335 | this includes text characters. Repeating a text character inserts |
336 | it several times. | |
f751376f | 337 | |
95486d46 | 338 | >> Try that now -- type C-u 8 * to insert ********. |
f751376f JB |
339 | |
340 | You've now learned the most basic way of typing something in | |
341 | Emacs and correcting errors. You can delete by words or lines | |
342 | as well. Here is a summary of the delete operations: | |
343 | ||
107ddb97 | 344 | <DEL> Delete the character just before the cursor |
41835686 | 345 | C-d Delete the next character after the cursor |
f751376f | 346 | |
107ddb97 | 347 | M-<DEL> Kill the word immediately before the cursor |
41835686 | 348 | M-d Kill the next word after the cursor |
f751376f | 349 | |
41835686 LK |
350 | C-k Kill from the cursor position to end of line |
351 | M-k Kill to the end of the current sentence | |
f751376f | 352 | |
107ddb97 CY |
353 | Notice that <DEL> and C-d vs M-<DEL> and M-d extend the parallel |
354 | started by C-f and M-f (well, <DEL> is not really a control character, | |
355 | but let's not worry about that). C-k and M-k are like C-e and M-e, | |
356 | sort of, in that lines are paired with sentences. | |
f751376f | 357 | |
107ddb97 CY |
358 | You can also kill a segment of text with one uniform method. Move to |
359 | one end of that part, and type C-<SPC>. (<SPC> is the Space bar.) | |
360 | Next, move the cursor to the other end of the text you intend to kill. | |
361 | As you do this, Emacs highlights the text between the cursor and the | |
362 | position where you typed C-<SPC>. Finally, type C-w. This kills all | |
363 | the text between the two positions. | |
6f311043 KH |
364 | |
365 | >> Move the cursor to the Y at the start of the previous paragraph. | |
41835686 | 366 | >> Type C-<SPC>. Emacs should display a message "Mark set" |
6f311043 KH |
367 | at the bottom of the screen. |
368 | >> Move the cursor to the n in "end", on the second line of the | |
369 | paragraph. | |
370 | >> Type C-w. This will kill the text starting from the Y, | |
371 | and ending just before the n. | |
372 | ||
5b85892b | 373 | The difference between "killing" and "deleting" is that "killed" text |
45ea35bf GM |
374 | can be reinserted (at any position), whereas "deleted" things cannot |
375 | be reinserted in this way (you can, however, undo a deletion--see below). | |
5b85892b | 376 | Reinsertion of killed text is called "yanking". Generally, the |
45ea35bf | 377 | commands that can remove a lot of text kill the text (they are set up so |
5b85892b | 378 | that you can yank the text), while the commands that remove just one |
3d9a3367 | 379 | character, or only remove blank lines and spaces, do deletion (so you |
5d7d5e5d | 380 | cannot yank that text). <DEL> and C-d do deletion in the simplest |
616faee5 | 381 | case, with no argument. When given an argument, they kill instead. |
f751376f | 382 | |
107ddb97 | 383 | >> Move the cursor to the beginning of a line which is not empty. |
82e312c7 RS |
384 | Then type C-k to kill the text on that line. |
385 | >> Type C-k a second time. You'll see that it kills the Newline | |
386 | which follows that line. | |
f751376f JB |
387 | |
388 | Note that a single C-k kills the contents of the line, and a second | |
6f108a37 | 389 | C-k kills the line itself, and makes all the other lines move up. C-k |
82e312c7 RS |
390 | treats a numeric argument specially: it kills that many lines AND |
391 | their contents. This is not mere repetition. C-u 2 C-k kills two | |
392 | lines and their newlines; typing C-k twice would not do that. | |
f751376f | 393 | |
107ddb97 CY |
394 | Reinserting killed text is called "yanking". (Think of it as yanking |
395 | back, or pulling back, some text that was taken away.) You can yank | |
396 | the killed text either at the same place where it was killed, or at | |
397 | some other place in the text you are editing, or even in a different | |
398 | file. You can yank the same text several times; that makes multiple | |
399 | copies of it. Some other editors call killing and yanking "cutting" | |
400 | and "pasting" (see the Glossary in the Emacs manual). | |
5b85892b RS |
401 | |
402 | The command for yanking is C-y. It reinserts the last killed text, | |
403 | at the current cursor position. | |
f751376f JB |
404 | |
405 | >> Try it; type C-y to yank the text back. | |
406 | ||
5b85892b RS |
407 | If you do several C-k's in a row, all of the killed text is saved |
408 | together, so that one C-y will yank all of the lines at once. | |
f751376f JB |
409 | |
410 | >> Do this now, type C-k several times. | |
411 | ||
412 | Now to retrieve that killed text: | |
413 | ||
414 | >> Type C-y. Then move the cursor down a few lines and type C-y | |
415 | again. You now see how to copy some text. | |
416 | ||
417 | What do you do if you have some text you want to yank back, and then | |
418 | you kill something else? C-y would yank the more recent kill. But | |
419 | the previous text is not lost. You can get back to it using the M-y | |
420 | command. After you have done C-y to get the most recent kill, typing | |
bec1289c | 421 | M-y replaces that yanked text with the previous kill. Typing M-y |
82e312c7 RS |
422 | again and again brings in earlier and earlier kills. When you have |
423 | reached the text you are looking for, you do not have to do anything to | |
424 | keep it. Just go on with your editing, leaving the yanked text where | |
425 | it is. | |
426 | ||
427 | If you M-y enough times, you come back to the starting point (the most | |
428 | recent kill). | |
f751376f JB |
429 | |
430 | >> Kill a line, move around, kill another line. | |
431 | Then do C-y to get back the second killed line. | |
432 | Then do M-y and it will be replaced by the first killed line. | |
433 | Do more M-y's and see what you get. Keep doing them until | |
434 | the second kill line comes back, and then a few more. | |
435 | If you like, you can try giving M-y positive and negative | |
436 | arguments. | |
437 | ||
438 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
439 | * UNDO |
440 | ------ | |
f751376f | 441 | |
82e312c7 | 442 | If you make a change to the text, and then decide that it was a |
107ddb97 | 443 | mistake, you can undo the change with the undo command, C-/. |
82e312c7 | 444 | |
107ddb97 CY |
445 | Normally, C-/ undoes the changes made by one command; if you repeat |
446 | C-/ several times in a row, each repetition undoes one more command. | |
82e312c7 | 447 | |
107ddb97 CY |
448 | But there are two exceptions: commands that do not change the text |
449 | don't count (this includes cursor motion commands and scrolling | |
45ea35bf | 450 | commands), and self-inserting characters are usually handled in groups |
107ddb97 CY |
451 | of up to 20. (This is to reduce the number of C-/'s you have to type |
452 | to undo insertion of text.) | |
f751376f | 453 | |
107ddb97 | 454 | >> Kill this line with C-k, then type C-/ and it should reappear. |
f751376f | 455 | |
107ddb97 CY |
456 | C-_ is an alternative undo command; it works exactly the same as C-/. |
457 | On some text terminals, typing C-/ actually sends C-_ to Emacs. | |
458 | Alternatively, C-x u also works exactly like C-/, but is a little less | |
459 | convenient to type. | |
f751376f | 460 | |
107ddb97 | 461 | A numeric argument to C-/, C-_, or C-x u acts as a repeat count. |
f751376f | 462 | |
5b85892b RS |
463 | You can undo deletion of text just as you can undo killing of text. |
464 | The distinction between killing something and deleting it affects | |
465 | whether you can yank it with C-y; it makes no difference for undo. | |
466 | ||
f751376f | 467 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
468 | * FILES |
469 | ------- | |
f751376f JB |
470 | |
471 | In order to make the text you edit permanent, you must put it in a | |
107ddb97 CY |
472 | file. Otherwise, it will go away when you exit Emacs. In order to |
473 | put your text in a file, you must "find" the file before you enter the | |
474 | text. (This is also called "visiting" the file.) | |
82e312c7 RS |
475 | |
476 | Finding a file means that you see the contents of the file within | |
477 | Emacs. In many ways, it is as if you were editing the file itself. | |
478 | However, the changes you make using Emacs do not become permanent | |
479 | until you "save" the file. This is so you can avoid leaving a | |
480 | half-changed file on the system when you do not want to. Even when | |
481 | you save, Emacs leaves the original file under a changed name in case | |
482 | you later decide that your changes were a mistake. | |
f751376f JB |
483 | |
484 | If you look near the bottom of the screen you will see a line that | |
107ddb97 | 485 | begins with dashes, and starts with " -:--- TUTORIAL" or something |
3f12b18c | 486 | like that. This part of the screen normally shows the name of the |
107ddb97 CY |
487 | file that you are visiting. Right now, you are visiting your personal |
488 | copy of the Emacs tutorial, which is called "TUTORIAL". When you find | |
489 | a file with Emacs, that file's name will appear in that precise spot. | |
f751376f | 490 | |
8806d20f RS |
491 | One special thing about the command for finding a file is that you |
492 | have to say what file name you want. We say the command "reads an | |
107ddb97 CY |
493 | argument" (in this case, the argument is the name of the file). After |
494 | you type the command | |
f751376f JB |
495 | |
496 | C-x C-f Find a file | |
497 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
498 | Emacs asks you to type the file name. The file name you type appears |
499 | on the bottom line of the screen. The bottom line is called the | |
500 | minibuffer when it is used for this sort of input. You can use | |
501 | ordinary Emacs editing commands to edit the file name. | |
502 | ||
503 | While you are entering the file name (or any minibuffer input), | |
504 | you can cancel the command with C-g. | |
f751376f JB |
505 | |
506 | >> Type C-x C-f, then type C-g. This cancels the minibuffer, | |
507 | and also cancels the C-x C-f command that was using the | |
508 | minibuffer. So you do not find any file. | |
509 | ||
82e312c7 | 510 | When you have finished entering the file name, type <Return> to |
107ddb97 CY |
511 | terminate it. The minibuffer disappears, and the C-x C-f command goes |
512 | to work to find the file you chose. | |
82e312c7 | 513 | |
107ddb97 CY |
514 | The file contents now appear on the screen, and you can edit the |
515 | contents. When you wish to make your changes permanent, type the | |
516 | command | |
f751376f JB |
517 | |
518 | C-x C-s Save the file | |
519 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
520 | This copies the text within Emacs into the file. The first time you |
521 | do this, Emacs renames the original file to a new name so that it is | |
522 | not lost. The new name is made by adding "~" to the end of the | |
95486d46 MW |
523 | original file's name. When saving is finished, Emacs displays the |
524 | name of the file written. | |
f751376f | 525 | |
107ddb97 CY |
526 | >> Type C-x C-s TUTORIAL <Return>. |
527 | This should save this tutorial to a file named TUTORIAL, and show | |
528 | "Wrote ...TUTORIAL" at the bottom of the screen. | |
f751376f | 529 | |
82e312c7 RS |
530 | You can find an existing file, to view it or edit it. You can also |
531 | find a file which does not already exist. This is the way to create a | |
95486d46 MW |
532 | file with Emacs: find the file, which starts out empty, and then begin |
533 | inserting the text for the file. When you ask to "save" the file, | |
534 | Emacs actually creates the file with the text that you have inserted. | |
535 | From then on, you can consider yourself to be editing an already | |
536 | existing file. | |
f751376f JB |
537 | |
538 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
539 | * BUFFERS |
540 | --------- | |
f751376f JB |
541 | |
542 | If you find a second file with C-x C-f, the first file remains | |
543 | inside Emacs. You can switch back to it by finding it again with | |
544 | C-x C-f. This way you can get quite a number of files inside Emacs. | |
545 | ||
73635959 | 546 | Emacs stores each file's text inside an object called a "buffer". |
82e312c7 | 547 | Finding a file makes a new buffer inside Emacs. To see a list of the |
107ddb97 | 548 | buffers that currently exist, type |
f751376f JB |
549 | |
550 | C-x C-b List buffers | |
551 | ||
552 | >> Try C-x C-b now. | |
553 | ||
8d60818b RS |
554 | See how each buffer has a name, and it may also have a file name for |
555 | the file whose contents it holds. ANY text you see in an Emacs window | |
82e312c7 | 556 | is always part of some buffer. |
f751376f JB |
557 | |
558 | >> Type C-x 1 to get rid of the buffer list. | |
559 | ||
f458a8e0 | 560 | When you have several buffers, only one of them is "current" at any |
8d60818b RS |
561 | time. That buffer is the one you edit. If you want to edit another |
562 | buffer, you need to "switch" to it. If you want to switch to a buffer | |
563 | that corresponds to a file, you can do it by visiting the file again | |
564 | with C-x C-f. But there is an easier way: use the C-x b command. | |
565 | In that command, you have to type the buffer's name. | |
566 | ||
107ddb97 CY |
567 | >> Create a file named "foo" by typing C-x C-f foo <Return>. |
568 | Then type C-x b TUTORIAL <Return> to come back to this tutorial. | |
8d60818b RS |
569 | |
570 | Most of the time, the buffer's name is the same as the file name | |
571 | (without the file directory part). However, this is not always true. | |
107ddb97 CY |
572 | The buffer list you make with C-x C-b shows you both the buffer name |
573 | and the file name of every buffer. | |
8d60818b | 574 | |
107ddb97 CY |
575 | Some buffers do not correspond to files. The buffer named |
576 | "*Buffer List*", which contains the buffer list that you made with | |
577 | C-x C-b, does not have any file. This TUTORIAL buffer initially did | |
578 | not have a file, but now it does, because in the previous section you | |
579 | typed C-x C-s and saved it to a file. | |
580 | ||
581 | The buffer named "*Messages*" also does not correspond to any file. | |
582 | This buffer contains the messages that have appeared on the bottom | |
583 | line during your Emacs session. | |
8d60818b RS |
584 | |
585 | >> Type C-x b *Messages* <Return> to look at the buffer of messages. | |
ff7de4ee | 586 | Then type C-x b TUTORIAL <Return> to come back to this tutorial. |
8d60818b | 587 | |
f751376f JB |
588 | If you make changes to the text of one file, then find another file, |
589 | this does not save the first file. Its changes remain inside Emacs, | |
590 | in that file's buffer. The creation or editing of the second file's | |
591 | buffer has no effect on the first file's buffer. This is very useful, | |
592 | but it also means that you need a convenient way to save the first | |
95486d46 MW |
593 | file's buffer. Having to switch back to that buffer, in order to save |
594 | it with C-x C-s, would be a nuisance. So we have | |
f751376f JB |
595 | |
596 | C-x s Save some buffers | |
597 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
598 | C-x s asks you about each buffer which contains changes that you have |
599 | not saved. It asks you, for each such buffer, whether to save the | |
600 | buffer. | |
f751376f | 601 | |
82e312c7 RS |
602 | >> Insert a line of text, then type C-x s. |
603 | It should ask you whether to save the buffer named TUTORIAL. | |
604 | Answer yes to the question by typing "y". | |
f751376f | 605 | |
5577e2b2 | 606 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
607 | * EXTENDING THE COMMAND SET |
608 | --------------------------- | |
f751376f JB |
609 | |
610 | There are many, many more Emacs commands than could possibly be put | |
611 | on all the control and meta characters. Emacs gets around this with | |
612 | the X (eXtend) command. This comes in two flavors: | |
613 | ||
614 | C-x Character eXtend. Followed by one character. | |
615 | M-x Named command eXtend. Followed by a long name. | |
616 | ||
45ea35bf | 617 | These are commands that are generally useful but are used less than the |
41835686 LK |
618 | commands you have already learned about. You have already seen a few |
619 | of them: the file commands C-x C-f to Find and C-x C-s to Save, for | |
620 | example. Another example is the command to end the Emacs | |
621 | session--this is the command C-x C-c. (Do not worry about losing | |
622 | changes you have made; C-x C-c offers to save each changed file before | |
45ea35bf | 623 | it kills Emacs.) |
f751376f | 624 | |
107ddb97 CY |
625 | If you are using a graphical display, you don't need any special |
626 | command to move from Emacs to another application. You can do this | |
627 | with the mouse or with window manager commands. However, if you're | |
628 | using a text terminal which can only show one application at a time, | |
95486d46 | 629 | you need to "suspend" Emacs to move to any other application. |
82e312c7 | 630 | |
288b9df9 RS |
631 | C-z is the command to exit Emacs *temporarily*--so that you can go |
632 | back to the same Emacs session afterward. When Emacs is running on a | |
633 | text terminal, C-z "suspends" Emacs; that is, it returns to the shell | |
107ddb97 CY |
634 | but does not destroy the Emacs job. In the most common shells, you |
635 | can resume Emacs with the `fg' command or with `%emacs'. | |
e7662099 RS |
636 | |
637 | The time to use C-x C-c is when you are about to log out. It's also | |
95486d46 MW |
638 | the right thing to use to exit an Emacs invoked for a quick edit, such |
639 | as by a mail handling utility. | |
f751376f | 640 | |
82e312c7 | 641 | There are many C-x commands. Here is a list of the ones you have learned: |
f751376f | 642 | |
41835686 LK |
643 | C-x C-f Find file |
644 | C-x C-s Save file | |
645 | C-x s Save some buffers | |
646 | C-x C-b List buffers | |
647 | C-x b Switch buffer | |
648 | C-x C-c Quit Emacs | |
649 | C-x 1 Delete all but one window | |
650 | C-x u Undo | |
f751376f JB |
651 | |
652 | Named eXtended commands are commands which are used even less | |
82e312c7 | 653 | frequently, or commands which are used only in certain modes. An |
95486d46 MW |
654 | example is the command replace-string, which replaces one string with |
655 | another in the buffer. When you type M-x, Emacs prompts you at the | |
82e312c7 RS |
656 | bottom of the screen with M-x and you should type the name of the |
657 | command; in this case, "replace-string". Just type "repl s<TAB>" and | |
dcb14dc0 | 658 | Emacs will complete the name. (<TAB> is the Tab key, usually found |
2f6e6410 | 659 | above the CapsLock or Shift key near the left edge of the keyboard.) |
107ddb97 | 660 | Submit the command name with <Return>. |
82e312c7 RS |
661 | |
662 | The replace-string command requires two arguments--the string to be | |
663 | replaced, and the string to replace it with. You must end each | |
664 | argument with <Return>. | |
f751376f JB |
665 | |
666 | >> Move the cursor to the blank line two lines below this one. | |
667 | Then type M-x repl s<Return>changed<Return>altered<Return>. | |
668 | ||
95486d46 MW |
669 | Notice how this line has changed: you've replaced the word |
670 | "changed" with "altered" wherever it occurred, after the | |
671 | initial position of the cursor. | |
f751376f JB |
672 | |
673 | ||
4a630427 RS |
674 | * AUTO SAVE |
675 | ----------- | |
676 | ||
677 | When you have made changes in a file, but you have not saved them yet, | |
678 | they could be lost if your computer crashes. To protect you from | |
82e312c7 RS |
679 | this, Emacs periodically writes an "auto save" file for each file that |
680 | you are editing. The auto save file name has a # at the beginning and | |
681 | the end; for example, if your file is named "hello.c", its auto save | |
682 | file's name is "#hello.c#". When you save the file in the normal way, | |
683 | Emacs deletes its auto save file. | |
4a630427 RS |
684 | |
685 | If the computer crashes, you can recover your auto-saved editing by | |
686 | finding the file normally (the file you were editing, not the auto | |
45ea35bf | 687 | save file) and then typing M-x recover-file <Return>. When it asks for |
73635959 | 688 | confirmation, type yes<Return> to go ahead and recover the auto-save |
4a630427 RS |
689 | data. |
690 | ||
691 | ||
82e312c7 | 692 | * ECHO AREA |
26dc36e6 | 693 | ----------- |
f751376f | 694 | |
e64159dd RS |
695 | If Emacs sees that you are typing multicharacter commands slowly, it |
696 | shows them to you at the bottom of the screen in an area called the | |
697 | "echo area". The echo area contains the bottom line of the screen. | |
f751376f | 698 | |
f751376f | 699 | |
82e312c7 RS |
700 | * MODE LINE |
701 | ----------- | |
702 | ||
e64159dd | 703 | The line immediately above the echo area is called the "mode line". |
82e312c7 RS |
704 | The mode line says something like this: |
705 | ||
107ddb97 | 706 | -:**- TUTORIAL 63% L749 (Fundamental) |
82e312c7 RS |
707 | |
708 | This line gives useful information about the status of Emacs and | |
709 | the text you are editing. | |
f751376f JB |
710 | |
711 | You already know what the filename means--it is the file you have | |
107ddb97 CY |
712 | found. NN% indicates your current position in the buffer text; it |
713 | means that NN percent of the buffer is above the top of the screen. | |
714 | If the top of the buffer is on the screen, it will say "Top" instead | |
715 | of " 0%". If the bottom of the buffer is on the screen, it will say | |
716 | "Bot". If you are looking at a buffer so small that all of it fits on | |
717 | the screen, the mode line says "All". | |
f751376f | 718 | |
dcf671d2 GM |
719 | The L and digits indicate position in another way: they give the |
720 | current line number of point. | |
721 | ||
f751376f | 722 | The stars near the front mean that you have made changes to the text. |
82e312c7 RS |
723 | Right after you visit or save a file, that part of the mode line shows |
724 | no stars, just dashes. | |
f751376f JB |
725 | |
726 | The part of the mode line inside the parentheses is to tell you what | |
82e312c7 | 727 | editing modes you are in. The default mode is Fundamental which is |
177c0ea7 | 728 | what you are using now. It is an example of a "major mode". |
82e312c7 RS |
729 | |
730 | Emacs has many different major modes. Some of them are meant for | |
bec1289c | 731 | editing different languages and/or kinds of text, such as Lisp mode, |
82e312c7 RS |
732 | Text mode, etc. At any time one and only one major mode is active, |
733 | and its name can always be found in the mode line just where | |
734 | "Fundamental" is now. | |
735 | ||
736 | Each major mode makes a few commands behave differently. For example, | |
737 | there are commands for creating comments in a program, and since each | |
738 | programming language has a different idea of what a comment should | |
739 | look like, each major mode has to insert comments differently. Each | |
740 | major mode is the name of an extended command, which is how you can | |
bec1289c | 741 | switch to that mode. For example, M-x fundamental-mode is a command to |
82e312c7 | 742 | switch to Fundamental mode. |
f751376f | 743 | |
ab380f51 | 744 | If you are going to be editing human-language text, such as this file, you |
f751376f | 745 | should probably use Text Mode. |
41835686 | 746 | |
45ea35bf | 747 | >> Type M-x text-mode <Return>. |
f751376f | 748 | |
45ea35bf | 749 | Don't worry, none of the Emacs commands you have learned changes in |
82e312c7 RS |
750 | any great way. But you can observe that M-f and M-b now treat |
751 | apostrophes as part of words. Previously, in Fundamental mode, | |
752 | M-f and M-b treated apostrophes as word-separators. | |
f751376f | 753 | |
82e312c7 RS |
754 | Major modes usually make subtle changes like that one: most commands |
755 | do "the same job" in each major mode, but they work a little bit | |
756 | differently. | |
757 | ||
758 | To view documentation on your current major mode, type C-h m. | |
f751376f | 759 | |
95486d46 | 760 | >> Move the cursor to the line following this line. |
107ddb97 | 761 | >> Type C-l C-l to bring this line to the top of screen. |
f751376f JB |
762 | >> Type C-h m, to see how Text mode differs from Fundamental mode. |
763 | >> Type C-x 1 to remove the documentation from the screen. | |
764 | ||
765 | Major modes are called major because there are also minor modes. | |
6f108a37 | 766 | Minor modes are not alternatives to the major modes, just minor |
bec1289c KH |
767 | modifications of them. Each minor mode can be turned on or off by |
768 | itself, independent of all other minor modes, and independent of your | |
769 | major mode. So you can use no minor modes, or one minor mode, or any | |
770 | combination of several minor modes. | |
f751376f | 771 | |
ab380f51 RS |
772 | One minor mode which is very useful, especially for editing |
773 | human-language text, is Auto Fill mode. When this mode is on, Emacs | |
774 | breaks the line in between words automatically whenever you insert | |
775 | text and make a line that is too wide. | |
82e312c7 | 776 | |
45ea35bf GM |
777 | You can turn Auto Fill mode on by doing M-x auto-fill-mode <Return>. |
778 | When the mode is on, you can turn it off again by doing | |
779 | M-x auto-fill-mode <Return>. If the mode is off, this command turns | |
780 | it on, and if the mode is on, this command turns it off. We say that | |
781 | the command "toggles the mode". | |
f751376f | 782 | |
45ea35bf | 783 | >> Type M-x auto-fill-mode <Return> now. Then insert a line of "asdf " |
f751376f JB |
784 | over again until you see it divide into two lines. You must put in |
785 | spaces between them because Auto Fill breaks lines only at spaces. | |
786 | ||
787 | The margin is usually set at 70 characters, but you can change it | |
788 | with the C-x f command. You should give the margin setting you want | |
789 | as a numeric argument. | |
790 | ||
791 | >> Type C-x f with an argument of 20. (C-u 2 0 C-x f). | |
792 | Then type in some text and see Emacs fill lines of 20 | |
793 | characters with it. Then set the margin back to 70 using | |
794 | C-x f again. | |
795 | ||
e64159dd | 796 | If you make changes in the middle of a paragraph, Auto Fill mode |
f751376f | 797 | does not re-fill it for you. |
1e78d347 | 798 | To re-fill the paragraph, type M-q (META-q) with the cursor inside |
f751376f JB |
799 | that paragraph. |
800 | ||
801 | >> Move the cursor into the previous paragraph and type M-q. | |
802 | ||
5577e2b2 | 803 | |
26dc36e6 JB |
804 | * SEARCHING |
805 | ----------- | |
f751376f | 806 | |
107ddb97 CY |
807 | Emacs can do searches for strings (a "string" is a group of contiguous |
808 | characters) either forward through the text or backward through it. | |
809 | Searching for a string is a cursor motion command; it moves the cursor | |
810 | to the next place where that string appears. | |
82e312c7 | 811 | |
45ea35bf | 812 | The Emacs search command is "incremental". This means that the |
82e312c7 RS |
813 | search happens while you type in the string to search for. |
814 | ||
815 | The command to initiate a search is C-s for forward search, and C-r | |
816 | for reverse search. BUT WAIT! Don't try them now. | |
817 | ||
818 | When you type C-s you'll notice that the string "I-search" appears as | |
819 | a prompt in the echo area. This tells you that Emacs is in what is | |
820 | called an incremental search waiting for you to type the thing that | |
8806d20f | 821 | you want to search for. <Return> terminates a search. |
f751376f JB |
822 | |
823 | >> Now type C-s to start a search. SLOWLY, one letter at a time, | |
824 | type the word 'cursor', pausing after you type each | |
825 | character to notice what happens to the cursor. | |
82e312c7 RS |
826 | Now you have searched for "cursor", once. |
827 | >> Type C-s again, to search for the next occurrence of "cursor". | |
107ddb97 | 828 | >> Now type <DEL> four times and see how the cursor moves. |
8806d20f | 829 | >> Type <Return> to terminate the search. |
f751376f JB |
830 | |
831 | Did you see what happened? Emacs, in an incremental search, tries to | |
82e312c7 RS |
832 | go to the occurrence of the string that you've typed out so far. To |
833 | go to the next occurrence of 'cursor' just type C-s again. If no such | |
6f108a37 RS |
834 | occurrence exists, Emacs beeps and tells you the search is currently |
835 | "failing". C-g would also terminate the search. | |
f751376f | 836 | |
233ae900 EZ |
837 | If you are in the middle of an incremental search and type <DEL>, the |
838 | search "retreats" to an earlier location. If you type <DEL> just | |
107ddb97 CY |
839 | after you had typed C-s to advance to the next occurrence of a search |
840 | string, the <DEL> moves the cursor back to an earlier occurrence. If | |
841 | there are no earlier occurrences, the <DEL> erases the last character | |
842 | in the search string. For instance, suppose you have typed "c", to | |
843 | search for the first occurrence of "c". Now if you type "u", the | |
844 | cursor will move to the first occurrence of "cu". Now type <DEL>. | |
845 | This erases the "u" from the search string, and the cursor moves back | |
846 | to the first occurrence of "c". | |
f751376f | 847 | |
3242b6f0 | 848 | If you are in the middle of a search and type a control or meta |
107ddb97 CY |
849 | character (with a few exceptions--characters that are special in a |
850 | search, such as C-s and C-r), the search is terminated. | |
f751376f | 851 | |
107ddb97 CY |
852 | C-s starts a search that looks for any occurrence of the search string |
853 | AFTER the current cursor position. If you want to search for | |
82e312c7 RS |
854 | something earlier in the text, type C-r instead. Everything that we |
855 | have said about C-s also applies to C-r, except that the direction of | |
856 | the search is reversed. | |
f751376f JB |
857 | |
858 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
859 | * MULTIPLE WINDOWS |
860 | ------------------ | |
e652a34a | 861 | |
107ddb97 CY |
862 | One of the nice features of Emacs is that you can display more than |
863 | one window on the screen at the same time. (Note that Emacs uses the | |
864 | term "frames"--described in the next section--for what some other | |
45ea35bf GM |
865 | applications call "windows". The Emacs manual contains a Glossary of |
866 | Emacs terms.) | |
e652a34a | 867 | |
107ddb97 | 868 | >> Move the cursor to this line and type C-l C-l. |
e652a34a JB |
869 | |
870 | >> Now type C-x 2 which splits the screen into two windows. | |
107ddb97 CY |
871 | Both windows display this tutorial. The editing cursor stays in |
872 | the top window. | |
e652a34a JB |
873 | |
874 | >> Type C-M-v to scroll the bottom window. | |
41835686 | 875 | (If you do not have a real META key, type <ESC> C-v.) |
e652a34a JB |
876 | |
877 | >> Type C-x o ("o" for "other") to move the cursor to the bottom window. | |
878 | >> Use C-v and M-v in the bottom window to scroll it. | |
879 | Keep reading these directions in the top window. | |
880 | ||
881 | >> Type C-x o again to move the cursor back to the top window. | |
82e312c7 | 882 | The cursor in the top window is just where it was before. |
e652a34a | 883 | |
107ddb97 CY |
884 | You can keep using C-x o to switch between the windows. The "selected |
885 | window", where most editing takes place, is the one with a prominent | |
886 | cursor which blinks when you are not typing. The other windows have | |
887 | their own cursor positions; if you are running Emacs in a graphical | |
888 | display, those cursors are drawn as unblinking hollow boxes. | |
e652a34a JB |
889 | |
890 | The command C-M-v is very useful when you are editing text in one | |
107ddb97 | 891 | window and using the other window just for reference. Without leaving |
95486d46 MW |
892 | the selected window, you can scroll the text in the other window with |
893 | C-M-v. | |
e652a34a | 894 | |
107ddb97 CY |
895 | C-M-v is an example of a CONTROL-META character. If you have a META |
896 | (or Alt) key, you can type C-M-v by holding down both CONTROL and META | |
897 | while typing v. It does not matter whether CONTROL or META "comes | |
898 | first," as both of these keys act by modifying the characters you | |
899 | type. | |
8a4aff68 | 900 | |
107ddb97 CY |
901 | If you do not have a META key, and you use <ESC> instead, the order |
902 | does matter: you must type <ESC> followed by CONTROL-v, because | |
41835686 LK |
903 | CONTROL-<ESC> v will not work. This is because <ESC> is a character |
904 | in its own right, not a modifier key. | |
8a4aff68 | 905 | |
e652a34a JB |
906 | >> Type C-x 1 (in the top window) to get rid of the bottom window. |
907 | ||
908 | (If you had typed C-x 1 in the bottom window, that would get rid | |
909 | of the top one. Think of this command as "Keep just one | |
910 | window--the window I am already in.") | |
911 | ||
82e312c7 RS |
912 | You do not have to display the same buffer in both windows. If you |
913 | use C-x C-f to find a file in one window, the other window does not | |
914 | change. You can find a file in each window independently. | |
e652a34a | 915 | |
45ea35bf | 916 | Here is another way to use two windows to display two different things: |
e652a34a JB |
917 | |
918 | >> Type C-x 4 C-f followed by the name of one of your files. | |
82e312c7 | 919 | End with <Return>. See the specified file appear in the bottom |
e652a34a JB |
920 | window. The cursor goes there, too. |
921 | ||
922 | >> Type C-x o to go back to the top window, and C-x 1 to delete | |
923 | the bottom window. | |
924 | ||
925 | ||
45ea35bf GM |
926 | * MULTIPLE FRAMES |
927 | ------------------ | |
928 | ||
107ddb97 CY |
929 | Emacs can also create multiple "frames". A frame is what we call one |
930 | collection of windows, together with its menus, scroll bars, echo | |
931 | area, etc. On graphical displays, what Emacs calls a "frame" is what | |
932 | most other applications call a "window". Multiple graphical frames | |
933 | can be shown on the screen at the same time. On a text terminal, only | |
934 | one frame can be shown at a time. | |
45ea35bf GM |
935 | |
936 | >> Type M-x make-frame <Return>. | |
937 | See a new frame appear on your screen. | |
938 | ||
939 | You can do everything you did in the original frame in the new frame. | |
940 | There is nothing special about the first frame. | |
941 | ||
942 | >> Type M-x delete-frame <Return>. | |
943 | This removes the selected frame. | |
944 | ||
107ddb97 CY |
945 | You can also remove a frame by using the normal method provided by the |
946 | graphical system (often clicking a button with an "X" at a top corner | |
947 | of the frame). If you remove the Emacs job's last frame this way, | |
948 | that exits Emacs. | |
45ea35bf GM |
949 | |
950 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
951 | * RECURSIVE EDITING LEVELS |
952 | -------------------------- | |
f751376f JB |
953 | |
954 | Sometimes you will get into what is called a "recursive editing | |
955 | level". This is indicated by square brackets in the mode line, | |
956 | surrounding the parentheses around the major mode name. For | |
957 | example, you might see [(Fundamental)] instead of (Fundamental). | |
958 | ||
41835686 LK |
959 | To get out of the recursive editing level, type <ESC> <ESC> <ESC>. |
960 | That is an all-purpose "get out" command. You can also use it for | |
961 | eliminating extra windows, and getting out of the minibuffer. | |
f751376f | 962 | |
41835686 LK |
963 | >> Type M-x to get into a minibuffer; then type <ESC> <ESC> <ESC> to |
964 | get out. | |
f751376f | 965 | |
82e312c7 RS |
966 | You cannot use C-g to get out of a recursive editing level. This is |
967 | because C-g is used for canceling commands and arguments WITHIN the | |
968 | recursive editing level. | |
f751376f JB |
969 | |
970 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
971 | * GETTING MORE HELP |
972 | ------------------- | |
f751376f JB |
973 | |
974 | In this tutorial we have tried to supply just enough information to | |
975 | get you started using Emacs. There is so much available in Emacs that | |
976 | it would be impossible to explain it all here. However, you may want | |
82e312c7 RS |
977 | to learn more about Emacs since it has many other useful features. |
978 | Emacs provides commands for reading documentation about Emacs | |
979 | commands. These "help" commands all start with the character | |
1e78d347 | 980 | CONTROL-h, which is called "the Help character". |
f751376f | 981 | |
82e312c7 | 982 | To use the Help features, type the C-h character, and then a |
f751376f JB |
983 | character saying what kind of help you want. If you are REALLY lost, |
984 | type C-h ? and Emacs will tell you what kinds of help it can give. | |
82e312c7 | 985 | If you have typed C-h and decide you do not want any help, just |
3242b6f0 | 986 | type C-g to cancel it. |
f751376f | 987 | |
45ea35bf GM |
988 | (If C-h does not display a message about help at the bottom of the |
989 | screen, try typing the F1 key or M-x help <Return> instead.) | |
1c71da93 RS |
990 | |
991 | The most basic HELP feature is C-h c. Type C-h, the character c, and | |
992 | a command character or sequence; then Emacs displays a very brief | |
f751376f JB |
993 | description of the command. |
994 | ||
dcf671d2 | 995 | >> Type C-h c C-p. |
ff7de4ee RS |
996 | |
997 | The message should be something like this: | |
f751376f JB |
998 | |
999 | C-p runs the command previous-line | |
1000 | ||
45ea35bf GM |
1001 | This tells you the "name of the function". Since function names |
1002 | are chosen to indicate what the command does, they can serve as | |
82e312c7 RS |
1003 | very brief documentation--sufficient to remind you of commands you |
1004 | have already learned. | |
f751376f JB |
1005 | |
1006 | Multi-character commands such as C-x C-s and (if you have no META or | |
bec1289c | 1007 | EDIT or ALT key) <ESC>v are also allowed after C-h c. |
f751376f | 1008 | |
82e312c7 | 1009 | To get more information about a command, use C-h k instead of C-h c. |
f751376f | 1010 | |
dcf671d2 | 1011 | >> Type C-h k C-p. |
f751376f | 1012 | |
107ddb97 CY |
1013 | This displays the documentation of the function, as well as its name, |
1014 | in an Emacs window. When you are finished reading the output, type | |
1015 | C-x 1 to get rid of that window. You do not have to do this right | |
1016 | away. You can do some editing while referring to the help text, and | |
1017 | then type C-x 1. | |
f751376f JB |
1018 | |
1019 | Here are some other useful C-h options: | |
1020 | ||
1021 | C-h f Describe a function. You type in the name of the | |
1022 | function. | |
1023 | ||
45ea35bf | 1024 | >> Try typing C-h f previous-line <Return>. |
fafee579 | 1025 | This displays all the information Emacs has about the |
3242b6f0 | 1026 | function which implements the C-p command. |
f751376f | 1027 | |
45ea35bf GM |
1028 | A similar command C-h v displays the documentation of variables, |
1029 | including those whose values you can set to customize Emacs behavior. | |
1030 | You need to type in the name of the variable when Emacs prompts for it. | |
ee31752e | 1031 | |
f751376f JB |
1032 | C-h a Command Apropos. Type in a keyword and Emacs will list |
1033 | all the commands whose names contain that keyword. | |
1e78d347 | 1034 | These commands can all be invoked with META-x. |
f751376f | 1035 | For some commands, Command Apropos will also list a one |
bec1289c | 1036 | or two character sequence which runs the same command. |
f751376f | 1037 | |
45ea35bf | 1038 | >> Type C-h a file <Return>. |
10a4c11f | 1039 | |
82e312c7 | 1040 | This displays in another window a list of all M-x commands with "file" |
95486d46 MW |
1041 | in their names. You will see character-commands listed beside the |
1042 | corresponding command names (such as C-x C-f beside find-file). | |
10a4c11f JB |
1043 | |
1044 | >> Type C-M-v to scroll the help window. Do this a few times. | |
1045 | ||
1046 | >> Type C-x 1 to delete the help window. | |
f751376f | 1047 | |
45ea35bf | 1048 | C-h i Read included Manuals (a.k.a. Info). This command puts |
ee31752e | 1049 | you into a special buffer called `*info*' where you |
45ea35bf GM |
1050 | can read manuals for the packages installed on your system. |
1051 | Type m emacs <Return> to read the Emacs manual. | |
1052 | If you have never before used Info, type ? and Emacs | |
1053 | will take you on a guided tour of Info mode facilities. | |
1054 | Once you are through with this tutorial, you should | |
1055 | consult the Emacs Info manual as your primary documentation. | |
ee31752e | 1056 | |
f751376f | 1057 | |
da40fe46 RS |
1058 | * MORE FEATURES |
1059 | --------------- | |
1060 | ||
45ea35bf GM |
1061 | You can learn more about Emacs by reading its manual, either as a |
1062 | printed book, or inside Emacs (use the Help menu or type C-h r). | |
1063 | Two features that you may like especially are completion, which saves | |
1064 | typing, and dired, which simplifies file handling. | |
da40fe46 RS |
1065 | |
1066 | Completion is a way to avoid unnecessary typing. For instance, if you | |
1067 | want to switch to the *Messages* buffer, you can type C-x b *M<Tab> | |
1068 | and Emacs will fill in the rest of the buffer name as far as it can | |
45ea35bf GM |
1069 | determine from what you have already typed. Completion also works for |
1070 | command names and file names. Completion is described in the Emacs | |
1071 | manual in the node called "Completion". | |
da40fe46 RS |
1072 | |
1073 | Dired enables you to list files in a directory (and optionally its | |
1074 | subdirectories), move around that list, visit, rename, delete and | |
45ea35bf GM |
1075 | otherwise operate on the files. Dired is described in the Emacs |
1076 | manual in the node called "Dired". | |
da40fe46 RS |
1077 | |
1078 | The manual also describes many other Emacs features. | |
1079 | ||
1080 | ||
26dc36e6 JB |
1081 | * CONCLUSION |
1082 | ------------ | |
f751376f | 1083 | |
45ea35bf | 1084 | To exit Emacs use C-x C-c. |
f751376f JB |
1085 | |
1086 | This tutorial is meant to be understandable to all new users, so if | |
1087 | you found something unclear, don't sit and blame yourself - complain! | |
1088 | ||
1089 | ||
5577e2b2 KH |
1090 | * COPYING |
1091 | --------- | |
f751376f JB |
1092 | |
1093 | This tutorial descends from a long line of Emacs tutorials | |
1094 | starting with the one written by Stuart Cracraft for the original Emacs. | |
1095 | ||
09b77670 GM |
1096 | This version of the tutorial is a part of GNU Emacs. It is copyrighted |
1097 | and comes with permission to distribute copies on certain conditions: | |
1098 | ||
ab422c4d PE |
1099 | Copyright (C) 1985, 1996, 1998, 2001-2013 Free Software Foundation, |
1100 | Inc. | |
09b77670 GM |
1101 | |
1102 | This file is part of GNU Emacs. | |
ab73e885 GM |
1103 | |
1104 | GNU Emacs is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify | |
09b77670 | 1105 | it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by |
ab73e885 GM |
1106 | the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or |
1107 | (at your option) any later version. | |
1108 | ||
09b77670 GM |
1109 | GNU Emacs is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, |
1110 | but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of | |
1111 | MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the | |
1112 | GNU General Public License for more details. | |
ab73e885 | 1113 | |
09b77670 | 1114 | You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License |
ab73e885 | 1115 | along with GNU Emacs. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. |
09b77670 GM |
1116 | |
1117 | Please read the file COPYING and then do give copies of GNU Emacs to | |
1118 | your friends. Help stamp out software obstructionism ("ownership") by | |
1119 | using, writing, and sharing free software! | |
ab5796a9 | 1120 |