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[bpt/emacs.git] / man / fixit.texi
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1@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2@c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
675f079a 4@node Fixit, Keyboard Macros, Search, Top
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5@chapter Commands for Fixing Typos
6@cindex typos, fixing
7@cindex mistakes, correcting
8
9 In this chapter we describe the commands that are especially useful for
10the times when you catch a mistake in your text just after you have made
11it, or change your mind while composing text on the fly.
12
13 The most fundamental command for correcting erroneous editing is the
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14undo command, @kbd{C-x u} or @kbd{C-_} or @kbd{C-/}. This command
15undoes a single command (usually), a part of a command (in the case of
16@code{query-replace}), or several consecutive self-inserting
17characters. Consecutive repetitions of the undo command undo earlier
18and earlier changes, back to the limit of the undo information
19available. @xref{Undo}, for more information.
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20
21@menu
22* Kill Errors:: Commands to kill a batch of recently entered text.
23* Transpose:: Exchanging two characters, words, lines, lists...
24* Fixing Case:: Correcting case of last word entered.
25* Spelling:: Apply spelling checker to a word, or a whole file.
26@end menu
27
28@node Kill Errors
29@section Killing Your Mistakes
30
31@table @kbd
32@item @key{DEL}
33Delete last character (@code{delete-backward-char}).
34@item M-@key{DEL}
35Kill last word (@code{backward-kill-word}).
36@item C-x @key{DEL}
37Kill to beginning of sentence (@code{backward-kill-sentence}).
38@end table
39
40 The @key{DEL} character (@code{delete-backward-char}) is the most
41important correction command. It deletes the character before point.
42When @key{DEL} follows a self-inserting character command, you can think
43of it as canceling that command. However, avoid the mistake of thinking
44of @key{DEL} as a general way to cancel a command!
45
46 When your mistake is longer than a couple of characters, it might be
47more convenient to use @kbd{M-@key{DEL}} or @kbd{C-x @key{DEL}}.
48@kbd{M-@key{DEL}} kills back to the start of the last word, and @kbd{C-x
49@key{DEL}} kills back to the start of the last sentence. @kbd{C-x
50@key{DEL}} is particularly useful when you change your mind about the
51phrasing of the text you are writing. @kbd{M-@key{DEL}} and @kbd{C-x
52@key{DEL}} save the killed text for @kbd{C-y} and @kbd{M-y} to
53retrieve. @xref{Yanking}.@refill
54
55 @kbd{M-@key{DEL}} is often useful even when you have typed only a few
56characters wrong, if you know you are confused in your typing and aren't
57sure exactly what you typed. At such a time, you cannot correct with
58@key{DEL} except by looking at the screen to see what you did. Often it
59requires less thought to kill the whole word and start again.
60
61@node Transpose
62@section Transposing Text
63
64@table @kbd
65@item C-t
66Transpose two characters (@code{transpose-chars}).
67@item M-t
68Transpose two words (@code{transpose-words}).
69@item C-M-t
70Transpose two balanced expressions (@code{transpose-sexps}).
71@item C-x C-t
72Transpose two lines (@code{transpose-lines}).
73@end table
74
75@kindex C-t
76@findex transpose-chars
77 The common error of transposing two characters can be fixed, when they
78are adjacent, with the @kbd{C-t} command (@code{transpose-chars}). Normally,
79@kbd{C-t} transposes the two characters on either side of point. When
80given at the end of a line, rather than transposing the last character of
81the line with the newline, which would be useless, @kbd{C-t} transposes the
82last two characters on the line. So, if you catch your transposition error
83right away, you can fix it with just a @kbd{C-t}. If you don't catch it so
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84fast, you must move the cursor back between the two transposed
85characters before you type @kbd{C-t}. If you transposed a space with
86the last character of the word before it, the word motion commands are
87a good way of getting there. Otherwise, a reverse search (@kbd{C-r})
88is often the best way. @xref{Search}.
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89
90@kindex C-x C-t
91@findex transpose-lines
92@kindex M-t
93@findex transpose-words
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94@c Don't index C-M-t and transpose-sexps here, they are indexed in
95@c programs.texi, in the "List Commands" node.
96@c @kindex C-M-t
97@c @findex transpose-sexps
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98 @kbd{M-t} transposes the word before point with the word after point
99(@code{transpose-words}). It moves point forward over a word,
100dragging the word preceding or containing point forward as well. The
101punctuation characters between the words do not move. For example,
102@w{@samp{FOO, BAR}} transposes into @w{@samp{BAR, FOO}} rather than
103@samp{@w{BAR FOO,}}.
6bf7aab6 104
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105 @kbd{C-M-t} (@code{transpose-sexps}) is a similar command for
106transposing two expressions (@pxref{Expressions}), and @kbd{C-x C-t}
107(@code{transpose-lines}) exchanges lines. They work like @kbd{M-t}
0ec1f115 108except as regards what units of text they transpose.
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109
110 A numeric argument to a transpose command serves as a repeat count: it
d6921e35 111tells the transpose command to move the character (word, expression, line)
6bf7aab6 112before or containing point across several other characters (words,
d6921e35 113expressions, lines). For example, @kbd{C-u 3 C-t} moves the character before
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114point forward across three other characters. It would change
115@samp{f@point{}oobar} into @samp{oobf@point{}ar}. This is equivalent to
116repeating @kbd{C-t} three times. @kbd{C-u - 4 M-t} moves the word
117before point backward across four words. @kbd{C-u - C-M-t} would cancel
118the effect of plain @kbd{C-M-t}.@refill
119
120 A numeric argument of zero is assigned a special meaning (because
121otherwise a command with a repeat count of zero would do nothing): to
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122transpose the character (word, expression, line) ending after point
123with the one ending after the mark.
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124
125@node Fixing Case
126@section Case Conversion
127
128@table @kbd
129@item M-- M-l
130Convert last word to lower case. Note @kbd{Meta--} is Meta-minus.
131@item M-- M-u
132Convert last word to all upper case.
133@item M-- M-c
134Convert last word to lower case with capital initial.
135@end table
136
137@kindex M-@t{-} M-l
138@kindex M-@t{-} M-u
139@kindex M-@t{-} M-c
140 A very common error is to type words in the wrong case. Because of this,
141the word case-conversion commands @kbd{M-l}, @kbd{M-u} and @kbd{M-c} have a
142special feature when used with a negative argument: they do not move the
143cursor. As soon as you see you have mistyped the last word, you can simply
144case-convert it and go on typing. @xref{Case}.@refill
145
146@node Spelling
147@section Checking and Correcting Spelling
148@cindex spelling, checking and correcting
149@cindex checking spelling
150@cindex correcting spelling
151
152 This section describes the commands to check the spelling of a single
153word or of a portion of a buffer. These commands work with the spelling
154checker program Ispell, which is not part of Emacs.
155@ifinfo
455a2afc 156@xref{Top, Ispell, Overview ispell, ispell, The Ispell Manual}.
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157@end ifinfo
158
159@table @kbd
160@item M-x flyspell-mode
161Enable Flyspell mode, which highlights all misspelled words.
6d8d2de0 162@item M-x flyspell-prog-mode
7219db67 163Enable Flyspell mode for comments and strings only.
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164@item M-$
165Check and correct spelling of the word at point (@code{ispell-word}).
166@item M-@key{TAB}
a751f299 167@itemx @key{ESC} @key{TAB}
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168Complete the word before point based on the spelling dictionary
169(@code{ispell-complete-word}).
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170@item M-x ispell
171Spell-check the active region or the current buffer.
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172@item M-x ispell-buffer
173Check and correct spelling of each word in the buffer.
174@item M-x ispell-region
175Check and correct spelling of each word in the region.
176@item M-x ispell-message
177c0ea7 177Check and correct spelling of each word in a draft mail message,
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178excluding cited material.
179@item M-x ispell-change-dictionary @key{RET} @var{dict} @key{RET}
180Restart the Ispell process, using @var{dict} as the dictionary.
181@item M-x ispell-kill-ispell
182Kill the Ispell subprocess.
183@end table
184
185@cindex Flyspell mode
186@findex flyspell-mode
187 Flyspell mode is a fully-automatic way to check spelling as you edit
188in Emacs. It operates by checking words as you change or insert them.
189When it finds a word that it does not recognize, it highlights that
190word. This does not interfere with your editing, but when you see the
191highlighted word, you can move to it and fix it. Type @kbd{M-x
192flyspell-mode} to enable or disable this mode in the current buffer.
193
194 When Flyspell mode highlights a word as misspelled, you can click on
195it with @kbd{Mouse-2} to display a menu of possible corrections and
196actions. You can also correct the word by editing it manually in any
197way you like.
198
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199@findex flyspell-prog-mode
200Flyspell Prog mode works just like ordinary Flyspell mode, except that
201it only checks words in comments and string constants. This feature
202is useful for editing programs. Type @kbd{M-x flyspell-prog-mode} to
203enable or disable this mode in the current buffer.
204
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205 The other Emacs spell-checking features check or look up words when
206you give an explicit command to do so. Checking all or part of the
207buffer is useful when you have text that was written outside of this
208Emacs session and might contain any number of misspellings.
209
210@kindex M-$
211@findex ispell-word
212 To check the spelling of the word around or next to point, and
213optionally correct it as well, use the command @kbd{M-$}
214(@code{ispell-word}). If the word is not correct, the command offers
215you various alternatives for what to do about it.
216
217@findex ispell-buffer
218@findex ispell-region
219 To check the entire current buffer, use @kbd{M-x ispell-buffer}. Use
220@kbd{M-x ispell-region} to check just the current region. To check
221spelling in an email message you are writing, use @kbd{M-x
1f7ebf7c 222ispell-message}; that command checks the whole buffer, except for
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223material that is indented or appears to be cited from other messages.
224
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225@findex ispell
226@cindex spell-checking the active region
227 The @kbd{M-x ispell} command spell-checks the active region if the
228Transient Mark mode is on (@pxref{Transient Mark}), otherwise it
229spell-checks the current buffer.
230
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231 Each time these commands encounter an incorrect word, they ask you
232what to do. They display a list of alternatives, usually including
233several ``near-misses''---words that are close to the word being
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234checked. Then you must type a single-character response. Here are
235the valid responses:
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236
237@table @kbd
238@item @key{SPC}
239Skip this word---continue to consider it incorrect, but don't change it
240here.
241
242@item r @var{new} @key{RET}
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243Replace the word (just this time) with @var{new}. (The replacement
244string will be rescanned for more spelling errors.)
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245
246@item R @var{new} @key{RET}
247Replace the word with @var{new}, and do a @code{query-replace} so you
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248can replace it elsewhere in the buffer if you wish. (The replacements
249will be rescanned for more spelling errors.)
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250
251@item @var{digit}
252Replace the word (just this time) with one of the displayed
253near-misses. Each near-miss is listed with a digit; type that digit to
254select it.
255
256@item a
257Accept the incorrect word---treat it as correct, but only in this
258editing session.
259
260@item A
261Accept the incorrect word---treat it as correct, but only in this
262editing session and for this buffer.
263
264@item i
265Insert this word in your private dictionary file so that Ispell will
1f7ebf7c 266consider it correct from now on, even in future sessions.
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267
268@item u
a5a82fc3 269Insert the lower-case version of this word in your private dic@-tion@-ary
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270file.
271
272@item m
273Like @kbd{i}, but you can also specify dictionary completion
274information.
275
276@item l @var{word} @key{RET}
277Look in the dictionary for words that match @var{word}. These words
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278become the new list of ``near-misses''; you can select one of them as
279the replacement by typing a digit. You can use @samp{*} in @var{word} as a
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280wildcard.
281
282@item C-g
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283Quit interactive spell checking, leaving point at the word that was
284being checked. You can restart checking again afterward with @kbd{C-u
285M-$}.
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286
287@item X
288Same as @kbd{C-g}.
289
290@item x
291Quit interactive spell checking and move point back to where it was
292when you started spell checking.
293
294@item q
295Quit interactive spell checking and kill the Ispell subprocess.
296
297@item C-l
298Refresh the screen.
299
300@item C-z
301This key has its normal command meaning (suspend Emacs or iconify this
302frame).
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303
304@item ?
305Show the list of options.
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306@end table
307
308@findex ispell-complete-word
309 The command @code{ispell-complete-word}, which is bound to the key
310@kbd{M-@key{TAB}} in Text mode and related modes, shows a list of
311completions based on spelling correction. Insert the beginning of a
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312word, and then type @kbd{M-@key{TAB}}; the command displays a
313completion list window. (If your window manager intercepts
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314@kbd{M-@key{TAB}}, type @kbd{@key{ESC} @key{TAB}} or @kbd{C-M-i}.) To
315choose one of the completions listed, click @kbd{Mouse-2} or
316@kbd{Mouse-1} fast on it, or move the cursor there in the completions
317window and type @key{RET}. @xref{Text Mode}.
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318
319@ignore
320@findex reload-ispell
321 The first time you use any of the spell checking commands, it starts
322an Ispell subprocess. The first thing the subprocess does is read your
323private dictionary, which defaults to the file @file{~/ispell.words}.
324Words that you ``insert'' with the @kbd{i} command are added to that
325file, but not right away---only at the end of the interactive
326replacement procedure. Use the @kbd{M-x reload-ispell} command to
327reload your private dictionary if you edit the file outside of Ispell.
328@end ignore
329
330@cindex @code{ispell} program
331@findex ispell-kill-ispell
332 Once started, the Ispell subprocess continues to run (waiting for
333something to do), so that subsequent spell checking commands complete
334more quickly. If you want to get rid of the Ispell process, use
335@kbd{M-x ispell-kill-ispell}. This is not usually necessary, since the
336process uses no time except when you do spelling correction.
337
338@vindex ispell-dictionary
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339 Ispell uses two dictionaries together for spell checking: the
340standard dictionary and your private dictionary. The variable
341@code{ispell-dictionary} specifies the file name to use for the
342standard dictionary; a value of @code{nil} selects the default
343dictionary. The command @kbd{M-x ispell-change-dictionary} sets this
344variable and then restarts the Ispell subprocess, so that it will use
345a different standard dictionary.
6bf7aab6 346
91e27f37 347@vindex ispell-complete-word-dict
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348 Ispell uses a separate dictionary for word completion. The variable
349@code{ispell-complete-word-dict} specifies the file name of this
350dictionary. The completion dictionary must be different because it
fa460eaf 351cannot use root and affix information. For some languages
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352there is a spell checking dictionary but no word completion
353dictionary.
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354
355@ignore
356 arch-tag: 3359a443-96ed-448f-9f05-c8111ba8eac0
357@end ignore