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1\input texinfo
2@c This is an annex of the Emacs manual.
3@c Copyright (C) 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
3f548a7c 4@c 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4009494e 5@c Author: Daniel.Pfeiffer@Informatik.START.dbp.de, fax (+49 69) 7588-2389
db78a8cb 6@setfilename ../../info/autotype
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7@c @node Autotypist, Picture, Abbrevs, Top
8@c @chapter Features for Automatic Typing
9@settitle Features for Automatic Typing
10@c @cindex text
11@c @cindex selfinserting text
12@c @cindex autotypist
13
14@copying
15Copyright @copyright{} 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
3f548a7c 162005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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17
18@quotation
19Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
20under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
7b2d06e1
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21any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
22Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual'',
23and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
24is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
4009494e 25
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26(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
27modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in
28developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
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29@end quotation
30@end copying
31
32@dircategory Emacs
33@direntry
34* Autotype: (autotype). Convenient features for text that you enter frequently
35 in Emacs.
36@end direntry
37
38@titlepage
39@sp 10
40
41@center @titlefont{Autotyping}
42@sp 2
43@center @subtitlefont{Convenient features for text that you enter
44frequently in Emacs}
45@sp 2
46@center Daniel Pfeiffer
47@center additions by Dave Love
48
49@page
50@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51@insertcopying
52@end titlepage
53
54@node Top
55@top Autotyping
56
57 Under certain circumstances you will find yourself typing similar things
58over and over again. This is especially true of form letters and programming
59language constructs. Project-specific header comments, flow-control
60constructs or magic numbers are essentially the same every time. Emacs has
61various features for doing tedious and repetitive typing chores for you
62in addition to the Abbrev features (@pxref{(emacs)Abbrevs}).
63
64 One solution is using skeletons, flexible rules that say what to
65insert, and how to do it. Various programming language modes offer some
66ready-to-use skeletons, and you can adapt them to suit your needs or
67taste, or define new ones.
68
69 Another feature is automatic insertion of what you want into empty files,
70depending on the file-name or the mode as appropriate. You can have a file or
71a skeleton inserted, or you can call a function. Then there is the
72possibility to have Un*x interpreter scripts automatically take on a magic
73number and be executable as soon as they are saved. Or you can have a
74copyright notice's year updated, if necessary, every time you save a
75file. Similarly for time stamps in the file.
76
77 URLs can be inserted based on a word at point. Flexible templates can
78be defined for inserting and navigating between text more generally. A
79sort of meta-expansion facility can be used to try a set of alternative
80completions and expansions of text at point.
81
82@menu
83* Using Skeletons:: How to insert a skeleton into your text.
84* Wrapping Skeletons:: Putting existing text within a skeleton.
85* Skeletons as Abbrevs:: An alternative for issuing skeleton commands.
86* Skeleton Language:: Making skeleton commands insert what you want.
87* Inserting Pairs:: Typing one character and getting another
88 after point.
89* Autoinserting:: Filling up empty files as soon as you visit them.
90* Copyrights:: Inserting and updating copyrights.
91* Executables:: Turning interpreter scripts into executables.
92* Timestamps:: Updating dates and times in modified files.
93* QuickURL:: Inserting URLs based on text at point.
94* Tempo:: Flexible template insertion.
95* Hippie Expand:: Expansion of text trying various methods.
96
97* GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
98* Concept Index::
99* Command Index::
100* Variable Index::
101@end menu
102
103
104
105@node Using Skeletons
106@chapter Using Skeletons
107@cindex skeletons
108@cindex using skeletons
109
110 When you want Emacs to insert a form letter or a typical construct of the
111programming language you are using, skeletons are a means of accomplishing
112this. Normally skeletons each have a command of their own, that, when called,
113will insert the skeleton. These commands can be issued in the usual ways
114(@pxref{(emacs)Commands}). Modes that offer various skeletons will often
115bind these to key-sequences on the @kbd{C-c} prefix, as well as having
116an @cite{Insert} menu and maybe even predefined abbrevs for them
117(@pxref{Skeletons as Abbrevs}).
118
119 The simplest kind of skeleton will simply insert some text indented
120according to the major mode and leave the cursor at a likely place in the
121middle. Interactive skeletons may prompt you for a string that will be part
122of the inserted text.
123
124 Skeletons may ask for input several times. They even have a looping
125mechanism in which you will be asked for input as long as you are willing to
126furnish it. An example would be multiple ``else if'' conditions. You can
127recognize this situation by a prompt ending in @key{RET}, @kbd{C-g}
128or @kbd{C-h}. This
129means that entering an empty string will simply assume that you are finished.
130Typing quit on the other hand terminates the loop but also the rest of the
131skeleton, e.g. an ``else'' clause is skipped. Only a syntactically necessary
132termination still gets inserted.
133
134
135
136@node Wrapping Skeletons
137@chapter Wrapping Skeletons Around Existing Text
138@cindex wrapping skeletons
139
140 Often you will find yourself with some code that for whatever reason
141suddenly becomes conditional. Or you have written a bit of text and want to
142put it in the middle of a form letter. Skeletons provide a means for
143accomplishing this, and can even, in the case of programming languages,
144reindent the wrapped code for you.
145
146 Skeleton commands take an optional numeric prefix argument
147(@pxref{(emacs)Arguments}). This is interpreted in two different ways depending
148on whether the prefix is positive, i.e. forwards oriented or negative,
149i.e. backwards oriented.
150
151 A positive prefix means to wrap the skeleton around that many
152following words. This is accomplished by putting the words there where
153the point is normally left after that skeleton is inserted (@pxref{Using
154Skeletons}). The point (@pxref{(emacs)Point}) is left at the next
155interesting spot in the skeleton instead.
156
157 A negative prefix means to do something similar with that many precedingly
158marked interregions (@pxref{(emacs)Mark}). In the simplest case, if you type
159@kbd{M--} just before issuing the skeleton command, that will wrap the
160skeleton around the current region, just like a positive argument would have
161wrapped it around a number of words.
162
163 Smaller negative arguments will wrap that many interregions into successive
164interesting spots within the skeleton, again leaving the point at the next one.
165We speak about interregions rather than regions here, because we treat them in
166the order they appear in the buffer, which coincides with successive regions
167only if they were marked in order.
168
169 That is, if you marked in alphabetical order the points A B C [] (where []
170represents the point) and call a skeleton command with @kbd{M-- 3}, you will
171wrap the text from A to B into the first interesting spot of the skeleton, the
172text from B to C into the next one, the text from C to the point into the
173third one, and leave the point in the fourth one. If there are less marks in
174the buffer, or if the skeleton defines less interesting points, the surplus is
175ignored.
176
177 If, on the other hand, you marked in alphabetical order the points [] A C B,
178and call a skeleton command with @kbd{M-- 3}, you will wrap the text from
179point to A, then the text from A to C and finally the text from C to B. This
180is done because the regions overlap and Emacs would be helplessly lost if it
181tried to follow the order in which you marked these points.
182
183
184
185@node Skeletons as Abbrevs
186@chapter Skeletons as Abbrev Expansions
187@cindex skeletons as abbrevs
188
189 Rather than use a key binding for every skeleton command, you can also
190define an abbreviation (@pxref{(emacs)Defining Abbrevs}) that will expand
191(@pxref{(emacs)Expanding Abbrevs}) into the skeleton.
192
193 Say you want @samp{ifst} to be an abbreviation for the C language if
194statement. You will tell Emacs that @samp{ifst} expands to the empty string
195and then calls the skeleton command. In Emacs Lisp you can say something like
196@code{(define-abbrev c-mode-abbrev-table "ifst" "" 'c-if)}. Or you can edit
197the output from @kbd{M-x list-abbrevs} to make it look like this:
198
199@example
200(c-mode-abbrev-table)
201"if" 0 "" c-if
202@end example
203
204@noindent
205(Some blank lines of no semantic significance, and other abbrev tables,
206have been omitted.)
207
208
209
210@node Skeleton Language
211@chapter Skeleton Language
212@cindex skeleton language
213
214@findex skeleton-insert
215 Skeletons are an shorthand extension to the Lisp language, where various
216atoms directly perform either actions on the current buffer or rudimentary
217flow control mechanisms. Skeletons are interpreted by the function
218@code{skeleton-insert}.
219
220 A skeleton is a list starting with an interactor, which is usually a
221prompt-string, or @code{nil} when not needed, but can also be a Lisp
222expression for complex read functions or for returning some calculated value.
223The rest of the list are any number of elements as described in the following
224table:
225
226@table @asis
227@item @code{"@var{string}"}, @code{?@var{c}}, @code{?\@var{c}}
228@vindex skeleton-transformation
229Insert string or character. Literal strings and characters are passed through
230@code{skeleton-transformation} when that is non-@code{nil}.
231@item @code{?\n}
232@c ??? something seems very wrong here.
233Insert a newline and align under current line. Use newline character
234@code{?\n} to prevent alignment.
235@item @code{_}
236Interesting point. When wrapping skeletons around successive regions, they are
237put at these places. Point is left at first @code{_} where nothing is wrapped.
238@item @code{>}
239Indent line according to major mode. When following element is @code{_}, and
240there is a interregion that will be wrapped here, indent that interregion.
241@item @code{&}
242Logical and. Iff preceding element moved point, i.e. usually inserted
243something, do following element.
244@item @code{|}
245Logical xor. Iff preceding element didn't move point, i.e. usually inserted
246nothing, do following element.
247@item @code{-@var{number}}
248Delete preceding number characters. Depends on value of
249@code{skeleton-untabify}.
250@item @code{()} or @code{nil}
251Ignored.
252@item @var{lisp-expression}
253Evaluated, and the return value is again interpreted as a skeleton element.
254@item @code{str}
255A special variable that, when evaluated the first time, usually prompts
256for input according to the skeleton's interactor. It is then set to the
257return value resulting from the interactor. Each subskeleton has its local
258copy of this variable.
259@item @code{v1}, @code{v2}
260Skeleton-local user variables.
261@item @code{'@var{expression}}
262Evaluate following Lisp expression for its side-effect, but prevent it from
263being interpreted as a skeleton element.
264@item @var{skeleton}
265Subskeletons are inserted recursively, not once, but as often as the user
266enters something at the subskeletons interactor. Thus there must be a
267@code{str} in the subskeleton. They can also be used non-interactively, when
268prompt is a lisp-expression that returns successive list-elements.
269@item @code{resume:}
270Ignored. Execution resumes here if the user quits during skeleton
271interpretation.
272@item @code{quit}
273A constant which is non-@code{nil} when the @code{resume:} section was entered
274because the user quit.
275@end table
276
277@findex skeleton-further-elements
278 Some modes also use other skeleton elements they themselves defined. For
279example in shell script mode's skeletons you will find @code{<} which does a
280rigid indentation backwards, or in CC mode's skeletons you find the
281self-inserting elements @code{@{} and @code{@}}. These are defined by the
282buffer-local variable @code{skeleton-further-elements} which is a list of
283variables bound while interpreting a skeleton.
284
285@findex define-skeleton
286 The macro @code{define-skeleton} defines a command for interpreting a
287skeleton. The first argument is the command name, the second is a
288documentation string, and the rest is an interactor and any number of skeleton
289elements together forming a skeleton. This skeleton is assigned to a variable
290of the same name as the command and can thus be overridden from your
291@file{~/.emacs} file (@pxref{(emacs)Init File}).
292
293
294
295@node Inserting Pairs
296@chapter Inserting Matching Pairs of Characters
297@cindex inserting pairs
298@cindex pairs
299
300 Various characters usually appear in pairs. When, for example, you insert
301an open parenthesis, no matter whether you are programming or writing prose,
302you will surely enter a closing one later. By entering both at the same time
303and leaving the cursor inbetween, Emacs can guarantee you that such
304parentheses are always balanced. And if you have a non-qwerty keyboard, where
305typing some of the stranger programming language symbols makes you bend your
306fingers backwards, this can be quite relieving too.
307
308@findex skeleton-pair-insert-maybe
309@vindex skeleton-pair
310 This is done by binding the first key (@pxref{(emacs)Rebinding}) of
311the pair to @code{skeleton-pair-insert-maybe} instead of
312@code{self-insert-command}. The ``maybe'' comes from the fact that
313this at-first surprising behavior is initially turned off. To enable
314it, you must set @code{skeleton-pair} to some non-@code{nil} value.
315And even then, a positive argument (@pxref{(emacs)Arguments}) will
316make this key behave like a self-inserting key
317(@pxref{(emacs)Inserting Text}).
318
319@vindex skeleton-pair-on-word
320 While this breaks with the stated intention of always balancing pairs, it
321turns out that one often doesn't want pairing to occur, when the following
322character is part of a word. If you want pairing to occur even then, set
323@code{skeleton-pair-on-word} to some non-@code{nil} value.
324
325@vindex skeleton-pair-alist
326 Pairing is possible for all visible characters. By default the
327parenthesis @samp{(}, the square bracket @samp{[}, the brace
328@samp{@{}, the pointed bracket @samp{<} and the backquote @samp{`} all
329pair with the symmetrical character. All other characters pair
330themselves. This behavior can be modified by the variable
331@code{skeleton-pair-alist}. This is in fact an alist of skeletons
332(@pxref{Skeleton Language}), with the first part of each sublist
333matching the typed character. This is the position of the interactor,
334but since pairs don't need the @code{str} element, this is ignored.
335
336 Some modes have bound the command @code{skeleton-pair-insert-maybe}
337to relevant keys. These modes also configure the pairs as
338appropriate. For example, when typing english prose, you'd expect the
339backquote (@samp{`}) to pair with the quote (@samp{'}), while in Shell
340script mode it must pair to itself. They can also inhibit pairing in
341certain contexts. For example an escaped character stands for itself.
342
343
344
345@node Autoinserting
346@chapter Autoinserting Text in Empty Files
347@cindex autoinserting
348
349@findex auto-insert
350 @kbd{M-x auto-insert} will put some predefined text at the beginning of
351the buffer. The main application for this function, as its name suggests,
352is to have it be called automatically every time an empty, and only an
353empty file is visited. This is accomplished by putting @code{(add-hook
354'find-file-hook 'auto-insert)} into your @file{~/.emacs} file
355(@pxref{(emacs)Init File}).
356
357@vindex auto-insert-alist
358 What gets inserted, if anything, is determined by the variable
359@code{auto-insert-alist}. The @sc{car}s of this list are each either
360a mode name, making an element applicable when a buffer is in that
361mode. Or they can be a string, which is a regexp matched against the
362buffer's file name. In that way different kinds of files that have
363the same mode in Emacs can be distinguished. The @sc{car}s may also
364be cons cells consisting of mode name or regexp as above and an
365additional descriptive string.
366
367 When a matching element is found, the @sc{cdr} says what to do. It may
368be a string, which is a file name, whose contents are to be inserted, if
369that file is found in the directory @code{auto-insert-directory} or under a
370absolute file name. Or it can be a skeleton (@pxref{Skeleton Language}) to
371be inserted.
372
373 It can also be a function, which allows doing various things. The function
374can simply insert some text, indeed, it can be skeleton command (@pxref{Using
375Skeletons}). It can be a lambda function which will for example conditionally
376call another function. Or it can even reset the mode for the buffer. If you
377want to perform several such actions in order, you use a vector, i.e. several
378of the above elements between square brackets (@samp{[@r{@dots{}}]}).
379
380 By default C and C++ headers insert a definition of a symbol derived from
381the filename to prevent multiple inclusions. C and C++ sources insert an
382include of the header. Makefiles insert the file makefile.inc if it exists.
383
384 TeX and bibTeX mode files insert the file tex-insert.tex if it exists, while
385LaTeX mode files insert a typical @code{\documentclass} frame. Html
386files insert a skeleton with the usual frame.
387
388 Ada mode files call the Ada header skeleton command. Emacs lisp
389source files insert the usual header, with a copyright of your
390environment variable @env{$ORGANIZATION} or else the FSF, and prompt
391for valid keywords describing the contents. Files in a @file{bin}
392directory for which Emacs could determine no specialized mode
393(@pxref{(emacs)Choosing Modes}) are set to Shell script mode.
394
395@findex define-auto-insert
396 In Lisp (@pxref{(emacs)Init File}) you can use the function
397@code{define-auto-insert} to add to or modify
398@code{auto-insert-alist}. See its documentation with @kbd{C-h f
399define-auto-insert}.
400
401@vindex auto-insert
402 The variable @code{auto-insert} says what to do when @code{auto-insert} is
403called non-interactively, e.g. when a newly found file is empty (see above):
404@table @asis
405@item @code{nil}
406Do nothing.
407@item @code{t}
408Insert something if possible, i.e. there is a matching entry in
409@code{auto-insert-alist}.
410@item other
411Insert something if possible, but mark as unmodified.
412@end table
413
414@vindex auto-insert-query
415 The variable @code{auto-insert-query} controls whether to ask about
416inserting something. When this is @code{nil}, inserting is only done with
417@kbd{M-x auto-insert}. When this is @code{function}, you are queried
418whenever @code{auto-insert} is called as a function, such as when Emacs
419visits an empty file and you have set the above-mentioned hook. Otherwise
420you are alway queried.
421
422@vindex auto-insert-prompt
423 When querying, the variable @code{auto-insert-prompt}'s value is used as a
424prompt for a y-or-n-type question. If this includes a @samp{%s} construct,
425that is replaced by what caused the insertion rule to be chosen. This is
426either a descriptive text, the mode-name of the buffer or the regular
427expression that matched the filename.
428
429
430
431@node Copyrights
432@chapter Inserting and Updating Copyrights
433@cindex copyrights
434
435@findex copyright
436 @kbd{M-x copyright} is a skeleton inserting command, that adds a copyright
437notice at the point. The ``by'' part is taken from your environment variable
438@env{$ORGANIZATION} or if that isn't set you are prompted for it. If the
439buffer has a comment syntax (@pxref{(emacs)Comments}), this is inserted as a comment.
440
441@findex copyright-update
442@vindex copyright-limit
443@vindex copyright-current-year
444 @kbd{M-x copyright-update} looks for a copyright notice in the first
445@code{copyright-limit} characters of the buffer and updates it when necessary.
446The current year (variable @code{copyright-current-year}) is added to the
447existing ones, in the same format as the preceding year, i.e. 1994, '94 or 94.
448If a dash-separated year list up to last year is found, that is extended to
449current year, else the year is added separated by a comma. Or it replaces
450them when this is called with a prefix argument. If a header referring to a
451wrong version of the GNU General Public License (@pxref{(emacs)Copying}) is found,
452that is updated too.
453
454 An interesting application for this function is to have it be called
455automatically every time a file is saved. This is accomplished by
456putting @code{(add-hook 'before-save-hook 'copyright-update)} into
457your @file{~/.emacs} file (@pxref{(emacs)Init File}). Alternative,
458you can do @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET} before-save-hook
459@key{RET}}. @code{copyright-update} is conveniently listed as an
460option in the customization buffer.
461
462@vindex copyright-query
463 The variable @code{copyright-query} controls whether to update the
464copyright or whether to ask about it. When this is @code{nil} updating is
465only done with @kbd{M-x copyright-update}. When this is @code{function}
466you are queried whenever @code{copyright-update} is called as a function,
467such as in the @code{before-save-hook} feature mentioned above. Otherwise
468you are always queried.
469
470
471
472@node Executables
473@chapter Making Interpreter Scripts Executable
474@cindex executables
475
476@vindex executable-prefix
477@vindex executable-chmod
478 Various interpreter modes such as Shell script mode or AWK mode will
479automatically insert or update the buffer's magic number, a special
480comment on the first line that makes the @code{exec} systemcall know
481how to execute the script. To this end the script is automatically
482made executable upon saving, with @code{executable-chmod} as argument
483to the system @code{chmod} command. The magic number is prefixed by
484the value of @code{executable-prefix}.
485
486@vindex executable-magicless-file-regexp
487 Any file whose name matches @code{executable-magicless-file-regexp} is not
488furnished with a magic number, nor is it made executable. This is mainly
489intended for resource files, which are only meant to be read in.
490
491@vindex executable-insert
492 The variable @code{executable-insert} says what to do when
493@code{executable-set-magic} is called non-interactively, e.g. when file has no
494or the wrong magic number:
495@table @asis
496@item @code{nil}
497Do nothing.
498@item @code{t}
499Insert or update magic number.
500@item other
501Insert or update magic number, but mark as unmodified.
502@end table
503
504@findex executable-set-magic
505@vindex executable-query
506 The variable @code{executable-query} controls whether to ask about
507inserting or updating the magic number. When this is @code{nil} updating
508is only done with @kbd{M-x executable-set-magic}. When this is
509@code{function} you are queried whenever @code{executable-set-magic} is
510called as a function, such as when Emacs puts a buffer in Shell script
511mode. Otherwise you are alway queried.
512
513@findex executable-self-display
514 @kbd{M-x executable-self-display} adds a magic number to the buffer, which
515will turn it into a self displaying text file, when called as a Un*x command.
516The ``interpreter'' used is @code{executable-self-display} with argument
517@samp{+2}.
518
519@node Timestamps
520@chapter Maintaining Timestamps in Modified Files
521@cindex timestamps
522
523@findex time-stamp
524@vindex before-save-hook
525The @code{time-stamp} command can be used to update automatically a
526template in a file with a new time stamp every time you save the file.
527Customize the hook @code{before-save-hook} to add the function
528@code{time-stamp} to arrange this. It you use Custom to do this,
529then @code{time-stamp} is conveniently listed as an option in the
530customization buffer.
531
532@vindex time-stamp-active
533@vindex time-stamp-format
534@vindex time-stamp-start
535The time stamp is updated only if the customizable variable
536@code{time-stamp-active} is on, which it is by default; the command
537@code{time-stamp-toggle-active} can be used to toggle it. The format of
538the time stamp is set by the customizable variable
539@code{time-stamp-format}.
540
541@vindex time-stamp-line-limit
542@vindex time-stamp-end
543@vindex time-stamp-count
544@vindex time-stamp-inserts-lines
545The variables @code{time-stamp-line-limit}, @code{time-stamp-start},
546@code{time-stamp-end}, @code{time-stamp-count}, and
547@code{time-stamp-inserts-lines} control finding the template. Do not
548change these in your init file or you will be incompatible with other
549people's files. If you must change them, do so only in the local
550variables section of the file itself.
551
552Normally the template must appear in the first 8 lines of a file and
553look like one of the following:
554
555@example
556Time-stamp: <>
557Time-stamp: " "
558@end example
559
560The time stamp is written between the brackets or quotes:
561
562@example
563Time-stamp: <1998-02-18 10:20:51 gildea>
564@end example
565
566@node QuickURL
567@chapter QuickURL: Inserting URLs Based on Text at Point
568
569@vindex quickurl-url-file
570@findex quickurl
571@cindex URLs
572@kbd{M-x quickurl} can be used to insert a URL into a buffer based on
573the text at point. The URLs are stored in an external file defined by
574the variable @code{quickurl-url-file} as a list of either cons cells of
575the form @code{(@var{key} . @var{URL})} or
576lists of the form @code{(@var{key} @var{URL} @var{comment})}. These
577specify that @kbd{M-x quickurl} should insert @var{URL} if the word
578@var{key} is at point, for example:
579
580@example
581(("FSF" "http://www.fsf.org/" "The Free Software Foundation")
582 ("emacs" . "http://www.emacs.org/")
583 ("hagbard" "http://www.hagbard.demon.co.uk" "Hagbard's World"))
584@end example
585
586@findex quickurl-add-url
587@findex quickurl-list
588@kbd{M-x quickurl-add-url} can be used to add a new @var{key}/@var{URL}
589pair. @kbd{M-x quickurl-list} provides interactive editing of the URL
590list.
591
592@node Tempo
593@chapter Tempo: Flexible Template Insertion
594
595@cindex templates
596The Tempo package provides a simple way to define powerful templates, or
597macros, if you wish. It is mainly intended for, but not limited to,
598programmers to be used for creating shortcuts for editing
599certain kinds of documents.
600
601@findex tempo-backward-mark
602@findex tempo-forward-mark
603A template is defined as a list of items to be inserted in the current
604buffer at point. Some can be simple strings, while others can control
605formatting or define special points of interest in the inserted text.
606@kbd{M-x tempo-backward-mark} and @kbd{M-x tempo-forward-mark} can be
607used to jump between such points.
608
609More flexible templates can be created by including Lisp symbols, which
610will be evaluated as variables, or lists, which will be evaluated
611as Lisp expressions. Automatic completion of specified tags to expanded
612templates can be provided.
613
614@findex tempo-define-template
615See the documentation for @code{tempo-define-template} for the different
616items that can be used to define a tempo template with a command for
617inserting it.
618
619See the commentary in @file{tempo.el} for more information on using the
620Tempo package.
621
622@node Hippie Expand
623@chapter `Hippie' Expansion
624
625@findex hippie-expand
626@kindex M-/
627@vindex hippie-expand-try-functions-list
628@kbd{M-x hippie-expand} is a single command providing a variety of
629completions and expansions. Called repeatedly, it tries all possible
630completions in succession.
631
632Which ones to try, and in which order, is determined by the contents of
633the customizable option @code{hippie-expand-try-functions-list}. Much
634customization of the expansion behavior can be made by changing the
635order of, removing, or inserting new functions in this list. Given a
636positive numeric argument, @kbd{M-x hippie-expand} jumps directly that
637number of functions forward in this list. Given some other argument (a
638negative argument or just @kbd{C-u}) it undoes the tried completion.
639
640See the commentary in @file{hippie-exp.el} for more information on the
641possibilities.
642
643Typically you would bind @code{hippie-expand} to @kbd{M-/} with
644@code{dabbrev-expand}, the standard binding of @kbd{M-/}, providing one
645of the expansion possibilities.
646
647@node GNU Free Documentation License
648@appendix GNU Free Documentation License
649@include doclicense.texi
650
651@node Concept Index
652@unnumbered Concept Index
653@printindex cp
654
655@node Command Index
656@unnumbered Command Index
657@printindex fn
658
659@node Variable Index
660@unnumbered Variable Index
661@printindex vr
662
663@setchapternewpage odd
664@contents
665@bye
666
667@ignore
668 arch-tag: 54001b27-5ef8-4a9d-a199-905d650fafba
669@end ignore