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1 Copyright (c) 1985, 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc. See end for conditions.
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2
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3 You are looking at the Emacs tutorial.
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4
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5 Emacs commands generally involve the CONTROL key (sometimes labelled
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6 CTRL or CTL) or the META key. On some keyboards, the META key is
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7 labelled ALT or EDIT or something else (for example, on Sun keyboards,
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8 the diamond key to the left of the spacebar is META). If you have no
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9 META key, you can use ESC instead. Rather than write out META or
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10 CONTROL each time we want you to prefix a character, we'll use the
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11 following abbreviations:
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12
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13 C-<chr> means hold the CONTROL key while typing the character <chr>
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14 Thus, C-f would be: hold the CONTROL key and type f.
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15 M-<chr> means hold the META key down while typing <chr>. If there
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16 is no META key, type <ESC>, release it, then type the
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17 character <chr>.
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18
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19 Important note: to end the Emacs session, type C-x C-c. (Two characters.)
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20 The characters ">>" at the left margin indicate directions for you to
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21 try using a command. For instance:
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22 <<Blank lines inserted here by startup of help-with-tutorial>>
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23 >> Now type C-v (View next screen) to move to the next screen.
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24 (go ahead, do it by depressing the control key and v together).
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25 From now on, you'll be expected to do this whenever you finish
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26 reading the screen.
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27
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28 Note that there is an overlap when going from screen to screen; this
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29 provides some continuity when moving through the file.
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30
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31 The first thing that you need to know is how to move around from
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32 place to place in the file. You already know how to move forward a
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33 screen, with C-v. To move backwards a screen, type M-v (depress the
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34 META key and type v, or type <ESC>v if you don't have a META or EDIT
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35 key).
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36
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37 >> Try typing M-v and then C-v to move back and forth a few times.
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38
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39
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70
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40 * SUMMARY
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41 ---------
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42
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43 The following commands are useful for viewing screenfuls:
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44
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45 C-v Move forward one screenful
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46 M-v Move backward one screenful
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47 C-l Clear screen and redisplay everything
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48 putting the text near the cursor at the center.
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49 (That's control-L, not control-1. control-1
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50 has a completely different meaning, as
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51 described below.)
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52
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53 >> Find the cursor and remember what text is near it.
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54 Then type a C-l.
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55 Find the cursor again and see what text is near it now.
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56
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57
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70
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58 * BASIC CURSOR CONTROL
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59 ----------------------
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60
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61 Getting from screenful to screenful is useful, but how do you
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62 reposition yourself within a given screen to a specific place?
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63 There are several ways you can do this. One way (not the best, but
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64 the most basic) is to use the commands previous, backward, forward
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65 and next. As you can imagine these commands (which are given to
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66 Emacs as C-p, C-b, C-f, and C-n respectively) move the cursor from
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67 where it currently is to a new place in the given direction. Here,
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68 in a more graphical form are the commands:
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69
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70 Previous line, C-p
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71 :
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72 :
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73 Backward, C-b .... Current cursor position .... Forward, C-f
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74 :
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75 :
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76 Next line, C-n
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77
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78 >> Move the cursor to the line in the middle of that diagram
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79 and type C-l to see the whole diagram centered in the screen.
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80
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81 You'll probably find it easy to think of these by letter. P for
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82 previous, N for next, B for backward and F for forward. These are
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83 the basic cursor positioning commands and you'll be using them ALL
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84 the time so it would be of great benefit if you learn them now.
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85
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86 >> Do a few C-n's to bring the cursor down to this line.
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87
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88 >> Move into the line with C-f's and then up with C-p's.
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89 See what C-p does when the cursor is in the middle of the line.
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90
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91 Lines are separated by Newline characters. For most applications
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92 there should normally be a Newline character at the end of the text,
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93 as well, but it is up to you to make sure of this. A file can
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94 validly exist without a Newline at the end.
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95
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96 >> Try to C-b at the beginning of a line. Do a few more C-b's.
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97 Then do C-f's back to the end of the line and beyond.
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98
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99 When you go off the top or bottom of the screen, the text beyond
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100 the edge is shifted onto the screen so that your instructions can
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101 be carried out while keeping the cursor on the screen.
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102
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103 >> Try to move the cursor off the bottom of the screen with C-n and
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104 see what happens.
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105
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106 If moving by characters is too slow, you can move by words. M-f
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107 (Meta-f) moves forward a word and M-b moves back a word.
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108
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109 >> Type a few M-f's and M-b's. Intersperse them with C-f's and C-b's.
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110
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111 Notice the parallel between C-f and C-b on the one hand, and M-f and
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112 M-b on the other hand. Very often Meta characters are used for
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113 operations related to English text whereas Control characters operate
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114 on the basic textual units that are independent of what you are
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115 editing (characters, lines, etc). There is a similar parallel between
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116 lines and sentences: C-a and C-e move to the beginning or end of a
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117 line, and M-a and M-e move to the beginning or end of a sentence.
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118
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119 >> Try a couple of C-a's, and then a couple of C-e's.
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120 Try a couple of M-a's, and then a couple of M-e's.
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121
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122 See how repeated C-a's do nothing, but repeated M-a's keep moving
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123 farther. Do you think that this is right?
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124
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125 Two other simple cursor motion commands are M-< (Meta Less-than),
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126 which moves to the beginning of the file, and M-> (Meta Greater-than),
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127 which moves to the end of the file. You probably don't need to try
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128 them, since finding this spot again will be boring. On most terminals
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129 the "<" is above the comma and you must use the shift key to type it.
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130 On these terminals you must use the shift key to type M-< also;
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131 without the shift key, you would be typing M-comma.
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132
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133 The location of the cursor in the text is also called "point". To
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134 paraphrase, the cursor shows on the screen where point is located in
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135 the text.
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136
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137 Here is a summary of simple moving operations including the word and
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138 sentence moving commands:
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139
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140 C-f Move forward a character
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141 C-b Move backward a character
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142
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143 M-f Move forward a word
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144 M-b Move backward a word
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145
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146 C-n Move to next line
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147 C-p Move to previous line
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148
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149 C-a Move to beginning of line
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150 C-e Move to end of line
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151
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152 M-a Move back to beginning of sentence
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153 M-e Move forward to end of sentence
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154
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155 M-< Go to beginning of file
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156 M-> Go to end of file
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157
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158 >> Try all of these commands now a few times for practice.
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159 Since the last two will take you away from this screen,
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160 you can come back here with M-v's and C-v's. These are
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161 the most often used commands.
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162
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163 Like all other commands in Emacs, these commands can be given
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164 arguments which cause them to be executed repeatedly. The way you
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165 give a command a repeat count is by typing C-u and then the digits
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166 before you type the command. If you have a META or EDIT key, you can
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167 omit the C-u if you hold down the META or EDIT key while you type the
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168 digits. This is easier, but we recommend the C-u method because it
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169 works on any terminal.
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170
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171 For instance, C-u 8 C-f moves forward eight characters.
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172
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173 >> Try giving a suitable argument to C-n or C-p to come as close
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174 as you can to this line in one jump.
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175
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176 The only apparent exception to this is the screen moving commands,
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177 C-v and M-v. When given an argument, they scroll the screen up or
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178 down by that many lines, rather than screenfuls. This proves to be
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179 much more useful.
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180
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181 >> Try typing C-u 8 C-v now.
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182
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183 Did it scroll the screen up by 8 lines? If you would like to
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184 scroll it down you can give an argument to M-v.
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185
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70
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186 If you are using X Windows, there is probably a rectangular area
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187 called a scroll bar at the right hand side of the Emacs window. You
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188 can scroll the text by manipulating the scroll bar with the mouse.
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189
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70
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190 >> Try pressing the middle button at the top of the highlighted area
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191 within the scroll bar, then moving the mouse while holding that button
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192 down.
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193
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194 >> Move the mouse to a point in the scroll bar about three lines from
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195 the top, and click the left button a couple of times.
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196
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197
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198 * CURSOR CONTROL WITH AN X TERMINAL
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199 -----------------------------------
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200
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201 If you have an X terminal, you will probably find it easier to use
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202 the keys on the keypad to control the cursor. The left, right, up,
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203 and down arrow keys move in the expected direction; they function
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204 exactly like C-b, C-f, C-p, and C-n, but are easier to type and to
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205 remember. You can also use C-left and C-right to move by words, and
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206 C-up and C-down to move by blocks (e.g. paragraphs, if you're
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207 editing text). If you have keys labelled HOME (or BEGIN) and END,
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208 they will take you to the beginning and end of a line, respectively,
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209 and C-home and C-end will move to the beginning and end of the file.
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210 If your keyboard has PgUp and PgDn keys, you can use them to move up
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211 and down a screenful at a time, like M-v and C-v.
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212
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213 All of these commands can take numeric arguments, as described above.
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214 You can use a shortcut to enter these arguments: just hold down the
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215 CONTROL or META key and type the number. For example, to move 12
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216 words to the right, type C-1 C-2 C-right. Note that it is very easy
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217 to type this because you do not have to release the CONTROL key
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218 between keystrokes.
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219
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220
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70
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221 * WHEN EMACS IS HUNG
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222 --------------------
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223
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224 If Emacs gets into an infinite (or simply very long) computation which
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225 you don't want to finish, you can stop it safely by typing C-g.
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226 You can also use C-g to discard a numeric argument or the beginning of
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227 a command that you don't want to finish.
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228
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229 >> Type C-u 100 to make a numeric arg of 100, then type C-g.
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230 Now type C-f. How many characters does it move?
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231 If you have typed an <ESC> by mistake, you can get rid of it
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232 with a C-g.
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233
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234 If you type <ESC> : then you get a new window appearing on the screen,
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235 telling you that M-: is a "disabled command" and asking whether you
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236 really want to execute it. The command M-: is marked as disabled
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237 because we expect it would confuse beginners and you probably don't
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238 want to use it until you know more about Emacs. If you really want to
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239 try the M-: command, you could type a Space in answer to the question,
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240 and M-: would go ahead. Normally, if you do not want to execute M-:,
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241 you would type "n" to answer the question.
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242
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70
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243 >> Type <ESC> :, then type n.
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244
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245
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70
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246 * WINDOWS
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247 ---------
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248
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249 Emacs can have several windows, each displaying its own text.
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250 Note that "window" as used by Emacs does not refer to separate
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251 overlapping windows in the window system, but to separate panes
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252 within a single X window. (Emacs can also have multiple X
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253 windows, or "frames" in Emacs terminology. This is described
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254 later.)
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255
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256 At this stage it is better not to go into the techniques of
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257 using multiple windows. But you do need to know how to get
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258 rid of extra windows that may appear to display help or
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259 output from certain commands. It is simple:
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260
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261 C-x 1 One window (i.e., kill all other windows).
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262
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263 That is Control-x followed by the digit 1.
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264 C-x 1 makes the window which the cursor is in become
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265 the full screen, by getting rid of any other windows.
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266
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267 >> Move the cursor to this line and type C-u 0 C-l.
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268
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269 (Remember that C-l redraws the screen. If you give a
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270 numeric argument to this command, it means "redraw the
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271 screen and put the current line that many lines from the
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272 top of the screen." So C-u 0 C-l means "redraw the
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273 screen, putting the current line at the top.")
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274
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275 >> Type Control-h k Control-f.
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276 See how this window shrinks, while a new one appears
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277 to display documentation on the Control-f command.
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278
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279 >> Type C-x 1 and see the documentation listing window disappear.
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280
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281
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70
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282 * INSERTING AND DELETING
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283 ------------------------
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284
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285 If you want to insert text, just type it. Characters which you can
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286 see, such as A, 7, *, etc. are taken by Emacs as text and inserted
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287 immediately. Type <Return> (the carriage-return key) to insert a
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288 Newline character.
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289
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290 You can delete the last character you typed by typing <Delete>.
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291 <Delete> is a key on the keyboard, which may be labeled "Del". In
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292 some cases, the "Backspace" key serves as <Delete>, but not always!
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293
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294 More generally, <Delete> deletes the character immediately before the
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295 current cursor position.
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296
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297 >> Do this now, type a few characters and then delete them
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298 by typing <Delete> a few times. Don't worry about this file
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299 being changed; you won't affect the master tutorial. This is just
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300 a copy of it.
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301
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302 >> Now start typing text until you reach the right margin, and keep
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303 typing. When a line of text gets too big for one line on the
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304 screen, the line of text is "continued" onto a second screen line.
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305 The backslash at the right margin indicates a line which has
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306 been continued.
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70
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307 >> Use <Delete>s to delete the text until the line fits on one screen
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308 line again. The continuation line goes away.
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309
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310 >> Move the cursor to the beginning of a line and type <Delete>. This
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311 deletes the newline before the line and merges the line onto
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312 the previous line. The resulting line may be too long to fit, in
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313 which case it has a continuation line.
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314 >> Type <Return> to reinsert the Newline you deleted.
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315
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316 Remember that most Emacs commands can be given a repeat count;
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317 this includes characters which insert themselves.
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318
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319 >> Try that now -- type C-u 8 * and see what happens.
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320
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321 You've now learned the most basic way of typing something in
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322 Emacs and correcting errors. You can delete by words or lines
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323 as well. Here is a summary of the delete operations:
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324
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325 <Delete> delete the character just before the cursor
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326 C-d delete the next character after the cursor
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327
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328 M-<Delete> kill the word immediately before the cursor
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329 M-d kill the next word after the cursor
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330
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331 C-k kill from the cursor position to end of line
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332 M-k kill to the end of the current sentence
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333
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334 Notice that <Delete> and C-d vs M-<Delete> and M-d extend the parallel
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335 started by C-f and M-f (well, <Delete> isn't really a control
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336 character, but let's not worry about that). C-k and M-k are like C-e
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337 and M-e, sort of, in that lines are opposite sentences.
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338
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339 Now suppose you kill something, and then you decide that you want to
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340 get it back? Well, whenever you kill something bigger than a
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341 character, Emacs saves it for you. To yank it back, use C-y. You
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342 can kill text in one place, move elsewhere, and then do C-y; this is
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343 a good way to move text around. Note that the difference
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344 between "Killing" and "Deleting" something is that "Killed" things
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345 can be yanked back, and "Deleted" things cannot. Generally, the
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346 commands that can destroy a lot of text save it, while the ones that
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347 attack only one character, or nothing but blank lines and spaces, do
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348 not save.
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349
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70
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350 For instance, type C-n a couple times to position the cursor
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351 at some line on this screen.
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352
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353 >> Do this now, move the cursor and kill that line with C-k.
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354
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355 Note that a single C-k kills the contents of the line, and a second
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356 C-k kills the line itself, and make all the other lines move up. If
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357 you give C-k a repeat count, it kills that many lines AND their
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358 contents.
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359
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360 The text that has just disappeared is saved so that you can
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361 retrieve it. To retrieve the last killed text and put it where
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362 the cursor currently is, type C-y.
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363
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364 >> Try it; type C-y to yank the text back.
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365
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366 Think of C-y as if you were yanking something back that someone
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367 took away from you. Notice that if you do several C-k's in a row
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368 the text that is killed is all saved together so that one C-y will
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369 yank all of the lines.
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370
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371 >> Do this now, type C-k several times.
|
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372
|
|
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373 Now to retrieve that killed text:
|
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|
374
|
|
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375 >> Type C-y. Then move the cursor down a few lines and type C-y
|
|
|
376 again. You now see how to copy some text.
|
|
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377
|
|
|
378 What do you do if you have some text you want to yank back, and then
|
|
|
379 you kill something else? C-y would yank the more recent kill. But
|
|
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380 the previous text is not lost. You can get back to it using the M-y
|
|
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381 command. After you have done C-y to get the most recent kill, typing
|
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382 M-Y replaces that yanked text with the previous kill. Typing M-y
|
|
|
383 again and again brings in earlier and earlier kills. When you
|
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384 have reached the text you are looking for, you can just go away and
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|
385 leave it there. If you M-y enough times, you come back to the
|
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386 starting point (the most recent kill).
|
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387
|
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|
388 >> Kill a line, move around, kill another line.
|
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|
389 Then do C-y to get back the second killed line.
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|
390 Then do M-y and it will be replaced by the first killed line.
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391 Do more M-y's and see what you get. Keep doing them until
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|
392 the second kill line comes back, and then a few more.
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|
|
393 If you like, you can try giving M-y positive and negative
|
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|
394 arguments.
|
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395
|
|
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396
|
|
70
|
397 * UNDO
|
|
|
398 ------
|
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0
|
399
|
|
|
400 Any time you make a change to the text and wish you had not done so,
|
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|
401 you can undo the change (return the text to its previous state)
|
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|
402 with the undo command, C-x u. Normally, C-x u undoes one command's
|
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403 worth of changes; if you repeat the C-x u several times in a row,
|
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|
404 each time undoes one more command. There are two exceptions:
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405 commands that made no change (just moved the cursor) do not count,
|
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|
406 and self-inserting characters are often lumped together in groups
|
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407 of up to 20. This is to reduce the number of C-x u's you have to type.
|
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408
|
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|
409 >> Kill this line with C-k, then type C-x u and it should reappear.
|
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410
|
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|
411 C-_ is another command for undoing; it is just the same as C-x u
|
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|
412 but easier to type several times in a row. The problem with C-_ is
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|
413 that on some keyboards it is not obvious how to type it. That is
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414 why C-x u is provided as well. On some DEC terminals, you can type
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415 C-_ by typing / while holding down CTRL. Illogical, but what can
|
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|
416 you expect from DEC?
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417
|
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418 Giving a numeric argument to C-_ or C-x u is equivalent to repeating
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|
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419 it as many times as the argument says.
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|
|
420
|
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421
|
|
70
|
422 * FILES
|
|
|
423 -------
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0
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424
|
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|
425 In order to make the text you edit permanent, you must put it in a
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426 file. Otherwise, it will go away when your invocation of Emacs goes
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427 away. You put your editing in a file by "finding" the file. What
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428 finding means is that you see the contents of the file in your Emacs;
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|
429 and, loosely speaking, what you are editing is the file itself.
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430 However, the changes still don't become permanent until you "save" the
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431 file. This is so you can have control to avoid leaving a half-changed
|
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|
432 file around when you don't want to. Even then, Emacs leaves the
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|
433 original file under a changed name in case your changes turn out
|
|
|
434 to be a mistake.
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|
435
|
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|
436 If you look near the bottom of the screen you will see a line that
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|
437 begins and ends with dashes, and contains the string "Emacs: TUTORIAL".
|
|
|
438 Your copy of the Emacs tutorial is called "TUTORIAL". Whatever
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|
|
439 file you find, that file's name will appear in that precise
|
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|
440 spot.
|
|
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441
|
|
|
442 The commands for finding and saving files are unlike the other
|
|
|
443 commands you have learned in that they consist of two characters.
|
|
|
444 They both start with the character Control-x. There is a whole series
|
|
|
445 of commands that start with Control-x; many of them have to do with
|
|
|
446 files, buffers, and related things, and all of them consist of
|
|
|
447 Control-x followed by some other character.
|
|
|
448
|
|
|
449 Another thing about the command for finding a file is that you have
|
|
|
450 to say what file name you want. We say the command "reads an argument
|
|
|
451 from the terminal" (in this case, the argument is the name of the
|
|
|
452 file). After you type the command
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|
|
453
|
|
|
454 C-x C-f Find a file
|
|
|
455
|
|
|
456 Emacs asks you to type the file name. It echoes on the bottom
|
|
|
457 line of the screen. You are using the minibuffer now! this is
|
|
|
458 what the minibuffer is for. When you type <Return> to end the
|
|
|
459 file name, the minibuffer is no longer needed, so it disappears.
|
|
|
460
|
|
|
461 >> Type C-x C-f, then type C-g. This cancels the minibuffer,
|
|
|
462 and also cancels the C-x C-f command that was using the
|
|
|
463 minibuffer. So you do not find any file.
|
|
|
464
|
|
|
465 In a little while the file contents appear on the screen. You can
|
|
|
466 edit the contents. When you wish to make the changes permanent,
|
|
|
467 issue the command
|
|
|
468
|
|
|
469 C-x C-s Save the file
|
|
|
470
|
|
|
471 The contents of Emacs are written into the file. The first time you
|
|
|
472 do this, the original file is renamed to a new name so that it
|
|
|
473 is not lost. The new name is made by appending "~" to the end
|
|
|
474 of the original file's name.
|
|
|
475
|
|
|
476 When saving is finished, Emacs prints the name of the file written.
|
|
|
477 You should save fairly often, so that you will not lose very much
|
|
|
478 work if the system should crash.
|
|
|
479
|
|
|
480 >> Type C-x C-s, saving your copy of the tutorial.
|
|
|
481 This should print "Wrote .../TUTORIAL" at the bottom of the screen.
|
|
|
482 On VMS it will print "Wrote ...[...]TUTORIAL."
|
|
|
483
|
|
70
|
484 NOTE: On some systems, typing C-x C-s will freeze the screen and you
|
|
|
485 will see no further output from Emacs. This indicates that an
|
|
|
486 operating system "feature" called "flow control" is intercepting the
|
|
|
487 C-s and not letting it get through to Emacs. To unfreeze the screen,
|
|
|
488 type C-q. Then see the section "Spontaneous Entry to Incremental
|
|
|
489 Search" in the Emacs manual for advice on dealing with this "feature".
|
|
|
490
|
|
0
|
491 To make a new file, just find it "as if" it already existed. Then
|
|
|
492 start typing in the text. When you ask to "save" the file, Emacs
|
|
|
493 will really create the file with the text that you have inserted.
|
|
|
494 From then on, you can consider yourself to be editing an already
|
|
|
495 existing file.
|
|
|
496
|
|
|
497
|
|
70
|
498 * BUFFERS
|
|
|
499 ---------
|
|
0
|
500
|
|
|
501 If you find a second file with C-x C-f, the first file remains
|
|
|
502 inside Emacs. You can switch back to it by finding it again with
|
|
|
503 C-x C-f. This way you can get quite a number of files inside Emacs.
|
|
|
504
|
|
|
505 The object inside Emacs which holds the text read from one file
|
|
|
506 is called a "buffer." Finding a file makes a new buffer inside Emacs.
|
|
|
507 To see a list of the buffers that exist in Emacs, type
|
|
|
508
|
|
|
509 C-x C-b List buffers
|
|
|
510
|
|
|
511 >> Try C-x C-b now.
|
|
|
512
|
|
|
513 See how each buffer has a name, and it may also have a file name
|
|
|
514 for the file whose contents it holds. Some buffers do not correspond
|
|
|
515 to files. For example, the buffer named "*Buffer List*" does
|
|
|
516 not have any file. It is the buffer which contains the buffer
|
|
|
517 list that was made by C-x C-b. ANY text you see in an Emacs window
|
|
|
518 has to be in some buffer.
|
|
|
519
|
|
|
520 >> Type C-x 1 to get rid of the buffer list.
|
|
|
521
|
|
|
522 If you make changes to the text of one file, then find another file,
|
|
|
523 this does not save the first file. Its changes remain inside Emacs,
|
|
|
524 in that file's buffer. The creation or editing of the second file's
|
|
|
525 buffer has no effect on the first file's buffer. This is very useful,
|
|
|
526 but it also means that you need a convenient way to save the first
|
|
|
527 file's buffer. It would be a nuisance to have to switch back to
|
|
|
528 it with C-x C-f in order to save it with C-x C-s. So we have
|
|
|
529
|
|
|
530 C-x s Save some buffers
|
|
|
531
|
|
|
532 C-x s goes through the list of all the buffers you have
|
|
|
533 and finds the ones that contain files you have changed.
|
|
|
534 For each such buffer, C-x s asks you whether to save it.
|
|
|
535
|
|
|
536
|
|
70
|
537 * USING THE MENU
|
|
|
538 ----------------
|
|
0
|
539
|
|
|
540 If you are on an X terminal, you will notice a menubar at the
|
|
|
541 top of the Emacs screen. You can use this menubar to access all
|
|
|
542 the most common Emacs commands, such as "find file". You will
|
|
|
543 find this easier at first, because you don't need to remember
|
|
|
544 the keystrokes necessary to access any particular command. Once
|
|
|
545 you are comfortable with Emacs, it will be easy to begin using
|
|
|
546 the keyboard commands because each menu item with a
|
|
|
547 corresponding keyboard command has the command listed next to
|
|
|
548 it.
|
|
|
549
|
|
|
550 Note that there are many items in the menubar that have no exact
|
|
|
551 keyboard equivalents. For example, the Buffers menu lists all
|
|
|
552 of the available buffers in most-recently used order. You can
|
|
|
553 switch to any buffer by simply findings its name in the Buffers
|
|
|
554 menu and selecting it.
|
|
|
555
|
|
|
556
|
|
70
|
557 * USING THE MOUSE
|
|
|
558 -----------------
|
|
0
|
559
|
|
|
560 When running under X, Emacs is fully integrated with the mouse.
|
|
|
561 You can position the text cursor by clicking the left button at
|
|
|
562 the desired location, and you can select text by dragging the
|
|
|
563 left mouse button across the text you want to select. (Or
|
|
|
564 alternatively, click the left mouse button at one end of the
|
|
|
565 text, then move to the other end and use Shift-click to select
|
|
|
566 the text.)
|
|
|
567
|
|
|
568 To kill some selected text, you can use C-w or choose the Cut
|
|
|
569 item from the Edit menu. Note that these are *not* equivalent:
|
|
|
570 C-w only saves the text internally within Emacs (similar to C-k
|
|
|
571 as described above), whereas Cut does this and also puts the
|
|
|
572 text into the X clipboard, where it can be accessed by other
|
|
|
573 applications.
|
|
|
574
|
|
|
575 To retrieve text from the X clipboard, use the Paste item from
|
|
|
576 the Edit menu.
|
|
|
577
|
|
|
578 The middle mouse button is commonly used to choose items that
|
|
|
579 are visible on the screen. For example, if you enter Info (the
|
|
|
580 on-line Emacs documentation) using C-h i or the Help menu, you
|
|
|
581 can follow a highlighted link by clicking the middle mouse
|
|
|
582 button on it. Similarly, if you are typing a file name in
|
|
|
583 (e.g. when prompted by "Find File") and you hit TAB to show the
|
|
|
584 possible completions, you can click the middle mouse button on
|
|
|
585 one of the completions to select it.
|
|
|
586
|
|
|
587 The right mouse button brings up a popup menu. The contents of
|
|
|
588 this menu vary depending on what mode you're in, and usually
|
|
|
589 contain a few commonly used commands, so they're easier to
|
|
|
590 access.
|
|
|
591
|
|
|
592 >> Press the right mouse button now.
|
|
|
593
|
|
|
594 You will have to hold the button down in order to keep the
|
|
|
595 menu up.
|
|
|
596
|
|
|
597
|
|
70
|
598 * EXTENDING THE COMMAND SET
|
|
|
599 ---------------------------
|
|
0
|
600
|
|
|
601 There are many, many more Emacs commands than could possibly be put
|
|
|
602 on all the control and meta characters. Emacs gets around this with
|
|
|
603 the X (eXtend) command. This comes in two flavors:
|
|
|
604
|
|
|
605 C-x Character eXtend. Followed by one character.
|
|
|
606 M-x Named command eXtend. Followed by a long name.
|
|
|
607
|
|
|
608 These are commands that are generally useful but used less than the
|
|
|
609 commands you have already learned about. You have already seen two
|
|
|
610 of them: the file commands C-x C-f to Find and C-x C-s to Save.
|
|
|
611 Another example is the command to tell Emacs that you'd like to stop
|
|
|
612 editing and get rid of Emacs. The command to do this is C-x C-c.
|
|
|
613 (Don't worry; it offers to save each changed file before it kills the
|
|
|
614 Emacs.)
|
|
|
615
|
|
70
|
616 C-z is the command to exit Emacs *temporarily*--so that you can go
|
|
|
617 back to the same Emacs session afterward.
|
|
0
|
618
|
|
70
|
619 On systems which allow it, C-z exits from Emacs to the shell but does
|
|
|
620 not destroy the Emacs; if you use the C shell, you can resume Emacs
|
|
|
621 with the `fg' command (or, more generally, with `%emacs', which works
|
|
|
622 even if your most recent job was some other). On systems which don't
|
|
|
623 implement suspending, C-z creates a subshell running under Emacs to
|
|
|
624 give you the chance to run other programs and return to Emacs
|
|
|
625 afterward; it does not truly "exit" from Emacs. In this case, the
|
|
|
626 shell command `exit' is the usual way to get back to Emacs from the
|
|
|
627 subshell.
|
|
|
628
|
|
|
629 The time to use C-x C-c is when you are about to log out. It's also
|
|
|
630 the right thing to use to exit an Emacs invoked under mail handling
|
|
|
631 programs and other random utilities, since they may not know how to
|
|
|
632 cope with suspension of Emacs. On other occasions, use C-z, and
|
|
|
633 resume the Emacs when you have more editing to do.
|
|
0
|
634
|
|
|
635 There are many C-x commands. The ones you know are:
|
|
|
636
|
|
|
637 C-x C-f Find file.
|
|
|
638 C-x C-s Save file.
|
|
|
639 C-x C-b List buffers.
|
|
|
640 C-x C-c Quit Emacs.
|
|
|
641 C-x u Undo.
|
|
|
642
|
|
|
643 Named eXtended commands are commands which are used even less
|
|
|
644 frequently, or commands which are used only in certain modes. These
|
|
|
645 commands are usually called "functions". An example is the function
|
|
|
646 replace-string, which globally replaces one string with another. When
|
|
|
647 you type M-x, Emacs prompts you at the bottom of the screen with
|
|
|
648 M-x and you should type the name of the function you wish to call; in
|
|
|
649 this case, "replace-string". Just type "repl s<TAB>" and Emacs will
|
|
|
650 complete the name. End the command name with <Return>.
|
|
|
651 Then type the two "arguments"--the string to be replaced, and the string
|
|
|
652 to replace it with--each one ended with a Return.
|
|
|
653
|
|
|
654 >> Move the cursor to the blank line two lines below this one.
|
|
|
655 Then type M-x repl s<Return>changed<Return>altered<Return>.
|
|
|
656
|
|
|
657 Notice how this line has changed: you've replaced
|
|
70
|
658 the word c-h-a-n-g-e-d with "altered" wherever it occurred
|
|
0
|
659 after the cursor.
|
|
|
660
|
|
|
661
|
|
70
|
662 * AUTO SAVE
|
|
|
663 -----------
|
|
|
664
|
|
|
665 When you have made changes in a file, but you have not saved them yet,
|
|
|
666 they could be lost if your computer crashes. To protect you from
|
|
|
667 this, Emacs writes "auto save" files periodically. The auto save file
|
|
|
668 name has a # at the beginning and the end; for example, if your file
|
|
|
669 is named "hello.c", its auto save file's name is "#hello.c#". When
|
|
|
670 you save the file in the normal way, its auto save file is no longer
|
|
|
671 necessary so Emacs deletes it.
|
|
|
672
|
|
|
673 If the computer crashes, you can recover your auto-saved editing by
|
|
|
674 finding the file normally (the file you were editing, not the auto
|
|
|
675 save file) and then typing M-x recover file<return>. When it asks for
|
|
|
676 confirmation, type yes<return> to go ahead and recover the auto-save
|
|
|
677 data.
|
|
|
678
|
|
|
679
|
|
|
680 * MODE LINE
|
|
|
681 -----------
|
|
0
|
682
|
|
|
683 If Emacs sees that you are typing commands slowly it shows them to you
|
|
|
684 at the bottom of the screen in an area called the "echo area." The echo
|
|
|
685 area contains the bottom line of the screen. The line immediately above
|
|
|
686 it is called the MODE LINE. The mode line says something like
|
|
|
687
|
|
|
688 --**--Emacs: TUTORIAL (Fundamental)----58%-------------
|
|
|
689
|
|
|
690 This is a very useful "information" line.
|
|
|
691
|
|
|
692 You already know what the filename means--it is the file you have
|
|
|
693 found. What the --NN%-- means is that NN percent of the file is
|
|
|
694 above the top of the screen. If the top of the file is on the screen,
|
|
|
695 it will say --TOP-- instead of --00%--. If the bottom of the file is
|
|
|
696 on the screen, it will say --BOT--. If you are looking at a file so
|
|
|
697 small it all fits on the screen, it says --ALL--.
|
|
|
698
|
|
|
699 The stars near the front mean that you have made changes to the text.
|
|
|
700 Right after you visit or save a file, there are no stars, just dashes.
|
|
|
701
|
|
|
702 The part of the mode line inside the parentheses is to tell you what
|
|
|
703 modes you are in. The default mode is Fundamental which is what you
|
|
|
704 are in now. It is an example of a "major mode". There are several
|
|
|
705 major modes in Emacs for editing different languages and text, such as
|
|
|
706 Lisp mode, Text mode, etc. At any time one and only one major mode is
|
|
|
707 active, and its name can always be found in the mode line just where
|
|
|
708 "Fundamental" is now. Each major mode makes a few commands behave
|
|
|
709 differently. For example, there are commands for creating comments in
|
|
|
710 a program, and since each programming language has a different idea of
|
|
|
711 what a comment should look like, each major mode has to insert
|
|
|
712 comments differently. Each major mode is the name of an extended
|
|
|
713 command, which is how you get into the mode. For example,
|
|
70
|
714 M-x fundamental-mode is how to get into Fundamental mode.
|
|
0
|
715
|
|
|
716 If you are going to be editing English text, such as this file, you
|
|
|
717 should probably use Text Mode.
|
|
|
718 >> Type M-x text-mode<Return>.
|
|
|
719
|
|
|
720 Don't worry, none of the commands you have learned changes Emacs in
|
|
70
|
721 any great way. But you can observe that apostrophes are now part of
|
|
|
722 words when you do M-f or M-b. Major modes are usually like that:
|
|
|
723 commands don't change into completely unrelated things, but they work
|
|
|
724 a little bit differently.
|
|
0
|
725
|
|
|
726 To get documentation on your current major mode, type C-h m.
|
|
|
727
|
|
|
728 >> Use C-u C-v once or more to bring this line near the top of screen.
|
|
|
729 >> Type C-h m, to see how Text mode differs from Fundamental mode.
|
|
|
730 >> Type C-x 1 to remove the documentation from the screen.
|
|
|
731
|
|
|
732 Major modes are called major because there are also minor modes.
|
|
|
733 They are called minor because they aren't alternatives to the major
|
|
|
734 modes, just minor modifications of them. Each minor mode can be
|
|
|
735 turned on or off by itself, regardless of what major mode you are in,
|
|
|
736 and regardless of the other minor modes. So you can use no minor
|
|
|
737 modes, or one minor mode, or any combination of several minor modes.
|
|
|
738
|
|
|
739 One minor mode which is very useful, especially for editing English
|
|
|
740 text, is Auto Fill mode. When this mode is on, Emacs breaks the line
|
|
|
741 in between words automatically whenever the line gets too long. You
|
|
|
742 can turn this mode on by doing M-x auto-fill-mode<Return>. When the
|
|
|
743 mode is on, you can turn it off by doing M-x auto-fill-mode<Return>.
|
|
|
744 If the mode is off, this function turns it on, and if the mode is on,
|
|
|
745 this function turns it off. This is called "toggling".
|
|
|
746
|
|
|
747 >> Type M-x auto-fill-mode<Return> now. Then insert a line of "asdf "
|
|
|
748 over again until you see it divide into two lines. You must put in
|
|
|
749 spaces between them because Auto Fill breaks lines only at spaces.
|
|
|
750
|
|
|
751 The margin is usually set at 70 characters, but you can change it
|
|
|
752 with the C-x f command. You should give the margin setting you want
|
|
|
753 as a numeric argument.
|
|
|
754
|
|
|
755 >> Type C-x f with an argument of 20. (C-u 2 0 C-x f).
|
|
|
756 Then type in some text and see Emacs fill lines of 20
|
|
|
757 characters with it. Then set the margin back to 70 using
|
|
|
758 C-x f again.
|
|
|
759
|
|
|
760 If you makes changes in the middle of a paragraph, Auto Fill mode
|
|
|
761 does not re-fill it for you.
|
|
|
762 To re-fill the paragraph, type M-q (Meta-q) with the cursor inside
|
|
|
763 that paragraph.
|
|
|
764
|
|
|
765 >> Move the cursor into the previous paragraph and type M-q.
|
|
|
766
|
|
|
767
|
|
70
|
768 * SEARCHING
|
|
|
769 -----------
|
|
0
|
770
|
|
|
771 Emacs can do searches for strings (these are groups of contiguous
|
|
|
772 characters or words) either forward through the file or backward
|
|
|
773 through it. To search for the string means that you are trying to
|
|
|
774 locate it somewhere in the file and have Emacs show you where the
|
|
|
775 occurrences of the string exist. This type of search is somewhat
|
|
|
776 different from what you may be familiar with. It is a search that is
|
|
|
777 performed as you type in the thing to search for. The command to
|
|
|
778 initiate a search is C-s for forward search, and C-r for reverse
|
|
|
779 search. BUT WAIT! Don't do them now. When you type C-s you'll
|
|
|
780 notice that the string "I-search" appears as a prompt in the echo
|
|
|
781 area. This tells you that Emacs is in what is called an incremental
|
|
|
782 search waiting for you to type the thing that you want to search for.
|
|
70
|
783 <RET> terminates a search.
|
|
0
|
784
|
|
|
785 >> Now type C-s to start a search. SLOWLY, one letter at a time,
|
|
|
786 type the word 'cursor', pausing after you type each
|
|
|
787 character to notice what happens to the cursor.
|
|
|
788 >> Type C-s to find the next occurrence of "cursor".
|
|
70
|
789 >> Now type <Delete> four times and see how the cursor moves.
|
|
|
790 >> Type <RET> to terminate the search.
|
|
0
|
791
|
|
|
792 Did you see what happened? Emacs, in an incremental search, tries to
|
|
|
793 go to the occurrence of the string that you've typed out so far. To go
|
|
|
794 to the next occurrence of 'cursor' just type C-s again. If no such
|
|
|
795 occurrence exists Emacs beeps and tells you that it is a failing
|
|
|
796 search. C-g would also terminate the search.
|
|
|
797
|
|
70
|
798 NOTE: On some systems, typing C-s will freeze the screen and you will
|
|
|
799 see no further output from Emacs. This indicates that an operating
|
|
|
800 system "feature" called "flow control" is intercepting the C-s and not
|
|
|
801 letting it get through to Emacs. To unfreeze the screen, type C-q.
|
|
|
802 Then see the section "Spontaneous Entry to Incremental Search" in the
|
|
|
803 Emacs manual for advice on dealing with this "feature".
|
|
|
804
|
|
|
805 If you are in the middle of an incremental search and type <Delete>,
|
|
0
|
806 you'll notice that the last character in the search string is erased
|
|
|
807 and the search backs up to the last place of the search. For
|
|
|
808 instance, suppose you currently have typed 'cu' and you see that your
|
|
70
|
809 cursor is at the first occurrence of 'cu'. If you now type <Delete>,
|
|
0
|
810 the 'u' on the search line is erased and you'll be repositioned in the
|
|
|
811 text to the occurrence of 'c' where the search took you before you
|
|
|
812 typed the 'u'. This provides a useful means for backing up while you
|
|
|
813 are searching.
|
|
|
814
|
|
70
|
815 If you are in the middle of a search and type a control or meta
|
|
|
816 character (with a few exceptions--characters that are special in
|
|
|
817 a search, such as C-s and C-r), the search is terminated.
|
|
0
|
818
|
|
|
819 The C-s starts a search that looks for any occurrence of the search
|
|
|
820 string AFTER the current cursor position. But what if you want to
|
|
|
821 search for something earlier in the text? To do this, type C-r for
|
|
|
822 Reverse search. Everything that applies to C-s applies to C-r except
|
|
|
823 that the direction of the search is reversed.
|
|
|
824
|
|
|
825
|
|
70
|
826 * MULTIPLE WINDOWS
|
|
|
827 ------------------
|
|
|
828
|
|
|
829 One of the nice features of Emacs is that you can display more than one
|
|
|
830 window on the screen at the same time.
|
|
|
831
|
|
|
832 >> Move the cursor to this line and type C-u 0 C-l.
|
|
|
833
|
|
|
834 >> Now type C-x 2 which splits the screen into two windows.
|
|
|
835 Both windows display this tutorial. The cursor stays in the top window.
|
|
|
836
|
|
|
837 >> Type C-M-v to scroll the bottom window.
|
|
|
838 (If you don't have a real Meta key, type ESC C-v.)
|
|
|
839
|
|
|
840 >> Type C-x o ("o" for "other") to move the cursor to the bottom window.
|
|
|
841 >> Use C-v and M-v in the bottom window to scroll it.
|
|
|
842 Keep reading these directions in the top window.
|
|
|
843
|
|
|
844 >> Type C-x o again to move the cursor back to the top window.
|
|
|
845 The cursor is still just where it was in the top window before.
|
|
|
846
|
|
|
847 You can keep using C-x o to switch between the windows. Each
|
|
|
848 window has its own cursor position, but only one window actually
|
|
|
849 shows the cursor. All the ordinary editing commands apply to the
|
|
|
850 window that the cursor is in.
|
|
|
851
|
|
|
852 The command C-M-v is very useful when you are editing text in one
|
|
|
853 window and using the other window just for reference. You can keep
|
|
|
854 the cursor always in the window where you are editing, and edit
|
|
|
855 there as you advance through the other window.
|
|
|
856
|
|
|
857 C-M-v is an example of a CONTROL-META character. If you have a real
|
|
|
858 META key, you can type C-M-v by holding down both CTRL and META while
|
|
|
859 typing v.
|
|
|
860
|
|
|
861 It doesn't matter whether CTRL or META "comes first," because both of
|
|
|
862 these keys act by modifying the characters you type. But if you don't
|
|
|
863 have a real META key, and you use ESC instead, the order does matter:
|
|
|
864 you must type ESC followed by CTRL-v; CTRL-ESC v will not work. This
|
|
|
865 is because ESC is a character in its own right, not a modifier key.
|
|
|
866
|
|
|
867 >> Type C-x 1 (in the top window) to get rid of the bottom window.
|
|
|
868
|
|
|
869 (If you had typed C-x 1 in the bottom window, that would get rid
|
|
|
870 of the top one. Think of this command as "Keep just one
|
|
|
871 window--the window I am already in.")
|
|
|
872
|
|
|
873 You don't have to display the same buffer in both windows. If
|
|
|
874 you use C-x C-f to find a file in one window, the other window
|
|
|
875 doesn't change. You can pick a file in each window
|
|
|
876 independently.
|
|
|
877
|
|
|
878 Here is another way to use two windows to display two different
|
|
|
879 things:
|
|
|
880
|
|
|
881 >> Type C-x 4 C-f followed by the name of one of your files.
|
|
|
882 End with <RETURN>. See the specified file appear in the bottom
|
|
|
883 window. The cursor goes there, too.
|
|
|
884
|
|
|
885 >> Type C-x o to go back to the top window, and C-x 1 to delete
|
|
|
886 the bottom window.
|
|
|
887
|
|
|
888
|
|
|
889 * RECURSIVE EDITING LEVELS
|
|
|
890 --------------------------
|
|
0
|
891
|
|
|
892 Sometimes you will get into what is called a "recursive editing
|
|
|
893 level". This is indicated by square brackets in the mode line,
|
|
|
894 surrounding the parentheses around the major mode name. For
|
|
|
895 example, you might see [(Fundamental)] instead of (Fundamental).
|
|
|
896
|
|
70
|
897 To get out of the recursive editing level, type ESC ESC ESC. That is
|
|
|
898 an all-purpose "get out" command. You can also use it for eliminating
|
|
|
899 extra windows, and getting out of the minibuffer.
|
|
0
|
900
|
|
70
|
901 >> Type M-x to get into a minibuffer; then type ESC ESC ESC to get out.
|
|
0
|
902
|
|
|
903 You can't use C-g to get out of a recursive editing level because C-g
|
|
70
|
904 is used for canceling commands and arguments WITHIN the recursive
|
|
|
905 editing level.
|
|
0
|
906
|
|
|
907
|
|
70
|
908 * GETTING MORE HELP
|
|
|
909 -------------------
|
|
0
|
910
|
|
|
911 In this tutorial we have tried to supply just enough information to
|
|
|
912 get you started using Emacs. There is so much available in Emacs that
|
|
|
913 it would be impossible to explain it all here. However, you may want
|
|
|
914 to learn more about Emacs since it has numerous desirable features
|
|
|
915 that you don't know about yet. Emacs has a great deal of internal
|
|
|
916 documentation. All of these commands can be accessed through
|
|
|
917 the character Control-h, which we call "the Help character"
|
|
|
918 because of the function it serves.
|
|
|
919
|
|
|
920 To use the HELP features, type the C-h character, and then a
|
|
|
921 character saying what kind of help you want. If you are REALLY lost,
|
|
|
922 type C-h ? and Emacs will tell you what kinds of help it can give.
|
|
|
923 If you have typed C-h and decide you don't want any help, just
|
|
70
|
924 type C-g to cancel it.
|
|
0
|
925
|
|
|
926 The most basic HELP feature is C-h c. Type C-h, a c, and a
|
|
|
927 command character or sequence, and Emacs displays a very brief
|
|
|
928 description of the command.
|
|
|
929
|
|
|
930 >> Type C-h c Control-p.
|
|
|
931 The message should be something like
|
|
|
932
|
|
|
933 C-p runs the command previous-line
|
|
|
934
|
|
|
935 This tells you the "name of the function". That is important in
|
|
|
936 writing Lisp code to extend Emacs; it also is enough to remind
|
|
|
937 you of what the command does if you have seen it before but did
|
|
|
938 not remember.
|
|
|
939
|
|
|
940 Multi-character commands such as C-x C-s and (if you have no META or
|
|
|
941 EDIT key) <ESC>v are also allowed after C-h c.
|
|
|
942
|
|
|
943 To get more information on the command, use C-h k instead of C-h c.
|
|
|
944
|
|
|
945 >> Type C-h k Control-p.
|
|
|
946
|
|
70
|
947 This displays the documentation of the function, as well as its
|
|
|
948 name, in an Emacs window. When you are finished reading the
|
|
|
949 output, type C-x 1 to get rid of the help text. You do not have
|
|
|
950 to do this right away. You can do some editing while referring
|
|
|
951 to the help text and then type C-x 1.
|
|
0
|
952
|
|
|
953 Here are some other useful C-h options:
|
|
|
954
|
|
|
955 C-h f Describe a function. You type in the name of the
|
|
|
956 function.
|
|
|
957
|
|
|
958 >> Try typing C-h f previous-line<Return>.
|
|
|
959 This prints all the information Emacs has about the
|
|
70
|
960 function which implements the C-p command.
|
|
0
|
961
|
|
|
962 C-h a Command Apropos. Type in a keyword and Emacs will list
|
|
|
963 all the commands whose names contain that keyword.
|
|
|
964 These commands can all be invoked with Meta-x.
|
|
|
965 For some commands, Command Apropos will also list a one
|
|
|
966 or two character sequence which has the same effect.
|
|
|
967
|
|
70
|
968 >> Type C-h a file<Return>.
|
|
|
969
|
|
|
970 This displays in another window a list of all M-x commands with
|
|
|
971 "file" in their names. You will also see commands like C-x C-f
|
|
|
972 and C-x C-w, listed beside the command names find-file and
|
|
|
973 write-file.
|
|
|
974
|
|
|
975 >> Type C-M-v to scroll the help window. Do this a few times.
|
|
|
976
|
|
|
977 >> Type C-x 1 to delete the help window.
|
|
0
|
978
|
|
|
979
|
|
70
|
980 * CONCLUSION
|
|
|
981 ------------
|
|
0
|
982
|
|
|
983 Remember, to exit Emacs permanently use C-x C-c. To exit to a shell
|
|
|
984 temporarily, so that you can come back in, use C-z. (This does not
|
|
|
985 work under X windows, because there is no real concept of exiting
|
|
|
986 temporarily to the shell. Instead, C-z iconifies the Emacs screen.)
|
|
|
987
|
|
|
988 This tutorial is meant to be understandable to all new users, so if
|
|
|
989 you found something unclear, don't sit and blame yourself - complain!
|
|
|
990
|
|
|
991
|
|
|
992 COPYING
|
|
|
993 -------
|
|
|
994
|
|
|
995 This tutorial descends from a long line of Emacs tutorials
|
|
|
996 starting with the one written by Stuart Cracraft for the original Emacs.
|
|
70
|
997 Ben Wing updated the tutorial for X Windows.
|
|
0
|
998
|
|
|
999 This version of the tutorial, like GNU Emacs, is copyrighted, and
|
|
|
1000 comes with permission to distribute copies on certain conditions:
|
|
|
1001
|
|
70
|
1002 Copyright (c) 1985, 1996 Free Software Foundation
|
|
0
|
1003
|
|
|
1004 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
|
|
|
1005 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
|
|
|
1006 copyright notice and permission notice are preserved,
|
|
|
1007 and that the distributor grants the recipient permission
|
|
|
1008 for further redistribution as permitted by this notice.
|
|
|
1009
|
|
|
1010 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
|
|
|
1011 of this document, or of portions of it,
|
|
|
1012 under the above conditions, provided also that they
|
|
|
1013 carry prominent notices stating who last altered them.
|
|
|
1014
|
|
|
1015 The conditions for copying Emacs itself are slightly different
|
|
|
1016 but in the same spirit. Please read the file COPYING and then
|
|
|
1017 do give copies of GNU Emacs to your friends.
|
|
|
1018 Help stamp out software obstructionism ("ownership") by using,
|
|
|
1019 writing, and sharing free software!
|
