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1
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2 @node Mark, Mouse Selection, Help, Top
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3 @chapter Selecting Text
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4 @cindex mark
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5 @cindex region
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6
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7 Many Emacs commands operate on an arbitrary contiguous
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8 part of the current buffer. You can select text in two ways:
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9
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10 @itemize @bullet
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11 @item
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12 You use special keys to select text by defining a region between point
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13 and the mark.
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14 @item
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15 If you are running XEmacs under X, you can also select text
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16 with the mouse.
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17 @end itemize
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18
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19 @section The Mark and the Region
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20 To specify the text for a command to operate on, set @dfn{the
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21 mark} at one end of it, and move point to the other end. The text
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22 between point and the mark is called @dfn{the region}. You can move
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23 point or the mark to adjust the boundaries of the region. It doesn't
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24 matter which one is set first chronologically, or which one comes
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25 earlier in the text.
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26
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27 Once the mark has been set, it remains until it is set again at
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28 another place. The mark remains fixed with respect to the preceding
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29 character if text is inserted or deleted in a buffer. Each Emacs
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30 buffer has its own mark; when you return to a buffer that had been
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31 selected previously, it has the same mark it had before.
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32
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33 Many commands that insert text, such as @kbd{C-y} (@code{yank}) and
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34 @kbd{M-x insert-buffer}, position the mark at one end of the inserted
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35 text---the opposite end from where point is positioned, so that the region
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36 contains the text just inserted.
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37
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38 Aside from delimiting the region, the mark is useful for marking
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39 a spot that you may want to go back to. To make this feature more useful,
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40 Emacs remembers 16 previous locations of the mark in the @code{mark ring}.
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41
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42 @menu
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43 * Setting Mark:: Commands to set the mark.
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44 * Using Region:: Summary of ways to operate on contents of the region.
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45 * Marking Objects:: Commands to put region around textual units.
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46 * Mark Ring:: Previous mark positions saved so you can go back there.
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47 @end menu
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48
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49 @node Setting Mark, Using Region, Mark, Mark
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50 @subsection Setting the Mark
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51
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52 Here are some commands for setting the mark:
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53
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54 @c WideCommands
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55 @table @kbd
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56 @item C-@key{SPC}
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57 Set the mark where point is (@code{set-mark-command}).
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58 @item C-@@
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59 The same.
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60 @item C-x C-x
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61 Interchange mark and point (@code{exchange-point-and-mark}).
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62 @item C-<
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63 Pushes a mark at the beginning of the buffer.
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64 @item C->
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65 Pushes a mark at the end of the buffer.
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66 @end table
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67
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68 For example, to convert part of the buffer to all
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69 upper-case, you can use the @kbd{C-x C-u} (@code{upcase-region})
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70 command, which operates on the text in the region. First go to the
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71 beginning of the text you want to capitalize and type @kbd{C-@key{SPC}} to
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72 put the mark there, then move to the end, and then type @kbd{C-x C-u} to
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73 capitalize the selected region. You can also set the mark at the end of the
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74 text, move to the beginning, and then type @kbd{C-x C-u}. Most commands
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75 that operate on the text in the region have the word @code{region} in
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76 their names.
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77
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78 @kindex C-SPC
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79 @findex set-mark-command
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80 The most common way to set the mark is with the @kbd{C-@key{SPC}}
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81 command (@code{set-mark-command}). This command sets the mark where
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82 point is. You can then move point away, leaving the mark behind. It is
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83 actually incorrect to speak of the character @kbd{C-@key{SPC}}; there is
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84 no such character. When you type @key{SPC} while holding down
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85 @key{CTRL}, you get the character @kbd{C-@@} on most terminals. This
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86 character is actually bound to @code{set-mark-command}. But unless you are
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87 unlucky enough to have a terminal where typing @kbd{C-@key{SPC}} does
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88 not produce @kbd{C-@@}, you should think of this character as
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89 @kbd{C-@key{SPC}}.
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90
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91 @kindex C-x C-x
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92 @findex exchange-point-and-mark
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93 Since terminals have only one cursor, Emacs cannot show you where the
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94 mark is located. Most people use the mark soon after they set it, before
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95 they forget where it is. But you can see where the mark is with the
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96 command @kbd{C-x C-x} (@code{exchange-point-and-mark}) which puts the
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97 mark where point was and point where the mark was. The extent of the
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98 region is unchanged, but the cursor and point are now at the previous
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99 location of the mark.
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100
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101 @kindex C-<
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102 @kindex C->
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103 @findex mark-beginning-of-buffer
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104 @findex mark-end-of-buffer
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105 Another way to set the mark is to push the mark to the beginning of a
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106 buffer while leaving point at its original location. If you supply an
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107 argument to @kbd{C-<} (@code{mark-beginning-of-buffer}), the mark is pushed
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108 @var{n}/10 of the way from the true beginning of the buffer. You can
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109 also set the mark at the end of a buffer with @kbd{C->}
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110 (@code{mark-end-of-buffer}). It pushes the mark to the end of the buffer,
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111 leaving point alone. Supplying an argument to the command pushes the mark
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112 @var{n}/10 of the way from the true end of the buffer.
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113
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114 If you are using XEmacs under the X window system, you can set
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115 the variable @code{zmacs-regions} to @code{t}. This makes the current
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116 region (defined by point and mark) highlight and makes it available as
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117 the X clipboard selection, which means you can use the menu bar items on
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118 it. @xref{Active Regions}, for more information.
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119
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120 @kbd{C-x C-x} is also useful when you are satisfied with the location of
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121 point but want to move the mark; do @kbd{C-x C-x} to put point there and
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122 then you can move it. A second use of @kbd{C-x C-x}, if necessary, puts
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123 the mark at the new location with point back at its original location.
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124
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125 @node Using Region, Marking Objects, Setting Mark, Mark
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126 @subsection Operating on the Region
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127
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128 Once you have created an active region, you can do many things to
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129 the text in it:
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130 @itemize @bullet
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131 @item
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132 Kill it with @kbd{C-w} (@pxref{Killing}).
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133 @item
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134 Save it in a register with @kbd{C-x r s} (@pxref{Registers}).
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135 @item
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136 Save it in a buffer or a file (@pxref{Accumulating Text}).
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137 @item
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138 Convert case with @kbd{C-x C-l} or @kbd{C-x C-u} @*(@pxref{Case}).
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139 @item
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140 Evaluate it as Lisp code with @kbd{M-x eval-region} (@pxref{Lisp Eval}).
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141 @item
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142 Fill it as text with @kbd{M-q} (@pxref{Filling}).
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143 @item
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144 Print hardcopy with @kbd{M-x print-region} (@pxref{Hardcopy}).
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145 @item
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146 Indent it with @kbd{C-x @key{TAB}} or @kbd{C-M-\} (@pxref{Indentation}).
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147 @end itemize
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148
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149 @node Marking Objects, Mark Ring, Using Region, Mark
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150 @subsection Commands to Mark Textual Objects
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151
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152 There are commands for placing point and the mark around a textual
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153 object such as a word, list, paragraph or page.
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154
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155 @table @kbd
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156 @item M-@@
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157 Set mark after end of next word (@code{mark-word}). This command and
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158 the following one do not move point.
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159 @item C-M-@@
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160 Set mark after end of next Lisp expression (@code{mark-sexp}).
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161 @item M-h
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162 Put region around current paragraph (@code{mark-paragraph}).
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163 @item C-M-h
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164 Put region around current Lisp defun (@code{mark-defun}).
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165 @item C-x h
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166 Put region around entire buffer (@code{mark-whole-buffer}).
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167 @item C-x C-p
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168 Put region around current page (@code{mark-page}).
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169 @end table
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170
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171 @kindex M-@@
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172 @kindex C-M-@@
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173 @findex mark-word
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174 @findex mark-sexp
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175 @kbd{M-@@} (@code{mark-word}) puts the mark at the end of the next word,
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176 while @kbd{C-M-@@} (@code{mark-sexp}) puts it at the end of the next Lisp
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177 expression. These characters sometimes save you some typing.
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178
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179 @kindex M-h
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180 @kindex C-M-h
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181 @kindex C-x C-p
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182 @kindex C-x h
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183 @findex mark-paragraph
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184 @findex mark-defun
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185 @findex mark-page
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186 @findex mark-whole-buffer
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187 A number of commands are available that set both point and mark and
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188 thus delimit an object in the buffer. @kbd{M-h} (@code{mark-paragraph})
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189 moves point to the beginning of the paragraph that surrounds or follows
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190 point, and puts the mark at the end of that paragraph
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191 (@pxref{Paragraphs}). You can then indent, case-convert, or kill the
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192 whole paragraph. In the same fashion, @kbd{C-M-h} (@code{mark-defun})
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193 puts point before and the mark after the current or following defun
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194 (@pxref{Defuns}). @kbd{C-x C-p} (@code{mark-page}) puts point before
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195 the current page (or the next or previous, depending on the argument),
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196 and mark at the end (@pxref{Pages}). The mark goes after the
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197 terminating page delimiter (to include it), while point goes after the
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198 preceding page delimiter (to exclude it). Finally, @kbd{C-x h}
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199 (@code{mark-whole-buffer}) sets up the entire buffer as the region by
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200 putting point at the beginning and the mark at the end.
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201
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202 @node Mark Ring,, Marking Objects, Mark
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203 @subsection The Mark Ring
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204
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205 @kindex C-u C-SPC
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206 @cindex mark ring
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207 @kindex C-u C-@@
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208 Aside from delimiting the region, the mark is also useful for marking
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209 a spot that you may want to go back to. To make this feature more
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210 useful, Emacs remembers 16 previous locations of the mark in the
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211 @dfn{mark ring}. Most commands that set the mark push the old mark onto
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212 this ring. To return to a marked location, use @kbd{C-u C-@key{SPC}}
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213 (or @kbd{C-u C-@@}); this is the command @code{set-mark-command} given a
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214 numeric argument. The command moves point to where the mark was, and
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215 restores the mark from the ring of former marks. Repeated use of this
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216 command moves point to all the old marks on the ring, one by one.
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217 The marks you have seen go to the end of the ring, so no marks are lost.
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218
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219 Each buffer has its own mark ring. All editing commands use the current
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220 buffer's mark ring. In particular, @kbd{C-u C-@key{SPC}} always stays in
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221 the same buffer.
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222
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223 Many commands that can move long distances, such as @kbd{M-<}
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224 (@code{beginning-of-buffer}), start by setting the mark and saving the
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225 old mark on the mark ring. This makes it easier for you to move back
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226 later. Searches set the mark, unless they do not actually move point.
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227 When a command sets the mark, @samp{Mark Set} is printed in the
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228 echo area.
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229
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230 @vindex mark-ring-max
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231 The variable @code{mark-ring-max} is the maximum number of entries to
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232 keep in the mark ring. If that many entries exist and another entry is
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233 added, the last entry in the list is discarded. Repeating @kbd{C-u
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234 C-@key{SPC}} circulates through the entries that are currently in the
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235 ring.
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236
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237 @vindex mark-ring
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238 The variable @code{mark-ring} holds the mark ring itself, as a list of
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239 marker objects in the order most recent first. This variable is local
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240 in every buffer.
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