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1 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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2 @node Search and Replace, , Select and Move, Top
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3 @chapter Searching and Replacing
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4 @cindex searching
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5 @cindex replace
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6 @vindex case-fold-search
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7
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8 Emacs provides commands for searching for occurrences of a particular
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9 string. The search is incremental i.e. it begins even before you
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10 complete typing the whole string. All searches in Emacs ignore the case
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11 of the text they are searching, i.e. if you are searching for "String",
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12 then "string" will also be one of the selections. If you want a case
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13 sensitive search select the @b{Case Sensitive Search} from the
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14 @b{Option} menu. You can also set the variable @var{case-fold-search} to
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15 @var{nil} for making searches case-sensitive. For information on setting
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16 variables, @xref{Setting Variables}. The two commands for searching for
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17 strings in XEmacs are:
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18
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19 @table @kbd
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20 @item C-s
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21 @findex isearch-forward
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22 @kindex C-s
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23 This command will prompt you for a string to search :
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24
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25 @example
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26 I-search:
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27 @end example
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28
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29 @noindent
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30 If you type "myname" as the string to be searched, then Emacs will start
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31 searching for "m", "my", "myn", etc as you go on typing the whole
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32 string in the forward direction. The cursor will be on the matching
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33 string which has been found so far. If you find the correct match just
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34 hit @key{RET} or type @kbd{C-f} or @kbd{C-b} to set the cursor's
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35 position. If you find a matching string "myname" but you were looking
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36 for a different occurrence of it, use @kbd{C-s} again. If the search is
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37 unable to find the string, it will give you an error message.
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38
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39 @item C-r
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40 @findex isearch-backward
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41 @kindex C-r
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42 This command will perform an incremental search in the backward
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43 direction. It will prompt you for a string name:
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44
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45 @example
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46 I-search backward:
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47 @end example
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48
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49 @noindent
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50 After you start typing the string name, it will search for the string in
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51 the same fashion as it does for @kbd{C-s} except that it will search in
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52 the backward direction. If it cannot find the string name, it will give
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53 you an error message.
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54 @end table
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55
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56 If you make a mistake while typing the string names when you use the
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57 above commands, you can use the @key{DEL} key to erase characters. Each
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58 @key{DEL} will erase the last character. At any time if you want to quit
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59 the search, just type @kbd{C-g}.
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60
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61 To do a non-incremental search i.e. to start the search only after
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62 you have typed the whole string you can use the following commands:
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63
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64 @table @kbd
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65 @item C-s RET @dfn{string} RET
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66 This command will search for the specified string in the forward
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67 direction and will give an error message if the string is not found.
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68
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69 @item C-r RET @dfn{string} RET
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70 This command will search for the specified string in the backward
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71 direction.
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72 @end table
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73
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74 For information on how Emacs searches for words and regular
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75 expressions, @xref{Search,,,,XEmacs User's Manual}.
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76
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77 To replace all occurrences of a string in Emacs, you can use the
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78 following command:
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79 @findex replace-string
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80 @example
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81 M-x replace-string
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82 @end example
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83
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84 @noindent
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85 After you type @kbd{M-x replace-string}, you will be prompted for a
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86 string name to replace:
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87
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88 @example
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89 Replace string:
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90 @end example
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91
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92 @noindent
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93 After you type in a string name, for example "FOO" and press @key{RET},
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94 you will see another prompt:
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95
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96 @example
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97 Replace string FOO with:
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98 @end example
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99
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100 @noindent
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101 Now type the string which you want to replace "FOO" with and press
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102 @key{RET}. After all the occurrences are replaced you will see the
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103 message "Done" in the echo area. If you want only some occurrences of
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104 the string to be replaced, use @kbd{M-x query-replace RET <string> RET
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105 <newstring> RET}. For more information, @xref{Query Replace,,,,XEmacs
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106 Manual}.
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107
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108 XEmacs also provides a utility for checking spellings. Use @kbd{M-x
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109 ispell-buffer} to check for spellings in the whole buffer. You can also
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110 check the spelling of a word or a region. You can use menus to
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111 check for spellings:
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112
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113 @noindent
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114 Evaluate the expression @code{(load "big-menubar")}. To evaluate this
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115 expression you need to hit the @key{META} or the @key{ESC} key twice and
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116 type in the expression in the echo area before hitting @key{RET}. You
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117 will get an extensive menubar. Select the @b{Spell Check} menu item from
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118 the @b{Utilities} menu for checking spellings.
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