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This is Info file ../info/emacs, produced by Makeinfo-1.63 from the input file emacs.texi. File: emacs, Node: M-x, Next: Help, Prev: Minibuffer, Up: Top Running Commands by Name ************************ The Emacs commands that are used often or that must be quick to type are bound to keys--short sequences of characters--for convenient use. Other Emacs commands that do not need to be brief are not bound to keys; to run them, you must refer to them by name. A command name is, by convention, made up of one or more words, separated by hyphens; for example, `auto-fill-mode' or `manual-entry'. The use of English words makes the command name easier to remember than a key made up of obscure characters, even though it is more characters to type. The way to run a command by name is to start with `M-x', type the command name, and finish it with RET. `M-x' uses the minibuffer to read the command name. RET exits the minibuffer and runs the command. The string `M-x' appears at the beginning of the minibuffer as a "prompt" to remind you to enter the name of a command to be run. *Note Minibuffer::, for full information on the features of the minibuffer. You can use completion to enter the command name. For example, the command `forward-char' can be invoked by name by typing M-x forward-char RET or M-x forw TAB c RET Note that `forward-char' is the same command that you invoke with the key `C-f'. You can run any Emacs command by name using `M-x', whether or not any keys are bound to it. If you use `M-x' to run a command which also has a key binding, it displays a message to tell you about the key binding, before running the command. (You can turn off this notification feature by setting the variable `suggest-key-bindings' to `nil'.) If you type `C-g' while the command name is being read, you cancel the `M-x' command and get out of the minibuffer, ending up at top level. To pass a numeric argument to the command you are invoking with `M-x', specify the numeric argument before the `M-x'. `M-x' passes the argument along to the command it runs. The argument value appears in the prompt while the command name is being read. If the command you type has a key binding of its own, Emacs mentions this in the echo area before it runs the command. For example, if you type `M-x forward-word', the message says that you can run the same command more easily by typing `M-f'. You can turn off these messages by setting `suggest-key-bindings' to `nil'. If `suggest-key-bindings' is a number, it says how long to show the message before proceeding with the command. Normally, when describing a command that is run by name, we omit the RET that is needed to terminate the name. Thus we might speak of `M-x auto-fill-mode' rather than `M-x auto-fill-mode RET'. We mention the RET only when there is a need to emphasize its presence, such as when we show the command together with following arguments. `M-x' works by running the command `execute-extended-command', which is responsible for reading the name of another command and invoking it. File: emacs, Node: Help, Next: Mark, Prev: M-x, Up: Top Help **** Emacs provides extensive help features accessible through a single character, `C-h'. `C-h' is a prefix key that is used only for documentation-printing commands. The characters that you can type after `C-h' are called "help options". One help option is `C-h'; that is how you ask for help about using `C-h'. To cancel, type `C-g'. The function key F1 is equivalent to `C-h'. `C-h C-h' (`help-for-help') displays a list of the possible help options, each with a brief description. Before you type a help option, you can use SPC or DEL to scroll through the list. `C-h' or F1 means "help" in various other contexts as well. For example, in `query-replace', it describes the options available. After a prefix key, it displays a list of the alternatives that can follow the prefix key. (A few prefix keys don't support this because they define other meanings for `C-h'.) Most help buffers use a special major mode, Help mode, which lets you scroll conveniently with SPC and DEL. * Menu: * Help Summary:: Brief list of all Help commands. * Key Help:: Asking what a key does in Emacs. * Name Help:: Asking about a command, variable or function name. * Apropos:: Asking what pertains to a given topic. * Library Keywords:: Finding Lisp libraries by keywords (topics). * Misc Help:: Other help commands. File: emacs, Node: Help Summary, Next: Key Help, Up: Help Help Summary ============ Here is a summary of the defined help commands. `C-h a REGEXP RET' Display list of commands whose names match REGEXP (`apropos-command'). `C-h b' Display a table of all key bindings in effect now, in this order: minor mode bindings, major mode bindings, and global bindings (`describe-bindings'). `C-h c KEY' Print the name of the command that KEY runs (`describe-key-briefly'). Here `c' stands for `character'. For more extensive information on KEY, use `C-h k'. `C-h f FUNCTION RET' Display documentation on the Lisp function named FUNCTION (`describe-function'). Since commands are Lisp functions, a command name may be used. `C-h i' Run Info, the program for browsing documentation files (`info'). The complete Emacs manual is available on-line in Info. `C-h k KEY' Display name and documentation of the command that KEY runs (`describe-key'). `C-h l' Display a description of the last 100 characters you typed (`view-lossage'). `C-h m' Display documentation of the current major mode (`describe-mode'). `C-h n' Display documentation of Emacs changes, most recent first (`view-emacs-news'). `C-h p' Find packages by topic keyword (`finder-by-keyword'). `C-h s' Display current contents of the syntax table, plus an explanation of what they mean (`describe-syntax'). *Note Syntax::. `C-h t' Enter the Emacs interactive tutorial (`help-with-tutorial'). `C-h v VAR RET' Display the documentation of the Lisp variable VAR (`describe-variable'). `C-h w COMMAND RET' Print which keys run the command named COMMAND (`where-is'). `C-h C-f FUNCTION RET' Enter Info and go to the node documenting the Emacs function FUNCTION (`Info-goto-emacs-command-node'). `C-h C-k KEY' Enter Info and go to the node where the key sequence KEY is documented (`Info-goto-emacs-key-command-node'). `C-h C-c' Display the copying conditions for GNU Emacs. `C-h C-d' Display information about getting new versions of GNU Emacs. `C-h C-p' Display information about the GNU Project. File: emacs, Node: Key Help, Next: Name Help, Prev: Help Summary, Up: Help Documentation for a Key ======================= The most basic `C-h' options are `C-h c' (`describe-key-briefly') and `C-h k' (`describe-key'). `C-h c KEY' prints in the echo area the name of the command that KEY is bound to. For example, `C-h c C-f' prints `forward-char'. Since command names are chosen to describe what the commands do, this is a good way to get a very brief description of what KEY does. `C-h k KEY' is similar but gives more information: it displays the documentation string of the command as well as its name. This is too big for the echo area, so a window is used for the display. `C-h c' and `C-h k' work for any sort of key sequences, including function keys and mouse events. File: emacs, Node: Name Help, Next: Apropos, Prev: Key Help, Up: Help Help by Command or Variable Name ================================ `C-h f' (`describe-function') reads the name of a Lisp function using the minibuffer, then displays that function's documentation string in a window. Since commands are Lisp functions, you can use this to get the documentation of a command that you know by name. For example, C-h f auto-fill-mode RET displays the documentation of `auto-fill-mode'. This is the only way to get the documentation of a command that is not bound to any key (one which you would normally run using `M-x'). `C-h f' is also useful for Lisp functions that you are planning to use in a Lisp program. For example, if you have just written the expression `(make-vector len)' and want to check that you are using `make-vector' properly, type `C-h f make-vector RET'. Because `C-h f' allows all function names, not just command names, you may find that some of your favorite abbreviations that work in `M-x' don't work in `C-h f'. An abbreviation may be unique among command names yet fail to be unique when other function names are allowed. The function name for `C-h f' to describe has a default which is used if you type RET leaving the minibuffer empty. The default is the function called by the innermost Lisp expression in the buffer around point, *provided* that is a valid, defined Lisp function name. For example, if point is located following the text `(make-vector (car x)', the innermost list containing point is the one that starts with `(make-vector', so the default is to describe the function `make-vector'. `C-h f' is often useful just to verify that you have the right spelling for the function name. If `C-h f' mentions a name from the buffer as the default, that name must be defined as a Lisp function. If that is all you want to know, just type `C-g' to cancel the `C-h f' command, then go on editing. `C-h w COMMAND RET' tells you what keys are bound to COMMAND. It prints a list of the keys in the echo area. If it says the command is not on any key, you must use `M-x' to run it. `C-h w' runs the command `where-is'. `C-h v' (`describe-variable') is like `C-h f' but describes Lisp variables instead of Lisp functions. Its default is the Lisp symbol around or before point, but only if that is the name of a known Lisp variable. *Note Variables::. File: emacs, Node: Apropos, Next: Library Keywords, Prev: Name Help, Up: Help Apropos ======= A more sophisticated sort of question to ask is, "What are the commands for working with files?" To ask this question, type `C-h a file RET', which displays a list of all command names that contain `file', including `copy-file', `find-file', and so on. With each command name appears a brief description of how to use the command, and what keys you can currently invoke it with. For example, it would say that you can invoke `find-file' by typing `C-x C-f'. The `a' in `C-h a' stands for `Apropos'; `C-h a' runs the command `apropos-command'. This command does not check user variables by default; specify a numeric argument if you want it to check them. Because `C-h a' looks only for functions whose names contain the string which you specify, you must use ingenuity in choosing the string. If you are looking for commands for killing backwards and `C-h a kill-backwards RET' doesn't reveal any, don't give up. Try just `kill', or just `backwards', or just `back'. Be persistent. Also note that you can use a regular expression as the argument, for more flexibility (*note Regexps::.). Here is a set of arguments to give to `C-h a' that covers many classes of Emacs commands, since there are strong conventions for naming the standard Emacs commands. By giving you a feel for the naming conventions, this set should also serve to aid you in developing a technique for picking `apropos' strings. char, line, word, sentence, paragraph, region, page, sexp, list, defun, rect, buffer, frame, window, face, file, dir, register, mode, beginning, end, forward, backward, next, previous, up, down, search, goto, kill, delete, mark, insert, yank, fill, indent, case, change, set, what, list, find, view, describe, default. To list all Lisp symbols that contain a match for a regexp, not just the ones that are defined as commands, use the command `M-x apropos' instead of `C-h a'. This command does not check key bindings by default; specify a numeric argument if you want it to check them. The `apropos-documentation' command is like `apropos' except that it searches documentation strings as well as symbol names for matches for the specified regular expression. The `apropos-value' command is like `apropos' except that it searches symbols' values for matches for the specified regular expression. This command does not check function definitions or property lists by default; specify a numeric argument if you want it to check them. If you want more information about a function definition, variable or symbol property listed in the Apropos buffer, you can click on it with `Mouse-2' or move there and type RET. File: emacs, Node: Library Keywords, Next: Misc Help, Prev: Apropos, Up: Help Keyword Search for Lisp Libraries ================================= The `C-h p' command lets you search the standard Emacs Lisp libraries by topic keywords. Here is a partial list of keywords you can use: `abbrev' Abbreviation handling, typing shortcuts, macros. `bib' Support for the bibliography processor `bib'. `c' C and C++ language support. `calendar' Calendar and time management support. `comm' Communications, networking, remote access to files. `data' Support for editing files of data. `docs' Support for Emacs documentation. `emulations' Emulations of other editors. `extensions' Emacs Lisp language extensions. `faces' Support for using faces (fonts and colors; *note Faces::.). `frames' Support for Emacs frames and window systems. `games' Games, jokes and amusements. `hardware' Support for interfacing with exotic hardware. `help' Support for on-line help systems. `hypermedia' Support for links within text, or other media types. `i18n' Internationalization and alternate character-set support. `internal' Code for Emacs internals, build process, defaults. `languages' Specialized modes for editing programming languages. `lisp' Support for using Lisp (including Emacs Lisp). `local' Libraries local to your site. `maint' Maintenance aids for the Emacs development group. `mail' Modes for electronic-mail handling. `matching' Searching and matching. `news' Support for netnews reading and posting. `non-text' Support for editing files that are not ordinary text. `oop' Support for object-oriented programming. `outlines' Hierarchical outlining. `processes' Process, subshell, compilation, and job control support. `terminals' Support for terminal types. `tex' Support for the TeX formatter. `tools' Programming tools. `unix' Front-ends/assistants for, or emulators of, Unix features. `vms' Support code for VMS. `wp' Word processing. File: emacs, Node: Misc Help, Prev: Library Keywords, Up: Help Other Help Commands =================== `C-h i' (`info') runs the Info program, which is used for browsing through structured documentation files. The entire Emacs manual is available within Info. Eventually all the documentation of the GNU system will be available. Type `h' after entering Info to run a tutorial on using Info. There are two special help commands for accessing Emacs documentation through Info. `C-h C-f FUNCTION RET' enters Info and goes straight to the documentation of the Emacs function FUNCTION. `C-h C-k KEY' enters Info and goes straight to the documentation of the key KEY. These two keys run the commands `Info-goto-emacs-command-node' and `Info-goto-emacs-key-command-node'. If something surprising happens, and you are not sure what commands you typed, use `C-h l' (`view-lossage'). `C-h l' prints the last 100 command characters you typed in. If you see commands that you don't know, you can use `C-h c' to find out what they do. Emacs has numerous major modes, each of which redefines a few keys and makes a few other changes in how editing works. `C-h m' (`describe-mode') prints documentation on the current major mode, which normally describes all the commands that are changed in this mode. `C-h b' (`describe-bindings') and `C-h s' (`describe-syntax') present other information about the current Emacs mode. `C-h b' displays a list of all the key bindings now in effect; the local bindings defined by the current minor modes first, then the local bindings defined by the current major mode, and finally the global bindings (*note Key Bindings::.). `C-h s' displays the contents of the syntax table, with explanations of each character's syntax (*note Syntax::.). You can get a similar list for a particular prefix key by typing `C-h' after the prefix key. (There are a few prefix keys for which this does not work--those that provide their own bindings for `C-h'. One of these is ESC, because `ESC C-h' is actually `C-M-h', which marks a defun.) The other `C-h' options display various files of useful information. `C-h C-w' displays the full details on the complete absence of warranty for GNU Emacs. `C-h n' (`view-emacs-news') displays the file `emacs/etc/NEWS', which contains documentation on Emacs changes arranged chronologically. `C-h t' (`help-with-tutorial') displays the learn-by-doing Emacs tutorial. `C-h C-c' (`describe-copying') displays the file `emacs/etc/COPYING', which tells you the conditions you must obey in distributing copies of Emacs. `C-h C-d' (`describe-distribution') displays the file `emacs/etc/DISTRIB', which tells you how you can order a copy of the latest version of Emacs. `C-h C-p' (`describe-project') displays general information about the GNU Project. File: emacs, Node: Mark, Next: Killing, Prev: Help, Up: Top The Mark and the Region *********************** Many Emacs commands operate on an arbitrary contiguous part of the current buffer. To specify the text for such a command to operate on, you set "the mark" at one end of it, and move point to the other end. The text between point and the mark is called "the region". Emacs highlights the region whenever there is one, if you enable Transient Mark mode (*note Transient Mark::.). You can move point or the mark to adjust the boundaries of the region. It doesn't matter which one is set first chronologically, or which one comes earlier in the text. Once the mark has been set, it remains where you put it until you set it again at another place. Each Emacs buffer has its own mark, so that when you return to a buffer that had been selected previously, it has the same mark it had before. Many commands that insert text, such as `C-y' (`yank') and `M-x insert-buffer', position point and the mark at opposite ends of the inserted text, so that the region contains the text just inserted. Aside from delimiting the region, the mark is also useful for remembering a spot that you may want to go back to. To make this feature more useful, each buffer remembers 16 previous locations of the mark in the "mark ring". * Menu: * Setting Mark:: Commands to set the mark. * Transient Mark:: How to make Emacs highlight the region- when there is one. * Using Region:: Summary of ways to operate on contents of the region. * Marking Objects:: Commands to put region around textual units. * Mark Ring:: Previous mark positions saved so you can go back there. * Global Mark Ring:: Previous mark positions in various buffers. File: emacs, Node: Setting Mark, Next: Transient Mark, Up: Mark Setting the Mark ================ Here are some commands for setting the mark: `C-SPC' Set the mark where point is (`set-mark-command'). `C-@' The same. `C-x C-x' Interchange mark and point (`exchange-point-and-mark'). `Drag-Mouse-1' Set point and the mark around the text you drag across. `Mouse-3' Set the mark where point is, then move point to where you click (`mouse-save-then-kill'). For example, suppose you wish to convert part of the buffer to all upper-case, using the `C-x C-u' (`upcase-region') command which operates on the text in the region. You can first go to the beginning of the text to be capitalized, type `C-SPC' to put the mark there, move to the end, and then type `C-x C-u'. Or, you can set the mark at the end of the text, move to the beginning, and then type `C-x C-u'. The most common way to set the mark is with the `C-SPC' command (`set-mark-command'). This sets the mark where point is. Then you can move point away, leaving the mark behind. There are two ways to set the mark with the mouse. You can drag mouse button one across a range of text; that puts point where you release the mouse button, and sets the mark at the other end of that range. Or you can click mouse button three, which sets the mark at point (like `C-SPC') and them moves point (like `Mouse-1'). Both of these methods copy the region into the kill ring in addition to setting the mark; that gives behavior consistent with other window-driven applications, but if you don't want to modify the kill ring, you must use keyboard commands to set the mark. *Note Mouse Commands::. Ordinary terminals have only one cursor, so there is no way for Emacs to show you where the mark is located. You have to remember. The usual solution to this problem is to set the mark and then use it soon, before you forget where it is. Alternatively, you can see where the mark is with the command `C-x C-x' (`exchange-point-and-mark') which puts the mark where point was and point where the mark was. The extent of the region is unchanged, but the cursor and point are now at the previous position of the mark. In Transient Mark mode, this command reactivates the mark. `C-x C-x' is also useful when you are satisfied with the position of point but want to move the mark; do `C-x C-x' to put point at that end of the region, and then move it. A second use of `C-x C-x', if necessary, puts the mark at the new position with point back at its original position. There is no such character as `C-SPC' in ASCII; when you type SPC while holding down CTRL, what you get on most ordinary terminals is the character `C-@'. This key is actually bound to `set-mark-command'. But unless you are unlucky enough to have a terminal where typing `C-SPC' does not produce `C-@', you might as well think of this character as `C-SPC'. Under X, `C-SPC' is actually a distinct character, but its binding is still `set-mark-command'. File: emacs, Node: Transient Mark, Next: Using Region, Prev: Setting Mark, Up: Mark Transient Mark Mode =================== Emacs can highlight the current region, using X Windows. But normally it does not. Why not? Highlighting the region doesn't work well ordinarily in Emacs, because once you have set a mark, there is *always* a region (in that buffer). And highlighting the region all the time would be a nuisance. You can turn on region highlighting by enabling Transient Mark mode. This is a more rigid mode of operation in which the region "lasts" only temporarily, so you must set up a region for each command that uses one. In Transient Mark mode, most of the time there is no region; therefore, highlighting the region when it exists is convenient. To enable Transient Mark mode, type `M-x transient-mark-mode'. This command toggles the mode, so you can repeat the command to turn off the mode. Here are the details of Transient Mark mode: * To set the mark, type `C-SPC' (`set-mark-command'). This makes the mark active; as you move point, you will see the region highlighting change in extent. * The mouse commands for specifying the mark also make it active. So do keyboard commands whose purpose is to specify a region, including `M-@', `C-M-@', `M-h', `C-M-h', `C-x C-p', and `C-x h'. * When the mark is active, you can execute commands that operate on the region, such as killing, indentation, or writing to a file. * Any change to the buffer, such as inserting or deleting a character, deactivates the mark. This means any subsequent command that operates on a region will get an error and refuse to operate. You can make the region active again by typing `C-x C-x'. * Commands like `M->' and `C-s' that "leave the mark behind" in addition to some other primary purpose do not activate the new mark. You can activate the new region by executing `C-x C-x' (`exchange-point-and-mark'). * `C-s' when the mark is active does not alter the mark. * Quitting with `C-g' deactivates the mark. Transient Mark mode is also sometimes known as "Zmacs mode" because the Zmacs editor on the MIT Lisp Machine handled the mark in a similar way. When multiple windows show the same buffer, they can have different regions, because they can have different values of point (though they all share common one mark position). In Transient Mark mode, each window highlights its own region. The part that is highlighted in the selected window is the region that editing commands use. *Note Windows::. When Transient Mark mode is not enabled, every command that sets the mark also activates it, and nothing ever deactivates it. If the variable `mark-even-if-inactive' is non-`nil' in Transient Mark mode, then commands can use the mark and the region even when it is inactive. Region highlighting appears and disappears just as it normally does in Transient Mark mode, but the mark doesn't really go away when the highlighting disappears. File: emacs, Node: Using Region, Next: Marking Objects, Prev: Transient Mark, Up: Mark Operating on the Region ======================= Once you have a region and the mark is active, here are some of the ways you can operate on the region: * Kill it with `C-w' (*note Killing::.). * Save it in a register with `C-x r s' (*note Registers::.). * Save it in a buffer or a file (*note Accumulating Text::.). * Convert case with `C-x C-l' or `C-x C-u' (*note Case::.). * Indent it with `C-x TAB' or `C-M-\' (*note Indentation::.). * Fill it as text with `M-x fill-region' (*note Filling::.). * Print hardcopy with `M-x print-region' (*note Hardcopy::.). * Evaluate it as Lisp code with `M-x eval-region' (*note Lisp Eval::.). Most commands that operate on the text in the region have the word `region' in their names. File: emacs, Node: Marking Objects, Next: Mark Ring, Prev: Using Region, Up: Mark Commands to Mark Textual Objects ================================ Here are the commands for placing point and the mark around a textual object such as a word, list, paragraph or page. `M-@' Set mark after end of next word (`mark-word'). This command and the following one do not move point. `C-M-@' Set mark after end of next Lisp expression (`mark-sexp'). `M-h' Put region around current paragraph (`mark-paragraph'). `C-M-h' Put region around current Lisp defun (`mark-defun'). `C-x h' Put region around entire buffer (`mark-whole-buffer'). `C-x C-p' Put region around current page (`mark-page'). `M-@' (`mark-word') puts the mark at the end of the next word, while `C-M-@' (`mark-sexp') puts it at the end of the next Lisp expression. These commands handle arguments just like `M-f' and `C-M-f'. Other commands set both point and mark, to delimit an object in the buffer. For example, `M-h' (`mark-paragraph') moves point to the beginning of the paragraph that surrounds or follows point, and puts the mark at the end of that paragraph (*note Paragraphs::.). It prepares the region so you can indent, case-convert, or kill a whole paragraph. `C-M-h' (`mark-defun') similarly puts point before and the mark after the current or following defun (*note Defuns::.). `C-x C-p' (`mark-page') puts point before the current page, and mark at the end (*note Pages::.). The mark goes after the terminating page delimiter (to include it), while point goes after the preceding page delimiter (to exclude it). A numeric argument specifies a later page (if positive) or an earlier page (if negative) instead of the current page. Finally, `C-x h' (`mark-whole-buffer') sets up the entire buffer as the region, by putting point at the beginning and the mark at the end. In Transient Mark mode, all of these commands activate the mark. File: emacs, Node: Mark Ring, Next: Global Mark Ring, Prev: Marking Objects, Up: Mark The Mark Ring ============= Aside from delimiting the region, the mark is also useful for remembering a spot that you may want to go back to. To make this feature more useful, each buffer remembers 16 previous locations of the mark, in the "mark ring". Commands that set the mark also push the old mark onto this ring. To return to a marked location, use `C-u C-SPC' (or `C-u C-@'); this is the command `set-mark-command' given a numeric argument. It moves point to where the mark was, and restores the mark from the ring of former marks. Thus, repeated use of this command moves point to all of the old marks on the ring, one by one. The mark positions you move through in this way are not lost; they go to the end of the ring. Each buffer has its own mark ring. All editing commands use the current buffer's mark ring. In particular, `C-u C-SPC' always stays in the same buffer. Many commands that can move long distances, such as `M-<' (`beginning-of-buffer'), start by setting the mark and saving the old mark on the mark ring. This is to make it easier for you to move back later. Searches set the mark if they move point. You can tell when a command sets the mark because it displays `Mark Set' in the echo area. If you want to move back to the same place over and over, the mark ring may not be convenient enough. If so, you can record the position in a register for later retrieval (*note RegPos::.). The variable `mark-ring-max' specifies the maximum number of entries to keep in the mark ring. If that many entries exist and another one is pushed, the last one in the list is discarded. Repeating `C-u C-SPC' circulates through the positions currently in the ring. The variable `mark-ring' holds the mark ring itself, as a list of marker objects in the order most recent first. This variable is local in every buffer. File: emacs, Node: Global Mark Ring, Prev: Mark Ring, Up: Mark The Global Mark Ring ==================== In addition to the ordinary mark ring that belongs to each buffer, Emacs has a single "global mark ring". It records a sequence of buffers in which you have recently set the mark, so you can go back to those buffers. Setting the mark always makes an entry on the current buffer's mark ring. If you have switched buffers since the previous mark setting, the new mark position makes an entry on the global mark ring also. The result is that the global mark ring records a sequence of buffers that you have been in, and, for each buffer, a place where you set the mark. The command `C-x C-SPC' (`pop-global-mark') jumps to the buffer and position of the latest entry in the global ring. It also rotates the ring, so that successive uses of `C-x C-SPC' take you to earlier and earlier buffers. File: emacs, Node: Killing, Next: Yanking, Prev: Mark, Up: Top Deletion and Killing ==================== Most commands which erase text from the buffer save it in the kill ring so that you can move or copy it to other parts of the buffer. These commands are known as "kill" commands. The rest of the commands that erase text do not save it in the kill ring; they are known as "delete" commands. (This distinction is made only for erasure of text in the buffer.) If you do a kill or delete command by mistake, you can use the `C-x u' (`undo') command to undo it (*note Undo::.). The delete commands include `C-d' (`delete-char') and DEL (`delete-backward-char'), which delete only one character at a time, and those commands that delete only spaces or newlines. Commands that can destroy significant amounts of nontrivial data generally kill. The commands' names and individual descriptions use the words `kill' and `delete' to say which they do. * Menu: * Deletion:: Commands for deleting small amounts of text and blank areas. * Killing by Lines:: How to kill entire lines of text at one time. * Other Kill Commands:: Commands to kill large regions of text and syntactic units such as words and sentences. File: emacs, Node: Deletion, Next: Killing by Lines, Up: Killing Deletion -------- `C-d' Delete next character (`delete-char'). `DEL' Delete previous character (`delete-backward-char'). `M-\' Delete spaces and tabs around point (`delete-horizontal-space'). `M-SPC' Delete spaces and tabs around point, leaving one space (`just-one-space'). `C-x C-o' Delete blank lines around the current line (`delete-blank-lines'). `M-^' Join two lines by deleting the intervening newline, along with any indentation following it (`delete-indentation'). The most basic delete commands are `C-d' (`delete-char') and DEL (`delete-backward-char'). `C-d' deletes the character after point, the one the cursor is "on top of". This doesn't move point. DEL deletes the character before the cursor, and moves point back. You can delete newlines like any other characters in the buffer; deleting a newline joins two lines. Actually, `C-d' and DEL aren't always delete commands; when given arguments, they kill instead, since they can erase more than one character this way. The other delete commands are those which delete only whitespace characters: spaces, tabs and newlines. `M-\' (`delete-horizontal-space') deletes all the spaces and tab characters before and after point. `M-SPC' (`just-one-space') does likewise but leaves a single space after point, regardless of the number of spaces that existed previously (even zero). `C-x C-o' (`delete-blank-lines') deletes all blank lines after the current line. If the current line is blank, it deletes all blank lines preceding the current line as well (leaving one blank line, the current line). `M-^' (`delete-indentation') joins the current line and the previous line, by deleting a newline and all surrounding spaces, usually leaving a single space. *Note M-^: Indentation. File: emacs, Node: Killing by Lines, Next: Other Kill Commands, Prev: Deletion, Up: Killing Killing by Lines ---------------- `C-k' Kill rest of line or one or more lines (`kill-line'). The simplest kill command is `C-k'. If given at the beginning of a line, it kills all the text on the line, leaving it blank. When used on a blank line, it kills the whole line including its newline. To kill an entire non-blank line, go to the beginning and type `C-k' twice. More generally, `C-k' kills from point up to the end of the line, unless it is at the end of a line. In that case it kills the newline following point, thus merging the next line into the current one. Spaces and tabs that you can't see at the end of the line are ignored when deciding which case applies, so if point appears to be at the end of the line, you can be sure `C-k' will kill the newline. When `C-k' is given a positive argument, it kills that many lines and the newlines that follow them (however, text on the current line before point is spared). With a negative argument -N, it kills N lines preceding the current line (together with the text on the current line before point). Thus, `C-u - 2 C-k' at the front of a line kills the two previous lines. `C-k' with an argument of zero kills the text before point on the current line. If the variable `kill-whole-line' is non-`nil', `C-k' at the very beginning of a line kills the entire line including the following newline. This variable is normally `nil'. File: emacs, Node: Other Kill Commands, Prev: Killing by Lines, Up: Killing Other Kill Commands ------------------- `C-w' Kill region (from point to the mark) (`kill-region'). `M-d' Kill word (`kill-word'). *Note Words::. `M-DEL' Kill word backwards (`backward-kill-word'). `C-x DEL' Kill back to beginning of sentence (`backward-kill-sentence'). *Note Sentences::. `M-k' Kill to end of sentence (`kill-sentence'). `C-M-k' Kill sexp (`kill-sexp'). *Note Lists::. `M-z CHAR' Kill through the next occurrence of CHAR (`zap-to-char'). A kill command which is very general is `C-w' (`kill-region'), which kills everything between point and the mark. With this command, you can kill any contiguous sequence of characters, if you first set the region around them. A convenient way of killing is combined with searching: `M-z' (`zap-to-char') reads a character and kills from point up to (and including) the next occurrence of that character in the buffer. A numeric argument acts as a repeat count. A negative argument means to search backward and kill text before point. Other syntactic units can be killed: words, with `M-DEL' and `M-d' (*note Words::.); sexps, with `C-M-k' (*note Lists::.); and sentences, with `C-x DEL' and `M-k' (*note Sentences::.). You can use kill commands in read-only buffers. They don't actually change the buffer, and they beep to warn you of that, but they do copy the text you tried to kill into the kill ring, so you can yank it into other buffers. Most of the kill commands move point across the text they copy in this way, so that successive kill commands build up a single kill ring entry as usual. File: emacs, Node: Yanking, Next: Accumulating Text, Prev: Killing, Up: Top Yanking ======= "Yanking" means reinserting text previously killed. This is what some systems call "pasting". The usual way to move or copy text is to kill it and then yank it elsewhere one or more times. `C-y' Yank last killed text (`yank'). `M-y' Replace text just yanked with an earlier batch of killed text (`yank-pop'). `M-w' Save region as last killed text without actually killing it (`kill-ring-save'). `C-M-w' Append next kill to last batch of killed text (`append-next-kill'). * Menu: * Kill Ring:: Where killed text is stored. Basic yanking. * Appending Kills:: Several kills in a row all yank together. * Earlier Kills:: Yanking something killed some time ago. File: emacs, Node: Kill Ring, Next: Appending Kills, Up: Yanking The Kill Ring ------------- All killed text is recorded in the "kill ring", a list of blocks of text that have been killed. There is only one kill ring, shared by all buffers, so you can kill text in one buffer and yank it in another buffer. This is the usual way to move text from one file to another. (*Note Accumulating Text::, for some other ways.) The command `C-y' (`yank') reinserts the text of the most recent kill. It leaves the cursor at the end of the text. It sets the mark at the beginning of the text. *Note Mark::. `C-u C-y' leaves the cursor in front of the text, and sets the mark after it. This happens only if the argument is specified with just a `C-u', precisely. Any other sort of argument, including `C-u' and digits, specifies an earlier kill to yank (*note Earlier Kills::.). To copy a block of text, you can use `M-w' (`kill-ring-save'), which copies the region into the kill ring without removing it from the buffer. This is approximately equivalent to `C-w' followed by `C-x u', except that `M-w' does not alter the undo history and does not temporarily change the screen. File: emacs, Node: Appending Kills, Next: Earlier Kills, Prev: Kill Ring, Up: Yanking Appending Kills --------------- Normally, each kill command pushes a new entry onto the kill ring. However, two or more kill commands in a row combine their text into a single entry, so that a single `C-y' yanks all the text as a unit, just as it was before it was killed. Thus, if you want to yank text as a unit, you need not kill all of it with one command; you can keep killing line after line, or word after word, until you have killed it all, and you can still get it all back at once. Commands that kill forward from point add onto the end of the previous killed text. Commands that kill backward from point add text onto the beginning. This way, any sequence of mixed forward and backward kill commands puts all the killed text into one entry without rearrangement. Numeric arguments do not break the sequence of appending kills. For example, suppose the buffer contains this text: This is a line -!-of sample text. with point shown by -!-. If you type `M-d M-DEL M-d M-DEL', killing alternately forward and backward, you end up with `a line of sample' as one entry in the kill ring, and `This is text.' in the buffer. (Note the double space, which you can clean up with `M-SPC' or `M-q'.) Another way to kill the same text is to move back two words with `M-b M-b', then kill all four words forward with `C-u M-d'. This produces exactly the same results in the buffer and in the kill ring. `M-f M-f C-u M-DEL' kills the same text, all going backward; once again, the result is the same. The text in the kill ring entry always has the same order that it had in the buffer before you killed it. If a kill command is separated from the last kill command by other commands (not just numeric arguments), it starts a new entry on the kill ring. But you can force it to append by first typing the command `C-M-w' (`append-next-kill') right before it. The `C-M-w' tells the following command, if it is a kill command, to append the text it kills to the last killed text, instead of starting a new entry. With `C-M-w', you can kill several separated pieces of text and accumulate them to be yanked back in one place. A kill command following `M-w' does not append to the text that `M-w' copied into the kill ring. File: emacs, Node: Earlier Kills, Prev: Appending Kills, Up: Yanking Yanking Earlier Kills --------------------- To recover killed text that is no longer the most recent kill, use the `M-y' command (`yank-pop'). It takes the text previously yanked and replaces it with the text from an earlier kill. So, to recover the text of the next-to-the-last kill, first use `C-y' to yank the last kill, and then use `M-y' to replace it with the previous kill. `M-y' is allowed only after a `C-y' or another `M-y'. You can understand `M-y' in terms of a "last yank" pointer which points at an entry in the kill ring. Each time you kill, the "last yank" pointer moves to the newly made entry at the front of the ring. `C-y' yanks the entry which the "last yank" pointer points to. `M-y' moves the "last yank" pointer to a different entry, and the text in the buffer changes to match. Enough `M-y' commands can move the pointer to any entry in the ring, so you can get any entry into the buffer. Eventually the pointer reaches the end of the ring; the next `M-y' moves it to the first entry again. `M-y' moves the "last yank" pointer around the ring, but it does not change the order of the entries in the ring, which always runs from the most recent kill at the front to the oldest one still remembered. `M-y' can take a numeric argument, which tells it how many entries to advance the "last yank" pointer by. A negative argument moves the pointer toward the front of the ring; from the front of the ring, it moves "around" to the last entry and continues forward from there. Once the text you are looking for is brought into the buffer, you can stop doing `M-y' commands and it will stay there. It's just a copy of the kill ring entry, so editing it in the buffer does not change what's in the ring. As long as no new killing is done, the "last yank" pointer remains at the same place in the kill ring, so repeating `C-y' will yank another copy of the same previous kill. If you know how many `M-y' commands it would take to find the text you want, you can yank that text in one step using `C-y' with a numeric argument. `C-y' with an argument restores the text the specified number of entries back in the kill ring. Thus, `C-u 2 C-y' gets the next to the last block of killed text. It is equivalent to `C-y M-y'. `C-y' with a numeric argument starts counting from the "last yank" pointer, and sets the "last yank" pointer to the entry that it yanks. The length of the kill ring is controlled by the variable `kill-ring-max'; no more than that many blocks of killed text are saved. The actual contents of the kill ring are stored in a variable named `kill-ring'; you can view the entire contents of the kill ring with the command `C-h v kill-ring'. File: emacs, Node: Accumulating Text, Next: Rectangles, Prev: Yanking, Up: Top Accumulating Text ================= Usually we copy or move text by killing it and yanking it, but there are other methods convenient for copying one block of text in many places, or for copying many scattered blocks of text into one place. To copy one block to many places, store it in a register (*note Registers::.). Here we describe the commands to accumulate scattered pieces of text into a buffer or into a file. `M-x append-to-buffer' Append region to contents of specified buffer. `M-x prepend-to-buffer' Prepend region to contents of specified buffer. `M-x copy-to-buffer' Copy region into specified buffer, deleting that buffer's old contents. `M-x insert-buffer' Insert contents of specified buffer into current buffer at point. `M-x append-to-file' Append region to contents of specified file, at the end. To accumulate text into a buffer, use `M-x append-to-buffer'. This reads a buffer name, them inserts a copy of the region into the buffer specified. If you specify a nonexistent buffer, `append-to-buffer' creates the buffer. The text is inserted wherever point is in that buffer. If you have been using the buffer for editing, the copied text goes into the middle of the text of the buffer, wherever point happens to be in it. Point in that buffer is left at the end of the copied text, so successive uses of `append-to-buffer' accumulate the text in the specified buffer in the same order as they were copied. Strictly speaking, `append-to-buffer' does not always append to the text already in the buffer--only if point in that buffer is at the end. However, if `append-to-buffer' is the only command you use to alter a buffer, then point is always at the end. `M-x prepend-to-buffer' is just like `append-to-buffer' except that point in the other buffer is left before the copied text, so successive prependings add text in reverse order. `M-x copy-to-buffer' is similar except that any existing text in the other buffer is deleted, so the buffer is left containing just the text newly copied into it. To retrieve the accumulated text from another buffer, use `M-x insert-buffer'; this too takes BUFFERNAME as an argument. It inserts a copy of the text in buffer BUFFERNAME into the selected buffer. You can alternatively select the other buffer for editing, then optionally move text from it by killing. *Note Buffers::, for background information on buffers. Instead of accumulating text within Emacs, in a buffer, you can append text directly into a file with `M-x append-to-file', which takes FILENAME as an argument. It adds the text of the region to the end of the specified file. The file is changed immediately on disk. You should use `append-to-file' only with files that are *not* being visited in Emacs. Using it on a file that you are editing in Emacs would change the file behind Emacs's back, which can lead to losing some of your editing.