(M-40132'): Unify GT-53970.

[chise/xemacs-chise.git-] / info / xemacs.info-5

This is ../info/xemacs.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.0b from
xemacs/xemacs.texi.

INFO-DIR-SECTION XEmacs Editor
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* XEmacs: (xemacs).             XEmacs Editor.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file documents the XEmacs editor.

   Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1988 Richard M. Stallman.  Copyright (C)
1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Lucid, Inc.  Copyright (C) 1993, 1994 Sun
Microsystems, Inc.  Copyright (C) 1995 Amdahl Corporation.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that the sections entitled "The GNU Manifesto", "Distribution" and "GNU
General Public License" are included exactly as in the original, and
provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the
terms of a permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that the sections entitled "The GNU Manifesto",
"Distribution" and "GNU General Public License" may be included in a
translation approved by the author instead of in the original English.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Library Keywords,  Next: Help Mode,  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           code related to the `bib' bibliography processor
     c             C, C++, and Objective-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
     dumped        files preloaded into Emacs
     emulations    emulations of other editors
     extensions    Emacs Lisp language extensions
     faces         support for multiple fonts
     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 between 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          Lisp support, including Emacs Lisp
     local         code local to your site
     maint         maintenance aids for the Emacs development group
     mail          modes for electronic-mail handling
     matching      various sorts of searching and matching
     mouse         mouse support
     mule          multi-language extensions
     news          support for netnews reading and posting
     oop           support for object-oriented programming
     outlines      support for hierarchical outlining
     processes     process, subshell, compilation, and job control support
     terminals     support for terminal types
     tex           code related to the TeX formatter
     tools         programming tools
     unix          front-ends/assistants for, or emulators of, UNIX features
     vms           support code for vms
     wp            word processing

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Help Mode,  Next: Misc Help,  Prev: Library Keywords,  Up: Help

Help Mode Commands
==================

   Help buffers provide the commands of View mode (*note Misc File
Ops::), plus a few special commands of their own.

`<SPC>'
     Scroll forward.

`<DEL>'
`<BS>'
     Scroll backward.

   When a command name (*note Running Commands by Name: M-x.) or
variable name (*note Variables::) appears in the documentation, it
normally appears inside paired single-quotes.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Misc Help,  Prev: Help Mode,  Up: Help

Other Help Commands
===================

   `C-h i' (`info') runs the Info program, which is used for browsing
through structured documentation files.  The entire XEmacs 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.

   If you specify a numeric argument, `C-h i' prompts for the name of a
documentation file.  This way, you can browse a file which doesn't have
an entry in the top-level Info menu.  It is also handy when you need to
get to the documentation quickly, and you know the exact name of the
file.

   There are two special help commands for accessing XEmacs
documentation through Info.  `C-h C-f FUNCTION <RET>' enters Info and
goes straight to the documentation of the XEmacs 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-elisp-ref' 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.

   XEmacs has several major modes.  Each mode 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 information about the current XEmacs mode that is not covered
by `C-h m'.  `C-h b' displays a list of all the key bindings currently
in effect, with the local bindings of the current major mode first,
followed by 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' (`describe-no-warranty') displays the full details on the
complete absence of warranty for XEmacs.  `C-h n' (`view-emacs-news')
displays the file `xemacs/etc/NEWS', which contains documentation on
XEmacs changes arranged chronologically.  `C-h F' (`xemacs-local-faq')
displays local version of the XEmacs
frequently-answered-questions-list.  `C-h t' (`help-with-tutorial')
displays the learn-by-doing XEmacs tutorial. `C-h C-c'
(`describe-copying') displays the file `xemacs/etc/COPYING', which
tells you the conditions you must obey in distributing copies of
XEmacs.  `C-h C-d' (`describe-distribution') displays another file named
`xemacs/etc/DISTRIB', which tells you how you can order a copy of the
latest version of XEmacs.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Mark,  Next: Mouse Selection,  Prev: Help,  Up: Top

Selecting Text
**************

   Many Emacs commands operate on an arbitrary contiguous part of the
current buffer. You can select text in two ways:

   * You use special keys to select text by defining a region between
     point and the mark.

   * If you are running XEmacs under X, you can also select text with
     the mouse.

The Mark and the Region
=======================

   To specify the text for a command to operate on, 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".  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 until it is set again at
another place.  The mark remains fixed with respect to the preceding
character if text is inserted or deleted in a buffer.  Each Emacs
buffer has its own mark; 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 the mark at one end of the inserted text--the
opposite end from where point is positioned, so that the region
contains the text just inserted.

   Aside from delimiting the region, the mark is useful for marking a
spot that you may want to go back to.  To make this feature more useful,
Emacs remembers 16 previous locations of the mark in the `mark ring'.

* Menu:

* Setting Mark::        Commands to set the mark.
* 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.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Setting Mark,  Next: Using Region,  Prev: 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').

`C-<'
     Pushes a mark at the beginning of the buffer.

`C->'
     Pushes a mark at the end of the buffer.

   For example, to convert part of the buffer to all upper-case, you
can use the `C-x C-u' (`upcase-region') command, which operates on the
text in the region.  First go to the beginning of the text you want to
capitalize and type `C-<SPC>' to put the mark there, then move to the
end, and then type `C-x C-u' to capitalize the selected region.  You
can also set the mark at the end of the text, move to the beginning,
and then type `C-x C-u'.  Most commands that operate on the text in the
region have the word `region' in their names.

   The most common way to set the mark is with the `C-<SPC>' command
(`set-mark-command').  This command sets the mark where point is. You
can then move point away, leaving the mark behind.  It is actually
incorrect to speak of the character `C-<SPC>'; there is no such
character.  When you type <SPC> while holding down <CTRL>, you get the
character `C-@' on most terminals. This character 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 should
think of this character as `C-<SPC>'.

   Since terminals have only one cursor, Emacs cannot show you where the
mark is located. Most people use the mark soon after they set it, before
they forget where it is. But 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 location of
the mark.

   Another way to set the mark is to push the mark to the beginning of a
buffer while leaving point at its original location. If you supply an
argument to `C-<' (`mark-beginning-of-buffer'), the mark is pushed N/10
of the way from the true beginning of the buffer. You can also set the
mark at the end of a buffer with `C->' (`mark-end-of-buffer'). It
pushes the mark to the end of the buffer, leaving point alone.
Supplying an argument to the command pushes the mark N/10 of the way
from the true end of the buffer.

   If you are using XEmacs under the X window system, you can set the
variable `zmacs-regions' to `t'. This makes the current region (defined
by point and mark) highlight and makes it available as the X clipboard
selection, which means you can use the menu bar items on it.  *Note
Active Regions::, for more information.

   `C-x C-x' is also useful when you are satisfied with the location of
point but want to move the mark; do `C-x C-x' to put point there and
then you can move it.  A second use of `C-x C-x', if necessary, puts
the mark at the new location with point back at its original location.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Using Region,  Next: Marking Objects,  Prev: Setting Mark,  Up: Mark

Operating on the Region
-----------------------

   Once you have created an active region, you can do many things to
the text in it:
   * 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::).

   * Evaluate it as Lisp code with `M-x eval-region' (*note Lisp
     Eval::).

   * Fill it as text with `M-q' (*note Filling::).

   * Print hardcopy with `M-x print-region' (*note Hardcopy::).

   * Indent it with `C-x <TAB>' or `C-M-\' (*note Indentation::).

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Marking Objects,  Next: Mark Ring,  Prev: Using Region,  Up: Mark

Commands to Mark Textual Objects
--------------------------------

   There are 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 characters sometimes save you some typing.

   A number of commands are available that set both point and mark and
thus delimit an object in the buffer.  `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::).  You can then indent, case-convert, or kill the whole
paragraph.  In the same fashion, `C-M-h' (`mark-defun') 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
(or the next or previous, depending on the argument), 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).  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.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Mark Ring,  Prev: Marking Objects,  Up: Mark

The Mark Ring
-------------

   Aside from delimiting the region, the mark is also useful for marking
a spot that you may want to go back to.  To make this feature more
useful, Emacs remembers 16 previous locations of the mark in the "mark
ring".  Most commands that set the mark 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.
The command moves point to where the mark was, and restores the mark
from the ring of former marks. Repeated use of this command moves point
to all the old marks on the ring, one by one.  The marks you have seen
go to the end of the ring, so no marks are lost.

   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 makes it easier for you to move back
later.  Searches set the mark, unless they do not actually move point.
When a command sets the mark, `Mark Set' is printed in the echo area.

   The variable `mark-ring-max' is the maximum number of entries to
keep in the mark ring.  If that many entries exist and another entry is
added, the last entry in the list is discarded.  Repeating `C-u
C-<SPC>' circulates through the entries that are 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.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Mouse Selection,  Next: Additional Mouse Operations,  Prev: Mark,  Up: Top

Selecting Text with the Mouse
=============================

   If you are using XEmacs under X, you can use the mouse pointer to
select text. (The normal mouse pointer is an I-beam, the same pointer
that `xterm' uses.)

   The glyph variable `text-pointer-glyph' controls the shape of the
mouse pointer when over text.  You can also control the shape of the
mouse pointer when over nontext using `nontext-pointer-glyph', and the
shape of the mouse pointer when over the modeline using
`modeline-pointer-glyph'. (Remember, you should use `set-glyph-image',
not `setq', to set one of these variables.)

   If you want to get fancy, you can set the foreground and background
colors of the mouse pointer by setting the `pointer' face.

   There are two ways to select a region of text with the mouse:

   To select a word in text, double-click with the left mouse button
while the mouse cursor is over the word.  The word is highlighted when
selected. On monochrome monitors, a stippled background indicates that a
region of text has been highlighted. On color monitors, a color
background indicates highlighted text. You can triple-click to select
whole lines.

   To select an arbitrary region of text:

  1. Move the mouse cursor over the character at the beginning of the
     region of text you want to select.

  2. Press and hold the left mouse button.

  3. While holding the left mouse button down, drag the cursor to the
     character at the end of the region of text you want to select.

  4. Release the left mouse button.
        The selected region of text is highlighted.

   Once a region of text is selected, it becomes the primary X selection
(*note Using X Selections::) as well as the Emacs selected region. You
can paste it into other X applications and use the options from the
Edit pull-down menu on it.  Since it is also the Emacs region, you can
use Emacs region commands on it.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Additional Mouse Operations,  Next: Killing,  Prev: Mouse Selection,  Up: Top

Additional Mouse Operations
===========================

   XEmacs also provides the following mouse functions.  Most of these
are not bound to mouse gestures by default, but they are provided for
your customization pleasure.  For example, if you wanted `shift-left'
(that is, holding down the <Shift> key and clicking the left mouse
button) to delete the character at which you are pointing, then you
could do this:

     (global-set-key '(shift button1) 'mouse-del-char)

`mouse-del-char'
     Delete the character pointed to by the mouse.

`mouse-delete-window'
     Delete the Emacs window that the mouse is on.

`mouse-keep-one-window'
     Select the Emacs window that the mouse is on, then delete all other
     windows on this frame.

`mouse-kill-line'
     Kill the line pointed to by the mouse.

`mouse-line-length'
     Print the length of the line indicated by the pointer.

`mouse-scroll'
     Scroll point to the mouse position.

`mouse-select'
     Select the Emacs window the mouse is on.

`mouse-select-and-split'
     Select the Emacs window mouse is on, then split it vertically in
     half.

`mouse-set-mark'
     Select the Emacs window the mouse is on and set the mark at the
     mouse position.  Display the cursor at that position for a second.

`mouse-set-point'
     Select the Emacs window that the mouse is on and move point to the
     mouse position.

`mouse-track'
     Make a selection with the mouse.   This is the default binding of
     the left mouse button (<button1>).

`mouse-track-adjust'
     Extend the existing selection.  This is the default binding of
     <Shift-button1>.

`mouse-track-and-copy-to-cutbuffer'
     Make a selection like `mouse-track', but also copy it to the cut
     buffer.

`mouse-track-delete-and-insert'
     Make a selection with the mouse and insert it at point.  This is
     the default binding of <control-shift-button1>.

`mouse-track-insert'
     Make a selection with the mouse and insert it at point.  This is
     the default binding of <control-button1>.

`mouse-window-to-region'
     Narrow a window to the region between the cursor and the mouse
     pointer.

   The `M-x mouse-track' command should be bound to a mouse button.  If
you click-and-drag, the selection is set to the region between the
point of the initial click and the point at which you release the
button.  These positions do not need to be ordered.

   If you click-and-release without moving the mouse, the point is
moved, and the selection is disowned (there will be no selection
owner.)  The mark will be set to the previous position of point.

   If you double-click, the selection will extend by symbols instead of
by characters.  If you triple-click, the selection will extend by lines.

   If you drag the mouse off the top or bottom of the window, you can
select pieces of text that are larger than the visible part of the
buffer; the buffer will scroll as necessary.

   The selected text becomes the current X selection, and is also
copied to the top of the kill ring.  Point will be left at the position
at which you released the button and the mark will be left at the
initial click position.  Bind a mouse click to
`mouse-track-and-copy-to-cutbuffer' to copy selections to the cut
buffer.  (See also the `mouse-track-adjust' command, on
`Shift-button1'.)

   The `M-x mouse-track-adjust' command should be bound to a mouse
button.  The selection will be enlarged or shrunk so that the point of
the mouse click is one of its endpoints.  This is only meaningful after
the `mouse-track' command (<button1>) has been executed.

   The `M-x mouse-track-delete-and-insert' command is exactly the same
as the `mouse-track' command on <button1>, except that point is not
moved; the selected text is immediately inserted after being selected;
and the text of the selection is deleted.

   The `M-x mouse-track-insert' command is exactly the same as the
`mouse-track' command on <button1>, except that point is not moved; the
selected text is immediately inserted after being selected; and the
selection is immediately disowned afterwards.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Killing,  Next: Yanking,  Prev: Additional Mouse Operations,  Up: Top

Deletion and Killing
====================

   Most commands that erase text from the buffer save it. You can get
the text back if you change your mind, or you can move or copy it to
other parts of the buffer.  Commands which erase text and save it in the
kill ring are known as "kill" commands.  Some other commands erase text
but do not save it; they are known as "delete" commands.  (This
distinction is made only for erasing text in the buffer.)

   The commands' names and individual descriptions use the words `kill'
and `delete' to indicate what they do.  If you perform a kill or delete
command by mistake, 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 usually kill.

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, and 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".  Point doesn't move.  <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; if you give them an argument, they kill instead, since they
can erase more than one character this way.

   The other delete commands delete only formatting characters: spaces,
tabs and newlines.  `M-\' (`delete-horizontal-space') deletes all
spaces and tab characters before and after point.  `M-<SPC>'
(`just-one-space') does the same 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 as leaving one blank line, the
current line.  `M-^' (`delete-indentation') joins the current line and
the previous line, or, if given an argument, joins the current line and
the next line by deleting a newline and all surrounding spaces, possibly
leaving a single space.  *Note M-^: Indentation.

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 the line blank.  If
given on a blank line, the blank line disappears.  As a consequence, a
line disappears completely if you go to the front of a non-blank line
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 the line, thus merging the next line into the current one.
Emacs ignores invisible spaces and tabs at the end of the line when
deciding which case applies: if point appears to be at the end of the
line, you can be sure the newline will be killed.

   If you give `C-k' a positive argument, it kills that many lines and
the newlines that follow them (however, text on the current line before
point is not killed).  With a negative argument, `C-k' kills back to a
number of line beginnings.  An argument of -2 means kill back to the
second line beginning.  If point is at the beginning of a line, that
line beginning doesn't count, so `C-u - 2 C-k' with point at the front
of a line kills the two previous lines.

   `C-k' with an argument of zero kills all the text before point on the
current line.

Other Kill Commands
-------------------

`C-w'
     Kill region (from point to the mark) (`kill-region').  *Note
     Words::.

`M-d'
     Kill word (`kill-word').

`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 up to next occurrence of CHAR (`zap-to-char').

   `C-w' (`kill-region') is a very general kill command; it kills
everything between point and the mark. You can use this command to kill
any contiguous sequence of characters by first setting the mark at one
end of a sequence of characters, then going to the other end and typing
`C-w'.

   A convenient way of killing is combined with searching: `M-z'
(`zap-to-char') reads a character and kills from point up to (but not
including) the next occurrence of that character in the buffer.  If
there is no next occurrence, killing goes to the end of 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::).

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Yanking,  Next: Using X Selections,  Prev: Killing,  Up: Top

Yanking
=======

   "Yanking" means getting back text which was killed. Some systems
call this "pasting".  The usual way to move or copy text is to kill it
and then yank it one or more times.

`C-y'
     Yank last killed text (`yank').

`M-y'
     Replace re-inserted killed text with the previously killed text
     (`yank-pop').

`M-w'
     Save region as last killed text without actually killing it
     (`copy-region-as-kill').

`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.

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File: xemacs.info,  Node: Kill Ring,  Next: Appending Kills,  Prev: Yanking,  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, used in 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.)

   If you have two separate Emacs processes, you cannot use the kill
ring to move text. If you are using XEmacs under X, however, you can
use the X selection mechanism to move text from one to another.

   If you are using XEmacs under X and have one Emacs process with
multiple frames, they do share the same kill ring.  You can kill or
copy text in one Emacs frame, then yank it in the other frame belonging
to the same process.

   The command `C-y' (`yank') reinserts the text of the most recent
kill.  It leaves the cursor at the end of the text and sets the mark at
the beginning of the text.  *Note Mark::.

   `C-u C-y' yanks the text, leaves the cursor in front of the text,
and sets the mark after it, if the argument is with just a `C-u'.  Any
other argument, including `C-u' and digits, has different results,
described below, under "Yanking Earlier Kills".

   To copy a block of text, you can also use `M-w'
(`copy-region-as-kill'), which copies the region into the kill ring
without removing it from the buffer. `M-w' is similar to `C-w' followed
by `C-y' but does not mark the buffer as "modified" and does not
actually cut anything.

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File: xemacs.info,  Node: Appending Kills,  Next: Earlier Kills,  Prev: Kill Ring,  Up: Yanking

Appending Kills
---------------

   Normally, each kill command pushes a new block 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 it all back. This means you
don't have to kill all the text you want to yank in one command; you
can kill line after line, or word after word, until you have killed what
you want, then get it all back at once using `C-y'. (Thus we join
television in leading people to kill thoughtlessly.)

   Commands that kill forward from point add onto the end of the
previous killed text.  Commands that kill backward from point add 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 is the first
     line of sample text
     and here is the third.

with point at the beginning of the second line.  If you type `C-k C-u 2
M-<DEL> C-k', the first `C-k' kills the text `line of sample text',
`C-u 2 M-<DEL>' kills `the first' with the newline that followed it,
and the second `C-k' kills the newline after the second line.  The
result is that the buffer contains `This is and here is the third.' and
a single kill entry contains `the first<RET>line of sample
text<RET>'--all the killed text, in its original order.

   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.  To force a kill command to append, first type the command `C-M-w'
(`append-next-kill'). `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.

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File: xemacs.info,  Node: Earlier Kills,  Prev: Appending Kills,  Up: Yanking

Yanking Earlier Kills
---------------------

   To recover killed text that is no longer the most recent kill, you
need the `Meta-y' (`yank-pop') command.  You can use `M-y' only after a
`C-y' or another `M-y'.  It takes the text previously yanked and
replaces it with the text from an earlier kill.  To recover the text of
the next-to-the-last kill, first use `C-y' to recover the last kill,
then `M-y' to replace it with the previous kill.

   You can think in terms of a "last yank" pointer which points at an
item in the kill ring.  Each time you kill, the "last yank" pointer
moves to the new item at the front of the ring.  `C-y' yanks the item
which the "last yank" pointer points to.  `M-y' moves the "last yank"
pointer to a different item, and the text in the buffer changes to
match.  Enough `M-y' commands can move the pointer to any item in the
ring, so you can get any item into the buffer.  Eventually the pointer
reaches the end of the ring; the next `M-y' moves it to the first item
again.

   Yanking moves the "last yank" pointer around the ring, but 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.

   Use `M-y' with a numeric argument to advance the "last yank" pointer
by the specified number of items.  A negative argument moves the
pointer toward the front of the ring; from the front of the ring, it
moves to the last entry and starts moving forward from there.

   Once the text you are looking for is brought into the buffer, you can
stop doing `M-y' commands and the text will stay there. Since the text
is just a copy of the kill ring item, editing it in the buffer does not
change what's in the ring.  As long you don't kill additional text, the
"last yank" pointer remains at the same place in the kill ring:
repeating `C-y' will yank another copy of the same old 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 greater than one 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 variable `kill-ring-max' controls the length of the kill ring;
no more than that many blocks of killed text are saved.

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File: xemacs.info,  Node: Using X Selections,  Next: Accumulating Text,  Prev: Yanking,  Up: Top

Using X Selections
==================

   In the X window system, mouse selections provide a simple mechanism
for text transfer between different applications.  In a typical X
application, you can select text by pressing the left mouse button and
dragging the cursor over the text you want to copy.  The text becomes
the primary X selection and is highlighted.  The highlighted region is
also the Emacs selected region.

   * Since the region is the primary X selection, you can go to a
     different X application and click the middle mouse button: the
     text that you selected in the previous application is pasted into
     the current application.

   * Since the region is the Emacs selected region, you can use all
     region commands (`C-w, M-w' etc.) as well as the options of the
     Edit menu to manipulate the selected text.

* Menu:

* X Clipboard Selection::       Pasting to the X clipboard.
* X Selection Commands::        Other operations on the selection.
* X Cut Buffers::               X cut buffers are available for compatibility.
* Active Regions::              Using zmacs-style highlighting of the
                                 selected region.

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File: xemacs.info,  Node: X Clipboard Selection,  Next: X Selection Commands,  Prev: Using X Selections,  Up: Using X Selections

The Clipboard Selection
-----------------------

   There are other kinds of X selections besides the Primary selection;
one common one is the Clipboard selection.  Some applications prefer to
transfer data using this selection in preference to the Primary.  One
can transfer text from the Primary selection to the  Clipboard
selection with the Copy command under the Edit menu in the menubar.

   Usually, the clipboard selection is not visible.  However, if you
run the `xclipboard' application, the text most recently copied to the
clipboard (with the Copy command) is displayed in a window.  Any time
new text is thus copied, the `xclipboard' application makes a copy of
it and displays it in its window.  The value of the clipboard can
survive the lifetime of the running Emacs process.  The `xclipboard'
man page provides more details.

   Warning: If you use the `xclipboard' application, remember that it
maintains a list of all things that have been pasted to the clipboard
(that is, copied with the Copy command).  If you don't manually delete
elements from this list by clicking on the Delete button in the
`xclipboard' window, the clipboard will eventually consume a lot of
memory.

   In summary, some X applications (such as `xterm') allow one to paste
text in them from XEmacs in the following way:

   * Drag out a region of text in Emacs with the left mouse button,
     making that text be the Primary selection.

   * Click the middle button in the other application, pasting the
     Primary selection.

   With some other applications (notably, the OpenWindows and Motif
tools) you must use this method instead:

   * Drag out a region of text in Emacs with the left mouse button,
     making that text be the Primary selection.

   * Copy the selected text to the Clipboard selection by selecting the
     Copy menu item from the Edit menu, or by hitting the Copy key on
     your keyboard.

   * Paste the text in the other application by selecting Paste from its
     menu, or by hitting the Paste key on your keyboard.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: X Selection Commands,  Next: X Cut Buffers,  Prev: X Clipboard Selection,  Up: Using X Selections

Miscellaneous X Selection Commands
----------------------------------

`M-x x-copy-primary-selection'
     Copy the primary selection to both the kill ring and the Clipboard.

`M-x x-insert-selection'
     Insert the current selection into the buffer at point.

`M-x x-delete-primary-selection'
     Deletes the text in the primary selection without copying it to
     the kill ring or the Clipboard.

`M-x x-kill-primary-selection'
     Deletes the text in the primary selection and copies it to both
     the kill ring and the Clipboard.

`M-x x-mouse-kill'
     Kill the text between point and the mouse and copy it to the
     clipboard and to the cut buffer.

`M-x x-own-secondary-selection'
     Make a secondary X selection of the given argument.

`M-x x-own-selection'
     Make a primary X selection of the given argument.

`M-x x-set-point-and-insert-selection'
     Set point where clicked and insert the primary selection or the
     cut buffer.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: X Cut Buffers,  Next: Active Regions,  Prev: X Selection Commands,  Up: Using X Selections

X Cut Buffers
-------------

   X cut buffers are a different, older way of transferring text between
applications.  XEmacs supports cut buffers for compatibility with older
programs, even though selections are now the preferred way of
transferring text.

   X has a concept of applications "owning" selections.  When you select
text by clicking and dragging inside an application, the application
tells the X server that it owns the selection.  When another
application asks the X server for the value of the selection, the X
server requests the information from the owner. When you use
selections, the selection data is not actually transferred unless
someone wants it; the act of making a selection doesn't transfer data.
Cut buffers are different: when you "own" a cut buffer, the data is
actually transferred to the X server immediately, and survives the
lifetime of the application.

   Any time a region of text becomes the primary selection in Emacs,
Emacs also copies that text to the cut buffer.  This makes it possible
to copy text from an XEmacs buffer and paste it into an older,
non-selection-based application (such as Emacs 18).

   Note: Older versions of Emacs could not access the X selections, only
the X cut buffers.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Active Regions,  Prev: X Cut Buffers,  Up: Using X Selections

Active Regions
--------------

   By default, both the text you select in an Emacs buffer using the
click-and-drag mechanism and text you select by setting point and the
mark is highlighted. You can use Emacs region commands as well as the
Cut and Copy commands on the highlighted region you selected with the
mouse.

   If you prefer, you can make a distinction between text selected with
the mouse and text selected with point and the mark by setting the
variable `zmacs-regions' to `nil'.  In that case:

   * The text selected with the mouse becomes both the X selection and
     the Emacs selected region. You can use menu-bar commands as well
     as Emacs region commands on it.

   * The text selected with point and the mark is not highlighted. You
     can only use Emacs region commands on it, not the menu-bar items.

   Active regions originally come from Zmacs, the Lisp Machine editor.
The idea behind them is that commands can only operate on a region when
the region is in an "active" state.  Put simply, you can only operate on
a region that is highlighted.

   The variable `zmacs-regions' checks whether LISPM-style active
regions should be used.  This means that commands that operate on the
region (the area between point and the mark) only work while the region
is in the active state, which is indicated by highlighting.  Most
commands causes the region to not be in the active state; for example,
`C-w' only works immediately after activating the region.

   More specifically:
   * Commands that operate on the region only work if the region is
     active.

   * Only a very small set of commands causes the region to become
     active-- those commands whose semantics are to mark an area, such
     as `mark-defun'.

   * The region is deactivated after each command that is executed,
     except that motion commands do not change whether the region is
     active or not.

   `set-mark-command' (`C-SPC') pushes a mark and activates the region.
Moving the cursor with normal motion commands (`C-n', `C-p', etc.)
will cause the region between point and the recently-pushed mark to be
highlighted.  It will remain highlighted until some non-motion command
is executed.

   `exchange-point-and-mark' (`C-x C-x') activates the region.  So if
you mark a region and execute a command that operates on it, you can
reactivate the same region with `C-x C-x' (or perhaps `C-x C-x C-x
C-x') to operate on it again.

   Generally, commands that push marks as a means of navigation, such as
`beginning-of-buffer' (`M-<') and `end-of-buffer' (`M->'), do not
activate the region.  However, commands that push marks as a means of
marking an area of text, such as `mark-defun' (`M-C-h'), `mark-word'
(`M-@'), and `mark-whole-buffer' (`C-x h'), do activate the region.

   When `zmacs-regions' is `t', there is no distinction between the
primary X selection and the active region selected by point and the
mark.  To see this, set the mark (<C-SPC>) and move the cursor with any
cursor-motion command: the region between point and mark is
highlighted, and you can watch it grow and shrink as you move the
cursor.

   Any other commands besides cursor-motion commands (such as inserting
or deleting text) will cause the region to no longer be active; it will
no longer be highlighted, and will no longer be the primary selection.
Region can be explicitly deactivated with `C-g'.

   Commands that require a region (such as `C-w') signal an error if
the region is not active.  Certain commands cause the region to be in
its active state.  The most common ones are `push-mark' (<C-SPC>) and
`exchange-point-and-mark' (`C-x C-x').

   When `zmacs-regions' is `t', programs can be non-intrusive on the
state of the region by setting the variable `zmacs-region-stays' to a
non-`nil' value.  If you are writing a new Emacs command that is
conceptually a "motion" command and should not interfere with the
current highlightedness of the region, then you may set this variable.
It is reset to `nil' after each user command is executed.

   When `zmacs-regions' is `t', programs can make the region between
point and mark go into the active (highlighted) state by using the
function `zmacs-activate-region'. Only a small number of commands
should ever do this.

   When `zmacs-regions' is `t', programs can deactivate the region
between point and the mark by using `zmacs-deactivate-region'.  Note:
you should not have to call this function; the command loop calls it
when appropriate.

\1f
File: xemacs.info,  Node: Accumulating Text,  Next: Rectangles,  Prev: Using X Selections,  Up: Top

Accumulating Text
=================

   Usually you copy or move text by killing it and yanking it, but
there are other ways that are useful for copying one block of text in
many places, or for copying many scattered blocks of text into one
place.

   If you like, you can accumulate blocks of text from scattered
locations either into a buffer or into a file.  The relevant commands
are described here.  You can also use Emacs registers for storing and
accumulating text.  *Note Registers::.

`M-x append-to-buffer'
     Append region to contents of specified buffer (`append-to-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 the end of the contents of specified file.

   To accumulate text into a buffer, use the command `M-x
append-to-buffer', which inserts a copy of the region into the buffer
BUFFERNAME, at the location of point in that buffer.  If there is no
buffer with the given name, one is created.

   If you append text to a buffer that has been used for editing, the
copied text goes to the place where point is.  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, this command does
not always append to the text already in the buffer; but if this command
is the only command used to alter a buffer, it does always append to the
existing text because point is always at the end.

   `M-x prepend-to-buffer' is similar to `append-to-buffer', but 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.

   You can retrieve the accumulated text from that buffer with `M-x
insert-buffer', which takes BUFFERNAME as an argument.  It inserts a
copy of the text in buffer BUFFERNAME into the selected buffer.  You
could alternatively select the other buffer for editing, perhaps moving
text from it by killing or with `append-to-buffer'.  *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
FILE-NAME as an argument.  It adds the text of the region to the end of
the specified file.  The file is changed immediately on disk.  This
command is normally used with files that are not being visited in
Emacs.  Using it on a file that Emacs is visiting can produce confusing
results, because the file's text inside Emacs does not change while the
file itself changes.