1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @setfilename ../../info/new-users-guide.info
3 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
7 @dircategory XEmacs Editor
9 * Intro: (new-users-guide). Introduction to the XEmacs Editor.
12 This manual serves as an introduction to the XEmacs editor.
14 Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1988 Richard M. Stallman.
15 Copyright @copyright{} 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Lucid, Inc.
16 Copyright @copyright{} 1993, 1994 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
18 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
19 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
20 are preserved on all copies.
23 Permission is granted to process this file through TeX and print the
24 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
25 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
26 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
31 @setchapternewpage odd
32 @settitle Getting Started With XEmacs
36 @center @titlefont{Getting Started With XEmacs}
41 @center (General Public License upgraded, January 1991)
43 @center Richard Stallman
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
50 Copyright @copyright{} 1985, 1986, 1988 Richard M. Stallman.
52 Copyright @copyright{} 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Lucid, Inc.
54 Copyright @copyright{} 1993, 1994 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
56 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
57 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
58 are preserved on all copies.
62 @node Top, Intro, (dir), (dir)
66 Emacs is the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time
67 display editor. This Info file will help you get started on using
68 XEmacs. It corresponds to XEmacs version 19.13.
75 This guide is intended to help you get started on using the
76 Emacs editor. It will show you some examples of simple customizations.
78 For detailed information on any topic, refer to the @b{XEmacs
79 User's Manual}. This document will also refer the reader to the
80 @b{XEmacs User's Manual} for more information on corresponding
81 topics. You can also use the on-line, learn-by-doing tutorial, which you
82 get by running Emacs and typing @kbd{C-h t} OR you can choose the
83 @b{Emacs Tutorial} from the @b{Help} menu on the menu bar (which is
84 located on the extreme right of the frame). With it, you learn Emacs by
85 using Emacs on a specially designed file which describes commands, tells
86 you when to try them, and then explains the results you see.
88 The first few chapters will introduce you to some basic Emacs commands.
89 Later on, some examples of simple customizations will be shown.
91 To find the documentation on a particular command, look in the index.
92 Keys (character commands) and command names have separate indexes. There
93 is also a glossary, with a cross reference for each term.
95 This manual comes in two forms: the published form and the Info form.
96 The Info form is for on-line perusal with the INFO program; it is
97 distributed along with XEmacs. Both forms contain substantially the
98 same text and are generated from a common source file, which is also
99 distributed along with XEmacs.
107 * Intro:: Introduction to XEmacs editor
109 Indices, nodes containing large menus
110 * Key Index:: An item for each standard Emacs key sequence.
111 * Command Index:: An item for each command and function name
112 * Variable Index:: An item for each variable in User-Guide
113 * Concept Index:: An item for the concepts introduced
115 Entering, Exiting and Editing Emacs
116 * Entering:: Starting Emacs from the shell and Exiting
117 * Windows and Menus:: Description of Pull-down menus
118 * Edit:: Basic Editing commands
120 Other Features of XEmacs
121 * Customization Basics:: Customize Emacs menus and keybindings
122 * Help:: Help menu and other help commands
123 * Modes:: Major and Minor modes in XEmacs
124 * Files:: Visiting, Saving and Listing Files
125 * Other Customizations:: Customizing Variables, Modes, etc
126 * Select and Move:: Selecting text and moving text
127 * Search and Replace:: Searching and Replacing text
131 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
133 Entering and Exiting Emacs
135 * Enter:: Entering Emacs from the shell
136 * Frame:: Basic information about the XEmacs Frame
137 * Exiting:: Exiting Emacs
138 * Mode Line:: Interpreting the mode line.
139 * Echo Area:: Bottom of the frame where you interact
142 XEmacs Windows and Menus
144 * XEmacs Window:: Manipulating XEmacs Windows
145 * Pull-down Menus:: Description of XEmacs Pull-down Menus
149 * File menu:: Items on the File Menu
150 * Edit menu:: Items on the Edit Menu
151 * Options Menu:: Items on the Options Menu
152 * Buffers Menu:: Items on the Buffers Menu
153 * Help menu:: The Help Menu at the extreme right on
156 Basic Editing Commands
158 * Insert:: Insert text in Emacs by simply typing at
160 * Cursor Position:: Moving Around the cursor in the buffer,
161 * Erase:: Different commands for erasing text
162 * Numeric Argument:: Giving Numeric Arguments to commands
163 * Undo:: Undoing Changes made by mistake
165 Customize key bindings and menus
167 * Customizing key Bindings:: Changing Key Bindings
168 * Customizing Menus:: Adding, Deleting, Enabling and Disabling Menus
172 * The Help Menu:: Items on the Help Menu
174 Major and Minor Modes
176 * Major Modes:: Choosing Major Modes
177 * Minor Modes:: Auto-Fill, Abbrev and other minor modes
181 * File Names:: How to type and edit file name arguments.
182 * Visiting:: Visiting a file prepares Emacs to edit the file.
183 * Saving Files:: How to save Emacs files.
187 * Setting Variables:: Customizing Emacs variables
188 * Init File:: Some examples of Lisp expressions in
191 Selecting and Moving Text
193 * Selecting Text:: Select a region of text by setting the Mark
194 * Mouse:: Selecting Text with Mouse
195 * Region Operation:: Various ways to operate on a selected text
196 * Moving Text:: Moving Text
197 * Accumulating text:: Accumulating Text from several buffers
199 No sub menu for the node search and replace
202 @node Intro,Key Index ,Top , Top
203 @unnumbered Introduction
205 You are reading about XEmacs which is a self-documenting, customizable, extensible real-time display editor.
207 XEmacs is a @dfn{display} editor because normally the text
208 being edited is visible on the screen and is updated automatically as you
209 type. @xref{Frame,Display,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}.
211 It is a @dfn{real-time} editor because the display is updated very
212 frequently, usually after each character or pair of characters you type.
213 This minimizes the amount of information you must keep in your head as
214 you edit. @xref{Basic,Real-time,Basic Editing,xemacs,XEmacs User's
217 It is advanced because it provides facilities that go beyond
218 simple insertion and deletion: filling of text; automatic indentation of
219 programs; viewing two or more files at once; and dealing in terms of
220 characters, words, lines, sentences, paragraphs, and pages, as well as
221 expressions and comments in several different programming languages. It is
222 much easier to type one command meaning ``go to the end of the paragraph''
223 than to find that spot with simple cursor keys.
225 @dfn{Self-documenting} means that at any time you can type a special
226 character, @kbd{Control-h}, to find out what your options are. You can
227 also use @kbd{C-h} to find out what a command does, or to find all the
228 commands relevant to a topic. @xref{Help,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}.
230 @dfn{Customizable} means you can change the definitions of Emacs
231 commands. For example, if you use a programming language in which
232 comments start with @samp{<**} and end with @samp{**>}, you can tell the
233 Emacs comment manipulation commands to use those strings
234 (@pxref{Comments,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}). Another sort of
235 customization is rearrangement of the command set. For example, you can
236 set up the four basic cursor motion commands (up, down, left and right)
237 on keys in a diamond pattern on the keyboard if you prefer.
238 @xref{Customization,,,xemacs,XEmacs User's Manual}.
240 @dfn{Extensible} means you can go beyond simple customization and
241 write entirely new commands, programs in the Lisp language to be run by
242 Emacs's own Lisp interpreter. Emacs is an ``on-line extensible''
243 system: it is divided into many functions that call each other. You can
244 redefine any function in the middle of an editing session and replace
245 any part of Emacs without making a separate copy of all of Emacs. Most
246 of the editing commands of Emacs are written in Lisp; the few
247 exceptions could have been written in Lisp but are written in C for
248 efficiency. Only a programmer can write an extension to Emacs, but anybody
249 can use it afterward.
254 @include custom1.texi
258 @include custom2.texi
262 @node Key Index, Command Index, Intro, Top
263 @unnumbered Key (Character) Index
266 @node Command Index, Variable Index, Key Index, Top
267 @unnumbered Command and Function Index
270 @node Variable Index, Concept Index, Command Index, Top
271 @unnumbered Variable Index
274 @node Concept Index, Entering, Variable Index, Top
275 @unnumbered Concept Index
282 @c Remember to delete these lines before creating the info file.
285 @bindingoffset = 0.5in