-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Minor Modes, Next: Variables, Up: Customization
-
-Minor Modes
-===========
-
- Minor modes are options which you can use or not. For example, Auto
-Fill mode is a minor mode in which <SPC> breaks lines between words as
-you type. All the minor modes are independent of each other and of the
-selected major mode. Most minor modes inform you in the mode line when
-they are on; for example, `Fill' in the mode line means that Auto Fill
-mode is on.
-
- Append `-mode' to the name of a minor mode to get the name of a
-command function that turns the mode on or off. Thus, the command to
-enable or disable Auto Fill mode is called `M-x auto-fill-mode'. These
-commands are usually invoked with `M-x', but you can bind keys to them
-if you wish. With no argument, the function turns the mode on if it was
-off and off if it was on. This is known as "toggling". A positive
-argument always turns the mode on, and an explicit zero argument or a
-negative argument always turns it off.
-
- Auto Fill mode allows you to enter filled text without breaking lines
-explicitly. Emacs inserts newlines as necessary to prevent lines from
-becoming too long. *Note Filling::.
-
- Overwrite mode causes ordinary printing characters to replace
-existing text instead of moving it to the right. For example, if point
-is in front of the `B' in `FOOBAR', and you type a `G' in Overwrite
-mode, it changes to `FOOGAR', instead of `FOOGBAR'.
-
- Abbrev mode allows you to define abbreviations that automatically
-expand as you type them. For example, `amd' might expand to `abbrev
-mode'. *Note Abbrevs::, for full information.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Variables, Next: Keyboard Macros, Prev: Minor Modes, Up: Customization
-
-Variables
-=========
-
- A "variable" is a Lisp symbol which has a value. Variable names can
-contain any characters, but by convention they are words separated by
-hyphens. A variable can also have a documentation string, which
-describes what kind of value it should have and how the value will be
-used.
-
- Lisp allows any variable to have any kind of value, but most
-variables that Emacs uses require a value of a certain type. Often the
-value has to be a string or a number. Sometimes we say that a certain
-feature is turned on if a variable is "non-`nil'," meaning that if the
-variable's value is `nil', the feature is off, but the feature is on
-for any other value. The conventional value to turn on the
-feature--since you have to pick one particular value when you set the
-variable--is `t'.
-
- Emacs uses many Lisp variables for internal recordkeeping, as any
-Lisp program must, but the most interesting variables for you are the
-ones that exist for the sake of customization. Emacs does not
-(usually) change the values of these variables; instead, you set the
-values, and thereby alter and control the behavior of certain Emacs
-commands. These variables are called "options". Most options are
-documented in this manual and appear in the Variable Index (*note
-Variable Index::).
-
- One example of a variable which is an option is `fill-column', which
-specifies the position of the right margin (as a number of characters
-from the left margin) to be used by the fill commands (*note Filling::).
-
-* Menu:
-
-* Examining:: Examining or setting one variable's value.
-* Easy Customization:: Convenient and easy customization of variables.
-* Edit Options:: Examining or editing list of all variables' values.
-* Locals:: Per-buffer values of variables.
-* File Variables:: How files can specify variable values.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Examining, Next: Easy Customization, Up: Variables
-
-Examining and Setting Variables
--------------------------------
-
-`C-h v'
-`M-x describe-variable'
- Print the value and documentation of a variable.
-
-`M-x set-variable'
- Change the value of a variable.
-
- To examine the value of a single variable, use `C-h v'
-(`describe-variable'), which reads a variable name using the
-minibuffer, with completion. It prints both the value and the
-documentation of the variable.
-
- C-h v fill-column <RET>
-
-prints something like:
-
- fill-column's value is 75
-
- Documentation:
- *Column beyond which automatic line-wrapping should happen.
- Automatically becomes local when set in any fashion.
-
-The star at the beginning of the documentation indicates that this
-variable is an option. `C-h v' is not restricted to options; it allows
-any variable name.
-
- If you know which option you want to set, you can use `M-x
-set-variable' to set it. This prompts for the variable name in the
-minibuffer (with completion), and then prompts for a Lisp expression
-for the new value using the minibuffer a second time. For example,
-
- M-x set-variable <RET> fill-column <RET> 75 <RET>
-
-sets `fill-column' to 75, as if you had executed the Lisp expression
-`(setq fill-column 75)'.
-
- Setting variables in this way, like all means of customizing Emacs
-except where explicitly stated, affects only the current Emacs session.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Easy Customization, Next: Edit Options, Prev: Examining, Up: Variables
-
-Easy Customization Interface
-----------------------------
-
- A convenient way to find the user option variables that you want to
-change, and then change them, is with `M-x customize'. This command
-creates a "customization buffer" with which you can browse through the
-Emacs user options in a logically organized structure, then edit and
-set their values. You can also use the customization buffer to save
-settings permanently. (Not all Emacs user options are included in this
-structure as of yet, but we are adding the rest.)
-
-* Menu:
-
-* Groups: Customization Groups.
- How options are classified in a structure.
-* Changing an Option:: How to edit a value and set an option.
-* Face Customization:: How to edit the attributes of a face.
-* Specific Customization:: Making a customization buffer for specific
- options, faces, or groups.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Customization Groups, Next: Changing an Option, Up: Easy Customization
-
-Customization Groups
-....................
-
- For customization purposes, user options are organized into "groups"
-to help you find them. Groups are collected into bigger groups, all
-the way up to a master group called `Emacs'.
-
- `M-x customize' creates a customization buffer that shows the
-top-level `Emacs' group and the second-level groups immediately under
-it. It looks like this, in part:
-
- /- Emacs group: ---------------------------------------------------\
- [State]: visible group members are all at standard settings.
- Customization of the One True Editor.
- See also [Manual].
-
- [Open] Editing group
- Basic text editing facilities.
-
- [Open] External group
- Interfacing to external utilities.
-
- MORE SECOND-LEVEL GROUPS
-
- \- Emacs group end ------------------------------------------------/
-
-This says that the buffer displays the contents of the `Emacs' group.
-The other groups are listed because they are its contents. But they
-are listed differently, without indentation and dashes, because _their_
-contents are not included. Each group has a single-line documentation
-string; the `Emacs' group also has a `[State]' line.
-
- Most of the text in the customization buffer is read-only, but it
-typically includes some "editable fields" that you can edit. There are
-also "active fields"; this means a field that does something when you
-"invoke" it. To invoke an active field, either click on it with
-`Mouse-1', or move point to it and type <RET>.
-
- For example, the phrase `[Open]' that appears in a second-level
-group is an active field. Invoking the `[Open]' field for a group
-opens up a new customization buffer, which shows that group and its
-contents. This field is a kind of hypertext link to another group.
-
- The `Emacs' group does not include any user options itself, but
-other groups do. By examining various groups, you will eventually find
-the options and faces that belong to the feature you are interested in
-customizing. Then you can use the customization buffer to set them.
-
- You can view the structure of customization groups on a larger scale
-with `M-x customize-browse'. This command creates a special kind of
-customization buffer which shows only the names of the groups (and
-options and faces), and their structure.
-
- In this buffer, you can show the contents of a group by invoking
-`[+]'. When the group contents are visible, this button changes to
-`[-]'; invoking that hides the group contents.
-
- Each group, option or face name in this buffer has an active field
-which says `[Group]', `[Option]' or `[Face]'. Invoking that active
-field creates an ordinary customization buffer showing just that group
-and its contents, just that option, or just that face. This is the way
-to set values in it.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Changing an Option, Next: Face Customization, Prev: Customization Groups, Up: Easy Customization
-
-Changing an Option
-..................
-
- Here is an example of what a user option looks like in the
-customization buffer:
-
- Kill Ring Max: [Hide] 30
- [State]: this option is unchanged from its standard setting.
- Maximum length of kill ring before oldest elements are thrown away.
-
- The text following `[Hide]', `30' in this case, indicates the
-current value of the option. If you see `[Show]' instead of `[Hide]',
-it means that the value is hidden; the customization buffer initially
-hides values that take up several lines. Invoke `[Show]' to show the
-value.
-
- The line after the option name indicates the "customization state"
-of the option: in the example above, it says you have not changed the
-option yet. The word `[State]' at the beginning of this line is
-active; you can get a menu of various operations by invoking it with
-`Mouse-1' or <RET>. These operations are essential for customizing the
-variable.
-
- The line after the `[State]' line displays the beginning of the
-option's documentation string. If there are more lines of
-documentation, this line ends with `[More]'; invoke this to show the
-full documentation string.
-
- To enter a new value for `Kill Ring Max', move point to the value
-and edit it textually. For example, you can type `M-d', then insert
-another number.
-
- When you begin to alter the text, you will see the `[State]' line
-change to say that you have edited the value:
-
- [State]: you have edited the value as text, but not set the option.
-
- Editing the value does not actually set the option variable. To do
-that, you must "set" the option. To do this, invoke the word `[State]'
-and choose `Set for Current Session'.
-
- The state of the option changes visibly when you set it:
-
- [State]: you have set this option, but not saved it for future sessions.
-
- You don't have to worry about specifying a value that is not valid;
-setting the option checks for validity and will not really install an
-unacceptable value.
-
- While editing a value or field that is a file name, directory name,
-command name, or anything else for which completion is defined, you can
-type `M-<TAB>' (`widget-complete') to do completion.
-
- Some options have a small fixed set of possible legitimate values.
-These options don't let you edit the value textually. Instead, an
-active field `[Value Menu]' appears before the value; invoke this field
-to edit the value. For a boolean "on or off" value, the active field
-says `[Toggle]', and it changes to the other value. `[Value Menu]' and
-`[Toggle]' edit the buffer; the changes take effect when you use the
-`Set for Current Session' operation.
-
- Some options have values with complex structure. For example, the
-value of `load-path' is a list of directories. Here is how it appears
-in the customization buffer:
-
- Load Path:
- [INS] [DEL] [Current dir?]: /usr/local/share/emacs/19.34.94/site-lisp
- [INS] [DEL] [Current dir?]: /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp
- [INS] [DEL] [Current dir?]: /usr/local/share/emacs/19.34.94/leim
- [INS] [DEL] [Current dir?]: /usr/local/share/emacs/19.34.94/lisp
- [INS] [DEL] [Current dir?]: /build/emacs/e19/lisp
- [INS] [DEL] [Current dir?]: /build/emacs/e19/lisp/gnus
- [INS]
- [State]: this item has been changed outside the customization buffer.
- List of directories to search for files to load....
-
-Each directory in the list appears on a separate line, and each line has
-several editable or active fields.
-
- You can edit any of the directory names. To delete a directory from
-the list, invoke `[DEL]' on that line. To insert a new directory in
-the list, invoke `[INS]' at the point where you want to insert it.
-
- You can also invoke `[Current dir?]' to switch between including a
-specific named directory in the path, and including `nil' in the path.
-(`nil' in a search path means "try the current directory.")
-
- Two special commands, <TAB> and `S-<TAB>', are useful for moving
-through the customization buffer. <TAB> (`widget-forward') moves
-forward to the next active or editable field; `S-<TAB>'
-(`widget-backward') moves backward to the previous active or editable
-field.
-
- Typing <RET> on an editable field also moves forward, just like
-<TAB>. The reason for this is that people have a tendency to type
-<RET> when they are finished editing a field. If you have occasion to
-insert a newline in an editable field, use `C-o' or `C-q C-j',
-
- Setting the option changes its value in the current Emacs session;
-"saving" the value changes it for future sessions as well. This works
-by writing code into your `~/.emacs' file so as to set the option
-variable again each time you start Emacs. To save the option, invoke
-`[State]' and select the `Save for Future Sessions' operation.
-
- You can also restore the option to its standard value by invoking
-`[State]' and selecting the `Reset' operation. There are actually
-three reset operations:
-
-`Reset to Current'
- If you have made some modifications and not yet set the option,
- this restores the text in the customization buffer to match the
- actual value.
-
-`Reset to Saved'
- This restores the value of the option to the last saved value, and
- updates the text accordingly.
-
-`Reset to Standard Settings'
- This sets the option to its standard value, and updates the text
- accordingly. This also eliminates any saved value for the option,
- so that you will get the standard value in future Emacs sessions.
-
- The state of a group indicates whether anything in that group has
-been edited, set or saved. You can select `Set for Current Session',
-`Save for Future Sessions' and the various kinds of `Reset' operation
-for the group; these operations on the group apply to all options in
-the group and its subgroups.
-
- Near the top of the customization buffer there are two lines
-containing several active fields:
-
- [Set] [Save] [Reset] [Done]
-
-Invoking `[Done]' buries this customization buffer. Each of the other
-fields performs an operation--set, save or reset--on each of the items
-in the buffer that could meaningfully be set, saved or reset.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Face Customization, Next: Specific Customization, Prev: Changing an Option, Up: Easy Customization
-
-Customizing Faces
-.................
-
- In addition to user options, some customization groups also include
-faces. When you show the contents of a group, both the user options and
-the faces in the group appear in the customization buffer. Here is an
-example of how a face looks:
-
- Custom Changed Face: (sample)
- [State]: this face is unchanged from its standard setting.
- Face used when the customize item has been changed.
- Parent groups: [Custom Magic Faces]
- Attributes: [ ] Bold: [Toggle] off (nil)
- [ ] Italic: [Toggle] off (nil)
- [ ] Underline: [Toggle] off (nil)
- [ ] Foreground: white (sample)
- [ ] Background: blue (sample)
- [ ] Inverse: [Toggle] off (nil)
- [ ] Stipple:
- [ ] Font Family:
- [ ] Size:
- [ ] Strikethru: off
-
- Each face attribute has its own line. The `[X]' field before the
-attribute name indicates whether the attribute is "enabled"; `X' means
-that it is. You can enable or disable the attribute by invoking that
-field. When the attribute is enabled, you can change the attribute
-value in the usual ways.
-
- Setting, saving and resetting a face work like the same operations
-for options (*note Changing an Option::).
-
- A face can specify different appearances for different types of
-display. For example, a face can make text red on a color display, but
-use a bold font on a monochrome display. To specify multiple
-appearances for a face, select `Show Display Types' in the menu you get
-from invoking `[State]'.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Specific Customization, Prev: Face Customization, Up: Easy Customization
-
-Customizing Specific Items
-..........................
-
- Instead of finding the options you want to change by moving down
-through the structure of groups, you can specify the particular option,
-face or group that you want to customize.
-
-`M-x customize-option <RET> OPTION <RET>'
- Set up a customization buffer with just one option, OPTION.
-
-`M-x customize-face <RET> FACE <RET>'
- Set up a customization buffer with just one face, FACE.
-
-`M-x customize-group <RET> GROUP <RET>'
- Set up a customization buffer with just one group, GROUP.
-
-`M-x customize-apropos <RET> REGEXP <RET>'
- Set up a customization buffer with all the options, faces and
- groups that match REGEXP.
-
-`M-x customize-saved'
- Set up a customization buffer containing all options and faces
- that you have saved with customization buffers.
-
-`M-x customize-customized'
- Set up a customization buffer containing all options and faces
- that you have customized but not saved.
-
- If you want to alter a particular user option variable with the
-customization buffer, and you know its name, you can use the command
-`M-x customize-option' and specify the option name. This sets up the
-customization buffer with just one option--the one that you asked for.
-Editing, setting and saving the value work as described above, but only
-for the specified option.
-
- Likewise, you can modify a specific face, chosen by name, using `M-x
-customize-face'.
-
- You can also set up the customization buffer with a specific group,
-using `M-x customize-group'. The immediate contents of the chosen
-group, including option variables, faces, and other groups, all appear
-as well. However, these subgroups' own contents start out hidden. You
-can show their contents in the usual way, by invoking `[Show]'.
-
- To control more precisely what to customize, you can use `M-x
-customize-apropos'. You specify a regular expression as argument; then
-all options, faces and groups whose names match this regular expression
-are set up in the customization buffer. If you specify an empty regular
-expression, this includes _all_ groups, options and faces in the
-customization buffer (but that takes a long time).
-
- If you change option values and then decide the change was a mistake,
-you can use two special commands to revisit your previous changes. Use
-`customize-saved' to look at the options and faces that you have saved.
-Use `M-x customize-customized' to look at the options and faces that
-you have set but not saved.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Edit Options, Next: Locals, Prev: Easy Customization, Up: Variables
-
-Editing Variable Values
------------------------
-
-`M-x list-options'
- Display a buffer listing names, values, and documentation of all
- options.
-
-`M-x edit-options'
- Change option values by editing a list of options.
-
- `M-x list-options' displays a list of all Emacs option variables in
-an Emacs buffer named `*List Options*'. Each option is shown with its
-documentation and its current value. Here is what a portion of it might
-look like:
-
- ;; exec-path:
- ("." "/usr/local/bin" "/usr/ucb" "/bin" "/usr/bin" "/u2/emacs/etc")
- *List of directories to search programs to run in subprocesses.
- Each element is a string (directory name)
- or nil (try the default directory).
- ;;
- ;; fill-column:
- 75
- *Column beyond which automatic line-wrapping should happen.
- Automatically becomes local when set in any fashion.
- ;;
-
- `M-x edit-options' goes one step further and immediately selects the
-`*List Options*' buffer; this buffer uses the major mode Options mode,
-which provides commands that allow you to point at an option and change
-its value:
-
-`s'
- Set the variable point is in or near to a new value read using the
- minibuffer.
-
-`x'
- Toggle the variable point is in or near: if the value was `nil',
- it becomes `t'; otherwise it becomes `nil'.
-
-`1'
- Set the variable point is in or near to `t'.
-
-`0'
- Set the variable point is in or near to `nil'.
-
-`n'
-`p'
- Move to the next or previous variable.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Locals, Next: File Variables, Prev: Edit Options, Up: Variables
-
-Local Variables
----------------
-
-`M-x make-local-variable'
- Make a variable have a local value in the current buffer.
-
-`M-x kill-local-variable'
- Make a variable use its global value in the current buffer.
-
-`M-x make-variable-buffer-local'
- Mark a variable so that setting it will make it local to the
- buffer that is current at that time.
-
- You can make any variable "local" to a specific Emacs buffer. This
-means that the variable's value in that buffer is independent of its
-value in other buffers. A few variables are always local in every
-buffer. All other Emacs variables have a "global" value which is in
-effect in all buffers that have not made the variable local.
-
- Major modes always make the variables they set local to the buffer.
-This is why changing major modes in one buffer has no effect on other
-buffers.
-
- `M-x make-local-variable' reads the name of a variable and makes it
-local to the current buffer. Further changes in this buffer will not
-affect others, and changes in the global value will not affect this
-buffer.
-
- `M-x make-variable-buffer-local' reads the name of a variable and
-changes the future behavior of the variable so that it automatically
-becomes local when it is set. More precisely, once you have marked a
-variable in this way, the usual ways of setting the variable will
-automatically invoke `make-local-variable' first. We call such
-variables "per-buffer" variables.
-
- Some important variables have been marked per-buffer already. They
-include `abbrev-mode', `auto-fill-function', `case-fold-search',
-`comment-column', `ctl-arrow', `fill-column', `fill-prefix',
-`indent-tabs-mode', `left-margin',
-`mode-line-format', `overwrite-mode', `selective-display-ellipses',
-`selective-display', `tab-width', and `truncate-lines'. Some other
-variables are always local in every buffer, but they are used for
-internal purposes.
-
- Note: the variable `auto-fill-function' was formerly named
-`auto-fill-hook'.
-
- If you want a variable to cease to be local to the current buffer,
-call `M-x kill-local-variable' and provide the name of a variable to
-the prompt. The global value of the variable is again in effect in
-this buffer. Setting the major mode kills all the local variables of
-the buffer.
-
- To set the global value of a variable, regardless of whether the
-variable has a local value in the current buffer, you can use the Lisp
-function `setq-default'. It works like `setq'. If there is a local
-value in the current buffer, the local value is not affected by
-`setq-default'; thus, the new global value may not be visible until you
-switch to another buffer, as in the case of:
-
- (setq-default fill-column 75)
-
-`setq-default' is the only way to set the global value of a variable
-that has been marked with `make-variable-buffer-local'.
-
- Programs can look at a variable's default value with `default-value'.
-This function takes a symbol as an argument and returns its default
-value. The argument is evaluated; usually you must quote it
-explicitly, as in the case of:
-
- (default-value 'fill-column)
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: File Variables, Prev: Locals, Up: Variables
-
-Local Variables in Files
-------------------------
-
- A file can contain a "local variables list", which specifies the
-values to use for certain Emacs variables when that file is edited.
-Visiting the file checks for a local variables list and makes each
-variable in the list local to the buffer in which the file is visited,
-with the value specified in the file.
-
- A local variables list goes near the end of the file, in the last
-page. (It is often best to put it on a page by itself.) The local
-variables list starts with a line containing the string `Local
-Variables:', and ends with a line containing the string `End:'. In
-between come the variable names and values, one set per line, as
-`VARIABLE: VALUE'. The VALUEs are not evaluated; they are used
-literally.
-
- The line which starts the local variables list does not have to say
-just `Local Variables:'. If there is other text before `Local
-Variables:', that text is called the "prefix", and if there is other
-text after, that is called the "suffix". If a prefix or suffix are
-present, each entry in the local variables list should have the prefix
-before it and the suffix after it. This includes the `End:' line. The
-prefix and suffix are included to disguise the local variables list as
-a comment so the compiler or text formatter will ignore it. If you do
-not need to disguise the local variables list as a comment in this way,
-there is no need to include a prefix or a suffix.
-
- Two "variable" names are special in a local variables list: a value
-for the variable `mode' sets the major mode, and a value for the
-variable `eval' is simply evaluated as an expression and the value is
-ignored. These are not real variables; setting them in any other
-context does not have the same effect. If `mode' is used in a local
-variables list, it should be the first entry in the list.
-
- Here is an example of a local variables list:
- ;;; Local Variables: ***
- ;;; mode:lisp ***
- ;;; comment-column:0 ***
- ;;; comment-start: ";;; " ***
- ;;; comment-end:"***" ***
- ;;; End: ***
-
- Note that the prefix is `;;; ' and the suffix is ` ***'. Note also
-that comments in the file begin with and end with the same strings.
-Presumably the file contains code in a language which is enough like
-Lisp for Lisp mode to be useful but in which comments start and end
-differently. The prefix and suffix are used in the local variables
-list to make the list look like several lines of comments when the
-compiler or interpreter for that language reads the file.
-
- The start of the local variables list must be no more than 3000
-characters from the end of the file, and must be in the last page if the
-file is divided into pages. Otherwise, Emacs will not notice it is
-there. The purpose is twofold: a stray `Local Variables:' not in the
-last page does not confuse Emacs, and Emacs never needs to search a
-long file that contains no page markers and has no local variables list.
-
- You may be tempted to turn on Auto Fill mode with a local variable
-list. That is inappropriate. Whether you use Auto Fill mode or not is
-a matter of personal taste, not a matter of the contents of particular
-files. If you want to use Auto Fill, set up major mode hooks with your
-`.emacs' file to turn it on (when appropriate) for you alone (*note
-Init File::). Don't try to use a local variable list that would impose
-your taste on everyone working with the file.
-
- XEmacs allows you to specify local variables in the first line of a
-file, in addition to specifying them in the `Local Variables' section
-at the end of a file.
-
- If the first line of a file contains two occurrences of ``-*-'',
-XEmacs uses the information between them to determine what the major
-mode and variable settings should be. For example, these are all legal:
-
- ;;; -*- mode: emacs-lisp -*-
- ;;; -*- mode: postscript; version-control: never -*-
- ;;; -*- tags-file-name: "/foo/bar/TAGS" -*-
-
- For historical reasons, the syntax ``-*- modename -*-'' is allowed
-as well; for example, you can use:
-
- ;;; -*- emacs-lisp -*-
-
- The variable `enable-local-variables' controls the use of local
-variables lists in files you visit. The value can be `t', `nil', or
-something else. A value of `t' means local variables lists are obeyed;
-`nil' means they are ignored; anything else means query.
-
- The command `M-x normal-mode' always obeys local variables lists and
-ignores this variable.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Keyboard Macros, Next: Key Bindings, Prev: Variables, Up: Customization
-
-Keyboard Macros
-===============
-
- A "keyboard macro" is a command defined by the user to abbreviate a
-sequence of keys. For example, if you discover that you are about to
-type `C-n C-d' forty times, you can speed your work by defining a
-keyboard macro to invoke `C-n C-d' and calling it with a repeat count
-of forty.
-
-`C-x ('
- Start defining a keyboard macro (`start-kbd-macro').
-
-`C-x )'
- End the definition of a keyboard macro (`end-kbd-macro').
-
-`C-x e'
- Execute the most recent keyboard macro (`call-last-kbd-macro').
-
-`C-u C-x ('
- Re-execute last keyboard macro, then add more keys to its
- definition.
-
-`C-x q'
- When this point is reached during macro execution, ask for
- confirmation (`kbd-macro-query').
-
-`M-x name-last-kbd-macro'
- Give a command name (for the duration of the session) to the most
- recently defined keyboard macro.
-
-`M-x insert-kbd-macro'
- Insert in the buffer a keyboard macro's definition, as Lisp code.
-
- Keyboard macros differ from other Emacs commands in that they are
-written in the Emacs command language rather than in Lisp. This makes
-it easier for the novice to write them and makes them more convenient as
-temporary hacks. However, the Emacs command language is not powerful
-enough as a programming language to be useful for writing anything
-general or complex. For such things, Lisp must be used.
-
- You define a keyboard macro by executing the commands which are its
-definition. Put differently, as you are defining a keyboard macro, the
-definition is being executed for the first time. This way, you see
-what the effects of your commands are, and don't have to figure them
-out in your head. When you are finished, the keyboard macro is defined
-and also has been executed once. You can then execute the same set of
-commands again by invoking the macro.
-
-* Menu:
-
-* Basic Kbd Macro:: Defining and running keyboard macros.
-* Save Kbd Macro:: Giving keyboard macros names; saving them in files.
-* Kbd Macro Query:: Keyboard macros that do different things each use.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Basic Kbd Macro, Next: Save Kbd Macro, Up: Keyboard Macros
-
-Basic Use
----------
-
- To start defining a keyboard macro, type `C-x ('
-(`start-kbd-macro'). From then on, anything you type continues to be
-executed, but also becomes part of the definition of the macro. `Def'
-appears in the mode line to remind you of what is going on. When you
-are finished, the `C-x )' command (`end-kbd-macro') terminates the
-definition, without becoming part of it.
-
- For example,
-
- C-x ( M-f foo C-x )
-
-defines a macro to move forward a word and then insert `foo'.
-
- You can give `C-x )' a repeat count as an argument, in which case it
-repeats the macro that many times right after defining it, but defining
-the macro counts as the first repetition (since it is executed as you
-define it). If you give `C-x )' an argument of 4, it executes the
-macro immediately 3 additional times. An argument of zero to `C-x e'
-or `C-x )' means repeat the macro indefinitely (until it gets an error
-or you type `C-g').
-
- Once you have defined a macro, you can invoke it again with the `C-x
-e' command (`call-last-kbd-macro'). You can give the command a repeat
-count numeric argument to execute the macro many times.
-
- To repeat an operation at regularly spaced places in the text,
-define a macro and include as part of the macro the commands to move to
-the next place you want to use it. For example, if you want to change
-each line, you should position point at the start of a line, and define
-a macro to change that line and leave point at the start of the next
-line. Repeating the macro will then operate on successive lines.
-
- After you have terminated the definition of a keyboard macro, you
-can add to the end of its definition by typing `C-u C-x ('. This is
-equivalent to plain `C-x (' followed by retyping the whole definition
-so far. As a consequence it re-executes the macro as previously
-defined.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Save Kbd Macro, Next: Kbd Macro Query, Prev: Basic Kbd Macro, Up: Keyboard Macros
-
-Naming and Saving Keyboard Macros
----------------------------------
-
- To save a keyboard macro for longer than until you define the next
-one, you must give it a name using `M-x name-last-kbd-macro'. This
-reads a name as an argument using the minibuffer and defines that name
-to execute the macro. The macro name is a Lisp symbol, and defining it
-in this way makes it a valid command name for calling with `M-x' or for
-binding a key to with `global-set-key' (*note Keymaps::). If you
-specify a name that has a prior definition other than another keyboard
-macro, Emacs prints an error message and nothing is changed.
-
- Once a macro has a command name, you can save its definition in a
-file. You can then use it in another editing session. First visit the
-file you want to save the definition in. Then use the command:
-
- M-x insert-kbd-macro <RET> MACRONAME <RET>
-
-This inserts some Lisp code that, when executed later, will define the
-same macro with the same definition it has now. You need not
-understand Lisp code to do this, because `insert-kbd-macro' writes the
-Lisp code for you. Then save the file. You can load the file with
-`load-file' (*note Lisp Libraries::). If the file you save in is your
-initialization file `~/.emacs' (*note Init File::), then the macro will
-be defined each time you run Emacs.
-
- If you give `insert-kbd-macro' a prefix argument, it creates
-additional Lisp code to record the keys (if any) that you have bound to
-the keyboard macro, so that the macro is reassigned the same keys when
-you load the file.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Kbd Macro Query, Prev: Save Kbd Macro, Up: Keyboard Macros
-
-Executing Macros With Variations
---------------------------------
-
- You can use `C-x q' (`kbd-macro-query'), to get an effect similar to
-that of `query-replace'. The macro asks you each time whether to make
-a change. When you are defining the macro, type `C-x q' at the point
-where you want the query to occur. During macro definition, the `C-x
-q' does nothing, but when you invoke the macro, `C-x q' reads a
-character from the terminal to decide whether to continue.
-
- The special answers to a `C-x q' query are <SPC>, <DEL>, `C-d',
-`C-l', and `C-r'. Any other character terminates execution of the
-keyboard macro and is then read as a command. <SPC> means to continue.
-<DEL> means to skip the remainder of this repetition of the macro,
-starting again from the beginning in the next repetition. `C-d' means
-to skip the remainder of this repetition and cancel further repetition.
-`C-l' redraws the frame and asks you again for a character to specify
-what to do. `C-r' enters a recursive editing level, in which you can
-perform editing that is not part of the macro. When you exit the
-recursive edit using `C-M-c', you are asked again how to continue with
-the keyboard macro. If you type a <SPC> at this time, the rest of the
-macro definition is executed. It is up to you to leave point and the
-text in a state such that the rest of the macro will do what you want.
-
- `C-u C-x q', which is `C-x q' with a numeric argument, performs a
-different function. It enters a recursive edit reading input from the
-keyboard, both when you type it during the definition of the macro and
-when it is executed from the macro. During definition, the editing you
-do inside the recursive edit does not become part of the macro. During
-macro execution, the recursive edit gives you a chance to do some
-particularized editing. *Note Recursive Edit::.
-
-\1f
-File: xemacs.info, Node: Key Bindings, Next: Syntax, Prev: Keyboard Macros, Up: Customization
-
-Customizing Key Bindings
-========================
-
- This section deals with the "keymaps" that define the bindings
-between keys and functions, and shows how you can customize these
-bindings.
-
- A command is a Lisp function whose definition provides for
-interactive use. Like every Lisp function, a command has a function
-name, which is a Lisp symbol whose name usually consists of lower case
-letters and hyphens.
-
-* Menu:
-
-* Keymaps:: Definition of the keymap data structure.
- Names of Emacs's standard keymaps.
-* Rebinding:: How to redefine one key's meaning conveniently.
-* Disabling:: Disabling a command means confirmation is required
- before it can be executed. This is done to protect
- beginners from surprises.
-