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INFO-DIR-SECTION XEmacs Editor
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Intro: (new-users-guide).     Introduction to the XEmacs Editor.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This manual serves as an introduction to 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.

   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.

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Intro,  Prev: (dir),  Up: (dir)

   The Emacs Editor ****************

   Emacs is the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time
display editor.  This Info file will help you get started on using
XEmacs.  It corresponds to XEmacs version 19.13.

* Menu:

* Intro::                       Introduction to XEmacs editor

Indices, nodes containing large menus
* Key Index::                   An item for each standard Emacs key sequence.
* Command Index::               An item for each command and function name
* Variable Index::              An item for each variable in User-Guide
* Concept Index::               An item for the concepts introduced

Entering, Exiting and Editing Emacs
* Entering::                    Starting Emacs from the shell and Exiting
* Windows and Menus::           Description of Pull-down menus
* Edit::                        Basic Editing commands

Other Features of XEmacs
* Customization Basics::        Customize Emacs menus and keybindings
* Help::                        Help menu and other help commands
* Modes::                       Major and Minor modes in XEmacs
* Files::                       Visiting, Saving and Listing Files
* Other Customizations::        Customizing Variables, Modes, etc
* Select and Move::             Selecting text and moving text
* Search and Replace::          Searching and Replacing text



 -- The Detailed Node Listing --

Entering and Exiting Emacs

* Enter::                       Entering Emacs from the shell
* Frame::                       Basic information about the XEmacs Frame
* Exiting::                     Exiting Emacs
* Mode Line::                   Interpreting the mode line.
* Echo Area::                   Bottom of the frame where you interact
                                with Emacs.

XEmacs Windows and Menus

* XEmacs Window::               Manipulating XEmacs Windows
* Pull-down Menus::             Description of XEmacs Pull-down Menus

Pull-down menus

* File menu::                   Items on the File Menu
* Edit menu::                   Items on the Edit Menu
* Options Menu::                Items on the Options Menu
* Buffers Menu::                Items on the Buffers Menu
* Help menu::                   The Help Menu at the extreme right on
                                the frame

Basic Editing Commands

* Insert::                      Insert text in Emacs by simply typing at
                                the cursor position.
* Cursor Position::             Moving Around the cursor in the buffer,
* Erase::                       Different commands for erasing text
* Numeric Argument::            Giving Numeric Arguments to commands
* Undo::                        Undoing Changes made by mistake

Customize key bindings and menus

* Customizing key Bindings::    Changing Key Bindings
* Customizing Menus::           Adding, Deleting, Enabling and Disabling Menus

Help

* The Help Menu::               Items on the Help Menu

Major and Minor Modes

* Major Modes::                 Choosing Major Modes
* Minor Modes::                 Auto-Fill, Abbrev and other minor modes

Emacs Files

* File Names::                  How to type and edit file name arguments.
* Visiting::                    Visiting a file prepares Emacs to edit the file.
* Saving Files::                How to save Emacs files.

Other Customizations

* Setting Variables::           Customizing Emacs variables
* Init File::                   Some examples of Lisp expressions in
                                .emacs file

Selecting and Moving Text

* Selecting Text::              Select a region of text by setting the Mark
* Mouse::                       Selecting Text with Mouse
* Region Operation::            Various ways to operate on a selected text
* Moving Text::                 Moving Text
* Accumulating text::           Accumulating Text from several buffers

No sub menu for the node search and replace

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Intro,  Next: Key Index,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

Introduction
************

   You are reading about XEmacs which is a self-documenting,
customizable, extensible real-time display editor.

   XEmacs is a "display" editor because normally the text being edited
is visible on the screen and is updated automatically as you type.
*Note Display: (xemacs)Frame.

   It is a "real-time" editor because the display is updated very
frequently, usually after each character or pair of characters you type.
This minimizes the amount of information you must keep in your head as
you edit.  *Note Real-time: (xemacs)Basic.

   It is advanced because it provides facilities that go beyond simple
insertion and deletion: filling of text; automatic indentation of
programs; viewing two or more files at once; and dealing in terms of
characters, words, lines, sentences, paragraphs, and pages, as well as
expressions and comments in several different programming languages.
It is much easier to type one command meaning "go to the end of the
paragraph" than to find that spot with simple cursor keys.

   "Self-documenting" means that at any time you can type a special
character, `Control-h', to find out what your options are.  You can
also use `C-h' to find out what a command does, or to find all the
commands relevant to a topic.  *Note Help: (xemacs)Help.

   "Customizable" means you can change the definitions of Emacs
commands.  For example, if you use a programming language in which
comments start with `<**' and end with `**>', you can tell the Emacs
comment manipulation commands to use those strings (*note Comments:
(xemacs)Comments.).  Another sort of customization is rearrangement of
the command set.  For example, you can set up the four basic cursor
motion commands (up, down, left and right) on keys in a diamond pattern
on the keyboard if you prefer.  *Note Customization:
(xemacs)Customization.

   "Extensible" means you can go beyond simple customization and write
entirely new commands, programs in the Lisp language to be run by
Emacs's own Lisp interpreter.  Emacs is an "on-line extensible" system:
it is divided into many functions that call each other.  You can
redefine any function in the middle of an editing session and replace
any part of Emacs without making a separate copy of all of Emacs.  Most
of the editing commands of Emacs are written in Lisp; the few
exceptions could have been written in Lisp but are written in C for
efficiency.  Only a programmer can write an extension to Emacs, but
anybody can use it afterward.

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Entering,  Next: Windows and Menus,  Prev: Concept Index,  Up: Top

Entering and Exiting Emacs
**************************

   While using Emacs you should be familiar with the following three
terms:

Buffer
     A buffer is a region of memory holding characters. It is the basic
     editing unit; one buffer corresponds to one piece of text being
     edited. You can have multiple buffers but you can edit only one
     buffer at any one time. For more information, *Note Buffers:
     (xemacs)Buffers.

File
     A file is a region of disk space holding characters. Emacs edits a
     file by reading it into a buffer, editing that buffer and writing
     out the buffer back to the file. To save your work permanently you
     have to write it to a file.  So after you load and work with a
     file, you have to save it back.

Windows
     A window is a rectangular region in which a buffer is displayed.
     You can open multiple windows with multiple buffers and edit them
     by selecting the corresponding buffer. Initially, when you start
     emacs, it will automatically open up a window for you.

* Menu:

* Enter::                       Entering Emacs from the shell
* Frame::                      Basic information about the XEmacs Frame
* Exiting::                     Exiting Emacs
* Mode Line::                   Interpreting the mode line.
* Echo Area::                   Bottom of the frame where you interact
                                with Emacs.

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Enter,  Next: Frame,  Prev: Entering,  Up: Entering

Entering Emacs
==============

   To enter Emacs type `xemacs' and press the Return key at the shell
i.e. `xemacs <RET>'.  This will bring up an emacs window with
`*scratch*' as the default buffer because Emacs must always have a
buffer to work on. Then choose the Open... option from the File menu on
the menubar at the top of the frame. It will prompt you to enter a
filename. After you enter the filename, Emacs will read that file into
the current buffer. You can also type :
     xemacs <filename> <RET>
   directly which will bring up an Emacs frame with the "filename" as
the buffer.

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Frame,  Next: Exiting,  Prev: Enter,  Up: Entering

Emacs Frame
===========

   When you run XEmacs under X, a menu bar on top of the Emacs frame
provides access to pull-down menus of file, edit, and help-related
commands. The menus only provide convenient shortcuts, the options that
they provide are available via key commands. You can invoke those
commands from the keyboard also. For many of the options, their
corresponding key commands are displayed right besides them. The five
default menus on the menubar that you will see on the frame are File,
Edit, Options, Buffers and Help. *Note XEmacs Pull-down Menus:
(xemacs)XEmacs Pull-down Menus, for detailed information on the
functions provided by the pull-down menus.

   The Emacs frame has a rectangle shaped box at the extreme right and
you can drag it up or down to scroll the window accordingly. Clicking
on the arrows also serves the same purpose.

   The last line in your window is `the Mode line' which will give you
a description of what's going on in that particular window. *Note Mode
Line::, for more information. Below the mode line is the `Echo area'.
Emacs uses this area to interact with the user. *Note Echo Area::.

   If you wish to open another file in a new window after you enter
XEmacs, select Open in New Frame... from the File menu, which will
prompt you for a filename and open a new window with that filename as
the current buffer. If you want to open a new file in the same window,
select Open.. from the File menu. You need to enter XEmacs only once,
you can edit multiple files by opening several other frames or by
switching between buffers.

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Exiting,  Next: Mode Line,  Prev: Frame,  Up: Entering

Exiting Emacs
=============

   There are two commands for exiting Emacs, one for "suspending" Emacs
and the other for "killing" Emacs. "Suspending" means stopping Emacs
temporarily and returning control to the shell, allowing you to resume
editing later in the same Emacs job, with the same files, same kill
ring, same undo history, and so on.  This is the usual way to exit.
"Killing" Emacs means destroying the Emacs job.  You can run Emacs
again later, but you will get a fresh Emacs; there is no way to resume
the same editing session after it has been killed.

`C-z'
     Suspend Emacs (`suspend-emacs').  If used under the X window
     system, this command will shrink the X window containing the Emacs
     frame to an icon. Clicking on the icon will resume that Emacs
     process again. *Note Exiting Emacs: (xemacs)Exiting Emacs.

`C-x C-c'
     Kill Emacs (`save-buffers-kill-emacs'). You can also select Exit
     Emacs option from the File menu to kill that Emacs process. If you
     haven't saved the file, Emacs will ask you if you wish to save the
     file before killing that process.

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Mode Line,  Next: Echo Area,  Prev: Exiting,  Up: Entering

The Mode Line
=============

   When you enter XEmacs, each text window's last line is a "mode line"
which describes what is going on in that window. Normally, the mode
line looks like :

     --CH-XEmacs: BUF     (MAJOR MINOR)----POS------

This gives information about the buffer being displayed in the window:
the buffer's name, what major and minor modes are in use, whether the
buffer's text has been changed, and how far down the buffer you are
currently looking.

   The CH contains :
`**'
     if the text in the buffer has been edited

`--'
     if the text in the buffer has not been edited

`%%'
     if the buffer is a read-only-buffer i.e. it cannot be edited

   BUF is the name of the window's chosen "buffer". If you are editing
a file (which is the selected buffer), the file name appears in BUF.
*Note Buffers: (xemacs)Buffers.

   POS contains :
`All'
     if your entire file is visible on the screen.

`Top'
     if you are looking at the beginning of the file.

`Bot'
     if you are looking at the end of the file.

`NN%'
     NN will be a number corresponding to the percentage of the file
     above the top of the screen, for example `52', which means that 52%
     of the file is above the top of the screen.

   MAJOR is the name of the "major mode" in effect in the buffer.  At
any time, each buffer is in one and only one major mode.  The available
major modes include Fundamental mode (the least specialized), Text
mode, Lisp mode, and C mode.  *Note Major Modes: (xemacs)Major Modes,
for details on how the modes differ and how you select one.

   MINOR is a list of some of the "minor modes" that are turned on in
the window's chosen buffer.  For example, `Fill' means that Auto Fill
mode is on which means that lines are broken automatically when they
become too wide. *Note Minor Modes: (xemacs)Minor Modes, for more
information on various minor modes and how to enable them.

   You can also display time in the mode line. *Note The Mode Line:
(xemacs)The Mode Line, for more information regarding the mode line.

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Echo Area,  Prev: Mode Line,  Up: Entering

The Echo Area
=============

   The line at the bottom of the frame (below the mode line) is the
"echo area".  Emacs uses this area to communicate with you:

   *   The "echo area" will print out the characters that you type. For
     example, if you choose the Open... option from the File menu you
     might get the following in the echo area:

          Find file: /usr/lib/x11/

     Now you need to give a file name to open, for example if the file
     name is `myfile', you will type `myfile' after `/usr/lib/x11/' and
     press the <Return> key. If you pause for more than a second while
     typing, you will see the characters that you type in the "echo
     area".

   *   The "echo area" also prints error messages. For example, if you
     misspell `usr' and type `/urs/lib/x11/myfile' <RETURN> in the
     above example you might get an error message. Since Emacs will not
     be able to find the `/urs' directory, the "echo area" will say:

          error--> Opening directory: no such file or directory, /urs/lib/x11/myfile

     This error message will be accompanied by a beep. Some XEmacs
     commands will print informative messages in the "echo area". *Note
     The Echo Area: (xemacs)The Echo Area, for more information on the
     "echo area".

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Windows and Menus,  Next: Edit,  Prev: Entering,  Up: Top

XEmacs Windows and Menus
************************

   The first section of this chapter will show you how you can
manipulate XEmacs Windows and the other section will explain the
Pull-down Menus of an XEmacs window.

* Menu:

* XEmacs Window::               Manipulating XEmacs Windows
* Pull-down Menus::             Description of XEmacs Pull-down Menus

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: XEmacs Window,  Next: Pull-down Menus,  Prev: Windows and Menus,  Up: Windows and Menus

XEmacs Windows
==============

   When you use XEmacs under X, you can open multiple windows and each
window can display one buffer or multiple parts of one buffer. Each
window will have its own "mode line" and "echo area". At any one time
there is only one "selected window" and the buffer it displays is the
"selected buffer". There are some commands for manipulating windows:

`M-C-v'
     This command will scroll the window which is not "selected"
     (`scroll-other-window').

`C-x 0'
     This command will get rid of the selected window (`delete-window').
     That is a zero. If there is more than one Emacs frame, deleting the
     sole remaining window on that frame deletes the frame as well. If
     the current frame is the only frame, it is not deleted.

`C-x 1'
     This command will get rid of all the windows except the selected
     one.  (`delete-other-windows'). For example, if you use the
     Describe variable option from the Help menu, the window will split
     vertically and the bottom window will contain documentation for
     that variable. After you are done looking at that variable's
     documentation you might want to come back to your original single
     window. Just type `C-x 1' after your cursor is in the top window
     (the window which you want to keep) and hit <RET>.

`C-x 2'
     This command will split the selected window into two windows, one
     above the other (`split-window-vertically'). Both the windows will
     start out by displaying the same buffer. The window in which you
     have your cursor will be your "selected window".

`C-x 3'
     This will split the selected window into two windows positioned
     side by side (`split-window-horizontally'). A line of vertical
     bars will separate the window.

You can select a buffer in another window by using some other commands.
These commands all have a prefix key `C-x 4'
`C-x 4 b BUFNAME <RET>'
     This command will select a buffer BUFNAME in another window.  This
     runs `switch-to-buffer-other-window'. It will prompt you for a
     buffername.

`C-x 4 f FILENAME <RET>'
     Visit file FILENAME and select its buffer in another window.  This
     runs `find-file-other-window'.  *Note Visiting: (xemacs)Visiting.
     It will prompt you for a filename.

`C-x 4 d DIRECTORY <RET>'
     Select a Dired buffer for directory DIRECTORY in another window.
     This runs `dired-other-window'.  *Note Dired: (xemacs)Dired.

`C-x 4 m'
     Start composing a mail message in another window.  This runs
     `mail-other-window', and its same-window version is `C-x m'.
     *Note Sending Mail: (xemacs)Sending Mail, for information on how
     to Send Mail using XEmacs. *Note Reading Mail With Rmail:
     (xemacs)Reading Mail With Rmail, for information on reading mail
     using Rmail.

   If you click the right button on the mouse on a mode line, you will
get a menu with following options:
Delete Window
     Choosing this menu will remove the window above this modeline from
     the frame.

Delete Other Windows
     Delete all windows on the frame except for the one above this
     modeline.

Split Window
     Split the window above the mode line in half, creating another
     window.

Split Window Horizontally
     Split the window above the mode line in half horizontally, so that
     there will be two windows side-by-side.

Balance Windows
     Readjust the sizes of all windows on the frame until all windows
     have roughly the same number of lines.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Pull-down Menus,  Prev: XEmacs Window,  Up: Windows and Menus

XEmacs Pull-down Menus
======================

   When you run XEmacs under X, each Emacs frame has a menu-bar at the
top which provides commands for editing, help and other options. All
these options are also available via key commands, the menus just
provide convenient short-cuts. The key commands are displayed right
besides some of the options. The following is a brief description of
the four default menus on the menu bar:

* Menu:

* File menu::                   Items on the File menu
* Edit menu::                   Items on the Edit menu
* Options Menu::                Items on the Options Menu
* Buffers Menu::                Items on the Buffers Menu
* Help menu::                   The Help Menu at the extreme right on
                                the frame

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: File menu,  Next: Edit menu,  Prev: Pull-down Menus,  Up: Pull-down Menus

The File Menu
-------------

   The File menu bar contains the following items. To choose a
particular option, press the left mouse button and drag it to the item
you wish to select. Then release the button.

Open...
     This option will prompt you for a file name. You will get a
     message in the echo area:

          Find File:

     After Find File, there might be a directory path also. After you
     type the file name and press <RET> the file will be loaded into a
     new buffer.

Open in New Frame...
     It prompts you for a file name and loads that file in a new buffer
     in a new frame. You can open many frames for the same Emacs
     session. You can delete the frame by selecting Delete Frame.

Insert File...
     Prompts you for a filename and inserts the contents of this
     filename in your current buffer. Position your cursor at the place
     you wish to insert the file and select this option. You will get
     the following message in the echo area:

          Insert file:

     Insert the file name and press <RET>.

Save <Buffername>
     It saves the changes you have made to the buffer. If you have made
     changes which are not saved yet, the option will appear dark,
     otherwise it will be light and unselectable. If you do not wish to
     save the changes, select Revert Buffer.

Save As...
     Prompts you for a filename and saves the current buffer in that
     file. It loads the new file if the filename you specify is
     different from the one you were working with.

Print Buffer <buffername>
     Prints a hardcopy of the current or "selected" buffer.

New Frame
     Opens a new frame with *scratch* as the default buffer. It doesn't
     prompt you for a filename. To open a file you need to go to that
     frame and select Open...

Split Frame
     Splits the current window into two equal-sized windows with the
     same buffer. To get back a single frame, select Un-Split (Keep
     This). *Note XEmacs Window::, for more information about windows.

Un-Split (Keep This)
     If the frame contains multiple windows, it will remove all windows
     except the selected one.

Un-Split (Keep Others)
     If the frame contains multiple windows, it will remove the selected
     window and keep the other one.

Revert Buffer <buffername>
     If you do not wish to save the changes you made to the file since
     you opened it, select this option. It will restore the last saved
     version of the file to the current buffer.

Kill Buffer <buffername>
     It will kill the current buffer. If will prompt you if there are
     unsaved changes.

Exit Emacs
     It will kill the Emacs "process" as opposed to simply killing the
     "buffer". Before it kills the process, it will prompt you as to
     which unsaved buffers you wish to save by going through the list
     of the buffers.

* Menu:

* Edit menu::                   Items on the Edit Menu
* Options Menu::                Items on the Options Menu
* Buffers Menu::                Items on the Buffers Menu
* Help menu::                   The Help Menu at the extreme right on
                                the frame

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Edit menu,  Next: Options Menu,  Prev: File menu,  Up: Pull-down Menus

The Edit Menu
-------------

   Most of the commands in this menu work on a block of text or a
selected region. The text will be highlighted as you select it.
Undo
     Undoes the previous command.  If you type something by mistake you
     can use this command. For example, if you select Insert File...
     from the File menu and insert a wrong file by mistake, you can
     select this item and it will remove the inserted file. It undoes a
     batch of text which is worth an emacs command.

Cut
     Removes the selected text block from the current buffer, makes it
     the X clipboard selection, and places it in the kill ring (*note
     Moving Text::.). Before executing this command, you have to select
     a region using Emacs region selection commands or with the mouse.
     *Note Selecting Text::.

Copy
     Makes a selected text block the X clipboard selection, and places
     it in the kill ring.  You can select text using one of the Emacs
     region selection commands or by selecting a text region with the
     mouse. *Note Selecting Text::, for more information.

Paste
     Inserts the current value of the X clipboard selection in the
     current buffer.  Note that this is not necessarily the same as the
     Emacs `yank' command, because the Emacs kill ring and the X
     clipboard selection are not the same thing.  You can paste in text
     you have placed in the clipboard using Copy or Cut.  You can also
     use Paste to insert text that was pasted into the clipboard from
     other applications. *Note X Clipboard Selection: (xemacs)X
     Clipboard Selection, for information on using Clipboard Selection.

Clear
     Removes the selected text block from the current buffer but does
     not place it in the kill ring or the X clipboard selection. You
     will not be able to get this text back.

Start Macro Recording
     After selecting this, Emacs will remember every keystroke you type
     until End Macro Recording is selected.

End Macro Recording
     Selecting this tells emacs to stop remembering your keystrokes.

Execute Last Macro
     Selecting this item will cause emacs to re-interpret all of the
     keystrokes which were saved between selections of the Start Macro
     Recording and End Macro Recording menu items.  You can now execute
     the most recent keyboard macro. *Note Keyboard Macros:
     (xemacs)Keyboard Macros, for further information.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Options Menu,  Next: Buffers Menu,  Prev: Edit menu,  Up: Pull-down Menus

The Options Menu
----------------

   There are sub-menus for some of the menus which you will need to
select. If sub-menus exist for an item, they will be displayed
automatically when you drag the mouse on that item. The items in this
menu provide some fancy editing operations.

Read Only
     Selecting this item will cause the buffer to visit the file in a
     read-only mode. Changes to the file will not be allowed.

Case Sensitive Search
     Selecting this item will cause searches to be case-sensitive. If
     its not selected then searches will ignore case. This option is
     local to the buffer. For example, if this item is selected and you
     are searching for `Smile', then an occurrence of `smile' will not
     be recognized because of the smaller case of `s'.

Overstrike
     After selecting this item, when you type letters they will replace
     existing text on a one-to-one basis, rather than pushing it to the
     right. At the end of a line, such characters extend the line.
     Before a tab, such characters insert until the tab is filled in.

Auto Delete Selection
     Selecting this item will cause automatic deletion of the selected
     region. After you select a region and hit the <RET> key, the
     selected text will be deleted. The typed text will replace the
     selection if the selection is active (i.e. if its highlighted). If
     the option is not selected then the typed text is just inserted at
     the cursor.

Teach Extended Commands
     After you  select this item, any time you execute a command with
     `M-x' which has a shorter keybinding, you will be shown the
     alternate binding before the command executes. For example if you
     type `M-x find-file-other-window' which performs the same function
     as the Open in Other Window... in File menu you will see the
     following message:

          M-x find-file-other-window (bound to keys: C-x 4 f, C-x 4 C-f)

Syntax Highlighting
     You can customize your `.emacs' file to include the font-lock mode
     so that when you select this item, the comments will be displayed
     in one face, strings in another, reserved words in another, and so
     on. *Note Customization: (xemacs)Customization, for more
     information on customizing `.emacs' file.  After selecting this
     item, you will find your code a lot easier to read. When Fonts is
     selected, different parts of the program will appear in different
     Fonts. When Colors is selected, then the program will be displayed
     in different colors. Selecting None causes the program to appear in
     just one Font and Color. Selecting Less resets the Fonts and Colors
     to a fast, minimal set of decorations. Selecting More resets the
     Fonts and Colors to a larger set of decorations. For example, if
     Less is selected (which is the default setting) then you might have
     all comments in green color. It does not matter what the comments
     contain. Whereas, if More is selected then a function name in the
     comments themselves might appear in a different Color or Font. Even
     though the comments themselves might appear in green color, a
     function name "within" the comments might appear in red color.

Paren Highlighting
     After selecting Blink from this item, if you place the cursor on a
     parenthesis, the matching parenthesis will blink. If you select
     Highlight and place the cursor on a parenthesis, the whole
     expression of the parenthesis under the cursor will be highlighted.
     Selecting None will turn off the options (regarding Paren
     Highlighting) which you had selected earlier.

Font
     You can select any Font for your program by choosing from one of
     the available Fonts. The whole buffer will be converted to the
     Font you select.

Size
     You can select any size for the text in your buffer (ranging from
     2 to 24) by selecting the appropriate option.

Weight
     You can choose either Bold or Medium for the weight of the text of
     your buffer.

Buffers Menu Length...
     Prompts you for the number of buffers to display. Then it will
     display that number of most recently selected buffers.

Buffers Sub-Menus
     After selection of this item the Buffers menu will contain several
     commands, as submenus of each buffer line. If this item is
     unselected, then there are no submenus for each buffer line, the
     only command available will be selecting that buffer.

Save Options
     Selecting this item will save the current settings of your Options
     menu to your `.emacs' file so that the next time you start XEmacs,
     you won't need to select the options again.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Buffers Menu,  Next: Help menu,  Prev: Options Menu,  Up: Pull-down Menus

The Buffers Menu
----------------

   The Buffers menu provides a selection of up to ten buffers and the
item List All Buffers, which provides a Buffer List. If you select
Buffers Sub-menus from the Options menu, you will get some sub-menus
for each of the buffer listing.

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Help menu,  Prev: Buffers Menu,  Up: Pull-down Menus

The Help Menu
-------------

   The Help Menu gives you access to Emacs Info and provides a menu
equivalent for some of the choices you have when using `C-h'.  *Note
Help::, for more information.

   The Describe variable and Describe function will provide
documentation for the corresponding variable or function. The Help menu
also gives access to UNIX online manual pages via the UNIX Manual...
option.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Edit,  Next: Customization Basics,  Prev: Windows and Menus,  Up: Top

Basic Editing Commands
**********************

   This chapter will introduce you to some basic editing commands. You
can also learn the basic editing commands by typing `Control-h t'
(`help-with-tutorial' OR by selecting Emacs Tutorial from the Help menu
on the menu bar. Most of the Emacs commands will use the <CONTROL> key
or the <META> key. The following abbreviations will be used for the
<CONTROL> and <META> key in this manual:

`C-<chr>'
     This means that you should hold down the <CONTROL> key while typing
     `<chr>'. For example, if the command is `C-g', you should hold the
     <CONTROL> key and type <g>.

`M-<chr>'
     This means that you should hold down the `META' key while typing
     `<chr>'. If there is no `META' key on your keyboard, use the `ESC'
     key instead. For example, if the command is `M-x', then type
     `ESC', release it and type `x'.

   The following abbreviations will be used for some other keys:

<SPC>
     Space bar.

<RET>
     Return key.

<LFD>
     Linefeed key.

<TAB>
     Tab.

<ESC>
     Escape.

<SFT>
     Shift.

* Menu:

* Insert::                      Insert text in Emacs by simply typing at
                                the cursor position.
* Cursor Position::             Moving Around the cursor in the buffer,
* Erase::                       Different commands for erasing text
* Numeric Argument::            Giving Numeric Arguments to commands
* Undo::                        Undoing Changes made by mistake

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Insert,  Next: Cursor Position,  Prev: Edit,  Up: Edit

Inserting Text
==============

   To insert printing characters into the text you are editing, just
type them. Emacs will automatically insert the characters that you type
into the buffer at the cursor. The cursor moves forward, but if you
prefer to have text characters replace (overwrite) existing text
characters, you can enable the Overstrike option from the Options menu
in the menu bar.

   To "delete" text you have just inserted, use <DEL>.  <DEL> deletes
the character BEFORE the cursor (not the one that the cursor is on top
of or under; that is the character AFTER the cursor).  The cursor and
all characters after it move backwards.  Therefore, if you type a
printing character and then type <DEL>, they cancel out.

   To end a line and start typing a new one, type <RET>.  This inserts
a newline character in the buffer.  If point is in the middle of a
line, <RET> splits the line.  Typing <DEL> when the cursor is at the
beginning of a line rubs out the newline before the line, thus joining
the line with the preceding line.

   Emacs automatically splits lines when they become too long, if you
turn on a special mode called "Auto Fill" mode.  *Note Filling:
(xemacs)Filling, for information on using Auto Fill mode.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Cursor Position,  Next: Erase,  Prev: Insert,  Up: Edit

Moving Around
=============

   The following commands will allow you to move the cursor around the
screen. The actual function names corresponding to these commands are
given in parenthesis. You can also invoke these commands by typing `M-x
<function name>'. You can do this for any command in XEmacs.

`C-b'
     Move the cursor backward one character (`backward-char').

`C-f'
     Move the cursor forward one character (`forward-char').

`C-p'
     Move the cursor up one line vertically (`previous-line').

`C-n'
     Move the cursor down one line vertically (`next-line').

`C-a'
     Move the cursor to the beginning of the line (`beginning-of-line').

`C-e'
     Move the cursor to the end of the line (`end-of-line').

`M-f'
     Move the cursor forward one word (`forward-word').

`M-b'
     Move the cursor backword one word (`backward-word').

`M-<'
     Move the cursor to the top of the buffer (`beginning-of-buffer').

`M->'
     Move the cursor to the end of the buffer (`end-of-buffer').

`M-x goto-char RET <number> RET'
     To enable this command type `M-x goto-char', and hit <RETURN> key.
     In the "echo area" you will see:

          Goto char:

     You should then type in a number right after the colon and hit the
     `RETURN' key again. After reading a number N this command will
     move the cursor to character number N.  Position 1 is the
     beginning of the buffer. For example, if you type `M-x goto-char
     RET 200 RET', then the cursor will move to the 200th character
     starting from the beginning of the buffer.

`M-x goto-line RET <number> RET'
     To enable this command type `M-x goto-line', and hit the <RETURN>
     key. After you see `Goto line:' in the "echo area", type in a
     number N and hit <RETURN> key again. This command will position
     the cursor on the nth line starting from the beginning of the
     buffer.

`M-x what-line RET'
     This command will display the current line number in the echo area.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Erase,  Next: Numeric Argument,  Prev: Cursor Position,  Up: Edit

Erasing Text
============

`<DEL>'
     If you press <DEL> i.e. the "delete" key, it will delete the
     character before the cursor (`delete-backward-char').

`C-d'
     This will delete the character after the cursor (`delete-char').

`C-k'
     Kill to the end of the line (`kill-line'). If you kill the line by
     mistake you can "yank" or `paste' it back by typing `C-y'. *Note
     Moving Text::, for more information on yanking.

`M-d'
     Kill forward to the end of the next word (`kill-word').

`M-<DEL>'
     Kill back to the beginning of the previous word
     (`backward-kill-word').

`M-k'
     Kill to the end of current sentence (`kill-sentence').

`M-z CHAR'
     Kill up to next occurrence of CHAR (`zap-to-char'). To use this
     command type `M-z'. You will see the following statement in the
     echo area :

          Zap to char:

     Type any char and press the <RET> key. For example, if you type
     `p' then the entire text starting from the position of the cursor
     until the first occurrence of `p' is killed.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Numeric Argument,  Next: Undo,  Prev: Erase,  Up: Edit

Giving Numeric Arguments
========================

   Any Emacs command can be given a "numeric argument".  Some commands
interpret the argument as a repetition count.  For example, if you want
to move forward ten characters, you could type `C-f' ten times.
However, a more efficient way to do this would be to give an argument
of ten to the key `C-f' (the command `forward-char', move forward one
character). Negative arguments are also allowed. Often they tell a
command to move or act backwards. For example, if you want to move down
ten lines, type the following:
     C-u 10 C-n RET

After you press <RET> key, the cursor will move ten lines downward. You
can also type:
     M-10 C-n RET

Both `C-u' and `M-' allow you to give numeric arguments. If you want to
move ten lines backward, you can also give negative arguments, like:
     C-u -10 C-n RET

OR you could also type:
     M--10 C-n RET

You can obviously use `C-b' to move backward rather than giving
negative arguments to `C-n'. *Note Numeric Arguments: (xemacs)Numeric
Arguments, for more information on numeric arguments.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Undo,  Prev: Numeric Argument,  Up: Edit

Undoing Changes
===============

   When you are editing a buffer, you might type something by mistake.
Emacs allows you to undo all changes you make to a buffer (but not more
than 8000 characters). Each buffer in Emacs keeps a record of the
changes made to it individually, so the undo command applies to the
current buffer. There are two undo commands:

`C-x u'
     Undo one batch of changes (usually, one command's worth).
     (`undo').

`C-_'
     The same as above, but this command might not be obvious to type
     on some keyboards so it might be better to use the above command.

   *Note Undoing Changes: (xemacs)Undoing Changes, for more information
on undoing changes.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Customization Basics,  Next: Help,  Prev: Edit,  Up: Top

Customize key bindings and menus
********************************

   When you start Emacs, it reads the file `~/.emacs' in your home
directory. You can use this file to initialize and customize Emacs to
your liking. This file should contain lisp-code. You can customize your
`.emacs' file to create new menus, disable menus, change key bindings,
enable a minor mode, etc. Any kind of customization affects only a
particular Emacs job that you do them in. If you want to save your
customizations `permanently' i.e. for future use also, you have to put
it in your `.emacs' file. After you make changes to your `.emacs' file
and save it, the changes will be effective only after you start Emacs
again i.e. for a new Emacs process. To try out some of the examples in
this section, highlight that region and evaluate the region by giving
the command `M-x eval-region'. You will be able to see the results of
your customizations in that Emacs session only (*note Lisp Eval:
(xemacs)Lisp Eval.).

* Menu:

* Customizing key Bindings::    Changing Key Bindings
* Customizing Menus::           Adding, Deleting, Enabling and Disabling Menus

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File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Customizing key Bindings,  Next: Customizing Menus,  Prev: Customization Basics,  Up: Customization Basics

Customize key bindings
======================

   Most of Emacs commands use key sequences. *Note Keystrokes:
(xemacs)Keystrokes, for more information about Keys and Commands. In
Emacs, the keys themselves carry no meaning unless they are bound to a
function. For example, `C-n' moves the cursor to the next line because
its bound to the function next-line. Similarly, `C-p' moves to the
previous line because its bound to the function previous-line. The
functions themselves define a particular behavior. You can customize
the key `C-n' to move to the previous line by binding it to
previous-line and `C-p' to move to the next line by binding it to
next-line. To bind keys to globally run commands you need to use the
following syntax in your .emacs file:

     `(global-set-key KEYS CMD)'

Here, `global-set-key' is a function which will bind the "keys" to the
specified "cmd". For example, if you type the following in your .emacs
file:

     (global-set-key "\C-p" 'next-line)
     (global-set-key "\C-n" 'previous-line)

then `C-p' will move to the next line and `C-n' to the previous line.

   You can also disable a key binding, by using `nil' as the CMD in the
syntax stated above. Here, `nil' stands for `false' which means disable
a command or turn off a feature. If you want to enable a command or
turn on a particular feature use `t' which stands for `true'.  For
example, if you do not wish `C-x C-c' to `Exit Emacs' you can type the
following expression in your `.emacs' file:

     (global-set-key "\C-x\C-c" nil)

You might want to have this statement in your `.emacs' file because its
easy to hit this command by mistake and it could be annoying to exit
Emacs unintentionally. There is a Exit Emacs option in the File menu
which you might want to use instead. To make a particular key undefined
you can also use:

     (global-unset-key "\C-x\C-c")

Now if you use the command `C-x C-c', you will get an error saying that
the command is undefined.

   Some other customizations you could try are:
   *      (global-set-key 'button3 'beginning-of-buffer)

     Now when you press the third button of your mouse, the cursor will
     be placed at the `beginning-of-buffer'.

   *      (global-set-key 'f1 'goto-line)

     If you press the <F1> key, you will be prompted for a line number.
     After you type the line number and hit <RET>, the cursor will be
     placed on that line number.

   *      (global-set-key 'f2 'undo)

     Pressing <F2> will undo the last command. If you have a <undo> key
     on your keyboard, try binding that key to the undo command.

   Another syntax for customizing key bindings is: `(define-key KEYMAP
KEYS DEF)' It defines KEYS to run DEF in the keymap KEYMAP.

   KEYMAP is a keymap object which records the bindings of keys to the
commands that they run.

   KEYS is the sequence of keystrokes to bind.

   DEF is anything that can be a key's definition:

   Look at the following two examples:

     (define-key global-map "\C-xl" 'make-symbolic-link)
     (define-key c-mode-map "\C-xl" 'make-symbolic-link)

Both the examples bind the key `C-xl' to run the function
`make-symbolic-link' (*note Misc File Ops: (xemacs)Misc File Ops.).
However, the second example will bind the key only for C mode. *Note
Major Modes: (xemacs)Major Modes, for more information on Major Modes
in XEmacs.

\1f
File: new-users-guide.info,  Node: Customizing Menus,  Prev: Customizing key Bindings,  Up: Customization Basics

Customizing Menus
=================

   You can customize any of the  XEmacs Pull-down-Menus. You can create
your own menu, delete an existing one, enable a menu or disable a menu.
For more information on the default menus available to you, *Note
Pull-down Menus::.

   Some of the functions which are available to you for customization
are:
  1. add-menu-item: (MENU-NAME ITEM-NAME FUNCTION ENABLED-P &OPTIONAL
     BEFORE)

     This function will add a menu item to a menu, creating the menu
     first if necessary. If the named item already exists, the menu
     will remain unchanged. For example, if you add the following
     example to your `.emacs' file or evaluate it (*note Customization
     Basics::.),

          (add-menu-item '("Edit") "Replace String" replace-string t "Clear")

     a sub-menu Replace String will be created under Edit menu before
     the sub-menu Clear. The Edit menu will now look like:

          Undo                    C-x u
          Cut                     cut
          Copy                    copy
          Paste                   paste
          Replace String
          Clear
          Start Macro Recording   C-x(
          End Macro Recording     C-x)
          Execute Last Macro      C-xe

     Replace String will now execute the function `replace-string'.
     Select this menu item. Emacs will prompt you for a string name to
     be replaced. Type a string and hit <RET>. Now type a new string to
     replace the old string and hit <RET>. All occurrences of the old
     string will be replaced by the new string. In this example,

     `Edit' is the MENU-NAME which identifies the menu into which the
     new menu item should be inserted.

     `Replace String' is the ITEM-NAME which names the menu item to be
     added.

     `replace-string' is the FUNCTION i.e. the command to be invoked
     when the menu item "Replace String" is selected.

     `t' is the ENABLED-P parameter which controls whether the menu
     item is selectable or not. This parameter can be either `t'
     (selectable), `nil' (not selectable), or a form to evaluate. This
     form is evaluated just before the menu is displayed, and the menu
     item will be selectable if the form returns non-`nil'.

     `Clear' is the &OPTIONAL BEFORE parameter which is the name of the
     menu before which the new menu or sub-menu should be added. The
     &OPTIONAL string means that this parameter is optional. You do not
     need to specify this parameter. If you do not specify this
     parameter in the example above, the Replace String menu item will
     be added at the end of the list of sub-menus in the Edit menu i.e.
     after Execute Last Macro.

     If you wish to add a new menu to the menubar, try:

          (add-menu-item nil "Bot" 'end-of-buffer t)

     This will create a new menu Bot on the menu bar. Selecting this
     menu will take you to the end of the buffer. Using `nil' for the
     parameter MENU-NAME will create a new menu. Your menu-bar will now
     look like:

          File Edit Options Buffers Bot                         Help

     The following example will illustrate how you can add sub-menus to
     the submenus themselves:

          (add-menu-item '("File" "Management") "Copy File" 'copy-file t)
          (add-menu-item '("File" "Management") "Delete File" 'delete-file t)
          (add-menu-item '("File" "Management") "Rename File" 'rename-file t)

     This will create a sub-menu Management under the File menu. When
     you select the submenu Management, it will contain three submenus:
     Copy File, Delete File and Rename File.

  2. delete-menu-item: (MENU-PATH) This function will remove the menu
     item defined by MENU-NAME from the menu hierarchy. Look at the
     following examples and the comments just above them which specify
     what the examples do.

          ;; deletes the "Replace String" menu item created earlier
          (delete-menu-item '("Edit" "Replace String"))
          
          ;; deletes the "Bot" menu created earlier
          (delete-menu-item '("Bot"))
          
          ;; deletes the sub-menu "Copy File" created earlier
          (delete-menu-item '("File" "File Management" "Copy File"))
          
          ;; deletes the sub-menu "Delete File" created earlier
          (delete-menu-item '("File" "Management" "Delete File"))
          
          ;; deletes the sub-menu "Rename File" created earlier
          (delete-menu-item '("File" "Management" "Rename File"))

  3. disable-menu-item: (MENU-NAME) Disables the specified menu item.
     The following example

          (disable-menu-item '("File" "Management" "Copy File"))

     will make the Copy File item unselectable. This menu-item would
     still be there but it will appear faded which would mean that it
     cannot be selected.

  4. enable-menu-item: (MENU-NAME) Enables the specified previously
     disabled menu item.

          (enable-menu-item '("File" "Management" "Copy File"))

     This will enable the sub-menu Copy File, which was disabled by the
     earlier command.

  5. relabel-menu-item: (MENU-NAME NEW-NAME) Change the string of the
     menu item specified by MENU-NAME to NEW-NAME.

          (relabel-menu-item '("File" "Open...") "Open File")

     This example will rename the Open... menu item from the File menu
     to Open File.