1 @c This is part of the XEmacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 @c See file xemacs.texi for copying conditions.
4 @node Basic, Undo, Startup Paths, Top
5 @chapter Basic Editing Commands
8 @findex help-with-tutorial
9 We now give the basics of how to enter text, make corrections, and
10 save the text in a file. If this material is new to you, you might
11 learn it more easily by running the Emacs learn-by-doing tutorial. To
12 use the tutorial, run Emacs and type @kbd{Control-h t}
13 (@code{help-with-tutorial}). You can also use @b{Tutorials} item from
16 XEmacs comes with many translations of tutorial. If your XEmacs is with
17 MULE and you set up language environment correctly, XEmacs chooses right
18 tutorial when available (@pxref{Language Environments}). If you want
19 specific translation, give @kbd{C-h t} a prefix argument, like @kbd{C-u
22 To clear the screen and redisplay, type @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter}).
26 * Inserting Text:: Inserting text by simply typing it.
27 * Moving Point:: How to move the cursor to the place where you want to
29 * Erasing:: Deleting and killing text.
30 * Files: Basic Files. Visiting, creating, and saving files.
31 * Help: Basic Help. Asking what a character does.
32 * Blank Lines:: Commands to make or delete blank lines.
33 * Continuation Lines:: Lines too wide for the screen.
34 * Position Info:: What page, line, row, or column is point on?
35 * Arguments:: Numeric arguments for repeating a command.
36 @c * Repeating:: A short-cut for repeating the previous command.
39 @node Inserting Text, Moving Point, , Basic
40 @section Inserting Text
45 @cindex graphic characters
46 To insert printing characters into the text you are editing, just type
47 them. This inserts the characters you type into the buffer at the
48 cursor (that is, at @dfn{point}; @pxref{Point}). The cursor moves
49 forward, and any text after the cursor moves forward too. If the text
50 in the buffer is @samp{FOOBAR}, with the cursor before the @samp{B},
51 then if you type @kbd{XX}, you get @samp{FOOXXBAR}, with the cursor
52 still before the @samp{B}.
56 To @dfn{delete} text you have just inserted, use @key{BS}. @key{BS}
57 deletes the character @emph{before} the cursor (not the one that the
58 cursor is on top of or under; that is the character @var{after} the
59 cursor). The cursor and all characters after it move backwards.
60 Therefore, if you type a printing character and then type @key{BS}, they
65 To end a line and start typing a new one, type @key{RET}. This
66 inserts a newline character in the buffer. If point is in the middle of
67 a line, @key{RET} splits the line. Typing @key{DEL} when the cursor is
68 at the beginning of a line deletes the preceding newline, thus joining
69 the line with the preceding line.
71 Emacs can split lines automatically when they become too long, if you
72 turn on a special minor mode called @dfn{Auto Fill} mode.
73 @xref{Filling}, for how to use Auto Fill mode.
75 If you prefer to have text characters replace (overwrite) existing
76 text rather than shove it to the right, you can enable Overwrite mode,
77 a minor mode. @xref{Minor Modes}.
82 Direct insertion works for printing characters and @key{SPC}, but other
83 characters act as editing commands and do not insert themselves. If you
84 need to insert a control character or a character whose code is above 200
85 octal, you must @dfn{quote} it by typing the character @kbd{Control-q}
86 (@code{quoted-insert}) first. (This character's name is normally written
87 @kbd{C-q} for short.) There are two ways to use @kbd{C-q}:
91 @kbd{C-q} followed by any non-graphic character (even @kbd{C-g})
92 inserts that character.
95 @kbd{C-q} followed by a sequence of octal digits inserts the character
96 with the specified octal character code. You can use any number of
97 octal digits; any non-digit terminates the sequence. If the terminating
98 character is @key{RET}, it serves only to terminate the sequence; any
99 other non-digit is itself used as input after terminating the sequence.
100 (The use of octal sequences is disabled in ordinary non-binary Overwrite
101 mode, to give you a convenient way to insert a digit instead of
102 overwriting with it.)
106 A numeric argument to @kbd{C-q} specifies how many copies of the quoted
107 character should be inserted (@pxref{Arguments}).
109 @findex backward-or-forward-delete-char
112 Customization information: @key{DEL}, in most modes, runs the command
113 @code{backward-or-forward-delete-char}; @key{RET} runs the command
114 @code{newline}, and self-inserting printing characters run the command
115 @code{self-insert}, which inserts whatever character was typed to invoke
116 it. Some major modes rebind @key{DEL} to other commands.
118 @node Moving Point, Erasing, Inserting Text, Basic
119 @section Changing the Location of Point
128 @cindex cursor motion
129 @cindex moving the cursor
130 To do more than insert characters, you have to know how to move point
131 (@pxref{Point}). The simplest way to do this is with arrow keys, or by
132 clicking the left mouse button where you want to move to.
134 NOTE: Many of the following commands have two versions, one that uses
135 the function keys (e.g. @key{LEFT} or @key{END}) and one that doesn't.
136 The former versions may only be available on X terminals (i.e. not on
137 TTY's), but the latter are available on all terminals.
164 @findex beginning-of-line
167 @findex backward-char
169 @findex previous-line
171 @findex transpose-chars
172 @findex beginning-of-buffer
173 @findex end-of-buffer
176 @findex move-to-window-line
180 Move to the beginning of the line (@code{beginning-of-line}).
183 Move to the end of the line (@code{end-of-line}).
186 Move forward one character (@code{forward-char}).
189 Move backward one character (@code{backward-char}).
192 Move forward one word (@code{forward-word}).
195 Move backward one word (@code{backward-word}).
198 Move down one line, vertically (@code{next-line}). This command
199 attempts to keep the horizontal position unchanged, so if you start in
200 the middle of one line, you end in the middle of the next. When on the
201 last line of text, @kbd{C-n} creates a new line and moves onto it.
204 Move up one line, vertically (@code{previous-line}).
207 Move down one page, vertically (@code{scroll-up}).
210 Move up one page, vertically (@code{scroll-down}).
212 Clear the frame and reprint everything (@code{recenter}). Text moves
213 on the frame to bring point to the center of the window.
215 Move point to left margin, vertically centered in the window
216 (@code{move-to-window-line}). Text does not move on the screen.
218 A numeric argument says which screen line to place point on. It counts
219 screen lines down from the top of the window (zero for the top line). A
220 negative argument counts lines from the bottom (@minus{}1 for the bottom
223 Transpose two characters, the ones before and after the cursor
224 (@code{transpose-chars}).
227 Move to the top of the buffer (@code{beginning-of-buffer}). With
228 numeric argument @var{n}, move to @var{n}/10 of the way from the top.
229 @xref{Arguments}, for more information on numeric arguments.@refill
232 Move to the end of the buffer (@code{end-of-buffer}).
234 Read a number @var{n} and move point to buffer position @var{n}.
235 Position 1 is the beginning of the buffer.
237 Read a number @var{n} and move point to line number @var{n}
238 (@code{goto-line}). Line 1 is the beginning of the buffer.
240 @item M-x set-goal-column
241 @findex set-goal-column
242 Use the current column of point as the @dfn{semi-permanent goal column} for
243 @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} (@code{set-goal-column}). Henceforth, those
244 commands always move to this column in each line moved into, or as
245 close as possible given the contents of the line. This goal column remains
246 in effect until canceled.
248 @item C-u M-x set-goal-column
249 Cancel the goal column. Henceforth, @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} once
250 again try to avoid changing the horizontal position, as usual.
254 If you set the variable @code{track-eol} to a non-@code{nil} value,
255 then @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} when at the end of the starting line move
256 to the end of another line. Normally, @code{track-eol} is @code{nil}.
257 @xref{Variables}, for how to set variables such as @code{track-eol}.
259 @vindex next-line-add-newlines
260 Normally, @kbd{C-n} on the last line of a buffer appends a newline to
261 it. If the variable @code{next-line-add-newlines} is @code{nil}, then
262 @kbd{C-n} gets an error instead (like @kbd{C-p} on the first line).
264 @node Erasing, Basic Files, Moving Point, Basic
265 @section Erasing Text
269 Delete the character before or after point
270 (@code{backward-or-forward-delete-char}). You can customize
271 this behavior by setting the variable @code{delete-key-deletes-forward}.
273 Delete the character after point (@code{delete-char}).
275 Kill to the end of the line (@code{kill-line}).
277 Kill forward to the end of the next word (@code{kill-word}).
279 Kill back to the beginning of the previous word
280 (@code{backward-kill-word}).
283 @cindex killing characters and lines
284 @cindex deleting characters and lines
285 @cindex erasing characters and lines
286 You already know about the @key{DEL} key which deletes the character
287 before point (that is, before the cursor). Another key, @kbd{Control-d}
288 (@kbd{C-d} for short), deletes the character after point (that is, the
289 character that the cursor is on). This shifts the rest of the text on
290 the line to the left. If you type @kbd{C-d} at the end of a line, it
291 joins together that line and the next line.
293 To erase a larger amount of text, use the @kbd{C-k} key, which kills a
294 line at a time. If you type @kbd{C-k} at the beginning or middle of a
295 line, it kills all the text up to the end of the line. If you type
296 @kbd{C-k} at the end of a line, it joins that line and the next line.
298 @xref{Killing}, for more flexible ways of killing text.
300 @node Basic Files, Basic Help, Erasing, Basic
304 The commands described above are sufficient for creating and altering
305 text in an Emacs buffer; the more advanced Emacs commands just make
306 things easier. But to keep any text permanently you must put it in a
307 @dfn{file}. Files are named units of text which are stored by the
308 operating system for you to retrieve later by name. To look at or use
309 the contents of a file in any way, including editing the file with
310 Emacs, you must specify the file name.
312 Consider a file named @file{/usr/rms/foo.c}. To begin editing
313 this file from Emacs, type:
316 C-x C-f /usr/rms/foo.c @key{RET}
320 Here the file name is given as an @dfn{argument} to the command @kbd{C-x
321 C-f} (@code{find-file}). That command uses the @dfn{minibuffer} to
322 read the argument, and you type @key{RET} to terminate the argument
323 (@pxref{Minibuffer}).
325 You can also use the @b{Open...} menu item from the @b{File} menu, then
326 type the name of the file to the prompt.
328 Emacs obeys the command by @dfn{visiting} the file: creating a buffer,
329 copying the contents of the file into the buffer, and then displaying
330 the buffer for you to edit. If you alter the text, you can @dfn{save}
331 the new text in the file by typing @kbd{C-x C-s} (@code{save-buffer}) or
332 choosing @b{Save Buffer} from the @b{File} menu. This makes the changes
333 permanent by copying the altered buffer contents back into the file
334 @file{/usr/rms/foo.c}. Until you save, the changes exist only inside
335 Emacs, and the file @file{foo.c} is unaltered.
337 To create a file, visit the file with @kbd{C-x C-f} as if it already
338 existed or choose @b{Open...} from the @b{File} menu and provide the
339 name for the new file. Emacs will create an empty buffer in which you
340 can insert the text you want to put in the file. When you save the
341 buffer with @kbd{C-x C-s}, or by choosing @b{Save Buffer} from the
342 @b{File} menu, the file is created.
344 To learn more about using files, @xref{Files}.
346 @node Basic Help, Blank Lines, Basic Files, Basic
349 @cindex getting help with keys
350 If you forget what a key does, you can find out with the Help
351 character, which is @kbd{C-h} (or @key{F1}, which is an alias for
352 @kbd{C-h}). Type @kbd{C-h k} followed by the key you want to know
353 about; for example, @kbd{C-h k C-n} tells you all about what @kbd{C-n}
354 does. @kbd{C-h} is a prefix key; @kbd{C-h k} is just one of its
355 subcommands (the command @code{describe-key}). The other subcommands of
356 @kbd{C-h} provide different kinds of help. Type @kbd{C-h} twice to get
357 a description of all the help facilities. @xref{Help}.
359 @node Blank Lines, Continuation Lines, Basic Help, Basic
362 @cindex inserting blank lines
363 @cindex deleting blank lines
364 Here are special commands and techniques for putting in and taking out
370 Insert one or more blank lines after the cursor (@code{open-line}).
372 Delete all but one of many consecutive blank lines
373 (@code{delete-blank-lines}).
380 @findex delete-blank-lines
381 When you want to insert a new line of text before an existing line, you
382 can do it by typing the new line of text, followed by @key{RET}.
383 However, it may be easier to see what you are doing if you first make a
384 blank line and then insert the desired text into it. This is easy to do
385 using the key @kbd{C-o} (@code{open-line}), which inserts a newline
386 after point but leaves point in front of the newline. After @kbd{C-o},
387 type the text for the new line. @kbd{C-o F O O} has the same effect as
388 @w{@kbd{F O O @key{RET}}}, except for the final location of point.
390 You can make several blank lines by typing @kbd{C-o} several times, or
391 by giving it a numeric argument to tell it how many blank lines to make.
392 @xref{Arguments}, for how. If you have a fill prefix, then @kbd{C-o}
393 command inserts the fill prefix on the new line, when you use it at the
394 beginning of a line. @xref{Fill Prefix}.
396 The easy way to get rid of extra blank lines is with the command
397 @kbd{C-x C-o} (@code{delete-blank-lines}). @kbd{C-x C-o} in a run of
398 several blank lines deletes all but one of them. @kbd{C-x C-o} on a
399 solitary blank line deletes that blank line. When point is on a
400 nonblank line, @kbd{C-x C-o} deletes any blank lines following that
403 @node Continuation Lines, Position Info, Blank Lines, Basic
404 @section Continuation Lines
406 @cindex continuation line
408 @cindex line wrapping
409 If you add too many characters to one line without breaking it with
410 @key{RET}, the line will grow to occupy two (or more) lines on the
411 screen, with a curved arrow at the extreme right margin of all but the
412 last of them. The curved arrow says that the following screen line is
413 not really a distinct line in the text, but just the @dfn{continuation}
414 of a line too long to fit the screen. Continuation is also called
417 Sometimes it is nice to have Emacs insert newlines automatically when
418 a line gets too long. Continuation on the screen does not do that. Use
419 Auto Fill mode (@pxref{Filling}) if that's what you want.
421 @vindex truncate-lines
423 Instead of continuation, long lines can be displayed by @dfn{truncation}.
424 This means that all the characters that do not fit in the width of the
425 frame or window do not appear at all. They remain in the buffer,
426 temporarily invisible. Right arrow in the last column (instead of the
427 curved arrow) inform you that truncation is in effect.
429 Truncation instead of continuation happens whenever horizontal
430 scrolling is in use, and optionally in all side-by-side windows
431 (@pxref{Windows}). You can enable truncation for a particular buffer by
432 setting the variable @code{truncate-lines} to non-@code{nil} in that
433 buffer. (@xref{Variables}.) Altering the value of
434 @code{truncate-lines} makes it local to the current buffer; until that
435 time, the default value is in effect. The default is initially
436 @code{nil}. @xref{Locals}.
438 @xref{Display Vars}, for additional variables that affect how text is
441 @node Position Info, Arguments, Continuation Lines, Basic
442 @section Cursor Position Information
444 If you are accustomed to other display editors, you may be surprised
445 that Emacs does not always display the page number or line number of
446 point in the mode line. In Emacs, this information is only rarely
447 needed, and a number of commands are available to compute and print it.
448 Since text is stored in a way that makes it difficult to compute the
449 information, it is not displayed all the time.
453 Print page number of point, and line number within page.
455 Print line number of point in the buffer.
456 @item M-x line-number-mode
457 Toggle automatic display of current line number.
459 Print number of lines and characters in the current region
460 (@code{count-lines-region}). @xref{Mark}, for information about the
463 Print character code of character after point, character position of
464 point, and column of point (@code{what-cursor-position}).
472 @findex count-lines-region
474 There are several commands for printing line numbers:
478 @kbd{M-x what-line} counts lines from the beginning of the file and
479 prints the line number point is on. The first line of the file is line
480 number 1. You can use these numbers as arguments to @kbd{M-x
483 @kbd{M-x what-page} counts pages from the beginning of the file, and
484 counts lines within the page, printing both of them. @xref{Pages}, for
485 the command @kbd{C-x l}, which counts the lines in the current page.
487 @kbd{M-=} (@code{count-lines-region}) prints the number of lines in the
488 region (@pxref{Mark}). @xref{Pages}, for the command @kbd{C-x l} which
489 counts the lines in the
493 @findex what-cursor-position
494 The command @kbd{C-x =} (@code{what-cursor-position}) can be used to find out
495 the column that the cursor is in, and other miscellaneous information about
496 point. It prints a line in the echo area that looks like this:
499 Char: c (0143, 99, 0x63) point=18862 of 24800(76%) column 53
503 (In fact, this is the output produced when point is before @samp{column
506 The four values after @samp{Char:} describe the character that follows
507 point, first by showing it and then by giving its character code in
508 octal, decimal and hex.
510 @samp{point=} is followed by the position of point expressed as a character
511 count. The front of the buffer counts as position 1, one character later
512 as 2, and so on. The next, larger number is the total number of characters
513 in the buffer. Afterward in parentheses comes the position expressed as a
514 percentage of the total size.
516 @samp{column} is followed by the horizontal position of point, in
517 columns from the left edge of the window.
519 If the buffer has been narrowed, making some of the text at the
520 beginning and the end temporarily invisible, @kbd{C-x =} prints
521 additional text describing the current visible range. For example, it
525 Char: c (0143, 99, 0x63) point=19674 of 24575(80%) <19591 - 19703> column 69
529 where the two extra numbers give the smallest and largest character position
530 that point is allowed to assume. The characters between those two positions
531 are the visible ones. @xref{Narrowing}.
533 If point is at the end of the buffer (or the end of the visible part),
534 @kbd{C-x =} omits any description of the character after point.
535 The output looks like
538 point=563026 of 563025(100%) column 0
541 @node Arguments,, Position Info, Basic
542 @section Numeric Arguments
543 @cindex numeric arguments
545 In mathematics and computer usage, the word @dfn{argument} means
546 ``data provided to a function or operation.'' Any Emacs command can be
547 given a @dfn{numeric argument} (also called a @dfn{prefix argument}).
548 Some commands interpret the argument as a repetition count. For
549 example, giving an argument of ten to the key @kbd{C-f} (the command
550 @code{forward-char}, move forward one character) moves forward ten
551 characters. With these commands, no argument is equivalent to an
552 argument of one. Negative arguments are allowed. Often they tell a
553 command to move or act in the opposite direction.
557 @findex digit-argument
558 @findex negative-argument
559 If your keyboard has a @key{META} key (labelled with a diamond on
560 Sun-type keyboards and labelled @samp{Alt} on some other keyboards), the
561 easiest way to specify a numeric argument is to type digits and/or a
562 minus sign while holding down the @key{META} key. For example,
567 would move down five lines. The characters @kbd{Meta-1}, @kbd{Meta-2},
568 and so on, as well as @kbd{Meta--}, do this because they are keys bound
569 to commands (@code{digit-argument} and @code{negative-argument}) that
570 are defined to contribute to an argument for the next command. Digits
571 and @kbd{-} modified with Control, or Control and Meta, also specify
575 @findex universal-argument
576 Another way of specifying an argument is to use the @kbd{C-u}
577 (@code{universal-argument}) command followed by the digits of the
578 argument. With @kbd{C-u}, you can type the argument digits without
579 holding down modifier keys; @kbd{C-u} works on all terminals. To type a
580 negative argument, type a minus sign after @kbd{C-u}. Just a minus sign
581 without digits normally means @minus{}1.
583 @kbd{C-u} followed by a character which is neither a digit nor a minus
584 sign has the special meaning of ``multiply by four''. It multiplies the
585 argument for the next command by four. @kbd{C-u} twice multiplies it by
586 sixteen. Thus, @kbd{C-u C-u C-f} moves forward sixteen characters. This
587 is a good way to move forward ``fast'', since it moves about 1/5 of a line
588 in the usual size frame. Other useful combinations are @kbd{C-u C-n},
589 @kbd{C-u C-u C-n} (move down a good fraction of a frame), @kbd{C-u C-u
590 C-o} (make ``a lot'' of blank lines), and @kbd{C-u C-k} (kill four
593 Some commands care only about whether there is an argument and not about
594 its value. For example, the command @kbd{M-q} (@code{fill-paragraph}) with
595 no argument fills text; with an argument, it justifies the text as well.
596 (@xref{Filling}, for more information on @kbd{M-q}.) Just @kbd{C-u} is a
597 handy way of providing an argument for such commands.
599 Some commands use the value of the argument as a repeat count, but do
600 something peculiar when there is no argument. For example, the command
601 @kbd{C-k} (@code{kill-line}) with argument @var{n} kills @var{n} lines,
602 including their terminating newlines. But @kbd{C-k} with no argument is
603 special: it kills the text up to the next newline, or, if point is right at
604 the end of the line, it kills the newline itself. Thus, two @kbd{C-k}
605 commands with no arguments can kill a non-blank line, just like @kbd{C-k}
606 with an argument of one. (@xref{Killing}, for more information on
609 A few commands treat a plain @kbd{C-u} differently from an ordinary
610 argument. A few others may treat an argument of just a minus sign
611 differently from an argument of @minus{}1. These unusual cases are
612 described when they come up; they are always for reasons of convenience
613 of use of the individual command.
615 You can use a numeric argument to insert multiple copies of a
616 character. This is straightforward unless the character is a digit; for
617 example, @kbd{C-u 6 4 a} inserts 64 copies of the character @samp{a}.
618 But this does not work for inserting digits; @kbd{C-u 6 4 1} specifies
619 an argument of 641, rather than inserting anything. To separate the
620 digit to insert from the argument, type another @kbd{C-u}; for example,
621 @kbd{C-u 6 4 C-u 1} does insert 64 copies of the character @samp{1}.
623 We use the term ``prefix argument'' as well as ``numeric argument'' to
624 emphasize that you type the argument before the command, and to
625 distinguish these arguments from minibuffer arguments that come after
630 @section Repeating a Command
631 @cindex repeating a command
635 The command @kbd{C-x z} (@code{repeat}) provides another way to repeat
636 an Emacs command many times. This command repeats the previous Emacs
637 command, whatever that was. Repeating a command uses the same arguments
638 that were used before; it does not read new arguments each time.
640 To repeat the command more than once, type additional @kbd{z}'s: each
641 @kbd{z} repeats the command one more time. Repetition ends when you
642 type a character other than @kbd{z}, or press a mouse button.
644 For example, suppose you type @kbd{C-u 2 0 C-d} to delete 20
645 characters. You can repeat that command (including its argument) three
646 additional times, to delete a total of 80 characters, by typing @kbd{C-x
647 z z z}. The first @kbd{C-x z} repeats the command once, and each
648 subsequent @kbd{z} repeats it once again.
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