A Guided Tour of Emacs

The GNU Emacs Manual calls Emacs the extensible, customizable, self-documenting realtime display editor, but this description tells beginners little about what Emacs is capable of. To give you an idea, here is a sampling of the things you can do with Emacs: eyond !ust being able to edit plain te"t files, Emacs includes special features to help you write in many different human languages and programming#mar$up languages:

%&lic$ on any of these pictures for a larger view.'

(as well as tools for compiling, running, and testing programs. Emacs integrates with G) to provide an *)E %M-x gdb':

Emacs can compare two files and highlight their differences %M-x ediff':

Emacs is a file manager %M-x dired':

Emacs can read news, mail, and -.. feeds %M-x gnus':

/ou can even play tetris in Emacs %M-x tetris':

/ou might see now why some people consider Emacs to be not merely a te"t editor but almost a complete operating system. .ome users find that they can do almost all of their wor$ from within Emacs.

Why Emacs?
Emacs helps you be productive by providing an integrated environment for many different $inds of tas$s:

0ll of the basic editing commands %and there are lots of them' are available no matter what you1re trying to do: write code, read a manual, use a shell, or compose an email. 0ll the tools Emacs provides for opening, saving, searching, and processing te"t %and more' are available to you no matter what you1re doing.

This uniformity means that wor$ing within Emacs is often easier than learning to use a separate program, especially when that program is liable to have its own set of editing capabilities and shortcuts.

*f Emacs doesn1t wor$ the way you1d li$e, you can use the Emacs 3isp %Elisp' language to customi4e Emacs, automate common tas$s, or add new features. Elisp is very easy to get started with and yet remar$ably powerful: you can use it to alter and e"tend almost any feature of Emacs. /ou can ma$e Emacs whatever you want it to be by writing Elisp code5 one testament to this is the fact that all of the features pictured above %and many more described later in this tour' are written in Elisp. Emacs is also portable. /ou can use the same editor %with the same configuration' on many platforms, including GNU#3inu", .) and other Uni" derivatives, and some proprietary operating systems such as Microsoft 6indows.

Before we get started

*f you install Emacs first, you can follow along with the e"amples presented here. 6henever you decide to start using Emacs, you should ta$e the Emacs tutorial. *t1s an interactive hands7 on which will familiari4e you with many things, including:

.tarting and e"iting Emacs asic te"t movement and editing commands 8pening and saving files Emacs concepts: windows, frames, files, and buffers *nvo$ing commands with $eybindings and with M-x

To run the tutorial, start Emacs and type C-h t, that is, Ctrl-h followed by t. 0ll the features described in this tour wor$ in GNU Emacs ,2. .ome features described weren1t included in previous versions of Emacs but can be installed separately. 8ccasionally *1ll say something li$e this: .ee (info "(emacs)Using Region") for more information. This refers to a page in the Emacs manual which you can read by following the lin$. 9owever, you can also read such pages directly in Emacs by using the built7in documentation reader, called *nfo. To do this, press M-:, then type (info "(emacs)Using Region") followed by RET:

The Emacs manual is an e"cellent resource for learning about Emacs5 you can read it from within Emacs by typing C-h r. /ou can also read the manual on the web. Emacs has numerous other help features, some of which will be described later. /ou can view a list of all help features by typing C-h C-h. :

The power of text manipulation

Emacs gives you a large collection of tools for manipulating te"t, which turns out to be a .wiss army $nife of sorts because Emacs also has ways to present all $inds of information in te"t. 9ere1s one e"ample:
M-x dired invo$es Dired, the file manager mode, on a directory of your choice. Then C-x C-q %or M-x dired-change-to- dired-mode' switches to Editable Dired mode:

*n this mode, changing the filenames in the right7hand column and then typing C-x C-s %;save;' renames the indicated files. -enaming files is as easy as editing te"t. atch renaming %e.g., renaming every file of the form icon!" to bac#u$!icon!"' is as easy as performing a search and replace %M-x quer%-re$lace or M-&'5 there1s no need to learn to use a separate batch renaming tool. <rom within Emacs, you can interact with not !ust files and directories, but system utilities, compilers, debuggers, personal information managers, the web, email, chat, various other internet services, and more, and there1s an ecosystem of third7party tools to ma$e even more functionality accessible. ecause of this integration, the benefits of learning to use any of Emacs1 editing features %say, search and replace' are multiplied many times over.

Basic editing commands

8ne way that Emacs lets users wor$ =uic$ly and efficiently is by providing high7level commands for moving around in, and manipulating, te"t. There are commands that operate on characters, words, lines, sentences, paragraphs, pages, function definitions, whitespace, and more. /ou can use them anywhere you read or edit te"t: source code, web pages, shells, directory listings, email messages, and so on.

Moving around in uffers

The most basic buffer movement commands move point %the cursor' by rows %lines' or columns %characters':
C-f C-n

<orward one character Ne"t line

C-b C-$

ac$ one character >revious line

9ere are some ways to move around in larger increments:

C-a M-f

eginning of line <orward one word

C-e M-b

End of line ac$ one word

M-a M-' M-(

>revious sentence >revious screen eginning of buffer

M-e C-' M-)

Ne"t sentence Ne"t screen End of buffer

6hen you get used to these $eys, they1re faster than their more familiar e=uivalents in other applications %9ome, End, &trl@3eft, etc.' because you don1t have to move your hands from the touch typing position. 0nd these $eys are far faster than using a mouse to move around in a buffer. Emacs often provides additional commands for moving around in conte"t7specific ways %e.g. in source code, commands to move to the previous or ne"t function definition'. Many of the above commands move to a location relative to your current position in the buffer, so you can use them repeatedly %e.g. C-$ C-$ C-$ to move bac$ three lines'. /ou can use the prefix argument to save time: C-u followed by a number and a movement command repeats that command the specified number of times. /ou can also use M-*digit+ instead of C-u *digit+. *f you use C-u without specifying a digit, the default is :. 8mitting the digit can save time when you don1t $now precisely how many units you want to !ump anyway.
C-u , C-$ C-u -. C-f M-- M-. C-f C-u C-n C-u C-u C-n C-u C-u C-u C-n

ac$ 2 lines <orward +A characters <orward +A characters <orward : lines <orward +B lines <orward B: lines

/ou can !ump directly to a particular line number in a buffer:

M-g g

Cump to specified line

.earching for te"t is a handy way to move around in a buffer. Thin$ of search as !ust another facility for movement. 6hen you1re loo$ing for something specific, you can use incremental search to ta$e you right there instead of scanning by lines or pages. More about search later.
C-s C-r

*ncremental search forward *ncremental search bac$ward

8ne other way of moving around in buffers is by using the mark:

Mar!
Emacs remembers something called the mark, which is a previous cursor position. /ou can set mar$ to indicate a particular place in your buffer so you can return to it easily. C-x C-x at a later time will return point to mar$. 0ctually, that command also moves mar$ to where point formerly was5 therefore, a second C-x C-x returns point to its original position.

C-/0C C-x C-x

.et mar$ to the current location .wap point and mar$

/ou can set mar$ e"plicitly, but certain commands set mar$ for you, providing you with convenient footholds as you move around your buffer: 6hen you( Type C-/0C Cump to either end of the buffer %M-( or M-)' E"it incremental search /an$ te"t *nsert a buffer or file mar$ is set to( your current location your previous location where you began searching the beginning of the yan$ed region the beginning of the inserted te"t

0s you can see, Emacs tries to be helpful: many commands that have the potential to ta$e you long distances set mar$ so that a simple C-x C-x ta$es you bac$ to where you were. Emacs makes it difficult to lose your place in a buffer: even if you ta$e a detour, you don1t need to scroll around to get bac$ to where you were. Emacs saves many previous values of the mar$ for you. /ou can cycle through the mark ring, which contains the last +B mar$s you1ve set in the current buffer:
C-u C-/0C

&ycle through mar$ ring

"egion
Mar$ serves another purpose: mar$ and point together delineate the region. Many commands operate only on the te"t in the region %i.e. between mar$ and point'. /ou can set the region e"plicitly by setting mar$ %C-/0C' and then moving point elsewhere, or by clic$ing and dragging with the mouse. Emacs provides some commands which set the region for you by moving point and mar$ appropriately, for e"ample:
C-x h M-h

Ma$e region contain the entire buffer %;.elect all;' Ma$e region contain the current paragraph

8ther commands helpfully set the region as part of what they do. C-% %yan$', inserting a file, and inserting a buffer all set the region to surround the inserted te"t. Narrowing restricts the view %and editing' of a buffer to a certain region. This is handy when you1re only wor$ing with a small part of a buffer %e.g. a chapter in a boo$'. Then commands li$e incremental search, or beginning-of-buffer or end-of-buffer don1t lead you out of the region of interest, and commands li$e search and replacement don1t affect the entire file.
C-x n n C-x n

Narrow buffer to the current region -estore %;widen;' buffer

<or more information see (info "(emacs)1arro ing").

#illing $%cutting%& text

D

0s with te"t movement, Emacs provides commands for deleting te"t in various amounts. $ills the portion of the current line after point %or deletes the newline following point if point is at the end of line'. The prefi" argument for C-# can be used to $ill multiple lines:
C-# C-# C-u -. C-#

Eill line Eill +A lines

The following commands operate on the region, and are the closest analogs to ;cut; and ;copy; in Emacs:
CM-

Eill region %;cut;' .ave region to $ill ring without deleting %;copy;'

These commands are also handy:

M-d M-#

Eill ne"t word Eill to end of sentence

0ll of the above commands kill the te"t being deleted, which means that Emacs removes the te"t and s=uirrels it away for later retrieval %;yan$ing;'. Most commands which delete significant amounts of te"t $ill it rather than simply removing it, so that you can use those commands either to ;delete; te"t or to ;cut; it for later use.

'an!ing $%pasting%& text

0fter a piece of te"t has been $illed, it goes to a place called the kill ring which is analagous to the ;clipboard;: you can yank an item to restore it from the $ill ring with C-%. Unli$e the clipboard, however, the $ill ring is capable of holding many different items. *f the item you want to yan$ is not placed when you type C-%, type M-% %repeatedly, if necessary' to cycle through previously $illed items. /an$s last $illed te"t M-% -eplace yan$ed te"t with previously $illed te"t
C-%

-ecall that most commands which delete a large amount of te"t in fact $ill it %i.e. place it in the $ill ring' so you can restore it later. Emacs makes it very difficult to lose a lot of text permanently: in editors with only a single clipboard, one can easily accidentally delete a large chun$ of te"t or clobber the contents of the clipboard %by cutting two items in succession'. ut in Emacs, in either of those cases, the lost te"t can easily be retrieved from the $ill ring.

(ndo
Emacs1 undo facility wor$s slightly differently from that of other editors. *n most editors, if you undo some changes, then ma$e some new changes, the states formerly accessible with ;redo; can no longer be recoveredF .o when using ;undo; and ;redo; e"tensively, one has to be very careful to avoid accidentally clobbering the redo list.

Emacs uses a different undo model which does not have this deficiency. 0fter any consecutive se=uence of undos, Emacs ma$es all your previous actions undoable, including the undos. %This will happen whenever a se=uence of undos is bro$en by any other command.' *f this sounds complicated, !ust remember that ;undo; is always capable of getting you bac$ to any previous state your buffer was in %unless Emacs has run out of memory to store the undo history'. The principle here is that Emacs makes it very difficult to accidentally lose your work. Undo is available via three different $eys: Undo Undo C-x u Undo
C-2 C-!

.o if you need to get bac$ to a previous buffer state, simply move the cursor %so as to brea$ any e"isting se=uence of undos', and press C-2 until you find what you want. To learn more about undo, see (info "(emacs)Undo").

)ncremental search
C-s

*ncremental search

Typing C-s followed by some te"t starts incremental search. Emacs !umps to the ne"t occurrence of whatever you have typed, as you are typing it %you may have seen similar behavior in Mo4illa <irefo" or other web browsers', and all matches visible on your screen are highlighted.

6ithin incremental search, you can type C-s again at any time to !ump to the ne"t occurrence. 6hen you1ve found what you1re loo$ing for, you can either type RET %or use almost any movement command' to e"it search at the occurrence you1ve found, or C-g %;cancel;' to return to where your search started. *f you e"it search at the found occurrence, you can easily !ump bac$ to where you started with C-x C-x since incremental search sets mar$ appropriately. These commands help you to issue previously issued =ueries:
C-s C-s

.earch for most recently searched item H

>revious item in search history Ne"t item in search history C-h # C-s Guide to more commands available in incremental search
C-s M-$ C-s M-n

/ou can perform a bac$ward incremental search with C-r. %0ll the above commands can be activated similarly from within bac$ward search.' 0t any time during a forward %or bac$ward' search, you can type C-r %C-s' to switch to a bac$ward %forward' search.
C-r

ac$ward incremental search

.ee (info "(emacs)3ncremental /earch") for more information.

*earch and replacement

M-&

Iuery replace

The =uery replace command prompts you for a search string and a replacement. Then, for each match in the buffer, you can choose whether or not to replace the search string. 9ere are some of the options available at each prompt:

Type % to replace the current match. Type n to s$ip to the ne"t match without replacing. Type q to e"it without doing any more replacements. Type 4 to replace this match, then e"it. Type 5 to replace all remaining matches with no more =uestions.

.ee (info "(emacs)6uer% Re$lace") for more information about these %and other' options. /ou can also type 7 anytime inside a search7and7replace operation to see a guide.

"egular expression search

Emacs allows you to search for regular e"pressions:
C-M-s

-egular e"pression incremental search

-egular e"pressions are a succinct way of searching for many different strings at once by using a special language to describe the form of what you1re loo$ing for. -egular e"pression synta" is beyond the scope of this tour5 see (info "(emacs)Regex$s") for more information. *f you1re new to rege"ps, or you are constructing a particularly complicated rege"p, you can use the rege"p builder %M-x re-builder'. This command pops up a separate window in which you can test out your rege"p, and any matches in your original buffer will get highlighted as you edit your rege"p. *nstead of !umping through matches one by one, you can also choose to display them all at once. M-x occur prompts you for a regular e"pression, then displays in a separate buffer a list of all lines in the current buffer which match that rege"p %as well as their line numbers'. &lic$ing on any occurrence ta$es you to that line in the buffer. +A

"egular expression search and replacement

-egular e"pressions are even more powerful in search and replace, because Emacs allows the replacement te"t to depend on the found te"t. /ou can control replacement by inserting special escape se=uences in the replacement string, and Emacs will substitute them appropriately: 6hen you type this in a replacement string:
89

Emacs replaces it with:

the original found te"t 8-, 8:, etc. the +st, ,nd, etc. parenthesi4ed subgroup in the found te"t 8; the number of replacements done so far 87 a string obtained by prompting the user on each match 8<(lis$-ex$ression =) the result of evaluating an arbitrary function 9ere1s an e"ample. .uppose we have a buffer containing names li$e this:
>eorge ?ashington @ohn Adams Thomas @efferson @ames Madison @ames Monroe

*f we run M-x re$lace-regex$ and replace the rege"p 8(8 B8) 8(8 B8) with 8< (u$case 8:)< 8-, our buffer now loo$s li$e this:
?A/C31>TD1< >eorge AEAM/< @ohn @EFFER/D1< Thomas MAE3/D1< @ames MD1RDE< @ames

0s you can see, rege"p replacement is capable of doing some pretty sophisticated transformations. %-oughly, the search e"pression searches for two words5 the replacement string inserts an uppercased version of the second word, followed by a comma, followed by the first word.'

#ey oard Macros

Eeyboard macros are a way to remember a fi"ed se=uence of $eys for later repetition. They1re handy for automating some boring editing tas$s. .tart recording macro FG .top recording macro FG >lay bac$ macro once M-H FG >lay bac$ macro ? times M-. FG >lay bac$ macro over and over until it fails
F,

++

<or e"ample, this se=uence of $eys does the e"act same transformation that we did with regular e"pression replacement earlier, that is, it transforms a line containing >eorge ?ashington to ?A/C31>TD1< >eorge:
M-d C-d M-u < */0C+ C-% C-n C-a

0fter we record that $ey se=uence as a macro, we can type M-. FG to transform the buffer pictured earlier5 in this case, Emacs runs the macro repeatedly until it has reached the end of the buffer. .ee (info "(emacs)Ie%board Macros") for more information.

+elp with commands

*f you1ve read this far, you are probably intimidated by the thought of having to remember a bunch of $eyboard commands and command names. <ortunately, Emacs includes comprehensive and easily accessible documentation. The documentation isn1t !ust for beginners. Emacs has thousands of commands, of which most people only use a small number. .o even Emacs e"perts fre=uently consult the docs in order to learn about new commands or !og their memory on old ones. *f you don1t remember what a particular $ey or command does, you can read a description of it by using one of the following commands:
C-h #

.hows documentation for the command associated with any particular $ey.
C-h f

.hows documentation for any particular command, by name %i.e. what you would type after M-x'. <or e"ample, C-h # C-s and C-h f isearch-for ard RET both display a page describing incremental search:

This is handy, for e"ample, if you don1t remember what C-s does, or if you remember that it invo$es incremental search but want to $now more about that feature. The documentation gives the full name of the command, shows which %if any' $eys are bound to it, and gives a complete description of what the command does. 8n the other hand, if you don1t remember how to invo$e a particular feature, you can use apropos to search for it:
C-h a

.earch for commands by $eywords or rege"p

+,

<or e"ample, if * remember that * want to activate narrowing, but don1t remember how, * can type C-h a narro RET which shows a brief list of commands having to do with narrow, one of which is M-x narro -to-region.

More useful features

)ntegration with common tools
Emacs is notable for its integration with many common tools. Not only can you invo$e them from within the editor, Emacs usually helps you use their output more effectively. 9ere are some e"amples:
M-x shell

.tarts a shell in the buffer named "shell", switching to it if it already e"ists. Use C-u M-x shell to use a buffer with a different name.

M-x com$ile

*nvo$es ma#e %with targets and options of your choice' and displays output in a new buffer. Emacs identifies error lines containing filenames and line numbers, and you can clic$ on them to !ump directly to the corresponding buffer and line.

M-x gdb

*nvo$es gdb in a new buffer. /ou can use the gdb command line as usual in that buffer. 9owever, Emacs lets you set brea$points directly from your source buffers and shows e"ecution by mar$ing the active line in your source buffers. Emacs can also display brea$points, the stac$, and locals, simultaneously and each in their own window.

+2

M-x gre$

*nvo$es gre$ and prints results in a new buffer. 3i$e M-x com$ile, when you clic$ on a match Emacs opens the correct file and ta$es you to the matching line.

M-x man

)isplays man pages.

9ere are some more assorted tools: 0 simple calculator. 0 calendar. M-x $hases-of-moon .hows upcoming =uarters of the moon.
M-x calculator M-x calendar

)nvo!ing shell commands

*f you need to e"ecute a simple shell command, these commands can save you the trouble of switching to an "term or starting a new Emacs shell buffer:

+:

M-x shell-command

or M-5

E"ecutes a command and displays the output in a new buffer.

M-x shell-command-on-region

or M-J

E"ecutes a command, piping in the current region as input5 displays the output in a new buffer. <or either command, a C-u prefi" will insert the output in your current buffer rather than using a temporary buffer.

,ersion control
Emacs helps you manipulate and edit files stored in version control. Emacs supports &J., .ubversion, b4r, git, hg, and other systems, but it offers a uniform interface, called J&, regardless of the version control system you are using. Emacs automatically detects when a file you1re editing is under version control, and displays something li$e this in the mode line: CK/--4-G to indicate the version control system in use, and the current version. or C-x ' ' commits the current file %prompting you for a log message' if you1ve modified it. %Under version control systems that re=uire loc$ing, this command also ac=uires a loc$ for you.'
M-x 'c-next-action

J& provides other commands for version control7related tas$s:

C-x ' L

)isplays a diff showing the changes you1ve made to the current file.
C-x ' M

>rompts you for a version number and shows you that version of the current file in another window.
C-x ' g

)isplays an annotated version of the file showing, for each line, the commit where that line was last changed and by whom. 8n any line you can press N to view the log message for that commit or E to view the associated diff.
C-x ' l

)isplays a log of previous changes to the file. 6hen the cursor is on a particular log entry, you can press d to view the diff associated with that change or f to view that version of the file. .ee (info "(emacs)Kersion Control") for more information.

+?

.ome special features are enabled when you are loo$ing at a diff %whether from a file, or one produced by J&'. Emacs lets you move around in a diff by hun$s or files, apply individual hun$s to a file, reverse a diff, and do other operations useful for reading or manually editing diffs. .ee (info "(emacs)Eiff Mode") for more information.

Editing remote files

Emacs can edit remote files transparently %as if they were local' using a feature called Tramp. 6henever Emacs as$s for a file, you can indicate a remote file li$e so: 2m%nameOremotehost:2remote2$ath2to2file. Emacs retrieves the file over ..9, <T>, or another method and ta$es care of saving it when you1re done. 6ith Tramp you can edit files on different computers using a single Emacs session, even if Emacs is not installed on the remote side. /ou can also use Tramp to edit local files with another user1s permissions. /ou can edit files with root privileges via sudo: 2sudo::2etc2file, or via su: 2rootOlocalhost:2etc2file. .ee (info "(TRAM0)") for more information.

Emacs server
.ome people li$e to $eep only a single instance of Emacs open and edit all their files in there. )oing this has a few advantages:

/ou can $ill#yan$ te"t between buffers in the same instance of Emacs. Emacs remembers argument histories %what commands you1ve used, what files you1ve opened, terms you1ve searched for, etc.', but only within each instance. *f you have many customi4ations, starting new instances of Emacs is slow.

0las, when you type emacs in a shell to edit a file %or when PEE3TDR is invo$ed by an e"ternal program', a new instance of Emacs is started. /ou can avoid this by using emacsclient, which instead opens a new frame connected to an e"isting instance of Emacs: +. *n your e"isting instance of Emacs, type M-x ser'er-start. 8r add (ser'erstart) to your 4emacs file to ma$e it do that automatically at startup. ,. To edit a file, type emacsclient -t F3NE1AME at a prompt. /ou can also change your PEE3TDR to emacsclient -t if you1re using programs that automatically invo$e PEE3TDR. %emacsclient -t opens a new frame on the terminal5 alternatively, emacsclient -c opens a new K frame.' 2. 6hen you1re done editing, type C-x C-c, which closes the frame. <or more information, see (info "(emacs)Emacs /er'er").

Being unproductive with Emacs

Emacs even comes with diversions:

+B

Tetris Towers of 9anoi game M-x doctor Emacs psychotherapist

M-x tetris M-x hanoi

-ommon Emacs concepts

.refix arguments
0s we1ve seen, prefi" arguments are sometimes used to indicate repetition:
C-u -. C-f C-u M-a

<orward +A characters ac$ward : sentences

6e1ve also seen a prefi" argument used to modify the following command %the numeric argument, if provided, is ignored': &reate or switch to shell buffer named "shell" C-u M-x shell &reate or switch to shell buffer with specified name
M-x shell

*f you ever get confused, the documentation for any command %accessible with C-h f or C-h #' describes the effect of the prefi" argument, if any. .ee (info "(emacs)Arguments") for more information.

Ma/or modes
Every buffer has an associated major mode, which alters certain behaviors, $ey bindings, and te"t display in that buffer. The idea is to customi4e the appearance and features available based on the contents of the buffer. Emacs ships with do4ens of ma!or modes for editing widely used programming languages, mar$up languages, and configuration file formats. These ma!or modes tell Emacs how to:

*ndent your code correctly %usually, simply pressing TAQ once will ma$e Emacs indent the current line correctly'. )o synta" highlighting *dentify the boundaries of functions *nvo$e interpreters, compilers, or debuggers for your code.

.ome commands we1ve seen, li$e M-x dired, M-x com$ile, and M-x shell, in fact use their own special ma!or modes to ma$e their buffers provide certain features %such as highlighting compile errors and ma$ing them clic$able'. The current ma!or mode is displayed in the mode line. The last thing on the mode line should be one or more items in parentheses, li$e (0%thon 1arro ). The first of these is the name of the ma!or mode. /ou can switch modes in an e"isting buffer by using M-x and the name of the mode:

+D

Mode for editing Cava files Mode for editing >ython files M-x text-mode Mode for editing te"t files M-x fundamental-mode Mode with no speciali4ations at all
M-x Ra'a-mode M-x $%thon-mode

Emacs is very good at determining the right mode to use when you open a file, so you1ll rarely have to use the above commands. These are e"amples of the commands provided by language ma!or modes: 3anguage 3isp >ython 9TM3 .ome special commands available Manipulate s7e"ps in various ways5 e"ecute e"pressions *ndent, unindent bloc$s5 run code in >ython shell *nsert and close tags5 preview in browser

*n almost all cases, ma!or modes for unsupported formats are available as e"tension pac$ages. /ou can find many of them on Emacs6i$i. .ee (info "(emacs)MaRor Modes") for more information.

Minor modes
Every buffer can also have any number of minor modes, which are e"tra pieces of functionality you can enable, independently of each other and of the ma!or mode. Minor modes are listed in the mode line after the ma!or mode inside the parentheses. 9ere are a few commonly used ones:
M-x auto-fill-mode

6raps your lines automatically when they get longer than DA characters.
M-x fl%s$ell-mode

9ighlights misspelled words as you type.

M-x follo -mode

*f you have a buffer displayed in two windows side by side, follo -mode forces them to scroll together such that the te"t displayed in the second window comes right after the te"t in the first window, and moving your cursor off the bottom of the left window causes it to appear at the top of the right window:

+G

.ome minor modes are global, i.e. they affect the behavior of the entire editor, rather than !ust that of a specific buffer. *n the M7" prompt %and elsewhere', show completions as you type M-x is itchb-mode .how all buffer names when you switch buffers with C-x b
M-x icom$lete-mode

.ee (info "(emacs)Minor Modes") for more information. *f you need help with a particular mode, C-h m describes the active ma!or and minor modes. The mode description often lists important commands which are useful in that mode, which is helpful when you1re learning to use a new mode.

The mini uffer

The minibuffer %the space at the bottom of the frame' is where Emacs prompts you for input in most situations: for a command, when you type M-x5 for a file name, within M-x findfile5 for an Elisp e"pression, within M-x e'al-ex$ression, etc. 9ere are some features common to most minibuffer prompts:

/ou can use most buffer editing and movement commands. /ou can move around in, $ill te"t from, and yan$ te"t to minibuffers. /ou can browse previous inputs to the current prompt using M-$ and M-n. Tab completion is often available. <or e"ample, the M-x prompt offers tab completion, so you needn1t worry about typing long command names li$e M-x dired-changeto- dired-mode when M-x dired-ch TAQ suffices.

Tips for eginners

)n the event of an emergency
9ere1s what to do if you1ve accidentally pressed a wrong $ey:

+H

*f you e"ecuted a command and Emacs has modified your buffer, use C-2 to undo that change. *f you pressed a prefi" $ey %e.g. C-x' or you invo$ed a command which is now prompting you for input %e.g. Find file: =', type C-g, repeatedly if necessary, to cancel.

C-g

also cancels a long7running operation if it appears that Emacs has fro4en.

#ey oard and terminal setup

.ome Emacs users remap their &aps 3oc$ $ey to act as an additional &trl $ey, because it is easier to reach. .ee instructions for moving &trl. )ue to your $eyboard or terminal configuration, you may find that some $eys seem to do the wrong thing: *f your EEN $ey is not wor$ing %sometimes, typing EEN brings up a help screen, as if you typed C-h', try M-x normal-erase-is-bac#s$ace-mode. *f your meta $ey is not wor$ing, in order to type a $ey that contains meta, you can instead type E/C, then the remaining $eys. <or e"ample, E/C x is the same as M-x, and E/C C-s is the same as C-M-s.

0re1uently as!ed 1uestions

Emacs comes with a <0I which e"plains how to perform many commonly re=uested tas$s5 press C-h C-f to read it.

Migrating to Emacs
Emacs has a number of options for easing the transition from other editing environments.

Emacs for Windows users

*n 6indows, the bread and butter editing commands are C-S, C-x, C-c, and C-'. Unfortunately, these $eys are fre=uently used in Emacs for other purposes %suspend, prefi" $ey, prefi" $ey, and ne"t page'. /ou can get those $eys bac$ for Undo, &ut, &opy, and >aste by turning on ;&U0 mode; from the 8ptions menu. &U0 mode also lets you ma$e a selection by using .hift in combination with movement $eys, as you would do on 6indows. .ince C-x and C-c are so integral to Emacs operation %they are prefi" $eys for many commands', &U0 mode only binds C-x and C-c to &ut and &opy, respectively, when you have selected some te"t. /ou can learn more about &U0 mode by typing C-h f cua-mode RET.

,A

Emacs for vi2vim users

Jiper %M-x 'i$er-mode' is a set of modes for emulating vi editing behavior in Emacs. *t provides different levels of vi7adherence, depending on how vi7li$e you want your Emacs to be. <or more information about Jiper, see (info "('i$er)").

Emacs resources
The GNU Emacs Manual %C-h r' is the definitive guide if you want to learn more about Emacs. .ome Emacs features have their own, separate manuals %C-h i d'. The GNU Emacs <0I %C-h C-f' answers many =uestions that beginners have about how Emacs wor$s and how to set it up to do particular things. Emacs6i$i contains information about many downloadable Emacs e"tensions, as well as tips for using and customi4ing Emacs. /ou can as$ =uestions on the help7gnu7emacs mailing list.

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